What Really Happened in Bethlehem--by Linden Malki

Joseph needed to go to Bethlehem--not his choice, but the decree of Caesar. He and his betrothed, pregnant Mary, had to be ready to deal with whatever happened next.  As it turned out, there was no lodging available, and a kind person loaned them a stable for the birth of the most important baby of all.

King Herod, heard and was afraid. This was not surprising; he was king because of who he knew in Rome, but he was one of those people who was appeared strong, but showed his lack of confidence by killing a fair number of his family, not to mention anyone else who saw through his bluster. In this case, Persian astrologers who saw in the sky a phenomenon that they read as someone signficant being born in Judea. Herod's response was to kill, just as a generation later, the Jewish puppet establishment responded to the same someone, now grown to adulthood and acting in ways that they saw as a threat, by killing him. We know what happened next----

In our day, there is a lot of talk everywhere, especially shows of selfishness and fear. Too many people are afraid that they can only get what they want at the expense of someone else. This is one sign of people losing sight of God, who tells us that we shouldn't worry about what we think we are losing, because He is ready and willing to give us what we truly need if we are willing to give up what we think we need.  And what we think we need doesn't get us where we really want to be; too much of the world around us is grabbing more and more of what they're afraid to lose, but in the process they lose what they don't even realize they really need. Too many people think they need to grab what they want from other people because they are afraid of their own shadows--the dark sides of what they are convinced they can't get along without. Too many people don't even know what life could be for them if they are willing to look beyond stuff and attention and power and more stuff.

This is what really happened in that stable in Bethlehem--beyond the animals and the straw; the kings and priests. C.S. Lewis put it like this: "The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and the death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you

have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find him, and with him everything else thrown in."
(CS Lewis: "Mere Christianity")

The Most Important Baby--by Linden Malki

                                                           
Back in the day when my kids were in Sunday School at then-Calvary Baptist Church, there was a tradition of giving each child a figure for a Christmas Nativity scene, starting with an angel for the kindergarten and followed by the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and wisemen,  until by sixth grade they had the whole set. (At that time, there were local stores that carried the figures open stock in a common size that had been around for many years--they were similar in size and design to the set my folks had that was older than me.)  The parents were encouraged to make a background for the growing scene.  By the time my youngest was in grade school, the individual figures were getting hard to get, and I happened to find a close-out with just enough odd pieces to complete most of the older kids' sets.  Later, one of my daughters suggested that I find similar sets, and give each of my grandkids one piece each year, in the same order that they had gotten.  The small sets were getting harder to find, and were more varied designs than the older one, which meant that each of the grandkids' sets were each somewhat different. The real challenge came in 2003, when the Old Fire burned out my older daughter's house and the only thing she found left of their  Christmas decorations was one scarred baby Jesus figure.  I found myself shopping ebay for more Nativity sets for three bereft grandchildren, and managed to find appropriate ones to fill the need. Somehow, for those of us who grew up in the church, the Nativity scenes were a common part of the Christmas decor that had been around forever. 
There is a story behind them, however.  The idea goes back to St Francis of Assisi, who lived in Italy in the 1200's and was known for his tireless evangelism and his love for the poor, and for animals. He travelled through an amazing number of the countries then in the throes of the Crusades, and not only managed to see most of the Christian Holy Land, including Bethlehem, but even managed to get to Egypt and have conversations with the Sultan on the other side of the conflict.  When he returned, he had been so moved by having visited the cave under the Church of the Nativity, which is said to be

the actual birthplace of Jesus, that he wanted to illustrate the setting to the local people. In a cave in the village of Grecio, Italy, in the year 1223, he got permission to bring in a manger with hay, an ox and an ass, which grew into full-scale depictions of the Christmas story-- not only live drama, but artistic displays and paintings, which soon became popular all over Europe.  St Francis himself commented that the "Christmas Crib" was the most effective evangelism in the mostly non-literate societies of that day.
People have often commented that they are not historically accurate, in that the shepherds and wisemen were not there at the same time--but the image of the little family in the rough setting of a stable has become one of the most widely known pictures not only in Christian churches but in the general culture of many parts of the world. We are reminded that God sent a baby--born like every other creature in the world--that became the most powerful Person in the world to those of us who know Him, and admired by almost everyone who knows anything about Him.

A Gift of God's Creation--by Linden Malki

One of the most common decorations used at Christmas is the "Christmas Tree", which grew out of the northern European custom of using various evergreen branches as decorations.  There is a legend that St Boniface, the original British missionary to the German tribes in the early 700's,  cut down a large oak tree used in the worship of Thor and showed the people that there was no reaction from the supposed god. Boniface saw a small fir tree growing in the midst of the roots of the felled oak, and he pointed it out as a sign of the Christian faith as it pointed to heaven.

  The first known modern Christmas Tree was put up by a merchants' guild in Riga, Latvia, in 1510. By the late 1500's, it was widely used in the Baltic cities.  Also in the late 1500's there is a story of Martin Luther, walking in the woods and seeing stars shining through the branches of a small evergreen tree, and he is said to have brought home a similar tree and lighted it with small candles. 


The custom of decorating a fir tree as part of a Christmas celebration was brought to the US by Hessian soldiers at the time of the Revolutionary War in the 1780's, but the main establishment of using a Christmas Tree as a shared community decoration came to England with the marriage of Queen Victoria to her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coberg in 1841.  They were usually lit by small candles attached to the branches, but the development of electric lighting for Christmas trees in 1882 made possible the large community trees that have become a major part of the season, and also made it safer to use them as part of household decorations.

The use of the Christmas tree as part of our Christmas celebration is an interesting illustration of the ways that traditional symbols can become "baptised" with meanings appropriate for the underlying reason for the season. The custom of celebrating the coming of Jesus at the time of the year that the daylight is returning is an example how we can use a phenomenon created as part of our world as a reminder of our Creator's provision.  Providing a tree that keeps its beauty throughout the year, and is shaped to pull our gaze upward is a gift. Using lights at this season is a reminder that we celebrate the greatest gift of all: the Light of the Word has come!

The Legacy of St Nicholas--by Linden Malki

Yes, there really was a Saint Nicholas! He lived on the south coast of Asia Minor (Today's Turkey), the son of a wealthy family. He took the teaching of Jesus literally-used his inherited wealth to assist the needy and suffering, was known for his caring and love for children--stories are still told of his supplying dowries to daughters of poor families who couldn't afford to get them married; saved children and young people from kidnappings by pirates and slavers, and calmed a storm at sea when he was returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was also arrested at one point, as he lived during the period that the Church was just becoming acceptable.

As far as possible, he did these things anonymously, not wanting the credit for his miracles and generosity. His traditional feast day is December 6, the day of his death in 343AD.  In many countries this is the day that St Nicholas comes with presents; we in America give gifts in the name of St Nicholas  as part of our Christmas celebrations; and in some countries gifts are given on January 6, the celebration of the visit of the Wise Men. who also brought gifts. (The name Santa Claus is based on the Dutch or German "Sant Niklaas.")I told my kids that we give Santa presents when we give without wanting the credit.  My mom explained to me that Santa is the spirit of giving, that he has many helpers dressed up during the Christmas season, and we can be his helpers as well when we give gifts in his name.
 
St Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, on the  Mediterranean coast just east of the Aegean Sea. This is now a part of the Islamic country of Turkey, but one of the few areas where there has always been a Christian presence. It is near Smyrna, the only one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 which survived until modern times. His remains were moved to Bari, on the south coast of Italy, in the 1000's AD, and the church there is still a pilgrimage site. Within the last few years, renovations to the church led to the opening of his tomb, and bones were found that match what we know about Nicholas, and forensic artists have made models and drawings based on the bone structure, so that we may have a good idea of what he actually looked like.

The fact that the stories of his life and ministry have been told and retold, spread up into Europe and the American colonies, is an example of the strength of one man's faith and his works in the name of Jesus. What I was reminded of is St Paul's message to the church in Colossae about the results of following Jesus: "For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14) It is the presence of God in our lives that enables us to be like Nicholas of Myra, whose love for God and mankind is still inspiring an overflow of generosity as we celebrate Jesus' coming.

Appreciating Our Creator--by Linden Malki

The latest discoveries I have read about in both cosmology and biology indicate that not only is the universe an amazing place, but our home planet is possibly unique as a home for life, and life itself is incredibly more complex than was understood even a few decades ago.  I am also becoming more convinced that our Creator is also more complex than we understand. It is not uncommon to hear both believers and nonbelievers question why evil exists, and does it indicate that God is either less powerful or less "nice" that we wish He is. Without claiming more than human logic, I would like to offer a few suspicions.
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I suspect that God has deliberately allowed evil to exist in this world, so that we have the necessity of tapping into His strength to deal with it.  He gives us options: the parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8) is a basic description of our choices.  There are those who hear and ignore the Word; those who initially listen but it doesn't take root in their lives (I suspect there are those who are willing to live in this mode: not rejecting but not taking it seriously either); those who let it get choked out by the things of the world; and those who listen, accept, and actively seek to grow in it.  And to make it more complicated, even a healthy spiritual relationship is not easy. I have noticed that no matter how much we learn about God, there is no end to our growth on this world. This is consistent with other factors in life as well--the simplest example is that muscles don't grow stronger unless they are stretched; we don't learn without effort and setbacks.  We are finding out that children who are not challenged and allowed to make mistakes and accidents don't grow up with the strengths and skills to deal with real life. C.S. Lewis once commented that God apparently wants Heaven to be populated by all sorts of people of all ages and stages of life. I have long suspected that our bodies are designed to wear out so that we will be willing to trade them in for new ones.

It is also obvious to me that we are all responsible for each other. We can accept the temptations of great evil, and we can accept the knowledge and strength to do great good, both of which are beyond our basic human abilities.  I believe that we will be held responsible for how we treat others, and what they learn from us. God has given us knowledge of how people should be treated and how children should be raised, and again, our shortcomings can bring serious problems, and our following the principles we have been given will bless our families and others.

An important question is whether we appreciate what God offers us: do we recognize the gifts we are given, and the life we were created to live? We are, as Scripture tells us, "fearfully and wonderfully made".  Do we thank God for not only who He made us to be, but the awareness of both the good He gives and the warnings of the evil that we need to deal with?  I suspect that evil is like a boxer's punching bag: if we control it, it will make us stronger; if we don't, it will knock us out. Many of the things that we share this planet with have elements of both good and evil: the wolves in Yellowstone

Park hunt the deer--but when the park authorities eliminated the wolves, the deer overran their food supply. Life is a balance--we can catch and eat sharks--but they can catch and eat us as well. In the proper balance, it works. 

God's Substitute Teachers--by Linden Malki

My dad used to say that he'd never met someone he couldn't learn something from.

One day when I was a kid, my cousin and I saw our grandmother sitting on her sofa reading her Bible.  "You haven't read that yet, Grandma?" we asked. Her reply is one I've never forgotten, and learned something very important: "Yes, I've read it several times, and I find something new every time I read it."  The idea that you can--and should--read it over and over again was eye-opening for me, and I have found her answer totally true.

When my uncle, a longtime China missionary, was arrested and imprisoned in China for almost five years, they originally confiscated his Bible. He managed to convince them to return it, and it was almost the only reading material he had for those years. I found out years later that in this small prison in a small town in western China, there were two Englishmen who had been arrested in Tibet when the Chinese overran it.  One was another missionary, and one was a radio operator and also a Christian.  The three of them  were not allowed to see each other, but they were able to keep track of each other to a limited extent. The two Englishmen both wrote books about their experiences, and they heard enough to realize that they were all three believers, and they all survived with their minds and faith intact, thanks to their own knowledge of God and knowing that they were not alone.

It is good for us to know that there are others around us who also trust in God and have strengths that are both like ours but each different in our own ways. My first boss was an Episcopalian, a well-read and well-traveled daughter of an Army officer who had grown up in a variety of interesting places. She had gotten to know me from my being a good patron of a neighborhood library as a child, and she gave me good recommendations for books to read. She also got me a job as a page in that library when I was 15, and there was enough downtime in this small branch library that we had many interesting conversations. I went back and worked there a couple of summers when I was home from college, and part of the next year after graduation when I was figuring out where I was going next. She played a part in what did happen: she was interested in sea travel by freighter--many freight liners have 10 or 12 passenger accommodations, and on her recommendation my dad and I booked passage from New York to Beirut, to meet up with the missionary brother who was retiring from teaching college in Taiwan, and was going home the long way around. The plan was to meet up with my aunt and uncle in Beirut, spend part of the summer in Lebanon and what was then the Jordanian West Bank, and then travel on through Europe. What happened was that on the freighter was a young Lebanese man from San Bernardino, whose mom was taking him back to Lebanon to find him a nice Lebanese Christian girl.  Those two weeks on the freighter totally changed my life--God does amazing things--for which I am eternally thankful.

Accentuate the Positive--by Linden Malki

This morning we received word that my daughter-in-law's grandmother had a serious fall and is not expected to survive. My DIL took off immediately for Seattle, and my son David is still going to host our family Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  In addition to prayers for the family, it is even more important that we get together to be thankful to God for what He does in our lives, even when bad things happen. We cannot expect to never have tough times, but we can realize that God is there with us, giving us the reminder that the difficult times help us appreciate the good things, and can teach us important things that we might not learn otherwise.

We have been reading this week the story of Jesus healing ten lepers, only one of whom came back to give thanks. The point is also made that he was a Samaritan, who had been in conflict with the Jews who returned from the Babylonian captivity to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Samaritans were remnants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who had been conquered by the Assyrians in the 700BC's, who moved many of the original inhabitants out and others from other areas of their empire in, to break their ties with their past. They still had the earliest writings of the Israelite tradition, but worshipped at Mt Gerazim near their own capital city, associated with Joshua's final home. What I find interesting is that most Jews hated the Samaritans, and went out of their way to avoid Samaria in their travels, but Jesus went through Samaria occasionally and had a heart for their salvation as well as the Jews. After Jesus' resurrection and return to Heaven, the Judean authorities tried to wipe out the message of Jesus' followers--who took refuge in Samaria, where they were welcomed and appreciated.

Are we aware of opportunities to express gratitude, first to God (which helps keep our brain straight) and then to our families, in so far as they have appreciated and loved us, and taught us right from wrong. Do we recognize the best of  what friends and neighbors,  employers and co-workers, and even strangers have done for us--and what we have learned good lessons from even the evils that we have been exposed to? Jesus was subjected to the worst of what collusion between his own people and their occupying enemies could do to him, and yet he turned it around to the greatest victory for his followers--even though two thousand years of bad and good having been done in His name. He is the one who can keep us on the path toward the final victory, when we get the answers to all our questions--if the answers are even significant in His presence.

Why Worry?--by Linden Malki

Why do we worry?  Usually, because we can't control the future. How does worry help? Actually, it doesn't. It just gives the illusion that we are accomplishing something useful. Jesus points this out when he asks, "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"  It's very easy to worry; easier than doing something about whatever you worry about. So what happens when you don't worry?

Some people don't worry because they think they have no power over what happens. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't, and sometimes we don't know which is true.  Sometimes we don't want to know, because we don't want to take any responsibility, figuring that what we don't know we can't be blamed for. Of course, there are always those who blame somebody else for everything, even when they are the ones who are responsible. 

It's easy for someone to say "Don't worry about it!"  Unfortunately, most often that really means that you should worry--and find out what's going on, and go from there as necessary. Worry can be useful--but only long enough for you to figure out what is really  going on and what you can realistically do about it.

We are told that we are supposed to not worry. Jesus went on to point out that  those who do not know God worry about all sorts of things, but that "your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble on its own." (Matthew 6:25-34)  

This doesn't mean to simply sit back and let everything wash over us.  It does mean that we have access to more power than we realize; that we can know a God who does know what tomorrow has for us.  We're not supposed to be irresponsible and stupid, but we are supposed to be open to the unexpected. I was blessed by learning fairly young the truth St Paul learned :"All things work together for good for them who love God and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)  This doesn't mean that everything that happens will be good--what I learned is that all things that He allows to happen will work together for good, but it doesn't mean than any of the things are good in themselves. 

In the long run, we are to have faith in the One who is faithful, who will take care of us, often in amazing and unexpected ways. It will not always be easy; it may not be what we think we want, but we will be given strength as we need it  (usually not until the moment we actually do need it; He doesn't work on our schedule).  And we will be taken care of at the end, when we will finally learn what was really going on and see the amazing pattern to it all.

The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!--by Linden Malki

I am always amazed at how recognizable the characters in Scriptures are--people haven't changed in 4000 years.  Gideon is one of the distinctly interesting characters.  When we first see him, the political situation is ugly, but we are told that it is due to the disobedience of the Israelites. One thing we should know by now is that living according to the directions we have been given is more successful than not. In this case, the nasty neighbors they faced were the Midianites--who were shirttail cousins, descendents of Abraham by Keturah, the third woman in his life. We are told that before he died, Abraham left the possessions to Isaac;  his six later sons got  no inheritance, but he "gave them gifts and sent them away to the east country."  It doesn't say anything else about Abraham's relationship or responsibility for the other sons. If Abraham made any effort to teach them about God, it apparently made no impact.  The dominant one (possibly the main ones in a tribal federation) was Midian.  We see them first as traders, associated with Ishmaelites (also cousins) whose trading included slaves, including Joseph. We do not know if these traders knew that Joseph was Isaac's grandson, or if they cared.

The next time we see the Midianites is when Moses is fleeing Egypt, after his murder of an Egyptian overseer becomes known.  Moses encounters a subtribe of Midianites,  near the Gulf of Aquaba, whose leader was Jethro, also described as a priest.  I've long wondered if Jethro had somehow encountered the knowledge of Israel's God; possibly through Moses. We don't see any disapproval of Jethro in the narratives of his relationship with Moses; we see approval of his wisdom, and the mention of a "burnt offering to God", and a meal with Aaron and the Israelite elders.

 

We see a Midianite woman with an Israelite man in the tabernacle, who were executed with one spear thrust.  Moses is told to attack the Midianites, who had been deceptive and a bad influence on the Israelites. The pagan prophet Balaam had advised the Midianites and other pagan tribes to use their women to seduce the Israelites into pagan worship (which was heavy on fertility rites and sexual behavior). The memory of this influence extended to the letter to the church at Pergamos in Revelation 2, who is warned about the "doctrine of Balaam , who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel ... "

The Midianites came back later, during the period of the Judges, apparently as raiding nomads and camel herders.  They were used also as punishment for the idolatry that the Israelites were flirting with.  Again, copying evil is not healthy.  We see an unlikely hero in an Israelite--Gideon.  He is determined to save his crops, to the point of threshing his grain in a winepress to keep it away from

the raiders. God calls him, and despite his lack of confidence, gives him a test: take down his father's idols and turn them into an altar for a burnt offering for God. Then in turnabout, Gideon gives God a test: a fleece that stayed wet on dry ground, and then dry on wet ground overnight. God gives Gideon instructions on how to drive out the Midians, and the land had peace for 40 years.

Looking at the family of Abraham, there is something we have to learn: What we do has consequences.  Abraham had one son that carried on the promise given by God. He had a son by doing it himself (with the connivance of his wife and her maid), which became a rival of the promised son; a rivalry which still exists today and affects millions of people. And then there were the six sons of a third woman, who apparently were not taught about God. These sons, as well as those of Abraham's nephew Lot, who should also have learned from Abraham, were snares and trouble for the Israelites for centuries.  We each have one life on this earth, but we each also have legacies, for good or for evil.  Will those who know us, and may pass on their memory of us, be blessed or damaged by our legacies?

Faith in Giving--by Linden Malki

When Jesus saw all the hungry people on the hillside, he made a point of how much it would take to feed all these people.  He could have done it by himself: that had been the first one of the temptations he had to face before he was ready to cope with the program God had laid out for him.  Satan pointed out that anyone who had created the whole world could easily turn rocks into bread. (Actually, he didn't actually need the rocks; if he wanted, he could create whatever he needed!)  But what he did is to turn that conversation away from the emphasis on perishable food that only lasts a few hours to the truly important spiritual food that we need to grow up into Him.

What Jesus actually did when he fed people, was that he first asked what there was available, even though it was obviously inadequate--except in His hands. This wasn't the first time this happened; about six hundred years earlier, during a drought, the prophet Elijah was told that a widow in Sidon, not even an Israelite, would provide for him. He found the widow as she was getting ready to bake up the last of her flour and oil and expected to starve, but Elijah told her that God was going to see that she never ran out of flour and oil until the rains returned.  Note that he asked what she had, and she shared her last food with him, and then it was multiplied through the provision of God.  Elijah's successor Elisha was faced with the widow of a prophet with debts to pay and nothing left in her house except a jar of oil. By the provision of God through Elisha, they poured out of this jar enough to fill every jar and vessel that had or could borrow, which she then could sell to pay her debts and take care of her children. God took what they had, and made it into enough to take care of His people.

We see something similar in the first miracle that we have on record: Cana, the wedding that he saved for the host by turning the jars of water that the servants brought into fine wine. It wasn't even a case of starving people, but a joyful occasion that Jesus blessed.  It is interesting that the Passover meal that became our Communion service, by which we remember what Jesus did for us, consists of bread--that is broken and given to us, and grapes that become the wine that reminds us of His blood He gave for us.

Our church family has been blessed by the efforts of people over the years who built our spiritual home, and those who joined with us to renew and enhance a facility that was in trouble.  Jesus can take what have and multiply it into facilities to bless our communities with spiritual food and actual food. Jesus created our world and turned us loose in it. He is taking a chance on us—that we will learn what we need know. He asks us who do know Him to give what we are willing in order that He will multiply His blessings!

Faith in Layers--by Linden Malki

The Israelites who came out of Egypt--through the Sea, fed on manna, and given water out of a rock, facing a wilderness--found themselves under attack.  Their attackers were the Amelekites, a tribe who were descended from Esau.  Moses called on his young assistant Joshua to raise defenders from the Israelites.  This is the first layer in the defense--as important as it was to break this attack, it was not the only thing on their side.

Moses told Joshua that he would be on the hill overlooking the battle, with the staff of God. This was the second layer. When Moses raised his staff, the Israelites were successful in their defense. However, Moses couldn't hold up his hands long enough for the battle to be finished, so another layer of faith was needed. Moses was not alone! He had his brother Aaron with him, and an associate named Hur. (We don't know much about him, just that he was from the tribe of Judah, his grandson Bezalel was later asked to be in charge of the decorations on the Tabernacle, and he may have been related to Caleb.)  We see him with Aaron later when Moses goes up the mountain to get instructions from God.  Aaron and Hur were the next layer in the faith required--they found a stone for Moses to sit on while they held his hands, with the staff, showing God's strength. The army went on with confidence, knowing  that God was on their side in this great adventure.  It took all the layers, working together, to provide the victory they needed.  We do hear of Hur later, when Moses went up the mountain of God and Aaron and Hur were left in charge. However, he doesn't appear to be there when the people give up on Moses and beg Aaron for their own "god".  This was a time that Aaron needed to have his backbone stiffened, and he was alone.

Later,when Moses was again challenged to provide water, he and Aaron were told to speak to the rock at Meribah.  Instead, Moses, in a fit of temper, did not remind the people to trust God for their need, but struck the rock in his own strength.  The water came, but both brothers were punished by being forbidden to enter  the promised land. Aaron died shortly after, and Moses himself was given a look from a mountaintop and then died and was buried by God outside of the land. 

As much as Moses and Aaron did, and as much as God did for the people, in the end their obedience was not enough to completely fulfill their vision.   Joshua went on to lead the Israelites into the promised land, and see them gaining control over a land that had suffered from idolatrous peoples for several centuries, some of whom were descended from Abraham's family. As much as Moses and Aaron did, there were lapses in faith and obedience--which are two sides of the same coin--that cost them part of the fullness of the promise they had started with.

Faith and Sacrifice--by Linden Malki

         
The concept of bringing an offering to God goes back to the first family: Abel brought a choice lamb from his flock, and Cain brought an offering of produce from his field. Abel's offering was accepted;  Cain's was not, and we see that the acceptable offering was a living creature, the best of the flock. (There is a provision for an offering of produce of the field, but Cain apparently did not fulfill the requirements.) After the Flood, we see Noah bringing an offering of "clean" animals and birds from the additional ones on the Ark.

The next major character in our story is Abram/Abraham, who is called by God and offered a covenant as the father of nations if he will move his family to a new land. Abram's only son was from his barren wife's  slave, but he was willing to go where God sent him, and every where he stopped, we see him building an altar for an offering.  What he did not expect was the birth of a son by his elderly wife and the promise that this son Isaac would be the ancestor of a nation, and then the more surprising command that he was to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice.  We know the story:
Abraham's faith that God would (and did) provide a miracle and Isaac would come back--alive--with him. (There is a Jewish legend that the stress of this caused the death of Sarah; which would have made Isaac in his 30's at the time. This is possible; Isaac didn't marry until he was 40.)

There is more to the tradition of sacrifice: when the law was given to Moses 500 years later, it included a provision for the firstfruits of crops and the firstborn of animals were to be offered to God, including the firstborn son.  However, the son was to be brought to God but an animal was to be offered as a substitute, as a reminder of the loss of the Egyptian firstborns in the plague that freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The idea of sacrificing sons was common in the surrounding pagan cultures; after the fall of Jericho, there was a prophecy that if the city were to be rebuilt it would be at the cost of the builder's sons--and in 1 Kings 16 we see this fulfilled during the time of the apostate King Ahab of Israel. Over a thousand years later, we see Jeremiah preaching against Israelites who copied the Moabite practice of sacrificing children to their  "god" Chemoth (borrowed from neighboring tribes)-and they were originally related to Abraham through his nephew Lot.

Unfortunately, we live in a world today where children and young people are not safe; there are still places where young people are killed to preserve a family's "honor", and too many die of violence, drugs, trafficking, abuse, and neglect in many parts of the world including our own country.  Those of us who know that we are all responsible to each other and that this breaks God's heart, need to be in prayer and take the challenge as His church to combat the evil that too many face in our world.

Joshua the Faithful--by Linden Malki

We first see Joshua as Moses' apprentice--a young man, who was in charge of a militia to fight off the first attacker in the journey, the Amalekites, descended from Esau. Moses, Aaron and Hur were on an overlooking hillside. Moses held his hands up to empower the Israelites; when let his hands down, the Israelites fell back. Aaron and Hur held Moses' hands up until the battle was won.  Joshua was on the mountain with Moses when the Israelites made the golden calf; the next time Moses went back up, Joshua stayed with the people as the guardian of the tabernacle. He was one of the spies sent to check out the land God promised them; he and Caleb were the only ones with the faith that they could do it, and so the only onesto survive until God allowed them to enter the land, after Moses viewed it just before he died. God gave Joshua this command: "Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9).

Joshua led the people across the Jordan river (the river was blocked upstream for them). We know the story of Jericho and its fall.  Joshua and the people were getting too confident at this point: they attacked the neighboring city of Ai without asking God, and didn't know that there had been a case of illicit looting at Jericho.  Then Joshua asked God what happened, and was told to find the person(s) who had the loot.  They investigated, were led to the thief and his family, who were stoned and buried with the loot. Then God gave the instructions for an attack on Ai, which was successful. In fact, it was so successful that the a neighboring city was afraid, so they sent a delegation to negotiate a treaty. The trick was that the delegation was dressed in rags and their provisions were dried and moldy; and they said they had heard about the Israelites from far away. Once again, Joshua didn't ask God, and made the treaty--and then found out they were close neighbors. They did let the treaty stand, with the provision that the Gibeonites would become their servants.  Then the next act in the drama was five more kings who agreed that these upstart invading Israelites needed to be stopped before any of them were attacked, so they attacked Gibeon.  The Gibeonites immediately invoked the treaty with Joshua, who agreed that they should be defended.  Joshua checked with God, sent out an army at night, and surprised the invaders. As they were fleeing, God sent giant hailstones on them. Joshua then went to God, asked for more time to finish them off, and for the sun and moon to stop in their tracks until the battle was won.  We don't know what happened next or how, but it happened and the battle was won, and the fleeing kings hid in a cave, where they eventually were killed.

The story behind the story was that Joshua was one of God's great leaders--when he was in touch with God's will. When he tried to do things on his own, they backfired on him. At the end of his life, he gathered all the tribal elders, judges and headmen, and reminded them of where they had come from, He challenged them:  Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ... We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey His voice.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. (Joshua 24:22-25)

The Testings of our Faith--by Linden Malki

Abraham's faith was given one of the most dramatic and scary tests, and he passed.  God commanded him to take his son Isaac to a special mountain and offer him on an altar.  (Child sacrifice was common among their pagan neighbors at that time, and later.) As he was preparing to do this, God stopped him and showed him a ram in the bushes nearby.  The writer of Hebrews explains that Abraham's faith extended to the confidence that God could have raised Isaac up again, to keep the promise of descendants from Isaac. One thing it did was to challenge the tradition of human sacrifice among Abraham's descendants and served as a lesson.

Abraham's nephew Lot and his family were also given a challenge to faith when they were told to abandom Sodom, which was facing iminent destruction for its sins. There was, however, a touch of Satan in the story: the family was told to get out as fast as possible and not look back. We know what happened; Lot's wife couldn't turn her back on this city, even with the threats to their lives and the provision of an escape. I see her standing there rooted to the valley floor as the minerals from the eruptions rained down on her until she was covered with toxic salts. (There could have been other attempting escapees who were also caught in the toxic rain.) This was judgment; those cities have
never been rebuilt.

We see the interweaving of tests and discipline through the story of Jacob and his sons; in most cases you can see the disciplinary results of the various incidents--the rest of the sons had to face their father's grief in the loss of Joseph. Joseph himself had a series of disciplines--being sold as a slave, and then imprisoned for a false accusation (people don't change much, do they?) and then being restored not just to his former status but to a great position which enabled him to save his family from  famine.

We have been challenged to learn to understand the differences between testing and discipline, and between God's dealings with us and the Enemy's. We are constantly tested; we are either learning every day or falling backwards. As we weigh our choices, we need to recognize what will grow us into physical and spiritual health, and what will damage us. Our physical bodies are constantly changing, and we struggle to stay as healthy as possible, or allow unhealthy changes. I try every day to provide the best service I can to people who need their transportation up and running properly. We have to be aware if things that happen because evil is real and there are people and powers who do not have our best interests at heart. We need to call on God's strength and realize that He can deal with our lives better than we can, deliberately pray for deliverance from evil, and express our gratitude for how He works things out for us.

Works of Faith--by Linden Malki

One of the most familiar Bible passages is about the relationship between faith and works.  I think there is a little more to this than we realize. It isn't that we need to show that we have faith by doing random good works, but faith and works specifically power each other. David realized that he could take down Goliath not just because he "had faith" but because that faith was powered by what he could do--he had experience in dealing with big scary animals, and God used both David's faith and his physical abilities to take down Goliath.  Specific faith enables us to use specific abilities that we have developed. I recall a time that I was wrestling with a question of dealing with a problem in my life myself or not dealing with it and "letting God do it". The answer I got to my pesky prayers  was a very specific message: "I gave you a brain, use it!" I realized that I had the information and knowledge it would take to handle the situation.  God was telling me to use what I already had to deal with the situation, not just sit back and wait for Him to do something.  He gives us the responsibility to do things for each other, and to use what He has already enabled us to learn, not just sit back and expect Him to do what we want done.  St Patrick was a captured slave in Ireland when he had a vision of a ship in a harbor 200 miles away.  He knew he was supposed to be on this ship, but there was a tough crosscountry journey through rough countryside to get there.  He also knew that God had prepared him to live off the land  long enough to make the journey. When he found the ship, he was told that they didn't want  passengers.  But then they realized that his experience as a shepherd in wild country meant that he knew how to handle Irish wolfhounds, which were part of their cargo. God had prepared a win-win situation--Patrick had the expertise needed to deal with the dogs, so he was prepared to take advantage of the means of escape from slavery that Patrick wanted and needed.  God often sets us up to learn a skill that He needs us to use down the line! The faith that we need to do the job is backed up by how He has enabled us to be on the right spot at the right time with the right preparation. James was not talking about random "good works" that make us feel good about ourselves, but works that He has prepared for us and prepared us for.

 As Moses was shepherding the Israelites toward the promised land, He was told not to take the  "short way" up along the coast because it was fortified by and against the people known as the  Philistines. They had invaded from the sea, possibly from Crete or that general area. Their first target was Egypt, who had pushed them north up the coastline. When the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, they stayed inland because of the Philistine fortified cities of Gaza,  Ashdod,  Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron, with whom Abraham had fought in his day.   A good part of the books of Judges and 1 Samuel involve stories of this continuing challenge.  The question comes up of why God allowed this to happen; the answer often involves lessons the Israelite tribes need to learn. One series of incidents involves Samson, a big, tough Israelite who won several battles with Philistines, but is captured with the connivance of a Philistine girlfriend, and winds up a slave--and God uses Samson's strength to destroy a Philistine temple full of people. (Judges 13-16).  Then we see the Philistines winning a battle that the Israelites were not properly prepared for, and capturing the Ark of the Covenant. In this case God does take care of His property: the Ark causes so much trouble in Philistine hands that they send it back. (I Samuel 4-6).  And we know about David, whose physical skills were used by God to take out Goliath. A showdown came when Saul went into battle when he had disobeyed direct instructions from God, brought by Samuel; and was killed. After David consolidated his position as King, he asked God if he should go after the Philistines, and was not only confirmed but given specific instructions as to how to defeat them. Once again, we see the combination of David's faith and his obedience to the instructions from God.  There were more battles between Judea's kings and the northern Kings of Israel with the Philistines, but when the Assyrians invaded in the 700BC's, all the northern Kingdom of Israel, part of the southern Kingdom of  Judah and the neighboring tribes including the Philistines, were scattered across the Assyrian empire and lost their national identity and the ability make war among themselves.  (When Judea was conquered and Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, the area was renamed "Palestine" by Rome, knowing that the Jews would hate it.  This was the common name used later by the Turks and British, and then appropriated by those who were not Israelis nor Jordanians after the establishment of Israel and the partition of  this territory between Israel and Jordan in 1948.) 

Faith for the World--by Linden Malki

"Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." ... "Noah was a righteous  man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. "   These are the first references the NIV has to "faith", and the other translations use the words  righteous, blameless,  just, fellowship,  to describe Enoch and Noah. They were unique in their day; we are told that Enoch was taken directly to God without dying, and Noah was given a project that would make him and his family the only survivors of the Flood. There is more to "faith" than merely believing in something; Enoch and Noah were described as living lives that were interacting with God.

The next major example of faith is Abraham, who also acted what he learned to believe-to the point of major relocation to a land he'd never known, but one that was a promise. His grandson Jacob also was called by God, and he and his family were relocated again, this time to Egypt. At first, it was their physical salvation, but it became an intolerable trap.  What had started with one man (Enoch), and then a man and his immediate family (Noah); a man and several generations down that were learning more about God (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and more), and then it came back around to one man and a nation of twelve tribes.  At this point, God arranged for them to leave Egypt and make their way back to the ancestral homeland that Abraham had been called to settle. And in addition to speaking to individuals, God spoke words that were intended for not only this group of people, but are the best guide to living a good life for all people. And they were given in a wilderness that was not a specific home, but applicable in all places and all time.

Jesus, who grew up in a society based on this law, was open to the needs of not only the Jews, but of anyone who came to him. This included Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Samaritans, that we know of, who had the original scriptures in Greek as well as Hebrew and Aramaic.  We have records of at least five Gentiles and Samaritans who were healed by Jesus, and several more who had interacted with John the Baptist or Jesus, and one who was the hero of one of Jesus most powerful parables--and all of Jesus' interactions with them showed His love for them--and for us.

The "chosen-ness" of the Jews was never intended to be an exclusive thing; they were the pilot project, charged with spreading the powerful words of God to the world. This message is an interplay of belief and behavior that changes lives and destinies. Faith in God changes how we think, and allows more and more of our lives to grow into His Word.

No Excuse!--by Linden Malki

We have been making excuses for our misdeeds since the beginning of time. The problem of making
excuses is that it doesn't solve anything; in fact, it usually causes more trouble.  In the context of the last few weeks' studies, it adds to our baggage, one more thing that pulls us down.

One of the most honest men we know about in Scripture is David. He made mistakes; some of them pretty serious. The reason we know about him not that he made mistakes, but he was willing to recognize his guilt, which is a real thing. This is his reaction: "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me..."  But he didn't get stuck there. He goes on: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." In the 500 years since Moses at Sinai, the Israelites had no excuse for not recogizing sin. Another thousand years later, they had the idea pretty well down, but it had turned into baggage full of law.

Peter and his associates knew the Law; and they had already met Jesus. They had heard Him speak in the synagogue, they had seen Him drive out demons. They had watched Him heal Peter's mother-in-law when she had been ill. They saw the crowds push against the lakefront, to where Jesus had asked Peter for the use of his fishing boat as a place to sit, as in  that culture, teachers and rabbis sat down while their audience stood. Then when Jesus had finished His teaching, He told Peter to push out and fish.

Peter. as usual, engaged mouth without brain, and said there were no fish biting that day.  He hadn't figured out yet that Jesus wasn't subject to the usual way things happened. What is interesting that Peter's reaction to the load of fish was to fall on his knees before Jesus,  become aware of the spiritual power of Jesus, and and the contrast with his own guilt. And Jesus didn't beg Peter to join Him, but knew that the four fisherman would follow Him and allow Him to change their lives.

In the past weeks, we've faced the realities of hangups that drag us down: time pressures, unhealthy relationships, anger, and guilt.  All of these, and more, are the result of not having our values and priorities in line.  Yes, we need to be aware of things that are holding us back, but we don't have the strength or wisdom to deal with them on our own. We need to face the fact that we can't do it, and realize that God is waiting for us to ask for help; to be willing to turn over our loaded-down lives to Him, and let Him deal with it. I've been amazed at things that He has done that I would never have expected but that were the right thing at the right time--that's what He made us for!

God can handle anger:Let Him have it!--by Linden Malki

I don't remember being around a lot of anger growing up. There were the usual squabbles with neigbor kids and school kids, but it was either yelling insults or beating each other up. (There was a girl 3 days older than me, a half-head shorter, that could get me down.) Then everybody would dust off their hands and forget all about it.  There was one incident I never figured out; there was a girl in our youth group at church that was my best friend for several years, and then somehow, she wasn't.  I have never known what her issue was, but she didn't speak to me; I heard odd gossip from other people, and then at one point she got into a race for a high school student office I had already filed to run for (she won), and the grapevine said it she did it to spite me. I heard nothing more about her until a high school reunion a few years ago. She had had a very successful career-and was somehow my good buddy again. Never found out why.

One person that could set me off was my mom.  When I was really little she'd use mild hand slaps if I got into stuff I shouldn't (she didn't childproof the house, she houseproofed me) just enough to get my attention.  Later, though, she would get on me for things like not coming straight home immediately after school (in those days, we all walked to school and back) , and would scold me and send me to my room. Forever, it seemed like. What really bugged me was that she wouldn't listen to anything I had to say, just called me an Alibi Ike. (Maybe they weren't much in  excuses,but I would like to have had a chance to answer.) And then I'd get frustrated enough to cry (I cry easily) and then she'd yell at me to stop crying. I could  NOT stop crying on command! I think it ended when she developed cancer and lost the energy to fuss with me. I was 17, a senior in high school, when she lost the fight.  (I never, ever, put my kids in time-outs; in my experience, it set off bad self-pity.)

My inlaws were a whole other thing;  Middle Eastern people are not taught that anger can, or should be,controlled.  If they get mad, either it's your fault for making them mad, or your fault for getting mad. When I first married John, we had been visiting his brother's family and somebody had said somthing that somebody didn't like. As we were leaving, John said something about not speaking to his brother. I said that we were NOT going to play that game, don't even go there, forget about it. We did manage to stay out of most of the grudges.

My breakthrough with anger was a time that I was totally, horribly angry (do not recall why), and I was putting the kids to bed, and grabbed on to the top rail of a crib and said, "God, you've got to handle this, I can't.."  and it was like someone pulled a drain plug--it all went away.   I have never been like that since that night.  I used to think that we needed to learn how to "control" anger; but this was nothing like that. It was simply GONE.  It sounds simple to say--Matt said in his message on anger that the key was to let God have it, and it is absolutely true.  A few other things I learned about dealing with angry family members: Don't argue, say what you need to say and shut up. Don't say anything else, walk away if necessary.  Realize that there is usually evil involved: Pray--silently, this is for you--for God to take away the evil forces that are involved in the situation. If you have to say anything, say it deliberately slowly and softly.  The relationship with the angriest brother-in-law healed and he passed from this life on better terms than I ever remember.

God's Family Relationships--by Linden Malki

We are all born into a relationship--actually, we are all born because of a relationship.The quality of that relationship varies from very good to horrible, unfortunately. It starts with the complication of there being three people, each with their own personalities, temperaments, and attitudes already in place. (Yes, in my experience, newborn babies have individual characteristics from birth; at least my four certainly did.) So to start with, you've got six combinations of these characteristics in place, and two of the three people have already had their inborn selves tweaked by at least two more people. As a church family, we just recently did a very interesting study in basic personalities, with their primary programming, and other secondary characteristics added into the mix. Just looking at this, it's amazing that we get along as well as we do.

There is another important factor in the study of relationships: the spiritual attitudes and training, if any, that we grow up with.  My parents were solid Christians going back several generations, and most of the people in the family were committed to Biblical values and teachings, for which I am very grateful. Most of our friends were church people, as well, and pretty decent folks, with their own quirks. There was one guy, a year older, that I was good friends with since childhood, and my dad had high hopes for a relationship with me. It almost happened, but when we were in college, I noticed that his  conversation and values were not what they had been, and this wasn't going to work. I've been in occasional touch with him over the years, and he has no interest in anything spiritual. I still pray for him.

My husband, although he had grown up a half-world away, had been raised in Protestant mission schools. He had surprisingly similar values to my family, and one of his brothers was an Arabic-language evangelist with American Bible school training.   I might say there is some baggage with some of his family, there is some alcoholism and a lot of drama with my inlaws, although most of it worked itself out during my mother-in-law's final illness. It was amazing to see how real life-and-death reality brought closure to a lot of assorted baggage!

One of the most dramatic loads of baggage I've helped deal with over the past 20 years is the story of Calvary/NorthPoint, now Sandals San Bernardino. There was a major sanctuary fire at the end of 1999, then our insurance company went into liquidation after 9/11 in 2001. We were in the middle of the sanctuary rebuild at that point, and too far into it to walk away.  We did fundraisers, and took out a loan with our credit union (their loan guy told me that he'd never walked into a loan application meeting with as high a faith factor as we had). We had a Christian school on campus at the time, but it developed financial problems, not helped with the 2008 market crash and the exodus of folks from San Bernardino, and we had to close it. It reached a point where we rented out the property to The Way World Outreach for five years and held our services at the Elks Lodge. When The Way moved out to their new facility, we had no choice but to come back and do what we could to repair the facility and rebuild our church family. This was a huge, huge load of baggage, and as church treasurer through all this, I got a great lesson in faith! When we were approached by Sandals Church with the offer to merge with their organization, we saw God work in amazing ways,and it's still going on. Sandals has really saved our lives as a body of Christ, and we are incredibly grateful and looking forward to seeing the kind of impact that our original founders were hoping for--and more!

Responsible for Our Time--by Linden Malki

God, in His infinite wisdom and care, created a world that gives us day and night, winter and summer, and even life and death.  We can learn from Jeremiah, who lived through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and watched the city be destroyed, the Temple furnishings and treasures be stolen; the king, Zedekiah, be captured trying to escape, had to watch his sons being killed, suffered his own eyes being put out, and was taken away as a shackled prisoner. Jeremiah knew that it was the disobedience of God's people that had allowed this to happen, and yet this is what he said :  Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is  bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.  It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord. * 

We know we will be held accountable for what we do. We can ask forgiveness either/or from someone who may have been hurt, and from God, the ultimate Judge.  We also know that even though the people of Judah did enough evil to have their nation and city destroyed, including the Temple that had been built for the worship of God; that they did learn, and were enabled to return and rebuild. And yet, it happened again. New days, more prophetic messengers, new years, new politicians and priests, and yet God did something no one could imagine: Sent His Son, a part of His own Being, to be born in a real place, grow up as a real man, and on a real day of a real year, was sentenced and executed by men who claimed to be obeying God.  What they didn't know was that though they would be judged for their actions, God would use this as a way to step in, in a new way to do a new thing.

Each day, each year, each life, and even each moment is new, and offers us a choice. We can do it our way, which even at its best, isn't good enough.  But doing it His way requires that we stop, think, pray, and listen before we fall flat on our faces.  Each year we stop and remember His birth and His death. Each week we come together to worship with each other and learn from each other; to offer a helpful word, an encouragement, a word of sympathy and/or empathy; and go on through this day as a way to have our minds refreshed. Each morning we can look at what we are called to on for that day, and be open to words of hope and love.  Each evening we can reflect on our day, and ask how we could have done better.  Some of us remember our parents sitting or kneeling with us at bedtime, reading and praying with us. I recall sitting with my three older kids talking and asking and answering questions. It is amazing the questions that a child can ask: Where did God come from? I think they had asked all of the basic theological hard ones by about seven.  And the kids had a repertory of prayers: some Biblical, some traditional, some we came up with ourselves.
One of our favorite things to do was to come up with new endings for the traditional "Now I lay me down to sleep'', from books or our own inspirations.  (The original was written in the 1700's, when the child mortality rate was very high.)  In the long run, the people we live with should  know what we believe to be the most important use of our days, weeks, years, and life itself.
*Lamentations 3:19-26 

Personal Baggage--by Linden Malki

We are born wanting things: food, attention, sleep, love.  One of my kids screamed for 20 minutes because she didn't want to eat on the hospital schedule--at two days old. I spent most of today at a family gathering that included my 16-month-old grandson.  He's basically a good kid, but he knows what he wants; his parents have the interesting job of teaching him what is good and what isn't.  That is hopefully the story of our lives: learning right from wrong; healthy from unhealthy. In cooking lunch for the family, decisions were made about what is appropriate and healthy and what isn't.  Parents and kids in the pool kept safety in mind. The bigger cousins were playing table games without squabbling and yelling. Nobody got their feelings or bodies hurt.  This should be "normal", but we've all been places that weren't quite like this.

This is the story of our lives: we make choices all day; some we think about and some we don't.  Our first choice is too often what comes into our minds first off; ignore the alarm that just went off; grab some junk food on our way out the door, and do what comes easy. This is what comes naturally to us; God created us free to follow our worst ideas, but that comes with a price. (I remember telling my kids to not blindly follow every idea that flitted through their heads; to think first.)

 He also gave us guidelines about doing the things that will work right in a world full of other people and challenges. These are not easy, but they are healthier, safer, kinder, more loving, more responsible, and save a lot of trouble in the longer run. And even when we know the guidelines; the right way, and the dangers of the wrong way, we are still tempted to do what we want and not what is right. We can get too involved with the wrong friends; we can go places that can be trouble; we can eat and drink things that will damage our bodies; in general, we can do things that will cause trouble for us and other people. We can find ourselves loaded down with baggage that we have brought upon ourselves, or allowed other people or things to add to the load.

This brings us to things that we may not want to think about. One is that we really cannot keep ourselves out of trouble on our own. We hear folks say that they don't need help; they don't hurt people or cheat people or rob people. If they were honest with themselves, they probably do cut a few corners here or there, but that's not the issue: if something comes that they really are tempted by, or trouble that they get pulled into by other people or circumstances, they don't have what they really need: strength greater than themselves to carry the load that they face. That's the other side of what God offers: the forgiveness when we do get over our heads, and the power of His Spirit to be with us as we face life and its challenges.  And we are going to face tough times, and we will be held accountable for how we deal with them.

Surprises in Faith--by Linden Malki

Mary had faith  that Jesus would be capable of dealing with the wine situation at that wedding at Cana, no question.  Makes you wonder what all Mary had seen in the 30 years of raising the most unusual child in the history of the world!  It is also interesting that Jesus' brothers teased him about things that they had seen him do, but we are told that they didn't believe who he claimed to be; in fact, at one time they tried to take him home as crazy, and even had Mary come along for the what they expected would be a showdown. But at the end, after the Resurrection, two of them became major figures in the history of the church.  But Jesus was willing to accept their belated recognition. Faith is not always easy!

There are several incidents where Jesus healed people without even seeing them, on the words of faith by their family or friends. There was an civic official in Capernaum (who may have been a Roman), whose son was dying; a Phoenician woman with a daughter that was delivered from a demon, who was willing to take whatever He offered, and a Roman centurion whose servant was dying--all who recognized His power. 

Among those who came to Him in desperation were the woman in the crowd who touched the hem of his robe in faith, that even though she was considered "unclean" from her medical condition,  there was a chance that even the least contact with him would heal her.  There was also Bartimeus, a blind man who was sitting by the side of the road entering Jericho, who called out as Jesus was passing on the road, in faith that even this minimal  contact would be enough.

In all these stories and more, Jesus was willing to accept faith as it came, even second-hand, even from random people who were not necessarily his main calling.  He did not turn down any evidence of faith he saw; what he did reject were those who refused to listen and open their minds and hearts. In the time and place where he lived, those were people who had grown up for generations with the words of God and couldn't see past their own way of thinking, and usually their own way of believing they were totally right.

Do we put our own understanding and attitudes above what He is teaching us? We will never know all there is to know about God and His plans for us and our world; are we willing to have faith that He knows best?

Invite Jesus to Your House!--by Linden Malki

Jesus collected several groups of people who thought they knew everything God had said. Unfortunately, they all missed the main point. Jesus had recognized their problem at the beginning--one of His first public appearances was at Passover, and He was not pleased.  He was not surprised that the Temple establishment had turned it into a marketplace, and He let them know what God thought about it. This was not a temper tantrum; it was a coldblooded judgment. John finishes the story of this day by commenting that Jesus did not trust them, for "He knew all men and did not need anybody to testify about man, for He Himself knew what was in man."

He begins His teaching with being specific about what we, human beings, need most. When He is faced with a paralytic on a mat coming down through a roof, his first words are "Son, your sins are forgiven." The experts on God respond with "You can't do that!" Jesus' response is essentially "Yes, I Can." And then He completes the lesson by healing the paralytic.

The next thing we read is Jesus calling an social and political outcast as a disciple. I suspect that Matthew/Levi was more than he appeared. We know that he appears to have a better than average education (all Jewish men of that day had a basic Yeshiva education, at least till  12 or 13), and from the name, was possibly of the tribe of Levi. His response was a typical Middle Eastern one: dinner!  His guests included his professional collegues, which brought a response from Jesus' growing gang of busybodies, who made snitty remarks about Jesus associating with the riff-raff of Matthew's social circle. Jesus response: You think you don't need help; the ones who can be helped are the those who recognize what they are missing.

The next incident is even more dramatic: Jesus is at dinner with a fine upstanding Pharisee, when a local street person quietly comes in with a jar of perfume. She comes up behind Jesus, washes his feet with tears and wipes them with her hair, and pours perfume on them. The Pharisee makes the snide comment that a real prophet would recognize such a sinner and not let her near him. Jesus then tells a story about two debtors who are facing their lender with the bad news that they cannot pay. The lender decides to forgive them both their debts, one much larger than the other. Jesus asks which one is the most grateful? The obvious answer: the one who had the larger favor.  Jesus then points out the favor shown by the woman, compared with stingy hospitality from his host, forgives her sins, and sends her on her way in faith.

I see one more story in this series: another tax collector. On Jesus' last trip up to Jerusalem, he sees a small man in a tree by the road, getting above the heads of the collected crowds. Jesus calls Zaccheus down, and invites himself to dinner at his house. I find it interesting that the first thing we hear from Zaccheus is his description of his earnest commitment to honesty and ethics in a notoriously dishonest profession, and hearing Jesus promise salvation to a true son of Abraham, seeing in this man what He was about to die for.

Recognizing the Weeds--by Linden Malki

The most scary symptom of the disease of leprosy is that you develop nerve damage under the skin which means that you don't feel injuries.  You'd think that not feeling pain would be a blessing, but it's not--we don't realize how often we bump into things one way or another that if not noticed, will damage your body.  Sufferers need to constantly watch for damage that could easily cause more injury.  

I suspect that "evil" is something like leprosy. It's not something we like to see or sense, but it can be a warning of worse to come. We all live with some level of evil, and it's easy to complain about it, and blame God (or everybody and anybody). When we as people were blessed with intelligence, that should come with the understanding that we are responsible for ourselves and each other.  If we all lived by the Book, we would avoid a lot of trouble we can get into, but there are surprises as well.  (God loves doing this for us!)

We can't always recognize evil for what it really is.  Jesus, however, knew exactly what was up. One of my favorite verses is John 2:23-25:"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." Jesus lived in interesting times; His hands-on experience of human society was that of the Roman provinces of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.  What is interesting about this is that everybody who lived there was familiar with the Jewish Scriptures and other related writings of the era. He didn't have to convince these people that God exists and has rules for them to live by; people varied in the amount of attention they paid, but even the "sinners" who were not observant knew what it was that they didn't observe. Jesus was dealing with two major groups of people: those who listened and liked what they heard, and those who thought they knew it all and Jesus was not only wrong but dangerous.  These were the religious experts, mostly Saducees and some Pharisees, who were expecting a military Messiah that would drive out the Romans. Meanwhile, they were on a tightrope of keeping enough order to placate the Romans and keep them in power until this Messiah showed up. When Jesus showed up, they were upset that he hadn't come to them first, and then that he told them that they were getting a lot of it wrong. 

There is an interesting parable in Matthew 13 that came to mind when I was thinking about the evil in the world. The story is about a farmer who sows a field with wheat, and then an enemy comes at night and sows weeds in the field--and these are a weed that looks very much like a wheat stalk until they are pretty well grown. When the owner is asked if they should pull the weeds out, the answer is No, because it would damage the good wheat. The time to separate them is at the harvest, where their true nature will be obvious. We usually think about this in terms of unbelievers, but Jesus wasn't talking to pagan audiences, he was talking to his own people, which included both his friends and enemies.  And often it was difficult to tell the difference. Looking around our own "'good people", there are people who look good, talk good, but the roots are not what they claim to be.  There are preachers who have their own message, teachers who are offtrack in their teaching; people, even in churches, who do things behind closed doors that damage both their victims and the church's reputation, parents who should not be raising children.  We, as resposible Christ-followers, need to make sure we are the true wheat, and try (carefully! very carefully!) to isolate the weeds until they can be judged.