Reflections on Malachi 2:17

17 You have wearied the LORD with your words;
Yet you say,

“ In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,

“ Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the LORD,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?” (NKJV)

Malachi tells the priests and the Jews that they have proven troublesome to God because of their complaints about Him. At God who is holy and righteous, they fling accusations - that God favours the wicked and that He delights in them. They moan and lament: "Where is the God of justice?"

This verse again highlights the arrogance of the Jews in even complaining about God's lack of justice, when they themselves are mired in sin. And it also shows how much they have strayed away from God such that they could even question His character, and impute inequity, evil-doing and wickedness to him.

Their words stun me because sometimes this is also how I accuse God when I'm in trouble or when no help from Him seems in sight.

I would question God and ask: "Lord, how could you let this happen?" or "Lord, why haven't you come to my rescue yet?" or "Lord, why are you so slow to act in the face of evil, wickedness and injustice?"

Such thoughts still come to my mind and they betray my very little faith in a very mighty God.

Lord, forgive me for being of so little faith and discounting your character, your most wonderful attributes.

At such times, I would need to fall back to His word to again be reminded of what God is like.


References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

Reflections on Malachi 2:13-16

13 And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the LORD has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”



At the altar of God, there is to be praise and worship but the priests have gone forward and covered it with their tears and weeping. Because they think that God is too severe and too rigid with regard to His commandments towards them and His expectations of them. God again repeats His judgment on them and the Jews. He will not accept their offering or look on their offering with favour.

God draws attention to the divinely instituted covenant of marriage. He says they have dealt poorly with the wives they have married when they should have been faithful in keeping to their marriage vow. In marriage, two become one, and this is the divine order and the perpetual law which God has laid down.

Malachi warns his people against polluting the sanctity of marriage through means such as polygamy. He sets out God's position on divorce, and also God's strong line on those who mistreat their wives as well as those who marry many wives.

He called on the people to check their spirit and to avoid sinning in what God viewed as one of the most sacred of his covenants. There is a similarity drawn here between the marriage covenant and the Jews' covenant with God. The exhortation and the warning is for faithfulness and purity.

God does not condone His people dealing treacherously when it comes to marriage, or when it comes to His covenant with them.


References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

Reflections on Malachi 2:10-12

10 Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
11 Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has profaned
The LORD’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being awake and aware,^[a]
Yet who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!


The Lord admonishes the priests and the Jews. He highlights the fact that they have profaned the covenant of their fathers, and have embraced deceit and treachery in their dealings with one another. They have sinned both in their relationship with God and their relationships with men.

God, in his sovereign grace, has earmarked the Jews as His chosen people, but they have become too presumptuous of His love and His grace towards them and have turned ungrateful. Their words and actions also show the vanity of man in assuming that he can do without God. They have also failed to seek God in the right way, that is, to seek him by keeping their covenant with Him and obeying His word.

The purity of God's covenant with them is also defiled by their marrying of foreign women who worship idols. Intermarriages were forbidden in the commandments delivered through Moses before the Jews went on to possess the Promised Land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, in the book of Deuteronomy.


Deuteronomy 7:1-5

1 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 2 and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. 3 Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. 5 But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images,^[a] and burn their carved images with fire.


Moses goes on to explain the reasons for the commandments. The main reason is that God has set apart the Jews as a holy people consecrated to him and a royal priesthood set apart for Him and thus, He will not tolerate any defilement or pollution by them.


Deuteronomy 7:6-11

6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.


In Malachi 2:12, the Lord hands out a stiff sentence to those who have gone against His commandments and defiled His covenant, while still bringing offerings before Him: They will be cut off, scrapped off and blotted out from His kingdom.

The covenant of God is not to be separated or viewed in isolation from His word. One keeps his covenant with God through obeying His word. Both are interlinked, and having one without fulfilling the other is to make a mockery of the love and grace of God.

Let us not be like the priests and Jews of Malachi's age, presuming in arrogance that God would close an eye and be appeased through their offerings when they have defiled the purity of their covenant with God through their words and actions.

Let us not take God for granted.



References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

3. The Spirit-Filled Bible (NKJV)

4. Life Application Bible (NIV)

My deepest longing

I will run to you (Darlene Zschech)

Your eye is on the sparrow
And Your hand, it comforts me
From the ends of the earth
To the depths of my heart
Let Your mercy and strength be seen

You call me to Your purpose
As angels understand
For Your glory may you draw all men
As Your love and grace demands

And I will run to You
To Your words of truth
Not by might, not by power
But by the Spirit of God
Yes, I will run the race
Till I see Your face
Oh, let me live in the glory of Your grace


Every time my church's worship team plays this song during service, I will be fighting to hold back my tears. The words of the chorus get to me every time because they describe a very very deep longing of mine. I can't wait to see the face of God and be in His bosom, to be in a place where I truly belong and where I can say to myself: "I'm home at last."

I tell my friends and colleagues that sometimes I feel like an alien on this earth. There are so many things that I cannot comprehend and I feel a strong sense of detachment from the things of the world because I know in my heart that this world will not be my eternal home.

Once in a while in the past, I will pray to God and cry out to Him: "Lord, take me home, take me home." But I will repent and tell God: "Forgive me God for my selfish desire. I know that as long as I am on this earth, You can use me for Your purpose."

So now, I don't pray with my selfish desires in mind but I pray that God can use me for His purpose and that I will fulfil my calling. I am committed to running the race until the Lord calls me home. Amen.


I checked the lyrics of the song and there were references to some bible verses:


Matthew 10:27-30 (NKJV)

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.


Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.



Proverbs 22:17-21 (NKJV)

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your heart to my knowledge;
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
Let them all be fixed upon your lips,
19 So that your trust may be in the LORD;
I have instructed you today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may answer words of truth
To those who send to you?


Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV)

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Malachi 2:6-9

6 The law of truth^[a] was in his mouth,
And injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And turned many away from iniquity.
7 “ For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
8 But you have departed from the way;
You have caused many to stumble at the law.
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
9 “ Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown partiality in the law.”
(NKJV)


Verses 6 and 7 give a wonderful example of the qualities that God desires in a priest, or in a minister and pastor. First, the law of truth is in the priest's mouth. This means a hunger for God's Word and a gifting/anointing in teaching of the Word. So there is an immediate link between priesthood and teaching. The priest is equipped to teach his people under him because he has God's truth. The pursuit of knowledge of God's law and truth is necessary for a priest and anyone who has pastoral duties over a group of believers. Not only is the law of truth found in his mouth, but also injustice is not found on his lips. A priest of God has no deceit in him and he would not lead people astray.

The priest would enjoy a peaceful and close walk with God because of his righteousness. He would worship and honour God because he is a servant of the Most High. Due to his upright nature and his teaching of God's truth and law, the priest would turn many away from iniquity, sin, wrongdoing and unrighteousness. This also means that he would turn many towards God.

He would be a keeper of God's truth and law, and the people under him should seek the law from his mouth, that is, through his teachings of God's truth and law. The priest is the messenger for the Lord. He says what God wants his chosen people to hear, he teaches what God wants his chosen people to learn, and he conducts himself in the way God wants his people to model after. He is a vassal of God. He is to discharge his office with a pure conscience.


After God has fleshed out the qualities of a priest, He draws a sharp contrast to the behaviour of the priests in Malachi's time. Instead of following God faithfully, these wilful and disobedient priests have fallen away. Instead of leading many to God, they have led many away from the altar of God and caused them to stumble at His law. Instead of observing and preserving the covenant of Levi, they have corrupted and defiled it.

God pronounces His judgment on these priests. He declares that He will make them contemptible and base before all the people. They will no longer enjoy a higher position before the people because of their priesthood, and will be brought low because they have not worshipped or honoured God through their words or actions. They have been partial in their administration of the law, when God desires fairness and equity. They have abandoned Levi's covenant with God, and consequently God has forsaken them.

Our covenant with God is a two-way thing. If we stray or behave in ways that corrupt this covenant and persist in our wilfulness and do not repent and turn back to Him, then we cannot expect God to keep His covenant with us for He is a holy God. Although the verses refer to priests, or in the modern day usage pastors and ministers of Gods, they should also apply to anyone who has a personal relationship with God and who has accepted Christ as His Lord and Saviour.

We are to walk with God in peace and equity. We are to hunger for the knowledge of God's law and truth. We are commissioned to turn people towards God. Our lips are to worship and honour God by speaking in truth, not deceit. We are to be righteous in our walk with God, and to have a pure heart and clean hands. Amen.




References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

3. The Spirit-Filled Bible (NKJV)

4. Life Application Bible (NIV)

Reflections on Malachi 2:1-5

1 “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If you will not hear,
And if you will not take it to heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them already,
Because you do not take it to heart.
3 “ Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will take you away with it.
4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
5 “ My covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
(NKJV)

God sends out His commandment to the priests, to give glory to His name. The priests who had been given the honour and privilege of guiding God's chosen people but who so far have fallen very short of God's standards. The Lord says unflinchingly that if the priests continue with their flippant and deceitful ways, He will curse their blessings. And He warns them that He has already cursed them because they have not taken His commandment to heart. This would mean the taking away of all and everything that God has provided for them in abundance.

Their misconduct will not only affect them, but also their descendants who will be chastised and rebuked by God. And that God now regards their offerings as dung. He goes on to remind the priests that He has sent this commandment to them that He may re-establish the covenant with Levi. This was a covenant of both life and peace.

Just as God had made a covenant with Israel (a kingdom of priests), He had also set apart the house of Aaron to be a family of priest. Aaron and his descendants - under the tribe of Levi, were chosen for service in the house of the Lord. This is recounted in tbe book of Numbers, which describes how Israel under the leadership of Moses was in the desert region of Sinai, preparing to enter the Promised Land.

Numbers 1:48-53 (NKJV)

48 for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 52 The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; 53 but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

Numbers 3:5-13 (NKJV)

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him^[a] from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.”

Numbers 25:10-13

10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”

References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

3. The Spirit-Filled Bible (NKJV)

4. Life Application Bible (NIV)

Reflections on Malachi 1: 12-14

12 “ But you profane it,
In that you say,

‘ The table of the LORD^[a] is defiled;
And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’
13 You also say,

‘ Oh, what a weariness!’
And you sneer at it,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;
Thus you bring an offering!
Should I accept this from your hand?”
Says the LORD.
14 “ But cursed be the deceiver
Who has in his flock a male,
And takes a vow,
But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—
For I am a great King,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ And My name is to be feared among the nations.
(NKJV)


The Lord repeats the charges against His chosen people. And he further says that those who have taken a vow to give of his best offering to God will be cursed if he instead presents before God sacrifices that are blemished. The Lord is reacting to the flippant nature with which the priests and the people have now treated their sacrifices to God. Instead of treating God with reverence, they have chosen to mock him by offering him the stolen, the lame and the sick. The priests and the people have shown disrespect to God. And He in turn pronounces the judgment of a curse on them, anyone who does not present a pure offering, anyone who does not take seriously his own vow to God.


These verses remind us of the seriousness with which God desires the very best of people who worship Him and who honour Him and who revere Him. Although God desires a close personal relationship with us, we should never forget the truth that He is our Lord and Master. In tithing, for instance, we should give our very first 10% or more to God before we settle on the use of the remainder of our monthly income. Are we most of the time scrapping at the bottom just to give a miserly offering to God in return for His bountiful blessings for us? As for the use of our time, are we trying in vain to fit God into our schedules or are we seeking to honour Him and worship Him by fitting our schedule around Him? And when it comes to relationships with others, do we honour God in what we say to others and how we treat them?

Hypocrisy and deceit do not sit well with a holy God.



References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

3. The Spirit-Filled Bible (NKJV)

4. Life Application Bible (NIV)

Reflections on Malachi 1:11

11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
In every place incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
For My name shall be great among the nations,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
(NKJV)

I looked at these words written by Malachi around 450 B.C, and I said to myself: "Hey, I'm included in this prophecy!". Ha! Every Gentile Christian is a living testimony of the prophecy. The Lord looked at His chosen people, the Jews, and they have been found wanting.

As a result, He says through Malachi that as surely as the sun will rise and set, His name will be great among the Gentiles. In contrast to the polluted and defiled offerings of the Jews, God says that in every place, incense will offered to His name and a pure offering. God has sovereignly declared that salvation as well as the worship and praise of Him have been offered to the Gentiles and not just the Jews. And that all the nations will come to know of His truth and His name. The words also point to the time when the Gospel would be spread to the world through workers of God.

In the Old Testament, the Jews used animal sacrifices to worship and honour God as well as to have sins forgiven and to have fellowship with God restored. With Christ who became the perfect sacrifice by bearing all our sins on the cross, we no longer need to resort to such practices in order to have our sins forgiven and to have a personal relationship with God. Our sacrifice is now that of praise and worship through our lips and giving thanks to His name, and worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth. God is well pleased also with doing good and sharing.


John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”


Hebrews 13:15-16
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/?show=worksBy

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/?show=worksBy

3. The Spirit-Filled Bible (NKJV)

4. Life Application Bible (NIV)

Born For Such A Time As This

I Have A Destiny
(Eph. 1:11; John 15:16; Phil 1:6)
By Mark Altrogge
© 1988 PDI/Pleasant Hill Music Diadam, Inc. 939 Sundersville Ferry Rd., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122

I have a destiny I know I shall fulfill
I have a destiny in that city on a hill.
I have a destiny and it's not an empty wish
For I know I was born for such a time as this.

Long before the ages You predestined me
To walk in all the works You have prepared for me
You've given me a part to play in history
To help prepare a bride for eternity.

I did not choose you but You have chosen me
And appointed me for bearing fruit abundantly
I know You will complete the work begun in me
By the power of Your Spirit working mightily.


God never ceases to amaze me. In my previous post, the Lord led me to this Spurgeon sermon about election and predestination. Then when I was listening to my song collection on Real Player, this song by Kent Henry sprang out. When I heard it, I was very encouraged by the lyrics because as in the Bible, even though we may sometimes not know what God has in mind for us, rest assured that He has a plan and a purpose for us. And that He who has begun a good work in us has promised to finish it until the day of Christ's return. Amen.


Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV)
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,


John 15:16 (NKJV)
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Reflections on Malachi 1:6-10

6 “ A son honors his father,
And a servant his master.
If then I am the Father,
Where is My honor?
And if I am a Master,
Where is My reverence?
Says the LORD of hosts
To you priests who despise My name.
Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

7 “ You offer defiled food on My altar,
But say,
‘ In what way have we defiled You?’
By saying,
‘ The table of the LORD is contemptible.’
8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably?”
Says the LORD of hosts.

9 “ But now entreat God’s favor,
That He may be gracious to us.
Whilethis is being done by your hands,
Will He accept you favorably?”
Says the LORD of hosts.
10 “ Who is there even among you who would shut the doors,
So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?
I have no pleasure in you,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“ Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.

When I read these verses, I was taken aback by God's sharp rebuke to His priests. Here, he took them to task over the following charges:
- Despising His name
- Offering defiled food on His altar
- Defiling His name
- Saying the table of the Lord is contemptible
- Offering the blind as a sacrifice
- Offering the lame and sick as a sacrifice

The misconduct of the priests is very serious when we compare their offerings to God's standard of offerings outlined in the book of Leviticus, where God laid out the sacrificial system for His chosen people.

There were five key offerings that the Israelites had to make in order to have their sins forgiven and to restore their fellowship with God.

The burnt Offering (Leviticus 1) - Hebrew (olah)
It is the only sacrifice that is entirely consumed upon the altar, and therefore it is sometimes called the whole offering. It included bulls, sheep, goat, pigeons and turtledoves. The offering is to be a male without blemish to make payment for sins in general, and showed a person's devotion to God.
How it relates to Christ - The unblemished animal symbolised the moral perfection demanded by a holy God, and the perfect nature of the real sacrifice that is to come - Jesus Christ.

The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2) - Hebrew (minchah)
It is a tribute offering made in order to secure or maintain the divine favour, indicating that the fruits of a person's labour should be dedicated to God. Three kinds of offerings are listed: fine flour with oil and incense, baked cakes or wafers of fine flour and oil, and roasted kernels of grain (corn) with oil and incense. The absence of yeast symbolised the absence of sin, and the oil symbolised God's presence. Part of the offering was burnt on the altar as a gift to God, and the rest was eaten by the priests. The offering was to show honour and respect to God in worship, and to acknowledge that all we have belongs to God.
How it relates to Christ - Christ is the perfect man who gave all of himself to God and to others.


The Peace Offering (Leviticus 3) - Hebrew (shelamin)
It is designed to provide expiation and permits the one who makes the offering to eat the meat of the sacrifice. It was often given on a joyous occasion. The offering is to be a male or female of the herd without blemish. It was to express gratitude to God and symbolised peace and fellowship with God.
How it relates to Christ - Christ is the only way to fellowship with God.


The Sin Offering (Leviticus 4) - Hebrew (chatta't)
It is used to remove impurity from the sanctuary. Failure to observe the commandments of the Lord results in a violation of the holiness code and in the covenant relationship with God. The subsequent sin offering may then be given for the anointed priest, the congregation of Israel, the ruler of the people, or an individual of the common people. It involves the sprinkling of the animal's blood (again the animal is to be without blemish) and emphasised purification before God. It is offered to end a person's period of uncleanness, to end certain vows, or to purify from inadvertent sins or sins of omission.
How it relates to Christ - The offering restores the sinner to fellowship with God and also shows the seriousness of sin. Christ's death restores our fellowship with God because He is the final sin offering.



The Trepass Offering (Leviticus 5) - Hebrew (asham)
Known also as the Guilt Offering or the Offering of Reparation, it is prepared for violation of the sanctity of the property of God or of another person, usually by the use of a false oath. The trespass has desecrated the sanctity of God and an offering is required. It was to make payment for sins against God and against others. A sacrifice was made to God and the injured person was repaid or compensated.
How it relates to Christ - Christ's death has taken away all the deadly consequences of sin.


(The notes above on the five offerings are taken from the Life Application Bible - NIV version and the Spirit-filled Bible - NKJV version)


In Malachi, the priests were guilty of profaning God's name, instead of doing their duty and doing honour to His name. God's answer was very clear - He says in His Word that He finds no pleasure in them and He will not accept an offering from their hands.

I thought about what lessons these verses would hold for Christians today, given that the book of Malachi seems very far removed from our modern age. As well, due to Christ's sacrifice, we no longer have to offer animals before God. But in Malachi, we can see clearly that God takes an extremely serious view of sin, and so it is extremely important for us to go before Christ in prayer and confess our sins daily and repent of our sins.

I was telling a close Christian friend that sometimes I tend to take God for granted. Instead of giving God the best of my time, my efforts, my heart and my life, I tend to leave Him with the scraps. Forgive me, Lord. There are always so many things that I would be busy doing rather than spending time with Him in prayer, devoting time to His ministry or to evangelism, or immersing myself in His Word.

Lately, though, I've been trying to consciously spend more time with God through these ways:
- Doing a bible study of each book, starting with Malachi
- Carving out a time period for my quiet time (2am to 4am)
- Blogging my thoughts/notes/reflections on the bible study during quiet time
- Praying before work during the taxi ride to the office (apart from praying during quiet time)
- Praying to God daily for endless portions of these things: passion for Him and His Word; compassion for people; grace; love, joy and peace; humility; wisdom; and increasing revelation of Him and His Word; and faith to believe in the impossible.

And you know what? It is such a tremendous joy, honour and privilege for me to be in the inner courts. This, not because of who I am or what I've done, but because of God's grace upon me as well as Christ's crucifixtion and resurrection. May I ever be grateful for and humbled by this truth. Amen.

Reflections on Malachi 1:2-5

2 “ I have loved you,” says the LORD.

“ Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”
Says the LORD.

“ Yet Jacob I have loved;
3 But Esau I have hated,
And laid waste his mountains and his heritage
For the jackals of the wilderness.”
4 Even though Edom has said,

“ We have been impoverished,
But we will return and build the desolate places,”

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“ They may build, but I will throw down;
They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness,
And the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever.
5 Your eyes shall see,
And you shall say,

‘ The LORD is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’
(NKJV version)

Brief summary taken from Matthew Henry's commentary (paraphrased)

Malachi draws an argument outlining God's love for Israel by contrasting the fate of Edom and Israel. The country which the Lord gave to Esau was called Edom (or Mount Seir or Idumea) and his descendants were Edomites. The Lord says here that there is eternal judgment against the Edomites and their land will be laid to waste and desolation, even as they try to rebuild their land. But in the case of Israel, even though God was displeased with His chosen people, He says that they will see and they will say that the Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel.

My thoughts

As I was reading the verses, the first question that popped up was why God favoured Jacob and hated Esau. And if one thinks beyond these verses, then we would ask why God favoured Abraham and why God favoured the Jews. In doing so, we approach the doctrine of election.

I went online to search for answers, and I came across a sermon that Charles Spurgeon preached on Jacob and Esau on Jan 16, 1859 - http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/0239.HTM


Spurgeon covered what he termed as "terrible text" but said he "will be honest with it if he can". This is actually the first time I've come across an online sermon devoted to election and God's sovereign grace. What I like about Spurgeon is that he doesn't pull any punches regarding God's sovereignty, and that at the end of his sermon, he redirects the congregation back to the most important point - the Gospel.

Below are some extracts from his sermon

The truth is, neither you nor I have any right to want to know more about predestination than what God tells us. That is enough for us. If it were worth while for us to know more, God would have revealed more. What God has told us, we are to believe, but to the knowledge thus gained, we are too apt to add our own vague notions, and then we are sure to go wrong. It would be better, if in all controversies, men had simply stood hard and fast by "Thus saith the Lord," instead of having it said, "Thus and thus I think."

I can tell you the reason why God loved Jacob; It is sovereign grace. There was nothing in Jacob that could make God love him; there was everything about him, that might have made God hate him, as much as he did Esau, and a great deal more. But it was because God was infinitely gracious, that he loved Jacob, and because he was sovereign in his dispensation of this grace, that he chose Jacob as the object of that love.


Now, the next question is a different one: Why did God hate Esau? I am not going to mix this question up with the other, they are entirely distinct, and I intend to keep them so, one answer will not do for two questions, they must be taken separately, and then can be answered satisfactorily. Why does God hate any man? I defy anyone to give any answer but this, because that man deserves it; no reply but that can ever be true. There are some who answer, divine sovereignty; but I challenge them to look that doctrine in the face. Do you believe that God created man and arbitrarily, sovereignly—it is the same thing—created that man, with no other intention, than that of damning him? Made him, and yet, for no other reason than that of destroying him for ever? Well, if you can believe it, I pity you, that is all I can say: you deserve pity, that you should think so meanly of God, whose mercy endureth for ever. You are quite right when you say the reason why God loves a man, is because God does do so; there is no reason in the man. But do not give the same answer as to why God hates a man. If God deals with any man severely, it is because that man deserves all he gets. In hell there will not be a solitary soul that will say to God, O Lord, thou hast treated me worse than I deserve! But every lost spirit will be made to feel that he has got his deserts, that his destruction lies at his own door and not at the door of God; that God had nothing to do with his condemnation, except as the Judge condemns the criminal, but that he himself brought damnation upon his own head, as the result of his own evil works. Justice is that which damns a man; it is mercy, it is free grace, that saves; sovereignty holds the scale of love; it is justice holds the other scale. Who can put that into the hand of sovereignty? That were to libel God and to dishonour him;


May grace now be given to you to bring you to yield to this glorious command. May you now believe in him who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Free grace, who shall tell thy glories? who shall narrate thy achievements, or write thy victories? Thou hast carried the cunning Jacob into glory, and made him white as the angels of heaven, and thou shalt carry many a black sinner there also, and make him glorious as the glorified. May God prove this doctrine to be true in your own experience! If there still remains any difficulty upon your minds about any of these points, search the Word of God, and seek the illumination of his Spirit to teach you. But recollect after all, these are not the most important points in Scripture. That which concerns you most, is to know whether you have an interest in the blood of Christ? whether you really believe in the Lord Jesus. I have only touched upon these, because they cause a great many people a world of trouble, and I thought I might be the means of helping some of you to tread upon the neck of the dragon. May God grant that it may be so for Christ's sake.


The Spurgeon Archive
http://www.spurgeon.org/mainpage.htm

Reflections on Malachi

Malachi 1:2
"I have loved you," says the LORD.

Even as God sent his prophet Malachi to deliver a very stern rebuke to them on their ingratitude, the Lord starts off by saying He loves His chosen people.

This jumped out at me because it shows that the motivation of God is His love for us. It was out of His love that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, down to die for us that we may live and have life everlasting - because of Jesus' sacrifice and His resurrection.

Love also motivated God to create us - the only ones created in His image - so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. God is a God of relationships.

I, for one, find it very hard to develop new friendships or relationships even though I'm friendly. I can be extremely shy at times and hide that aspect of me behind a mask of aloofness.

On a day when I was in charge of the team, I overheard someone saying that she always smiled at the person but the person is always black-faced. I think she could have referring to me. Usually when I'm in charge, I'm more stressed out than usual and I've a lot of things on my mind. I frown when I'm thinking, I frown when I'm checking, I frown when I'm going through a story, I frown when I'm trying to keep to the deadline etc. So I tend to carry this perpetual frown on my face.

In the light of that, I would need to be more aware of how I come across to people. I could be perceived as being highly unfriendly.

I would also need to be more aware of the people around me, and be more sensitive to them. It is not good if people perceive me, a Christian, as being unfriendly and unapproachable.

I want people to see Christ in me, and having a constant frown is not going to help at all in that area. A friend remarked that I've got a permanent frown line running down the middle of my forehead.

Well, I think it's time I worked more on the smiles and the laugh lines.

Introduction to Malachi

Finally, I have settled down to doing a proper study of Malachi. As mentioned previously, I decided on Malachi because it was the last book of the Old Testament, and I wanted to go from the last book to the first book Genesis in that order. (Yeah, I know that's quite illogical but I wanted my bible study to be different and unusual.)

I'm using Matthew Henry's and John Calvin's commentaries for my study of Malachi.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc.i.html
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom30.html

Just a brief introduction to Malachi:
Malachi (whose name meant My Angel or My Messenger) was the last of the prophets. After him, there was a lapse of 400 years in which God didn't speak through prophets until Christ was revealed.

During the time that he spoke, the Jews had recently returned to their own country but they had reverted to their old ways. They had forgotten God's favour on them, and had relapsed into many sins and many vices.

Hence Malachi was actually delivering a very stern rebuke from God to His chosen people but he reserved his harshest comments for the priests, who were anointed by God to be teachers of the law and of uprighteousness, but who had actually committed a great deal of the sins of that time.

I wanted to start off this entry with my reflections and thoughts on Malachi 1, but I realised that the two commentaries that I'm using offer a very detailed study of the book, including longish notes on each verse so I've decided to go through the notes on Malachi 1 before penning my thoughts on the first chapter.

John Calvin's notes on Malachi's chapter 1, for instance, runs into 28 printed A4-sized pages, and his entire commentary for the book (only four chapters) runs into 93 pages.

So I now need to decide how I want to distill both the commentaries into a series on Reflections of Malachi. Following that, then I will pick up on Malachi 1 and post my thoughts.

PS: I caught the biblical origin of the song "From the rising of the sun to the going down, the Lord's name is to be praised, is to be praised". It's in Malachi! :-)

Malachi 1: 11

For from the rising of the sun,
even to its going down,
My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
In every place incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
For My name shall be great among the nations,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

Sublime supper

I had a wonderful long-awaited supper with a dear friend early this morning, and if not for the dear friend's husband who was waiting for his frog's leg porridge at home, I suppose our conversation could have gone on and on. I was filling her in on what's been happening recently in my life and she was updating me on her upcoming holiday and a lot more stuff. Mostly personal stuff.

We went to this coffeeshop at Geylang Lorong 3 to have the porridge. The place offers an "order 3 frogs' legs, get two more free" deal. We decided that both of us could eat three legs, and we asked them to pack the other two legs for her husband who was still waiting up for her despite his very tiring work routine. I ordered lime juice and she went for a herbal drink (luohanguo with longan). We also ordered a dish of stir-fried vegetables (doumiao).

I found it interesting that the lady waitress who was serving us kept recommending us their top dishes, which of course would have also meant high prices. We resisted all her polite recommendations. We had opted for a table by the roadside, which was on hindsight a bad choice because there were many vehicles stopping by and some cabs parking there, on the prowl for customers. So we breathed in quite a bit of car exhaust plus some cigarette smoke from the nearby tables.

We were discussing the cable show Ed because we found out only during supper that both of us watch the cable show. I was telling her that I thought the actor who played Ed was very cute - he has that shy demeanour and blue eyes. I've a very soft spot for guys with a gentle and soft demeanour, even though some sometimes hide behind an aloof facade. There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the two main protagonists in the show, and we both wondered what the third season would bring for them. She said it took her a while to get into what the show was about, and how a bowling alley fitted into it. I watched only the last two or three episodes of the second season as well.

Then she talked about the Oprah Winfrey show, and how the recent episode showcased a new way of getting 3D images of a person's heart and how the 3D images could be moved around to get a look at the different areas of the heart. Oprah's heart condition was like that of a 19-year-old - her heart arteries were strong and clear! I then told her about this article I had read on the Internet about the effects of drug and alcohol addiction on the brain, and how brain activity is impaired by such addictions but that the brain starts recovering 100 days after the person stops taking drugs or alcohol.

She then told me that she was going to do ear-candling. I was intrigued because I didn't know how that worked. She explained to me that a hollow candle is placed into the ear, and the wick is lit. The heat causes a vacuum to form in the hollow candle and so the ear wax is sucked out through the candle. I've never done that before, and I told her that I may schedule myself for ear-candling or a hearing test (either I've got too much ear wax or I'm losing my hearing). The tendency to talk louder is linked to hearing loss because one talks louder in order to hear one's words clearer. My friends have been commenting that I talk too loudly in public.

There were some interesting characters in the coffeeshop, and one group of them left. I was so distracted by them that it took me close to 30 seconds to continue from where I left off. I won't say what actions led to me being thrown off my track but suffice to say they reminded me that I was in Geylang.

My friend and I talked about many other things but, as usual, the most important, precious and personal ones will be safely stored in the memories and in the heart. She is also one of the few friends who understand me well and can be patient with my nonsense, my spiels, my ramblings as well as my intensity.

We kind of told each other that we would leave by 2am. But we were still settling the bill around 2.30am. My friend called her husband to tell him to wait a while longer for his porridge. :-P

We stepped away from the table and the coffeeshop. She very kindly waited for another cab to come by (despite thoughts of a very hungry husband) before we both boarded the two cabs and went separately on our way home. I smsed her to say that I had a wonderful time catching up with her.

This is part of what life is about, isn't it? :-)

Returning to the source

Yesterday, I was wondering what book of the bible to do a serious study of (with Matthew Henry's help), and the answer was Malachi. I had chosen it because it was the last book of the Old Testament, and I just wanted to proceed from the last book all the way till Genesis. And then I would go through the New Testament.

I had no inkling of what Malachi was all about, but when I read the first few lines, it read like God's personal rebuke to me. I felt extremely chastened by especially these words:

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?" says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name."

It caused me to do a spiritual check, and there are many areas where I have been found wanting, and in which I need to be less flippant about. I need to remember not to take God for granted but at the same time, I also need to be aware that I'm not saved by works but grace through Christ's sacrifice on the cross and that good works come about because of my response to God's grace and in testimony of my faith in him.

Thus my first and most important consideration is always developing my personal relationship with Christ - always seeking to be in the inner courts. That I need to look out for instances where I could be too busy concerning myself with works that I forget to go back to the source - God - and rest in Him, and spend time with Him.

A pastor once said that it's very easy to gauge how our walk with God is by the way our relationships with others are coming along.

Silent Night

I just finished watching this movie called Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) - an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. It was based on true events that happened during Christmas in 1914 where, as the Observer article below put it, "Weary men climbed hesitantly at first out of trenches and stumbled into no man's land. They shook hands, sang carols, lit each other's cigarettes, swapped tunic buttons and addresses and, most famously, played football, kicking around empty bully-beef cans and using their caps or steel helmets as goalposts. The unauthorised Christmas truce spread across much of the 500-mile Western Front where more than a million men were encamped."

Here are some links on the Christmas Truce:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1376965,00.html
These two articles give an overall picture of the events that happened.

http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/letters.html

This website is devoted to Operation Plum Puddings, which aims to collate the many letters printed in UK regional papers from soldiers who took part in the Christmas Truce of 1914. About 80 letters from 100 newspapers have been transcribed so far. This website's home page also has a link to a list of the songs that were sung by the soldiers during the truce. It's A Long Way To Tipperary made it to the list as did Silent Night, Onward Christian Soldiers and the Austrian anthem :-)

I read some of the letters, and went through the first two articles. What amazed me was how these men decided that even though there was a war, peace could still be had for a while on Christmas. There was even a short English-German service held by an English clergyman! The reason the higher authorities knew about the truces was that the soldiers had written about them in their letters home! But most heartbreaking was the fact that for some of these letter writers, they never made it home.

There are two books written about the 1914 Christmas truce:
1. Christmas Truce - M Brown and S Seaton. (out of print, but second-hand editions available at amazon - I checked)

2. Silent Night, The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914 - Stanley Weintraub. (I hope I can find it at Kino!)

I think it's very encouraging to know that God's Spirit does touch people even in the most terrible of times, the most difficult of circumstances and that for a moment, as a character in the movie said: "We can forget about the war."

The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard

quietnotes called me one day to ask me whether I was free to attend Rickie Lee Jones concert with her because noisynotes had an overseas work assignment and had to give up his ticket. I had wanted to go for the concert already so I said yes. The concert was at the Esplanade at 11pm yesterday.

I met quietnotes at Pantry Magic at Holland Village where she was buying a muffin baking mould. She asked the staff to measure the width and depth of the individual muffin moulds because they had to be of a certain depth and width. Unfortunately, they were not but she bought the mould anyway. Apologies to baking enthusiasts who may be reading this, and reeling in horror from any misused baking terms.

We then drove to the Botanical Gardens basement foodcourt for dinner. During the drive, quietnotes talked about a crappy experience earlier that afternoon involving the exchange of a $90 red blouse (button issue) at MD that led to her buying a pair of $20 earrings to compensate for her wasted time at the boutique. She said she had chosen her concert outfit to match the new pair of earrings.

We parked and walked to the basement foodcourt. We ordered one big serving of hor fun, a two-person portion of roast meat and roast duck, a huge portion of vegetables with salted egg and century egg, one green apple juice and one watermelon juice. The quality of the food was good and I was delighted because this was the first time I had been to this foodcourt.

quietnotes talked about her recent Taiwan trip and her visit to the home of a bilingual Taiwanese writer Lin Yu Tang. She also said that she had been quite frustrated over the red blouse episode, but when she drove home from the boutique, she was totally over the moon because one of her orchids had bloomed. Her dogs were shocked by her athletic prowess as she ran past them, up the stairs and into her room to grab a camera. She dashed downstairs and took around 100 digital shots of the bloom (okay, one to two shots only). She showed me photos of the beautiful bloom.

We ate slowly not merely because we over-ordered but also because we had plenty of time to kill. I was telling quietnotes about the session I had earlier at the YWCA. I was being interviewed by an experienced counsellor to assess whether I was suitable to go through the intermediate round of training before I became a volunteer lay counsellor. I told her that I was very nervous and shaky during the session, but the counsellor told me that he would e-mail me regarding the course training so I think I passed. Then I told her about some stuff from two books that I had read recently - The Undercover Economist and Freakonomics. As always, quietnotes very politely listens to me ramble on about stuff that I don't think she's very interested in.

Before we knew it, we were stuffed and there was still quite some food left. quietnotes had an intense debate with her inner self on whether to doggy-bag the food or just leave it be. This went on for close to 15 minutes. She said that she didn't like to waste food. I, of course, merely said that if we were to doggy-bag the food, then we would have to drive back to her place so that we can refrigerate the food rather than leave the food in the boot of her car till the concert was over. At the 16th minute, quietnotes decided: Heck, let's leave it. We left the air-conditioned area and adjourned to the outdoor area to have teh-si.

While we were having teh-si, quietnotes related to me about how she has marked down a certain "domestic goddess" (big hint: NL) because her muffin recipe was unclear in certain areas. Her first attempt at muffin-baking resulted in literally true-blue blueberry muffins - 12 of them. noisynotes ate one blue one and said: "health food, huh?" She ate three, and gave the rest to her dogs who gobbled them down. quietnotes told me that she was undaunted by that unfortunate event, and had taken on the challenge of baking muffins again but this time, using a different baking book.

We finished our teh-si and drove to the Esplanade carpark. We entered the carpark at 9.50pm only to realise that entry after 10pm was $1 per entry and that before 10pm, it was $4. We decided then that we wouldn't go for drinks to save the $3. We walked to the Esplanade shop to kill some more time, and she bumped into the wife of a close friend. So the wife brought us to him and we spent some time discussing ideas and books with him. He made tea for quietnotes.

Soon, it was close to 11pm. So we walked to the concert hall and to our seats. I knew that a colleague and her boyfriend (the AA duo) were also attending the concert. It just happened that as we were proceeding along our row, I saw A and introduced him to quietnotes. The other A had gone to the restroom, but I managed to wave to her before the concert started.

The lights dimmed and Rickie Lee Jones walked on stage. Handclaps, whistles and shouts (whooping?). She proceeded to talk as she sat at the piano while the emcee was trying to get a word in. Finally she noticed him and he was able to introduce her to the audience. Following that, the concert started with her singing four of her old songs as she was playing the piano. Quintessential Rickie Lee Jones.

After that, she walked to centre stage and the rest of her extremely groovy band appeared. And she played songs from her latest album The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard. And I was instantly hooked. This is the first time that I've been exposed to such a mind-boggling performance, as quietnotes put it. I think that this is the best live concert I've been to so far in my life.

Her voice, her range, her improvisation, her sound, her emotions --- unmatchable. I was in awe and extremely happy that I was there in person to listen to her. I was leaning forward in my seat for most of the concert just so I can catch her singing better and totally focus on her and her band. The band was fabulous, totally in sync with her. Absolutely of one mind.

I told quietnotes that in the transition from her four old songs at the piano to her songs from the new album, I sensed joy. It was a powerful feeling that I got from the way she performed her new songs. quietnotes said that to her, the new songs were more matured and more textured.

To me, the other amazing thing was that Rickie Lee Jones' music sounded so modern --- the band's sound was so eclectic and so superb. And her very distinct way of singing topped everything. quietnotes said the concert seemed like a religious experience. It was one of a kind and truly Rickie Lee Jones embodies everything that is wonderful and excellent in a live performance. As of now, I'm still a bit stunned and still trying to come to terms with what I've heard and seen. Two words: Blown away.

We drove to HV where quietnotes lived, and she dropped me off near Cold Storage because I wanted to get a drink. One of her constant refrains after the concert when we bought Rickie Lee Jones' new album was: "Don't listen to it until one or two months after. You'll be disappointed because the concert was so good."

I think I'll follow her advice because then, I can indulge in memories of the concert that much longer, and also look back with joy and contentment on a day well-spent.

www.rickieleejones.com

Emily and Christina (II)

The Emily Dickinson trail led me to an NYT article that had the headline - Here's The Problem With Emily Dickinson. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/weekinreview/27vinciguerra.ART.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=8649f7722e8e0c5f&ex=1290747600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)
And this was how I came across Christina Rossetti, the 19th century British poet, who was described as someone whose poetry was the natural overflow of her confidence in and submission to Jesus, her Lord and Saviour.

I promptly hunted for her literature, and here are some of her poems which struck a chord with me:


A Better Resurrection

I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numbed too much for hopes or fears.
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimmed with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.

My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall--the sap of spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.

My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perished thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.


Up-hill

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when 'ust in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labor you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.


De Profundis

Oh why is heaven built so far,
Oh why is earth set so remote?
I cannot reach the nearest star
That hangs afloat.
I would not care to reach the moon,
One round monotonous of change;
Yet even she repeats her tune
Beyond my range.
I never watch the scatter'd fire
Of stars, or sun's far-trailing train,
But all my heart is one desire,
And all in vain:
For I am bound with fleshly bands,
Joy, beauty, lie beyond my scope;
I strain my heart, I stretch my hands,
And catch at hope.

Emily and Christina (I)

Today, I read an article by Jay Ladin titled Meeting Her Maker: Emily Dickinson's God (http://www.crosscurrents.org/articlelist.htm ) This led me to a few of her poems highlighted in the article:


Of Course - I prayed

Of Course-I prayed-
And did God Care?
He cared as much as on the Air
A Bird-had stamped her foot-
And cried "Give Me"-
My Reason-Life-
I had not had-but for Yourself-
'Twere better Charity
To leave me in the Atom's Tomb-
Merry, and Nought, and gay, and numb-
Than this smart Misery.



Those - dying then

Those -- dying then,
Knew where they went --
They went to God's Right Hand --
That Hand is amputated now
And God cannot be found --

The abdication of Belief
Makes the Behavior small --
Better an ignis fatuus
Than no illume at all.


It was too late for Man -

It was too late for Man --
But early, yet, for God --
Creation -- impotent to help --
But Prayer -- remained -- Our Side --

How excellent the Heaven --
When Earth -- cannot be had --
How hospitable -- then -- the face
Of our Old Neighbor -- God -


I was intrigued enough to go online and do a key word search - Emily Dickinson Poems. Came across this website which has a good biography on her, including her family background which helps explain her views of God as expressed in the three poems above. I have to say, though, that one can't judge a poet's relationship with God by just these three poems, but they do offer an insight into her spiritual struggles. http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson/sort_poems_by_first_lines#poems

From that second, it's like everything changed

Addicts are weak. Weak of mind, weak of character. They're wilfully self-destructive. They're unbearably selfish. They must be. Otherwise they'd stop hurting themselves and hurting others as well, right?

Well, wrong.

Repeated use of drugs and alcohol alters the way the brain works, and consequently thought, speech and action. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease.


ABC News published an excerpt recently from a new book Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop?
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2929254&page=1

What experts said in the excerpt:

Gantt Galloway, PharmD, a scientist in the Addiction Pharmacology Research Laboratory at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, explains, "If we look at recovery as a lifelong process that may include one or many relapses, a far more realistic view of success emerges. We need to think of a treatment trajectory: it may take five, seven, nine times before they get it. Chronic depression has similar success rates. Seizure patients? The noncompliance rate is just as high. High blood pressure? All they have to do is take their medicine. It's not as difficult as staying sober, but the rate of noncompliance is just as high."

Michael Dennis, PhD, a senior research psychologist in the Lighthouse Institute of Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington, Illinois, says that 70 percent of the patients relapse after their first time in treatment. "It's not like fixing a broken bone," he says.

"It's not as simple as just saying no, or just stopping," he argues. "Once someone's arrived at the chronic condition of alcohol or drug dependence, it's not that easy for them to quit."

The excerpt featured some examples of the impact of addiction on the addict's life and the impact on the family. As well as a few true-life stories. Highly sobering, with a Gallup drug addiction poll of 902 adults last year showing that the words immediate family members used were "devastating", "abusive", and "horrible" to describe the strain on their emotional health. Almost half said they suffered from shame over having an addicted family member.

The website also has a video interview in which scans of the brain are shown and how the brain is affected by drug or alcohol addiction. The visual evidence was most stark: The lights literally go out on the brain after addiction but the brain does start recovering from the abuse after 100 days.

The good news from the book and the excerpt: Addiction can be successfully treated but it takes time.

When reading through the excerpt, especially the real-life stories, I was drawn to Psalm 31:9-17 and 31:23-24

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes,my soul and my body!
For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
Do not let me be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.

Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints!
For the LORD preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD.

Whom shall I send?

This country sends more missionaries abroad to spread the Gospel than any other country apart from the United States. An excerpt from this Christian Science Monitor article: "Their prayer life is remarkable, and the whole congregation prays together," Sam says. "In the country churches, you sometimes have to ring a bell to get them to stop."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0307/p14s01-lire.html

Isaiah 6:8

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

"Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?"

Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

God in science

Just wanted to highlight this New York Times article - Darwin's God - written by Robin Marantz Henig. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/magazine/04evolution.t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

Essentially it fleshes out an interesting debate among scientists studying the evolution of religion. These scholars believe that religious belief is an outgrowth of brain architecture that evolved during early human history. But what they disagree on is why a tendency to believe evolved. There are two clear camps: Belief itself is adaptive versus belief is just an evolutionary byproduct, a mere consequence of some other adaptation in the evolution of the human brain. In short, are we hard-wired to believe in God? And if we are, how and why did that happen?

The writer relates some interesting experiments:

- Anthropologist Scott Attran sometimes presents his students with a wooden box that he pretends is an African relic. “If you have negative sentiments toward religion,” he tells them, “the box will destroy whatever you put inside it.” Many of his students say they doubt the existence of God, but in this demonstration they act as if they believe in something. Put your pencil into the magic box, he tells them, and the nonbelievers do so blithely. Put in your driver’s license, he says, and most do, but only after significant hesitation. And when he tells them to put in their hands, few will. If they don't believe in God, what exactly are they afraid of?

-The idea of an infallible God is comfortable and familiar, something children readily accept. You can see this in the experiment Justin Barrett conducted recently — a version of the traditional false-belief test but with a religious twist. Barrett showed young children a box with a picture of crackers on the outside. What do you think is inside this box? he asked, and the children said, “Crackers.” Next he opened it and showed them that the box was filled with rocks. Then he asked two follow-up questions: What would your mother say is inside this box? And what would God say?

As earlier theory-of-mind experiments already showed, 3- and 4-year-olds tended to think Mother was infallible, and since the children knew the right answer, they assumed she would know it, too. They usually responded that Mother would say the box contained rocks. But 5- and 6-year-olds had learned that Mother, like any other person, could hold a false belief in her mind, and they tended to respond that she would be fooled by the packaging and would say, “Crackers.”

And what would God say? No matter what their age, the children, who were all Protestants, told Barrett that God would answer, “Rocks.” This was true even for the older children, who, as Barrett understood it, had learnt that, in certain situations, people could be fooled — but they had also learned that there is no fooling God.

The article also asks a prominent member of the byproduct camp, Justin Barrett, who also happens to be a Christian how his view of God as a byproduct of our mental architecture coexists with his Christianity. Why doesn't the byproduct theory turn him into a sceptic?

Barrett replies: "Christian theology teaches that people were crafted by God to be in a loving relationship with him and other people. Why wouldn't God, then, design us in such a way as to find belief in divinity quite natural?"

"Suppose science produces a convincing account for why I think my wife loves me - should I then stop believing that she does?"

I like the article because it gives a very good primer into the current debate on the biological explanations for a belief in God. To me, it seems that the harder the attempts at using evolution to account for God and why we believe, the more the evidence points towards the existence of God. The article suggests that we are hard-wired to believe in God. Does that sound familiar?

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.