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follow me
Since last week, things have changed dramatically for Judah, Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria. As we know, Judah was reviving economically, politically and spiritually under Josiah. There was a renewed belief in the future of the country. Everyone – except Jeremiah and God – was optimistic. Egypt wanted to join forces with Assyria to attack Babylonia whose rise was a threat to their regional power. To do that, the Pharaoh’s army had to travel through Megiddo which is part of Judah. For some uncertain reasons, Josiah went out to challenge him and was killed by Pharaoh Neco. It could be that Josiah thought his opportunities for expansion were better with a…
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Just Jesus?
In the last few years I have been paying closer attention to shifts affecting the American church. It’s too easy for older believers to look at another generation and say, “They’ll come around when they have a few more years of life under their belt,” but the truth is while a number of these changes are welcome, there are some that are fundamental and, honestly, concerning. One is the growing attraction to selected teachings of Jesus and an increased questioning of or even discounting those of the Apostle Paul. For a number of reasons, there is a widening divide between the influence of Jesus and that of Paul among Christians…
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Jeremiah 16-18
As we said a couple of weeks ago, Jeremiah was given the burden of speaking the truth to Israel at a time they would have been surprised to hear what God had to say. From their perspective, they were in a time of renewal: economic, social, political and spiritual. They thought of themselves as experiencing good times, finally, and turning the country around. Things were looking up and prophets should have been encouraging them – not calling them to judgment. At first they were quizzical and then angry…but Jeremiah does not change in response to the pressure. Powerful and persuasive people were leaning on Jeremiah to stop because he was…
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An Impatient Wizard
I’ve only served on a few boards because I do not consider myself a natural fit for board work. I always half-seriously tell people inviting me that I am not comfortable being part of any group that can vote against my opinion. As well, I am impatient with the necessary but gradual process of change. As I’ve said before, had I been coaching Jesus on his encounter with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I would have advised him to say, “You are headed in the wrong direction. Turn around. Listen to what I am telling you.” But he doesn’t. He walks with them in the wrong direction while…
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Pioneers and Pirates
When the girls were young, the three of us took road trips over the Father’s Day week-end. We never made plans. We just headed out in a direction they chose and stopped when we got somewhere interesting. One year, we wound up in Natchez, Mississippi. Forgetting how much I love the history of a place they ended up with me on a double decker bus tour seeing all the grand homes, getting a feel for the history of Natchez and how it developed from a small huddle of tents on a riverbank in the 1700’s to become by 1850 the home of fully half the millionaires in the United States. …
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Jeremiah 2-6
This morning we are going to look at three basic things. In these chapters Jeremiah addresses three conditions of the people. The first is God says you are worthless. In the second you are faithless. In the third you are shameless. What does it mean to be worthless from God’s perspective? It is a tragic indictment of people who began with such promise. The word is repeated many times in Scripture to describe what happens when people follow after worthless things. They become worthless themselves. All the weight, the substance and the value has gone away and the people have become hollow. You know what cavitation is? It is part…
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Feed The Beast
If you read “Cyrano de Bergerac” in school you may remember the pact between the misshapen poet Cyrano and the dashing young military man, Christian, who were both in love with the same woman, Roxanne. The handsome soldier was incapable of speaking his love as he was tongue-tied and clumsy with words while the ugly poet, Cyrano, was gifted with romantic language. By Christian using the words composed by his comrade standing in the shadows, together they would win the heart of the young maiden. But the result is deceit, confusion and eventual tragedy. There are good reasons greeting cards are a $19 billion industry assisting those of us who…
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Duet
Almost ten years ago, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga released “Cheek to Cheek,” their album of jazz duets. Bennett’s controlled, classy (always a coat and tie) appearance matched with Lady Gaga’s ever-changing and audacious persona would seem to be a formula for failure but it worked beautifully. Bennett later remarked that the key to a good duet is contrast along with quality material and voices that complement each other. As well, they had developed a friendship two years before that led them to want to work together on the project. It was a stretch, but two soloists found complementary partners to create a best-selling album. For some reason, listening to…
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Farewell
Several of my friends are beginning to say “farewell” to careers. It’s hard to believe. I know for many retirement is not an issue and they will be finding something productive and challenging for the next several years. Nonetheless, for everyone it is a change and a transition. Not only are they saying farewell to work but to friends, clients, customers, donors, and people that have helped define them for so many years. The entire rhythm of life is interrupted. For some, it comes as a shock and they are unprepared. Unfortunately, many of these experience failing health, personal disintegration, and even death shortly afterwards. In losing the why to live…
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Korah’s Rebellion
Two weeks ago we looked at Numbers 11 and the uprising of the rabble against Moses to complain about the lack of variety in the food. Between then and now there have been two more rebellions – first from Miriam, his sister, and Aaron, his brother the high priest. As well, ten of the twelve men who explore Canaan come back with reports of giants in the land and the impossibility of their taking it. In Chapter 14 the people rebel and want to choose a leader who will take them back to Egypt. They wanted to choose a leader who could take them backwards. In response, God declares that…
