Peeling An Orange - February 18, 2010

Daily Reading

Leviticus 16-18

Daily Verse

You must not do as they do in Egypt,

where you used to live,

and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan,

where I am bringing you.

Do not follow their practices.

Leviticus 18:3

Daily Thought

I was a teenager sitting shotgun. Dad was driving. Stopped at a light, he turned to me and said, "Just don't." The light changed to green and off we went.

I'd just had my "sex talk."

The Bible says "Don't" quite a few times. Read Leviticus 18. Twenty times it says "Do not have sex with..." and finishes the sentence 20 ways.

Is that all God says? "Just don't."

No, not at all. Sex is God's idea, his creation.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

When God says "don't," he is peeling the rind off the orange. An orange is delicious, but you don't eat the rind.

We hear the opposite message from the world around us.

"Just Do It."

Eat the rind and then wonder why the fruit doesn't taste as good.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

--Genesis 2:24-25

To God's Glory,

Dave

Daily Prayer

God, You bring blessing and joy. You delight in Your work. Your will is Your pleasure. Your creation is full of beauty and majesty. You tell Your story in our history and You paint a work of art in this creation. We see in this world all the evidence we need of Your divinity, Your power, Your sovereignty, Your majesty.

And when You set us in this world, it was not only to care for it, but to enjoy it. You taught us how to enjoy it. Everything You create is good. And then there was that one thing. That very good thing. You brought us together, man and woman, and created marriage. God, may we show off Your goodness in all we do. May our marriages be very good.

Amen

Right and Wrong - January 12, 2010

Daily Reading

Job 32-34

Daily Verse

It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,

that the Almighty would pervert justice.

Job 34:12

Daily Thought

A student group at UC Davis held up a sign that read:

It isn't wrong to think you're right

But it isn't right to think others are wrong

I beg to differ.

You see, I was a referee for almost 20 years. Basketball, football, baseball, softball, soccer.

I throw my flag. Pass interference. Half the distance to the goal and first down. Now, it's just a game, but try to sell that to the team in blue. My call gave the team in green first and goal at the seven yard line. My call was a travesty against all that is just and good and right in the universe.

The blue coach asks "politely" what in the Sam-Hill I saw out there. I explain, "I think I got it right. But, hey, I'm not saying your guy was wrong, either."

Sports does not permit this. You can't get away with saying something ridiculous like, "I think I'm right, but I don't think you're wrong." When Team A wins, Team B loses.

Life has rules, too. Right and wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral exist. Every seven-year old can tell you when something is not fair.

If you want a world where no one is wrong, but you can't change the rulebook, get rid of the referee.

It is not that we believe God would do wrong. We don't, and He won't. That's the problem. The Almighty will not pervert justice, and we are rulebreakers. We want everyone to be able to do their own thing, because we want to do our own thing. But it doesn't work, it hasn't worked, and it won't work.

That is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

To God's Glory,

Dave

Daily Prayer

Sovereign God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Your ways are good, right, and just. Loving Father and Righteous Judge. May we acknowledge You as Lord.

May we love You with all our heart, mind, and strength, and in doing that, learn love, so that we will love our neighbor as ourselves. In a world seeking love, may we seek You first, and find love, because You are love.

Amen