The Exponential Word

 

 

When looking to buy a new devotional back in September. I decided to go back to the future sans the DeLorean and purchased this book at Books-A-Million in York.

 

BAM is the locational replacement for Borders. It is lower on the book food chain but I am glad that York still has a mainstream book store. Some vacant retail locations get filled with those Rent-A-Centers, like radioactive fall-out immune cockroaches. When you see those predatory stores appear, know that the bomb has dropped on a community's commercial environment. Those rent-to-own establishments prey on people who can't do math and want more than they can afford. Sounds like the housing meltdown. Just sign here, here, here, here. Capitalism without a conscience created, yes created, the monster of Communism. The invisible hand of the marketplace is always attached to the wealthiest arm and strongest body political power. I dare you Free Marketers to prove me wrong.

 

In the rise of the Digital Economy, Jobless Recovery, and Wall Street money-making machine--where I am also a player--a good section of humanity in the United States has no ground to plant their vocational feet. Cutting food stamps may make the poor less docile and more combative and criminal. Hunger has a way of doing that.

 

Yet, what do people hunger for more than mere food, important and critical as it is? Meaning, for their lives to have purpose. Otherwise, explain why Rick Warren's average-written tome the Purpose Driven Life did so well. Where he stated the obvious in his California congenial manner. His ministry has done a lot of good things but do not mistake his book for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion or Lewis's Mere Christianity.   

 

What has been so great about this Devotional book is its exploration of 20 centuries of Christianity, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The authors (E. Michael and Sharon Rusten) don't gloss over the less than pious actions of Christians in the last 2,000 years. We have a lot of blood on our hands. It is not one of those Hard Right books spouting off about the evil of others outside of the faith. First judge yourself, then maybe you have the space to judge the Pagans. Maybe.  

 

I have read through the Bible twice. It does not necessarily make me a better Christian, for knowledge is not a sufficient measure of holiness. I am pretty sure the Devil has a deep knowledge of the Word so he knows how to parse, divide, and remove Bible verses from context. Such as "God is Love." If he cannot suppress this verse, he will change the culture's understanding of love, demean it, use it to describe my feelings about my fave TV show or Taco Bell's latest offering to America. Locos Tacos, I love 'em. Well, don't love something that cannot love back. A taco did not go to the Cross to die for your sins, Yo.

 

Speaking of fast food, I have gotten in the habit of super-sizing my Devotional every morning where I read the offering for the day, then I go to the Bible to learn more about the verse listed at the top of the entry. I don't know why I decided to start doing this but I am glad that I have. Since I have a decent understanding of the biblical narrative, when I jump back into the Word I am reminded of the greater picture beyond the piece that I have consumed. Like a French Fry verse, as part of the Bible Happy Meal.

 

This week I delved deeper into the following verses:

 

"Is anything impossible for God?" Genesis - Uttered by one of the angel visitors to Abraham and Sarah announcing the birth of their son Isaac when they were old and infirmed. Sarah laughed internally and was heard by her angelic visitors--who were on their way to destroying Sodom. A city that was perverse sexually but also dismissive of the poor--which should give plenty of fodder for reflection to Red and Blue Staters both. This verse and story reminded me that God can do anything He wants. He may not want to, but He can. There is a big difference between can and want to.

 

"Peace, Be Still" Mark - Jesus is sleeping down in the boat during the storm and the Disciples are freaking out. So, they wake Jesus up. And Jesus, speaks to the storm and the winds and waves obey Him and go calm on command. That really freaks the Disciples out. As scared as they were of the storm it looks like they are even more disturbed by Jesus's power. No mere man. This verse reminded me of several truths. Jesus is human. He needed a nap. He was tired. Then, he wakes up and calms the storm when He is good and ready to, not a moment before or after. It also allows me to trust that God can speak into my storms and settle the waters and silence the wind to a whisper. There are times at work this week that I thought of this verse when I was in the middle of some wave or another.

 

"Be not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind" Romans - Paul states after this verse "so that we can discern the will of God."  When our minds are renewed and recalibrated by the Word, our internal instruments can pick up God's voice. If we don't know the will of God it may be because we don't know the word of God. Words matter but not in some Bible Trivia or Memorization Contest, like which is practiced by kids in Fundie Churches. A contest of right and wrong leading to goofy gifts and even goofier kids. Knowing the Word is not like some heaven SAT of filling circles with our sharpened # 2's.  It is about doing the right thing, not just avoiding the wrong thing. Eschewing evil does not necessarily mean we have done well.