Judges: zero separation between physical and spiritual

As I read through the book of Judges, there are moments when I wonder why all of this is in the Bible. It is rapid-fire storytelling that jumps from one battle to the next. It seems to not have much to do with following God - until you catch the little lines that connect the battle scenes.

The phrase "again Israel did evil" is like a hook that latches each story together. Following deliverance there is peace. Once the leader dies, Israel abandons God. This leads to Israel being handed over to another power and the cycle starts anew.

We can choose to get lost in the battles or look more intently behind the scenes to see the real battle for the heart. As long as the human heart is not inclined to follow the Father, there is no peace. Some of us accept that on a personal level but often forget that it applies to a societal level as well. This life will never be a life of peace and rest until we decide to rest in the will of the one who designed life in the first place. As St. Augustine said in his Confessions, "Are hearts are restless until they find rest in you."

Free Will

The past few weeks have been filled with travel but also with reading and study. I'm taking a break from my reading in John to focus on another question. For quite some time I have been bothered by Christians missing opportunities because they are waiting on God to show them the right answer. I've witnessed virtual paralysis in decision making in many cases. I've also watched many people be hurt as well intentioned Christians played the trump card of God-told-me. They have used it for everything from divorce to leaving church to moving to another city.

And so I'm spending time with the question of "How do I discern God's will for my life?" This has led to another question of "Does God even have a specific will for each person?" This had led to the question of "Is the future predetermined or do we have total free will?" This has led to questions about the nature of God.

It all started out as a simple question that has now grown into a huge cloud that shadows all of life. Stay tuned.

Acts 21:1-16; Will of God

Lately my personal study has been on discerning the will of God. Does God have a specific will for each person and joy comes by figuring it out and living as exactly as we can? Or does God have a general moral will for all of us and we are free to exercise judgment and free will? Or does God have a specific will in some circumstances but not others? And the questions go on while the answers are slow to come. Paul, however, seems to get an "F" by most everyone's current standards of figuring out God's will.

The Holy Spirit gave him clear teaching twice (in this section, not counting previously) to not go to Jerusalem. His community begged him not go and he would not listen. So personal revelation and the community were totally ignored; that deserves an "F". However, this is God's apostle and God goes on to use him in great ways. The irritating thing about all this is the response of the community when Paul does not listen to anything or anyone. They back off and say, "The Lord's will be done." But it obviously wasn't since Paul ignored revelation and community!

So did Paul sin? Did he disappoint God? Did God just look at him the way I do my son when he makes a bad decision but then let him go in order to allow him to learn? Did God know that was a poor choice but really was OK with it?

No good answers; just questions. My leaning presently is that God lets us grow up and make poor choices along the way. He probably was not thrilled with Paul's choice but allowed it. The fascinating thing to me is to think of how Paul's story might have ended had he listened to the Spirit and to the community. I wonder what did not get accomplished that might have been? Grrr. More questions; no answers. I fear I am becoming postmodern.

Acts 15; Discernment

Figuring out God's will has always been a major concern for humanity. Did God want the Gentiles to become Jews first (keep the OT law) or could they skip Judaism to become followers of Jesus? Great question. I was a tough enough question that it required special attention.

What I see in this chapter is that interpreting what God's will is for my life is not always easy. It is not as simple as a leading in my heart or what I think is a sign. When the people that walked with Jesus tried to discern God's will they included community, referred to scripture and listened to the Spirit. It is easy to think that Peter and Paul did not need all that and that they simply moved forward all of their lives via the guiding of the Spirit. Yet, here they sit in a large council trying to discern the will of God.

So why should I expect less? Why should I think that a commitment to Christ means that deciding the next step will be easy? Somehow we think that; we expect that. In our heads we believe that we have made the tough choice and now God is supposed to make the rest be a matter of "follow the leader." Yet, he did not set up life that way. Figuring out the next step was never easy, not even for the apostles at times.

Referring to scripture and listening to the Spirit are not that tough a challenge for me. Letting others in on the process and risking outcomes by including the opinions of others, that is hard. Probably each person rates those components differently in regards to difficulty. Yet each of us will agree that difficulty is involved.

In a way, I'm really grateful that this chapter was written. I would hate to think that it used to be easy but now its not. Its nice to know that discernment has never been easy.

Joshua 4; Details

In chapter one when God told Joshua he would lead, Joshua then told the people to be ready to go in three days. There is no record that God told Joshua to order that command; he extrapolated it from the general instructions God gave him. In this chapter, it is different. God gave Joshua very exact details regarding how to enter the Jordan, who goes first, what to do with the stones, when to call the priests out and more. So which is the modem operendum of God, i.e., general or detailed instructions?

It seems to me that God treats his people in the same way that we treat each other. When there is great need for specificity, he is more than capable of giving it. He was very detailed when the event was history shaping in nature. Yet it is not his norm; rather he entrusts us to know his moral will and live with in those parameters without details most of the time.

Most of the time we live in a Joshua 1 general instruction mode with no details. God will probably not speak to tell me which parking lot to use or where to eat lunch or even what to wear to work today (though I don't understand fashion). So to anticipate direct revelation for guidance in lesser matters is probably more an indication of my lack of understanding of the nature of God than it is an act of faith. It brings into question the present tendency to "wait upon Lord" for direction from internal leadings. Since God is so capable of guiding his people when needed, the present tendency is perhaps more a reflection of our high view of self than a high view of God.

Philippians 2:5-17; Work out

Jesus went from being set apart as God to being a murdered human servant. So when the text calls me to "work out" my salvation, it calls me to a lot of work. To follow in those footsteps repeating that pattern is an intimidating call. Everything within me wants to leave the words as "good theory" and then play a nice church game. Daily self abasement without complaining is a high calling.

The prayer of "not my will but yours be done" is easily stated but not easily lived. It is a heartfelt decision that must proceed daily from time alone. Jesus uttered those words in private as he grappled with his own desires. Unless I put myself in the same position, my prayer will simply be words spoken out of a sense of duty but with no heart conviction. It was this prayer that permitted him to fulfill his purpose though no one understood it in the moment.

Can I utter this same prayer with the same conviction and carry it out with no complaints like he did? If not, do I have the right to call myself his follower?