Monday, July 30, 2012

Day 48: July 30, 2012- Jesus Takes on the Culture

Adorable Takes a Bath and Then Wears a Hoodie:


Cutie-cutekins

I don't know if that's a hoodie or cape, but you may want to wrap it around yourself before you get too excited there, buddy.

The Readings:

Leviticus 4:1-5:19, Mark 2:13-3:6, Psalm 36:1-12, Proverbs 10:1-2

Old Testament.
Notice the emphasis on when people don't know they've sinned. In the reading, they are still guilty, but they aren't held to account until they realize it. We should understand that guilt before God is just as great when we don't recognize it as when we do. And God expects a response when it comes to our attention.

New Testament.
I love how Jesus deals with the synagogue scene today. He calls people out, in front of all the Pharisees, to see how they'll respond.

They don't listen and are silent, with stubborn hearts. So does he back down? Does he turn away the lame man, because there just isn't a safe audience? No way. He tells the man to stretch out his hand, and before his accusers, he heals him.

It seems so often in our society we will back down if people don't take our best argument to accept what God is doing. We don't want to bring on their attacks, so we turn away.

Not so with Jesus.

I can think of two such current cultural events.

One, Chik-fil-A, stood up for their beliefs and hasn't backed down, despite surmounting attacks and hatred by even prominent people.

The other, a pastor, backed down when his congregation complained that he was doing the first black wedding at the church, in over a hundred years of only non-blacks. When they didn't like what he was doing, he chose to take the couple down the road to marry them in a black church. Did he follow Jesus's example?

WWJD is a harder call than it may seem.

Psalms.
On what are you feasting? Is your "river of delight" found in God?

Perhaps it's time to take some time to just worship God, to feast on the abundance of His house, as on the richest foods.

Proverbs.
All this listening to Dad is going to pay off. But if you don't, there's a pain in it for Mom. Find out in the reading.




To read along, click here.

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