Elul 20 :: What is the Enemy of Your Best?

A new twist on the old story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife... anyone who was raised going to Sabbath school or Sunday school as a child is very familiar with the tale of the Hebrew slave in the Egyptian household who was pestered continually by his master's wife until he finally had to flee from her, and subsequently found himself landed in prison for 11-14 years - thank you very much.

We tend not to think of the distractions and temptations in our own lives as being of the same caliber as the attempted seduction of Joseph by Potiphar's wife... but today's Elul devotional has challenged me to do just that. Our own "little white lie" or a self-indulgent temper tantrum when things don't go as planned can seem petty in comparison to a story of adultery or betrayal. But I wonder if maybe that is because we misunderstand the word "petty" to mean "inconsequential" - when, in reality, it just means "little." And even with that, we also forget that YHVH doesn't grade our sins on a bell curve. I kind of imagine He has two boxes: HOLY and PROFANE. And lest we also misunderstand the meaning of the word "holy" because it conjures up the image of feathery angels flying around with harps on clouds, it simply means "set apart."

So, with that in mind, today's challenge is to think of those people or things that are calling and tempting us to anything other than our destiny to become that person YHVH has called us to be as what they really are: distractions, temptations, seductions.  It could be a drug, it could be a habit, it could be more busy work for a religious organization that is taking our focus off of the bigger picture and our higher calling. 

I like the way Oswald Chambers worded it: "The good is always the enemy of the best."

Elul 19 :: Dream On!

I know there are some who claim they never dream. I admit, I am skeptical of those claims. I don't normally remember my dreams much past when I wake up, and if I do, they are so muddled and convoluted, they rarely make much sense when I try to recount them aloud. Usually though, they evaporate as soon as I become fully conscious.

There are others who vividly dream and recall their dreams in great detail. I will admit, I am also often skeptical of those claims as well. Most likely because that is not my own experience, and I find it hard to relate. But having recently finished reading the book of Daniel and some of his fantastic dreams, I have to wonder what that might be like.

Jacob, Joseph, and later Daniel were just a few of the more "famous" dreamers of old. Today's Elul devotional from The Rabbi's Son reflects:

A world without dreamers would subject all signs of spiritual life to repetitive forms of mind-controlling religion.

...to people who have - and aspire to - no personal relationship with [YHVH]... a receiver of dreams is... a threat to their chosen forms of pleasant deception.

For us to accord validity to dreams involves acknowledging the existence of the One behind the dreams and considering ourselves accountable to that One. It also involves admitting that we don't have all the answers and there might just be more to Life that we have imagined or experienced.

After considering those observations, I can only come to one conclusion:  There is already enough of mind-controlling religion out there in the world today as well as way too many people who think they have all the answers but are not accountable to anyone, so, let's have more dreamers!

Elul 18 :: A Rose By Any Other Name

Kids can be mean. We all know that, because we all used to be kids at one point in our lives. Most of us survived that, but not without a few bumps or bruises. One of the things I have had to do throughout my adult years is to re-train my brain to stop believing lies that I heard about myself during those growing up years.

That is probably why the song by D.J. Butler that came out in 1987 went straight to my heart.

I will change your name

You shall no longer be called

Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid

I will change your name

Your new name shall be

Confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one

Faithfulness, friend of God

One who seeks My face 

I used to think that being self-deprecating equated to humility. It doesn't. Humility is a good thing, but it does not involve calling yourself names that YHVH does not call you. It does not involve believing you are less than who YHVH created you to be. A good definition of humility can be found on the Christian Bible Reference Site:

In the Bible, humility or humbleness is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. It is the opposite of aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness, and vanity. Rather than, "Me first," humility allows us to say, "No, you first, my friend." Humility is the quality that lets us go more than halfway to meet the needs and demands of others.

There is nothing in that definition that requires believing that we are stupid or worthless. Those are just lies of our accuser, and should be rejected in favor of Truth.

My new name shall be Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming One, Faithfulness, Friend of God, One Who Seeks His Face.

Elul 17 :: Double Standards

We all have our blind spots. Thankfully, most of us have people in our lives who care enough to call us out on them.

Today's Elul challenge was a call to another session of self-examination. In particular, this one feels a little like my toes are being stepped on:

What aspects of the cultural philosophy, prevalent mode of thinking, prioritizing and valuing things have you accepted for yourself and your household?

Oh, I can think of a few. Actually, quite a few. Prioritizing and valuing things that replace the really important things are a big stumbling block for many of us. So, with that thought in mind, I'm going to cut my introspection short and spend some time doing something really important.

Elul 16 :: What's Your Story?

My favorite line from the 1990 movie Pretty Woman sums up the theme of the movie for me: The homeless/crazy/prophet character at the end of the movie walking across the street, crying out, "What's your dream?" Official plot of the movie aside, what stands out in my memory is the weaving of the stories of two lost people from vastly different backgrounds with similar dreams of connecting and belonging.

Today's Elul devotion rightly observed that we each have our own story to tell about our first encounter with YHVH our Elohim, relating it to the familiar Bible tale of Jacob leaving home and his dramatic, life-changing experience of meeting the God of his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham on a ladder or staircase to heaven.

We each have our own unique story of meeting God for the first time, because our backgrounds are so vastly different. None of us were likely running for our lives from our twin brother, but my guess is that each of us was running from something. In spite of that - or maybe because of that - YHVH wants and is able to meet each one of us where we are and fulfill our dreams for connection and belonging. In fact, I would say that if we are paying attention, we could see that He orchestrates or choreographs multiple opportunities for us to meet with Him.

Sometimes, the stories are dramatic and bring us to tears, sometimes the stories are quiet and intensely personal. Not one story is either more, or less, important to Him. What is important is that we respond to His revelation of Who He is and who we are in Him. No Hollywood endings, no knights in shining armor carrying bouquets of flowers charging in riding a limo. This story is much better and far beyond what we could dream or imagine. That is probably why He has captured so many hearts.

Elul 15 :: Priorities

Have you noticed that any time you try to set priorities for yourself, the world comes barging in with distractions? At least, that's how it is for me. In pondering the challenge of today's Elul devotion:

1. Consider the value of [YHVH's] Instructions for Living...to know what is good and what will have redemptive effect in Creation.
2. Do you believe [YHVH] is calling you to increase or change the amount or quality of time you dedicate to reading and studying His Written Word?

Having set before myself for the next month plus to stay off of social media and spend more time studying God's written word, I was fully aware that it was not going to be an easy transition. It's not like I've never gone on a fast before. However, unlike a fast from food in which one can make a conscious choice about putting food in one's mouth - or not - abstaining from media in this day and age would involve keeping earplugs in and staying in bed. Unless you live in a cave, that's not going to happen.

Setting priorities is one thing. Removing yourself from all distraction and temptation is another. And to what purpose? I realize that Jesus/Yeshua went off into the wilderness for 40 days to fast and pray, but he also wasn't holding down two jobs that required he show up for work and spend 8 hours on the computer 5 days a week. So I don't think the cave or wilderness is the answer here. A better solution than removing yourself from all likelihood of distraction would be to ask for discernment and discipline to recognize and turn from the distractions. Let's face it, they come dressed so innocently, a text message from a friend in crisis, an opportunity to spend time with a loved one.

Hear me: I am NOT saying those opportunities should be refused in order to spend time with my Bible in my lap and my earplugs in. That would surely be a prime example of "being so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly good." Instead of viewing them as distractions, wouldn't it be better to view them as opportunities to put the wisdom I am learning to work to "have redemptive effect in Creation"?

Personally, I think that once I can start recognizing them as such, the adversary isn't going to try nearly as hard to throw so many my way.

...be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2b (NKJV)

Elul 14 :: What We Value

"Think of a wedding anniversary. We remember and commemorate our wedding anniversary because we highly value what happened on that very special day."

Oh... I wish I had heard this comparison before the last time I had a conversation about observing the Sabbath with someone. I was made to understand that I was being legalistic and they were much more enlightened than I, because they "could observe any day as the Sabbath", since their "rest is in Christ." When a conversation goes in that direction, you might as well change the subject because it is no longer an exchange of thoughts and ideas; it has at that point become a defense of their position.

Perhaps I was being overly sensitive, but I really don't think so. I had officially had my opinions dismissed as irrelevant. Now I wonder if I had made the same comparison when it came to celebrating a birthday or anniversary, how different the response might have been.

Because, according to today's Elul devotion, how much value we assign to an event is the key factor in how important that event is to us. Recently, I happened upon a lovely calendar which I downloaded and will be printing for my own use. Understanding the Appointed Times of YHWH is available at Love and Instruction's website and they have put a lot of effort into making it a work of art as well as a great reference for information about God's appointed times. I love what they have to say about the Sabbath:

In our fast paced society, this special day is a true gift; a time when we set aside the worries of our lives and lay our burdens down, as we come together with friends and family for a “Holy Convocation” to relax with our Creator and be renewed and refreshed by His Spirit and His Word.

Today's devotion with The Rabbi's Son describes it this way:

The Creator and man spent time that day doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company and delighting in each other’s presence.

So tell me please, if I were using that same word picture to describe my honeymoon, or a day set apart to spend with a beloved family member celebrating a special day, would I still be "legalistic"? Somehow I'm guessing the answer would be No. 

But by far, the most head-scratching answer - and one I most frequently hear is: But I can worship God any day..." Yes. Of course you can - and should! However, Richard Rives at Too Long in the Sun puts it this way:

The fourth commandment has absolutely nothing to do with religious activity on any certain day.
In fact, it is just the opposite, it is a day of rest, prescribed by God.  We should worship God every day.

The Sabbath was established at the time of the creation of the world.
It is not the Jewish Sabbath or the Christian Sabbath; it is God’s Sabbath.

Thank you. You took the words right out of my mouth.