Author: Dave Dishman (Page 333 of 475)

The Apostle Peter, in a section of my Bible with a chapter titled, Living for God, wrote these instructions to church members everywhere:

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Peter’s words sparks several thoughts. Encouragingly, we each receive a gift of some type. Peter speaks in the broader passage of hospitality and speaking, but possible gifts extend much further.

Underscoring everything, in all we do, we’re to love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

I’m to use my gifts in service to others, not keep them solely for my benefit. This assumes the reality that opportunities to serve surround us, and in my experience I’ve never seen a shortage.

Using my gifts reveals God’s grace in the world, a place desperately in need of the touch of compassion.

Finally, God’s grace comes in diverse forms. All sorts of people, all sorts of gifts, all sorts of grace. I can be myself, knowing that God’s gifted me in a unique way to serve the particular needs of others.

1 Peter 4 in week forty-two of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Ben White

The eunuch saw disaster at the gates of Jerusalem. A hungry army chipped away at the massive walls of the city. The eunuch, Ebed-Melek, an Ethiopian servant in the palace, also watched disaster unfold within the city.

The last voice of reason, Jeremiah, stood hip-deep in mud at the bottom of a well, dropped there by angry ministers. Ebed-Melek rushed before the king and secured permission to haul Jeremiah out. Released from starving in the muck, Jeremiah returned to advising the king.

Ebed-Melek impresses me. He acted fearlessly and decisively. Not a native, he may have been captured or purchased as a slave. Dashing into the king’s chambers on Jeremiah’s behalf showed bravery.

Along with courage Ebed-Melek expressed faith in the Lord. He heard the words of Jeremiah and took them to heart. He followed the God Jeremiah spoke so much about, and the Lord put him in the right place as the right time.

Zedekiah, the king who refused to yield to the Lord, met a dismal end. After putting his sons and nobles to death in front of him, his captors gouged out his eyes and dragged him to prison.

Ebed-Melek, on the other hand, received this message from the Lord: I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 38 & 39 in week forty-one of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Gary Meulemans

This time of year brings the end of my gardening season. This week the first hard frosts descended on our part of Colorado. The tomatoes are done, as well as all the annuals. Leaves litter the yard and their companions wait, poised to join them.

I carry mixed emotions through this season. I love no longer cutting the grass, but I miss warm afternoons on the deck.

So when I read this in 1 Peter this week, my back garden came to mind:

All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

The top photo features one of our garden beds in July. The bottom photo shows part of the bed in October. The flowers fell.

I’m grateful that with all the constant changes our life brings, at least one thing endures—the word of God.

1 Peter 1 in week forty-one of reading the Bible cover to cover

Occasionally a phrase in the Bible turns my head, and I think, “Huh”? In Jeremiah this past week I read such a statement attributed to the Lord—nor did it enter my mind (Jeremiah 32:35).

As the omniscient (all-knowing) God, how does anything surprise the Lord?

The context of this quote explains a great deal. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah about his impending judgement on the people of Israel. Babylonians stood at the gate, and the sack and pillage of Jerusalem loomed. No rescue, no last minute reprieve. The Lord’s anger seethed.

Why was God so angry? Years of evil from the people of Israel—turning their backs on the Lord, setting up idols to false gods in Solomon’s temple, and most shocking, killing their children in the worship of a demon god.

This murder of innocent children set the Lord off. So tremendously vile, the Lord described the practice as unimaginable. Did God not know about these heinous acts? The Lord knew, but still the Lord described the horror as unbelievable. As I might say, not in a million years—never entered my mind.

Earlier Jeremiah wrote: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it (Jeremiah 17:9)?

And so I see the context. Who can understand a religious system that calls for the sacrifice of innocents? Yet such systems emerged over and over in various places throughout history.

These old stories, buried in the thickness of our Bibles, serve as warnings. Our enlightened hearts of the modern world remain deceitful. We’re not above killing innocents over bad ideas, are we?

Blessed in the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him (Jeremiah 17:7). Only the Lord cures the heart. That’s the lesson to draw from Jeremiah’s insight into the human condition.

Jeremiah in week forty-one of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Trym Nilsen