Author: Dave Dishman (Page 241 of 458)

I followed the news about Russian oligarchs and their super yachts with fascination. So many oligarchs with ginormous yachts. These men made fortunes through corruption and collusion with their government. Their boats floated these unsavory pirates around the world in opulence, while many of their fellow citizens suffered.

It’s hard to watch evil people prosper.

The psalmist found it unbearable. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills…always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Then more frustration—Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

Good people suffer indignities while evil ones collect yachts.

But then Asaph, the writer, remembered the Lord: Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Although corrupt people appear impervious to problems, they actually exist on slippery ground. Like a bad dream, the Lord eventually wipes them away. Their stripped down super yachts go up for auction.

The rest of us can join the psalmist in declaring it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 73 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Viktor Ritsvall

Three generations passed as the scroll gathered dust under piles of odds and ends. No one in leadership bothered with outdated ideas, including strict adherence to the worship of a single god.

But then a new king, Josiah, only twenty-six years old, launched a restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. Cleaning out corners untouched for years, the high priest reported a discovery—I have found the book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.

The finding sparked a revolution. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. Josiah then spoke to his court—great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book.

Josiah set about righting those wrongs, instituting reforms that rocked the nation. It was written of Josiah: Neither before or after Josiah was there a king like him to turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all this strength.

The scroll carried into the light that day was likely a copy of Deuteronomy. In the initial reading the king discovered the Lord’s hatred of idolatry and the first of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before me.

Josiah’s heart wrenched as he looked at the myriad of idols filling Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside. That reading changed his life, and the lives of the citizens he served. He turned a nation’s eyes back to the Lord.

A copy of the same searing book Josiah poured over sits on my desk. It looks like any old book. But when I open it and read, living and active words rise to their work. At times imperceptibly, other times like a burning, they hound my smugness and complacency and self-centeredness.

Open the book every day. To your benefit and those around you, you’ll find your heart wrenched toward the ways of the Lord.

2 Kings 22 & 23 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Sergiu Vălenaș

I find myself bombarded by messaging. Advertisers point out cars to make me look super cool, pizzas to satisfy, and a wide variety of alcoholic beverages to place me among the hippest of crowds (I watch a lot of football).

Politicians constantly message, on both the good they do and the damage wrought by their opponents. Universities message, their public relations departments churning out good news like graduates. All day and everywhere, messaging.

As a itinerate preacher, Paul carried one basic message—Jesus Christ as Lord.

Many opposed Paul and his fellow missionaries, who often found themselves persecuted (as in beat down and left for dead). However, others listened and responded enthusiastically. Jesus Christ as Lord was divisive messaging back in the day.

Jesus Christ as Lord remains divisive. The messaging I hear from the world encourages me to consider myself as lord. I’m to believe in my inner self, to understand I’m enough, to shine on my own stage. Entire fortunes are made by encouraging me to take pictures of myself and post them online, alongside millions of pictures of other people doing the same.

This extreme narcissism of our day—nothing like it has ever existed in human history—pushes me incessantly. Other people? Take a number and get in line, and while you’re there be sure to like my tic-toc videos (I’m trying to become an influencer).

Jesus Christ as Lord lands with a thud. Jesus Christ as therapeutic aid in my quest to discover my authentic self fits better with the cultural narrative. But Jesus Christ as Lord? Scary and to be honest, bad for my self-esteem.

Yet Paul left no other option. Neither did Jesus—Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead (Matthew 8:22). Nor did God the Father—You will have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3).

So it’s either Jesus Christ as Lord, or we’re lost in the morass of self. Tough messaging in today’s climate, but far more hopeful and loving and needed than perhaps we realize.

2 Corinthians 4 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Steve Gale

I sat outside (letting my coffee do its work) and heard the loud whoosh! of a hot air balloon firing its burner. The ballon flew overhead somewhere, veiled by thick layers of leaves. Slowly the balloon drifted into sight, with me emerging clearly into the passenger’s view. Way too early for unexpected guests, but I waved politely.

Similar to how those leaves veiled my view of a balloon, Paul wrote of a divine screening: Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Ever talk to someone about God and get no response? Did it feel like no comprehension, no interest, existed at all? Good chance a veil obstructed their view.

Rather than speak louder, ask the Lord to remove the veil. Spiritual clarity develops slowly, like a balloon drifting across the sky. This veil is a defiant spiritual reality—a cataract of the soul—and only the Lord eliminates the screen between any of us and true knowledge of Him.

Knowing a veil exists lends me patience for those around me who seem far from the Lord. I’m not superior in my unveiled status, just fortunate to live in grace and ability to contemplate the Lord’s glory.

As for those who just don’t get it? Pray the veils falls.

2 Corinthians 3 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo – an offending balloon escaping from my house