Category: Bible (Page 20 of 334)

I hate mosquito bites, so when I work outside on summer days I douse myself with bug repellent. I prefer the strongest stuff I can find, and the smell comes across like a punch. I stay outside because my wife doesn’t enjoy me smelling up the house. I need to shower off the stink before lounging on the couch.

After years of neglect the people of Judah and Israel gathered to celebrate Passover. But many of the people had not undergone a purification ritual required to offer sacrifices in the temple, the holiest of places. They needed to shower off their stink.

Hezekiah, the king leading the renewal movement, prayed for the enthusiastic yet unprepared worshippers: “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

The ritual of purification, while extremely important, took second chair to hearts seeking after God. Which is good news for all of us.

I can worry less about the outer forms that accompany a follower of Jesus, like showing up at church, watching my mouth, or praying before my meals. While I consider such things important, the inner workings of my soul take precedent. Ritual is less important than a heart tuned to the Lord.

Whether fresh from the bath or still needing to shower off my stink, if my focus centers on the Lord, then my heart inclines in the right direction.

2 Chronicles 30 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Chandler Cruttenden

I always enjoyed fractions in math class. Halves and thirds and quarters broke units down into understandable chunks. Maybe that’s why when I learned that a tithe in the Bible usually refers to one-tenth it made sense. Laying aside ten percent to give away sounded reasonable.

The tithe sounded judicious to the Pharisees as well. They were extremely good at fractions, setting aside one-tenth of even their spices to check the giving box. But Jesus was not impressed.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Parsing out ten percent is easy. Encouraging justice, showing mercy, and remaining faithful to the ways of the Lord takes work. People are messy, and it requires humility to get in the dirt with those who need help. Shunting off a bit of my stuff is painless, but helping my neighbor becomes terribly inconvenient.

One reason I give money is so that I can walk away from the need in front of me. Someone else will take my gift and solve the problem, while I go back to football on TV. But Jesus won’t let me off the hook. Tithe, he says, but pay attention to the bigger picture. I need to give, but I also need to notice. Because in the end, being good with fractions misses the point of being good with people.

Matthew 23 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Scott Rodgerson

I love ice cream and pizza. I could eat a slice of pizza every day for the rest of my life, then finish each of those days with a bowl of ice cream. Nirvana. As an adult, I have every right to eat this way. Plenty of options for pizza and ice cream surround me. Nothing is stopping me (except my wife). But such a delightful diet is not beneficial.

Paul spoke to our rights and how we employ them. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. Later in his argument Paul offered up the logic behind these statements. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

As a follower of Jesus, I consider the ways I treat my body and then surrender my base desires to the Lord. I waive my rights to do anything I want—a counter-cultural idea.

I am to cast aside that which masters me. Be it pizza, ice cream, social media approval, scrolling for distraction, pornography, alcohol, shopping—any number of potential overseers. Paul speaks specifically of sexual immorality, but control comes in all guises. When I’m mastered by something that behaviour or habit owns me. I’ve become it’s slave.

Getting “unmastered” is complicated and painful. It’s different for different circumstances, but with the help of others and the Holy Spirit I can unshackle from the false owners of my soul. Surrendering my right to do anything I want starts this process.

As splendid as chocolate chip ice cream and pepperoni pizza are on my tongue, I try to avoid their siren call. I enjoy them in moderation, under flagging yet dutiful control. I work at surrendering my base desires knowing there’s room for only one Master—and He leads me to a flourishing life.

1 Corinthians 6 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by American Heritage Chocolate

Outside my window stands a beautiful ash tree. Twenty-six years old, planted when we moved into the house, the ash survived harsh winters and dry summers. But today the tree faces a new threat—the Emerald Ash Borer. This invasive beetle (originally from Asia) decimates North American ash trees. I cannot see the beetles, but the arborist who inspected my tree tells me they’re present. The beetles lay eggs, and the voracious larva feed inside the bark. Less than 1% of infested trees survive.

My tree has a problem on the inside.

Isaiah spoke of problems of the heart in his missive to Israel and Jerusalem. He wrote of the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, born out of long disregard for the Lord. But Isaiah also carried hope, reminding us that the Lord will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Like my tree, I have problems on the inside. Worries and temptations, pride and laziness eats away at my core. Larva birthed from this world, my own flesh and the devil burrow and feast.

Fortunately for my ash, a treatment exists to counteract the actions of the borer. A pair of arborists injected the base with a pesticide that spreads up the tree and kills the larva. The remedy lasts for two years, then will need to be repeated. A healthy tree requires vigilance.

As does a healthy inner life. Treatments exist to obstruct the borers of my soul. God’s Word, prayer, and time with fellow believers come to mind. I cannot always recognize the issues eating holes in my core, but I can counteract them by surrendering to the ways of the Lord.

Isaiah 26 & 30 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Annie Spratt