Dave Dishman

When I go for a physical exam this week the doctor will check my cholesterol. Heart disease runs in my family, so if it’s high I pay attention. At that point I want reality, not illusions. I need to change my behavior. Heeding the doctor’s warning saves me from a shortened or incapacitated life.

The children of Israel failed their own exam by chasing after pleasure and demonic gods. They ignored warning after warning from the Lord. They told the prophets: Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.

I prefer to hear smooth things from the Lord. Nothing too challenging or upsetting, just mild, soothing words. Indeed, the Bible carries comfort and peace and I go there often for that purpose. But the Word of God also carries a bite. I need to hear from the Holy One of Israel.

Truth often hurts, but reality is my friend. The honesty of Scripture saves me from a weak and incapacitated life. The words of the Lord carry rough edges, but their difficulty going down draws me closer to Him and makes me a better man.

Isaiah 30:9-11

Photo by Julia Taubitz

My wife and I enjoyed a sweet cantalope last week, followed by a watermelon this week. I love watermelons especially, and get them at the supermarket all summer long, shipped from who knows where. But the best melons ripen locally at the end of the summer. Now is the premier time for watermelon and I’m enjoying the abundance.

David expressed his wonder and thankfulness at the bounty he experienced at this season of year: You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Produce spilling from overloaded wagons, pastures crammed with grain, flocks covering fields like a blanket. David thanked God, the source of such abundance. God saved Israel from their hunger, God saved Israel from their enemies, and God saved Israel from themselves. David praised the Lord for overwhelming blessings in all areas.

God saves you and me as well. I often fail to see the profusion of fruits and vegetables at any of the markets near my home as a gift from God. But that’s exactly what the cornucopia represents. We are indeed crowned with bounty. So enjoy a cold slice of melon and thank the Lord for his goodness.

Psalm 65:9-13

Photo by Crina-Miriam Cretu

Airwaves fill to bursting with important people saying important things. Politicians and prognosticators compete to produce sound bites for our consumption. Experts opine on every possible topic. I listen to those with impressive voices, even if I disagree, because the noise draws my attention.

But the Lord promotes a different soundtrack. The wise, strong, and powerful fail to impress God. Instead, he enhances the other end of the spectrum.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

When Paul (the author of this passage) refers to things that are not, what does he mean? Here’s how John Chrysostom (AD 407) explained that line: Those persons who are considered to be nothing because of their great insignificance.

The people I walk by and fail to see, or choose to ignore due to their seeming insignificance, are the very people the Lord notices and promotes. Realizing this practice strips away pride and self-importance. God’s methods work opposite to my expectations. Ultimate credit for the good in this world belongs to God rather than human status or strength.

Christianity spread throughout the Roman empire primarily through ordinary people who chose the ways of Jesus. What seemed foolish in a society enthralled by power slowly yet steadily undercut the foundations of arrogance.

Today the noise of our society draws attention, clicks and cash. It seems wise to follow that crowd. But much of what I pay attention to on a daily basis matters naught in the long run, because God flips the script. Better to look to the humble to see where the Lord is quietly, yet inexorably, at work.

1 Corinthians 1:26-30

Photo by Clay Banks

Jesus handed us with some pretty good ideas of what to do with our lives, including loving God and loving our neighbors. But Jesus didn’t stop there. In his last teaching session he left instructions involving the entire world:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Every follower of Jesus receives this call to make disciples of all nations. We introduce Jesus, teach the ways of Jesus, and baptize new disciples of Jesus. The spread of the faith occurs not by conquest or coercion, but by love and the Holy Spirit.

Many take this commission seriously today. The list includes mission agencies, churches, youth organizations, military chaplains, the producers of The Chosen series and the promoters of the He Gets Us advertising campaign. All find inspiration to communicate God’s grace and truth to a world in need from these final words of Jesus.

Keep marching. Keep extending the knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ to others. Keep supporting those who do the same. The ends of the earth are in view, but we’re not there yet.

Matthew 28:19-20

Photo by Marek Studzinski