Holy Rambo

DDG, Unit 19, Session 5, Day 3 – Luke 2:39-47                 We Westerners have lived our whole lives in relative freedom and prosperity. We’ve had our ups and downs, sometimes severe, but our expectation is that our “normal” state will just naturally return. It serves us well to be reminded from time to time that this has not been humans natural state. Tyranny and poverty have been the norm for most of human history, and is still the case in much of the world today. Add on top of that the observation that nature seems often desirous of our demise through tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and, obviously in our current context, disease.                 “Where is God in all of that?” you might ask. He has always been there. We see that in the story of His people, Abraham’s descendants. The Passover is the story of His deliverance...

DDG, Unit 19, Session 5, Day 2 – Matthew 2:13-23                 Have you ever looked at your life and wondered what God was doing? I confess I have. I recently re-watched Star Trek Generations. That’s the one where they finally killed of James T. Kirk, for those who aren’t fans. The villain in the movie is blowing up planets, stars, and entire solar systems just to nudge an object moving through space to a place where he can stand in its path. Sometimes things are just unpleasant in my life and I can’t see any good coming of it. Not planetary-destruction-level unpleasant, but unpleasant just the same. I sometimes wonder if it isn’t all just to get me to a place where I need to be. It wasn’t enough for Jesus just to come in the flesh. He had to be born as a baby. He had to be born in Bethlehem. He had to flee to Egypt and be called back. He had to grow up in Nazareth. Why? Because the Heavenly Father said s...

DDG, Unit 19, Session 5, Day 1 – Matthew 2:1-12 In the story of the Magi, have you ever wondered why, when asked where the King of the Jews had been born, Herod didn’t just look at them bemused? He was the King in Israel. He had no new-born son. He knew they weren’t looking for him. Immediately, he sent for the chief priests and scribes and asked where the Christ was to be born. The anointed One. The Messiah. He recognized that such a procession at such a time could only mean the Messiah had been born. Unlike those who had seen baby Jesus at his dedication, Herod wasn’t celebrating. How did you respond when people first confronted you with the Good News of the One who came and died that we might live. I don’t mean the first time you heard it. You may have grown up surrounded by church and its language and culture. I was. Some of my oldest memories are of singing in the children’s choir at my local church. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t really even read at that point. I remember ...

DDG, Unit 19, Session 4, Day 3 – Luke 2:21-24      Covenant…it’s a word we don’t use much in modern American English. Sometimes, we older folks will talk about the marriage covenant, though some will talk about a marriage “contract.” They are not quite the same thing. To get to the important point, though. God always keeps His side of any agreement, and His covenant with Israel goes all the way back to Abraham. He did not only make it once. He repeated it with each of the patriarchs. He reaffirmed it when He delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt and again as they entered the Promised Land. Now, when Jesus was born, his parents took him, the Living Word, participant in the creation of the universe, to be bound to the human side of that covenant. Philippians 2:8 tells us “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (NASB)        Jesus would live out God working throu...

DDG, Unit 19, Session 4, Day 2 – Luke 2:15-20             In today’s daily study, we consider the complexity of God’s plan. We are often stymied that God does not answer our prayers as quickly as we desire, or in the way we desire. As you do today’s study, consider all the pieces that had to come together in just the right way and at just the right time for Jesus birth to what God had intended it to be an to accomplish what He intended it to accomplish. I think this is why one of those obscure phrases that explain God’s timing is “in the fullness of time.” It is not that He is slow. It’s just that His plan is so big, and has so many moving pieces, that it may just take time for all the pieces to come together for our prayers to be answered. Even when it seems like God isn’t paying attention, or may not really be in control, He really is, and nothing catches Him by surprise.          ...

DDG, Unit 19, Session 4, Day 1 – Luke 2:8-14 I kind of like that we are revisiting the Nativity story in the Spring. Besides bringing the stories into the context of Jesus’ death and resurrection, it helps to visit these stories out of season and revisit them outside the holiday trappings. In today’s DDG study, we revisit the story of the shepherds outside Bethlehem on the night of Jesus birth. As you complete today’s study, you will be encouraged to see the move from fear to joy in the experience of the shepherds. How does this story help you in our current situation? Can you move from fear to joy in the midst of a pandemic? The Sunday School answer is “of course.” But, if that is not your experience, it is okay. Stand firm in the faith given to you by your Father in heaven and in the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life to carry you through. In what ways has believing the gospel moved you from fear to joy?

     I participated in an exercise this morning where everyone in the virtual room was given the opportunity to discuss what we missed about being able to be physically present in church. It's a normal sentiment when there is any kind of lack. I wonder, though, if focusing on what we miss does not distract from seeing what God is doing. Please understand, if you were in that "room," that I am not criticizing what we did there. Shared  suffering is suffering divided, I think. Still, I follow some on Christian Twitter who  lamented missing their favorite pizza shop or coffee house, as though that is a real loss, or even a permanent one.      We live in confidence that, even in our current situation, or more specifically, especially because of our current situation, that God is at work. To be fair, we had that conversation last week. This group is not focused on what they do not have. I have been challenged in the last week or two that our calling ...