19 August 2015

Scriptures:

• Mark 16
• Jeremiah 49
• 1 Samuel 4
• Psalms 17

Observations:

• Mark 16:15-18
• Psalm 17:13-15

So, quick note and laugh, when opening to the Mark passage, which is about the resurrection, one of my classmates was playing  the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".

On a more serious note, nothing is more joyous than reading about the resurrection and nothing is quite so encouraging as reading the great commission at the end of each gospel. In Jeremiah, we see judgment and punishment proclaimed on many of Judah's neighbours. Some will be utterly destroyed, others will recover, but few, if any will be untouched. What is significant about the 1 Samuel passage is how Israel conflated the Ark of the Covenant with God, thinking that if the ark was present, then God must also be. It was, in essence, an idolatry of sorts. What is also of interest is how the Philistines were afraid, having heard the reputation of what God had done in Egypt. The psalmist today was asking God to draw him near, to shield him, and was proclaiming his difference from other men in that, while others seek riches and physical wealth, he desires only God.

Again, this one's not too easy to see a common thread, but we have a fair number of different elements present. Particularly noteworthy are the Israelites' perception of how God would act, in 1 Samuel, the psalmist's closing words, and the resurrection of Christ. God is not some being that can be swayed by actions of obedience or religious activity, what he desires from us is not the physical offering of our wealth, but the offering of ourselves - our seeking of Him that comes from our hearts. Yearning. The type of devotion, that would send disciples to a grave site three days afterwards to embalm the body properly. 

In contrast, you have those nations that antagonised the people of God, who actively worked against Israel. 

I think we'll leave that thought there. It's pretty self-explanatory.

Application:

Devotion, yearning... Yeah, emotions are not my strong point. I am good at attempting a rigid, discipline born of will, but, to be honest, I need to learn how to engage my heart, as the heart is often better at cleaving to an individual or ideal far better than the mind. Especially where deesire and dedication are concerned.

Prayer:

Lord, engage my heart. Teach me how to connect with you on an emotional level, that my knowledge and understanding of you might surpass merely my mind, but encompass the whole of my being. 

That being said, help me to engage emotionally with others around me as well, with my wife in particular. 

Teach me to view others as you do and to love them as you love them. 

Thank you, Lord for what you have given.

Amen