WHAT MY OBEDIENCE TO GOD COSTS OTHER PEOPLE

Oswald Chambers has a very penetrating and worthwhile devotional on whether we are willing to obey God at the cost of hurting others. Read the whole article.

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it — “You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be paid.

Ponderings on Uncleanness vs. Sin

 These are thoughts from my devotions this morning, not so much conclusions as meditations. Tell me what you think: I may have stretched the passage too far, but then again, it may be just right... (If you really want to "get" this and if you have time, read Lev. 11-15, otherwise, you may not recall some of the allusions.)

Leviticus 11-15

 Ponderings on explanation: The difference between being unclean and being in sin is interesting. Uncleanness could come through nature and natural causes (e.g. burying someone) or even through obedience (having children, as God commanded); whereas sin always came through a contravention of God's law. A sin offering was offered for either uncleanness or sin to remove the defilement and to bring purity. It is interesting that the results of uncleanness often lasted longer than those of sin. Why and how does this apply to me? How is this Scripture profitable to me?

 Ponderings on application: it seems that in daily life defilement will occur; it is inevitable. We live in the world, and it touches us. This touch does not mean we have sinned, rather it means we must seek the cleansing of the Word. To not be cleansed would be sin, but the pollution is not of our making, but of the world's. To fulfill the call of God, we may have to descend into the depths where depravity is manifested abundantly, but we must be renewed day by day. People speak of "feeling dirty" after being in the world (especially in work settings); they feel the defilement touching them. The answer is not to ignore it! Rather, we must be renewed each day in righteousness and godliness by the Spirit.

Political Islam

An interesting article on the nature of Islam and its system of thought. This article speaks of Islam as an essentially political system of thought with religious trappings involved for the individual Muslim. The author argues that religion is a minor factor for the non-Muslim to consider. However, it seems to me that he is really arguing that Islam is a completely different worldview (cosmology) from others, particularly Western thought.
The article speaks of the dualistic logic of Islam which allows two opposites to exist. Thus, while we might argue that the Koran contradicts itself, a Muslim would merely point to the fact that these opposites are both true. This dualism which the author argues is inherent in Islam makes much of the dialogue between East and West pointless, because there is no law of morality for the Muslim dealing with the "unbeliever." I wonder if this is why Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world? Postmodernism swallowing dualistic thought?
The final point of interest is the discussion of jihad. In this, the author speaks of 270 million "unbelievers" whom Islam has killed in jihad over the last 1400 years. Then, he speaks of the reasons that this has been kept quiet. Why are these facts not taught in the West? He argues convincingly that essentially Western scholarship has an abuse victim mentality of fear.
In any case, the article was quite interesting to read and has some profitable thoughts, although it will also need some thinking through to see if it is all true.

Sacrifices and worship

"Sacrifice is at the heart of all true worship." So says Allen Ross in his commentary on Leviticus. Pause and think about your worship; have you sacrificed?

Now, in some sense, the answer is that because of Christ's sacrifice, we are always able to worship, but that ignores the heart behind what Ross is saying. As I was reading Leviticus 1-3 this morning, it struck me that if we truly understood the Old Testament sacrifices, we would understand our need to give whole-heartedly and abundantly to our Lord of our very best. Indeed, we would learn what it means to sacrifice for our God. Do we really desire to worship God? If we do, it would be good to remember that 3 of the 5 sacrifices were meant to be a "sweet savor to God," not to make the offerer have a pure conscience or feel better. Indeed, the guilt and sin offerings were usually followed by a peace, grain, or burnt offering; thus, even when the conscience was purified, the focus still was to be on the sweet savor to God whether that be in thanking Him for fellowship, His provision, or simply dedicating one's self to Him.
So, have you worshiped the Lord recently through sacrifice? Thank Him for the sacrifice of His Son that frees us from guilt and sin. Thank Him for the Peace that has given us access to Him in the Most Holy Place; thank Him for daily provision; thank Him that He is your King. And then show this through your personal sacrifice of what is pure and precious in your life.

Holey Socks and international politics

Read this if you have time for a vaguely humorous Turkish-World Bank incident.

I'm amused because of the situation, but partly because this is the former US Deputy Secretary of Defense. And that was just about 2 years ago, he might have had the holey socks then. :)