For wisdom for President Obama and his team as they consider healthcare reform
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
--Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)
Merciful and compassionate God, we praise You today for Your marvelous kindness to all people in every circumstance. Your love and compassion are extraordinary, and You look with great care on the smallest, most humble individual in the same way that You regard the mighty and strong. Praise and glory to You, O Lord for the grace and mercy You give to all.
Father, today we bring to You those in our government who are considering reforms in our healthcare system, asking that You will guide them with Your great wisdom and insight, helping them to discern how best to serve the healthcare concerns in our country. We pray for Your help for those who lack healthcare, we pray for wisdom for those who seek to strengthen the system so it can help more of those whom You love. We ask this in Jesus� holy name, amen.
8 �He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!�
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Speaking of childbirth...
"This miracle, it is true, because of its ordinary occurrence, is made less account of by us. But if ingratitude did not put upon our eyes the veil of stupidity, we would be ravished with admiration at every childbirth in the world. What prevents the child from perishing, as it might, a hundred times in its own corruption, before the time for bringing it forth arrives, but that God, by his secret and incomprehensible power, keeps it alive in its grave? And after it is brought into the world, seeing it is subject to so many miseries, and cannot stir a finger to help itself, how could it live even for a single day, did not God take it up into his fatherly bosom to nourish and protect it?"
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
2 Peter 2:1-3
1-2 But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They'll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other�biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They've put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong.
2-3 They give the way of truth a bad name. They're only out for themselves. They'll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won't, of course, get by with it. They'll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on.
What causes these "destructive divisions?" According to this passage, it is lying prophets and teachers. And one of the most harmful things that these lying prophets do is found in verse 2. "...they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong." I have seen this happen so many times. And the thing is, as Peterson points out in his devotional book, the people who cause these divisions don't always realize they are doing it. I honestly believe that they start out meaning well, with good intentions. But when the so-called "prophet" begins with bad theology (because he didn't read the Word properly) and then passes this bad theology along to his crowd of "mixed-up followers," then we have a real mess on our hands.
This is one reason that Eugene Peterson and Richard J. Foster and others like them encourage us to read with Lectio Divina (spiritual reading). So that we can read God's word properly and with spiritual understanding.
Where have I witnessed destructive divisions withing the body lately? I have not recently seen any first-hand. However, I recall getting a flyer on my door around Christmastime last year from a small independent Baptist church near my house. In the flyer, under the heading "What We Believe," was a line that said "King James Version only, with divine personal pronouns capitalized." The belief that one certain version of Scripture is more "holy" than another is one thing that causes division within the body of Christ. It's no wonder we can't all be united, when we have pockets of people fighting over the Bible.
Personally, it does grieve me to see men, under the guise of being "prophets," pitting people against each other, biting the hands that helped them get where they are, looking out for themselves (again, they probably never started out that way), and exploiting other people for their own cause.
These people "give the way of truth a bad name." Again, it's no small wonder that the world looks at Christians the way they do in our age, with "men of God" running around causing division, abusing money and power, and basically wreaking havoc.
So how do we pray? Well, I tell you how I don't pray. I don't pray, "God, set so and so straight." That's asking for trouble. Because remember that part where Jesus told us "judge not lest you be judged?" Right. Not that we aren't supposed to judge, because, within the body, I believe we have that responsibility. But that's just what it is. Responsibility! I have to be sure that I'm not playing the plank in the eye game. So, I think it's best to pray for wisdom for all of our leaders. And if there is one who sticks out as being basically reprehensible, then I would ask God for wisdom on how to pray for him/her.
Finally, and most importantly, what kind of person does God want me to be? He wants me to be a man of integrity and honesty. One who "walks the talk." I got a performance review at work last week. It was pretty good. But I got the highest marks on the two categories that mean the most to me. One was "Quality." I'm glad, because I strive to do the highest quality work that I can. Even if I'm upset with my employer, I can't afford to let the quality of my work slide, because I'm supposed to be working as though I'm working for God. The other one was "Acts with integrity." I am glad that my bosses see that in me. That is very important to me. And that is how I want others to see me, as well. Without integrity, we have nothing. And how can we expect the world to listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ if those presenting it lack integrity??
The motto of our church is "Love God--Love People." It's that simple. That's the Message, right there. And it pretty much sums up the greatest commandments, as stated by Jesus. And if we get it in the right order, we will do it right.
Grace and peace, friends.