Be Filled: Ephesians 5:15-21

             I really like this text because it helps to put a lot of life into perspective, especially from the perspective of a church goer. It gives us hope to move beyond our brokenness into something better, not into emptiness. Here is Ephesians 5:15-21:

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

           I think the key verse in this passage is verse 18, which tells us to be filled with the Spirit. This connects with lots of great imagery in the Bible that tells us that we are to put off that which can never fill ourselves for Christ. Take a look at Matthew 13:44-46:

 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

          and John 10:10b:

 10b I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

          The mistake with a lot of our modern theology and preaching these days has to do with our focus on "sin management", which supposes that we can fix ourselves with enough guilt and faith, intermingled and poured on oneself continually in hope of removing the stench of sin. However, this mixture only makes the stench even more unbearable, especially as our energy and emotions are drained to make this attempt possible. The way of God asks us to seek him and fill ourselves with his life. We are to pursue him first and foremost and everything else will follow, including righteousness. Look at Matthew 6:33:

 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

          and Psalm 37:4:

 4 Delight yourself in the Lord
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

              These come with spending time with God and allowing his love and presence to wash over us. This takes the stench of sin away. We enter into a relationship with God to escape our sin in the first place and it is in this relationship that we put off sin daily. Also, we see that this needs to happen in community. Both of these ideas combined are touched on in our initial passage, Ephesians 5:15-21, so let us return there:

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

          First, we see again the command to put off sin and make the most of every day along with the command to fill ourselves with the Spirit instead of wine. This takes us up to verse 19, which is where the passage really starts to address the "how". First, we need to encourage each other with worship, not only on Sunday, but throughout the week. This does not mean that we are to live our lives in a constant musical, as fun and amusing as that would be. Instead, we see that we are meant to always be "singing" our songs of thankfulness throughout the week by recognizing where God has been present and communicating to us and then passing along those notes of gratitude, not just up to God, but to our brothers and sisters in the Lord as well. I believe that a large part of why this helps is because we all need help recognizing what God is doing in our lives, not just as part of Bible studies or morning devotionals, but throughout our normal, every day lives. This is part of what makes the incarnation so beautiful: God did not spend most of his life in ministry, but likely working on wood projects, engaged in ho-hum conversation with friends, and recognizing and worshiping God in these parts of life. Part of our commercialization of Christianity has robbed us of ancient riches of the Christian tradition that recognized that God is present in our work or, as I've been told, "Prayer is Work and Work is Prayer." This means that God is present with us throughout the week and is always waiting beneath the surface, waiting to be engaged and recognized. This also enriches our understanding of prayer: we do not need to only approach God with requests; we can come to God just to sit in his presence and nothing else. In Luke 10:38-42, Mary was commended for sitting at the Lord's feet, not for taking good notes, preaching, adding insightful comments, or doing great works of faith. No, the "one thing" she did was to sit and listen, not because she needed to learn, which she did, but out of adoration and love for God. Thus, much work can be put into prayer by letting God be present to us always. Look for ways that he wants to speak to you and spend time with close friends discussing where God has been present. If he is the one thing that sustains life, then I doubt he would abandon you to figure out life on your own just because you're not paying attention to him. Finally, paying attention to God with prayerful attention is how we fulfill 1 Thessalonians 5:17:

17 pray continually

           There are plenty of great ways to pray that would help in this process, like praying the Bible or listening prayer. If you need any good ideas, just let me know and I'll see what I can suggest.
Peace of Christ to you,
Simeon Snow

Encouragement to Singles: 1 Samuel 1:3-8

         In light of the recent Valentine's day, I was hoping to pass along a word of encouragement to my brothers and sister in Christ from 1 Samuel 1:3-8:

3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

           Out of all the characters in the Bible, I truly believe that Hannah most closely empathizes with the plights of singles today. The statistics out there are disheartening: the ages of initial sexual and romantic interest have dropped by three or four years and the average age of marriage is now extending from the early twenties to the late twenties and early thirties. To add on to such an agonizing weight, Christians are being daily bombarded with invitations to sexual thought and action in the grocery store, media, and workplace. What once was dismissible and avoidable has become especially pressing due to the modern innovation of schools that keep same age boys and girls cooped up in pens together for most of their waking hours.
            Hannah may have been looking to get children, but I can assure you that she felt the weight that we feel in a very similar way. It said that she dealt with this desire for several years. These times of struggle and doubt were especially strong whenever they would make their yearly trip to the house of the Lord. This may have been due to the mixing of several families as they traveled together to this religious site. For women of their time, being infertile was a social curse. However, we are also told that she has many blessings: she is deeply adored by her husband (being given doubly special and preferential treatment), is part of a mostly loving family and, for all we know, is secure financially. So, we would seem to agree with her husband when he asks her if he means more to her than ten sons. Additionally, these religious pilgrimages were supposed to be the highlight of the year: a time of close fellowship with each other and the Lord. Surely, one could at least pull the religion card on Hannah: "Why don't you let your desire to conceive kids push you into deeper intimacy with the Lord? In fact, I bet that is what is holding him back from blessing you." (The second sentence is, by the way, incorrect and is also very insensitive). Yet, we find Hannah still weeping, refusing to eat, and having a downtrodden heart despite all of these admonitions and what would surely have been an emotionally numbing process of continual disappointment in herself and God.
             God recognizes and affirms your pain. Look at Proverbs 13:12:

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

             You can see that several of the pieces of advice that we could pass on to a grieving single are legitimate: they should practice thankfulness for what they do have and use their hunger and suffering to deepen their need for God and closeness to Him (as advocated in one of my recent blog posts, "The Power of Need"). Yet, I think when we only give these pieces of advice to singles and don't stop to listen to them, we fall short of giving them what they really need: a sympathizing ear that hears the ache of loneliness and rejection. Chances are, any single Christian you have met has heard all of the spiritual mantras about falling in love with God and waiting for both you and your future spouse to become "fully ready" for marriage before God brings you together. However, these light words start to sound weaker and weaker as the years pass and more spins and perspectives are put out on the singleness issue. What I offer to you today is not more advice, as useful and perspective healing as it can be sometimes, but a word of comfort. Singles, I invite you to set aside a few minutes and join me in a spiritual exercise today that I hope will heal and encourage you.

                                        Read what is next and follow the instructions.

              God knows your pain. Spend some time in silence with Psalm 38:9 and allow your heart to wrestle with the text, not trying to understand it better, but allowing God to speak to you through it. You can take any amount of time you want from a few to several minutes:

9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.

              Next, holding that pain and anxiety in your heart, spend some silent time considering the plight of other Christians who also share your burden by meditating on 1 Peter 5:9:

 9 Resist [Satan], standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

            Focus on your pain along with the pain of your fellow Christian singles with all your energy. Hold this pain as close to your heart as possible for as long as you can hold it and release your pain to God as the passage continues into verse 10:

 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

          If this exercise has brought you any comfort, please remember the words of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God

          One of our biggest mistakes is thinking that if God doesn't answer a prayer, that he is not present with us in our sufferings. I don't need to quote to you the verses that affirm your desire for a spouse. I don't feel the need to quote verses about idolatry and right priorities. What I want to affirm is that the God of Hannah, who listened to the whispered prayers of her heart year after agonizing year is also listening to you. Stop trying to make your pain go away. Don't rationalize it or compartmentalize it into a clean religious box. Allow yourself to feel the pain and vocalize that pain with God and close friends.
          In closing, meditate on Philippians 4:6-7:

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace of Christ to you,
Simeon Snow

Loss: Job 19:26-27

         One of the sweetest verses in the Bible is Job 19:26-27:

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
    with my own eyes—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns within me!

         This verse says something about the loss that we experience in our lives, whether it comes from a breakup, loss of job, death of a loved one, or simply the loss of the familiar. It is in those moments, the moments of loss and grief, that our soul needs to turn to something to sustain it. Not just to fix the loss, but to experience God in the middle of the loss. I've learned a lot from Listening for the Soul by Jean Stairs on this process of death and resurrection. She speaks on how we try to react to our and others' grief with a cold, problem solving approach. Here, in Job 19, I feel like Job hits on something that Jean Stairs is also getting at: the need to simply sit in the presence of God during loss rather than  move past the loss as quickly as possible or figure out why God let this loss happen. Job doesn't mention anything about the recreation of his flesh. We know that he must have new flesh since he has eyes to see God with, but that is not what he holds in view. He looks at the hope he has in God despite the loss that envelopes him. Don't try too hard to solve yourself; sometimes the best remedy for hard times is to sit in God's presence and let him cover you. That's the thickness behind Psalm 46:10:

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

           These moments of stillness are healing for the soul and they put things in right perspective again: not that your loss doesn't matter, but that God is with you in the depths of it. It's not that your problem doesn't need to be solved, but that there are deeper and more important things than solving your problems. I learned from Jean Stairs that these times of stillness with God are enriched by the presence of other people as well. These people can sit with you in silence as well or can sit there silently as you open your heart to them. We see Job's friends take this correct and wise position when they first come to soothe him in his grief in Job 2:11-13:

 11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

           You will remember Job's friends only started to fail when they tried to fix Job and force him to come to a resolution. While it is important to help people to move on from their despair, the way to do it is not to force them out of it with happiness or coming up with whatever advice first comes to mind. We see the foolhardiness of these approaches in Proverbs 25:20:

20 Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
    or like vinegar poured on a wound,
    is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

           and Proverbs 18:2:

 2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding
    but delight in airing their own opinions.

            How do we help the person in trouble (or ourselves, if we are the one suffering) in these times of darkness? Like I said, being present and listening is most of what is necessary. While there are extreme mistakes that can demand correction, for the most part, what is needed is someone with whom to walk the dark journey of loss. Listen to the person as they try to figure out what's going on and ask them questions about what they're feeling. Even though Job said a lot of mean things about God throughout the book, he was found to have spoken better of God than his friends did, even though they worked hard to defend God and fix Job.
Peace of Christ to you,
Simeon Snow

Shepherding: Psalm 78:70-72

          One of the most interesting passages for me in the Old Testament is Psalm 78:70-72. I feel like it tells us a lot about the nature of leadership as well as what God expects us to do with the mundane lives that He gives us upon this earth. Here is the passage:

70 He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him
    to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
    with skillful hands he led them.

           To start off with, shepherding was not a respected career path in the ancient world. This is reflected in David having this job as the youngest among his brothers, but is also seen among nearby peoples. This is shown in Genesis 46:32-34:

32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

             This shows us the first point that I would like us to take away from the beginning passage: that God uses the mundane, detestable parts of our lives to train us for how we will serve others and that our usefulness for God's kingdom does not rest on how esteemed our position is in the eyes of men; we do not need a position and title at a church to be of use to God. Look at 1 Corinthians 1:26-29:

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.

          God goes out of his way to use people who are worthless in the eyes of the world to accomplish his will. Just look through the book of Judges and you will see a group of heroes who were all social outcasts: left-handed people, women, children of prostitutes, the smallest of families and prestige, etc. Thus, your job as a fast food worker, teacher, or janitor does not discount you from making a big impact for the kingdom. In fact, if you follow the biblical narrative, you will find that God uses the people of lower social class and background most often. He does, of course, use rich and influential people, but they face significant obstacles in living their lives for Christ. We see this in Mark 10:23:

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

          Jesus himself was just a carpenter. One of the most powerful facts about Jesus' life was that he was a carpenter who, you can bet, lived intentionally for the large majority of his life among a small, unnoticeable town and people before a crowd ever followed him. If we take Luke 2:52 seriously, we'll see that this thirty or so year part of his life was instrumental in shaping him into someone who would lead the crowds and disciples into the kingdom of God:

 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

         Beyond being part of a lowly and simple profession, there is a lot to be taken from the shepherding analogy as well: they are invested in every member of the flock and will sacrifice themselves for the sheep. We see this detailed attention of the shepherd in Matthew 18:12-13:

 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

         I think that God calls us all, in some small sense, to participate in shepherding. This means caring after the people in our circle of influence with the same loving care as Jesus does. If we look at the lowest and weakest people in our immediate context, we will be seeing Christ in our presence needing our personal care and attention. I've especially picked this up from a lesson I recently learned about Mark 9:36-37:

36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

          I was in the New Interpreter's Bible ( Perkins, Pheme. The Gospel of Mark. The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol. VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995) and it discussed how we, in our modern world and culture, romanticize being children, but the ancient world viewed children as worthless and contemptible. Perkins says that the best modern equivalent of a child in this passage would be our homeless person. No one wants to pay attention to them; at best, they are a distraction; at worst, they are a waste of life and space. So, Jesus is telling us that if we welcome the socially awkward and otherwise needy people, we will actually be welcoming Jesus in. This should not be read that if we welcome a homeless person into our church or home, that we have fulfilled some law Jesus is placing on us here. This is not the case; in fact, following that kind of law would be too easy; Jesus invites us to something more difficult. We must allow our lives to be mobile homes: emotionally and socially welcoming people into our lives no matter where we find ourselves. So, instead of commanding us to give money or other resources to the poor and wave at them as we rush away, we are challenged to give them our love, attention, and welcoming ears. This stems from the shepherd's heart, which knows that each sheep, no matter how useless looking, has something to contribute and should be loved with deep care and affection.
           In conclusion, meditate upon 1 Corinthians 12:21-25:

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Peace of Christ to you,
Simeon Snow