When reading theStory yesterday, I asked you to take a moment and savour it. I hope you did because in the vast canon of scripture from Genesis to Revelation, it is only in these two readings that the story exists free from blemish. Genesis 1 concludes with “… it was very good” (v 31). Genesis 2 wraps up with “… they felt no shame” (v 25).
Read More temptation, devil, sinWhy does the story have to go this way? When given perfection, why does it get spoilt? Why do kids get sick, relationships break, people hurt each other and countries go to war?
Read More sin, violence, separation
Joseph? In Luke’s gospel we read a lot about Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Mary. Joseph was mentioned only in 1:27 as the man Mary was engaged to. It is very fitting that Matthew focuses on Joseph. He had a very difficult part to play! But God cared about Joseph too, and made sure that this story was recorded in Matthew.
Read More Emmanuel, sin, salvation, genealogyWhen I was in Scotland, working on this chapter, I saw a BBC program on the tomb of Kha and Meryt in Egypt. In it was found a papyrus which listed 42 sins, which the dead person would swear that he had not committed. There is a picture of his heart being weighed in scales. I was amazed, because the idea of a checklist of sins, which the “accused” either confessed or denied, is so similar to Job’s protestations in this chapter.
Read More sin, Ancient Near East, self-examinationElihu asks Job to think about his behaviour, good and bad. How does it affect God? Elihu asserts that God doesn’t benefit at all if we are righteous, nor does he suffer at all if we sin. He argues that we never put God in our debt by doing good things, and neither do we harm him when we do wicked things.
Read More transcendence, atonement, sinNeeds surround us. Needs invade us. They can overwhelm us, or they can motivate us to take action. Those with eyes to see perceive not only their own needs, but also those of other needy people around them.
Read More sin, forgiveness, Son of Man, needsNo one enjoys hanging out with the wrong crowd, whatever crowd that may be. Different people do not mix easily, even when occupying the same space.
No one would choose a tax collector to befriend the Jewish populace.
Read More sin, friends, forgiveness, changeAs usual, Jesus is more concerned with the root of a problem than the fruit of a problem. He is more concerned with the causing of sin than the committing of sin. It’s easier to focus our concern upon the sin committed rather than the cause. We frown upon the pregnant teen but fail to address the emotionally-absent father whose absence drove the daughter to look for male companionship.
Read More sin, holiness, discernmentI’ve never met anyone who enjoys confronting others. Even calling it by the more positive term, admonishing, doesn’t make the task any more enjoyable. Telling another person that we have been hurt by them, slighted, felt abused or sinned against is just an unpleasant, difficult conversation to have; a conversation that most of us would prefer to avoid. It is as if we feel that we have a duty to “suck it up”; to absorb the pain of the other. We may even feel as if we are at fault for feeling slighted.
Read More sin, love, confrontation
