Bible Reading Comments for February 4, 2014

What is common sense? Many books have been written on this subject. Everyone seems to have an opinion about their own common sense and most of us think we have common sense. Try to compare common sense to right and wrong or good and bad. Do we like to be right? Do we like to be good? If I read the Bible, will I learn how to be right and good? Will that improve my common sense? The teachings of Jesus often seem to be upside down. Poor is better than rich. Money is bad. Don’t hit back, turn the other cheek. Give the thief your other shirt or coat. Jesus associated more with the down and out than he did with the influential folks. What is involved in a healthy well balanced life? There are some factors we mention often with respect to being well. The first I think of is a healthy body. Having a healthy body is important to us. Everyone has some health defect. How many times have you heard, “He hadn’t been to a doctor once in his life time”? What are the life factors we want to have healthy? I can think of four. Physical, Mental, Emotional and Financial. How would health be defined for these factors? Christ said He did not come to save the righteous, He came to save the unrighteous. Then I have read in the book that no one is righteous, not one. When I write I often lecture or preach. When I hear people lecturing or preaching I compare what they say to what I believe to be true. In other words, I judge them. Jesus told us not to judge. We are to wait and let the Father be the judge. There I go preaching again. Ignore that. Are you ever uncomfortable about those forwarded emails describing some good act. At the end you are always encouraged to forward them to 10 or 25 friends. Do you do it? Most of the time I don’t forward them. I’m not sure why i don’t. So where do I find good and health? Seems to me I have found these things in the words and actions of people. People who Jesus said are not righteous. Maybe I should be more thankful for friends and family. Maybe I should pay more attention to what they say and do. Maybe I should not be so judgmental. Maybe I should try to discover what God (Our Father in Heaven) is trying to tell me through this great and valuable relationships. Maybe I should spend more time nurturing and cultivating the friends I have. These friends are a treasure. These are all gifts from a loving Father. If I have not treasured you enough, I’m sorry and I have suffered for my neglect. I pray that I have not hurt you. You are my most valuable treasure. I wanted to say, valuable possession. That would really be selfish. Speaking of selfish, leads us in another direction on this business of goodness and health. I’ve said before,”Try to write a 500 word essay on ‘How humble you are’”. Is it possible to construct such a document? One of my favorite preacher/teachers is Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan. He doesn’t even know me. We have never met. He says most people’s and most religion’s concept of good is based on doing what pleases us and makes us feel good. Only Christ sets a different standard or foundation for good ethics and actions. This standard is based on charity or generosity. In order to give we have to give up. Charity and forgiveness are not free. They are very costly. The greatest gift was from Christ who gave His life for me to pay the penalty for my sins while I was still a sinner. Sorry, this sounds like preaching again. Ignore me when I go there. I’m try to reflect on goodness and it is so easy to get off the track. Why do I not want to admit that I am a sinner. I am the example of unrighteousness. I need to spend more time and more effort with charity, generosity and forgiveness. I need to spend less time thinking about my welfare and more time thinking about the welfare of my treasures. My treasures are not for my possession but they are gifted in wonderful relationships by God. Friends and family are the closest treasures. My wife is my most precious treasure.