April 21, 2010

Leviticus 25
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go;
I owe my soul to the company store.
According to Merle Travis, the line from the chorus "another day older and deeper in debt" was a phrase often used by his father, a coal miner himself. This and the line "I owe my soul to the company store" is a reference to the truck system and to debt bondage. Under this system workers were not paid cash; rather they were paid with unexchangeable credit vouchers for goods at the company store, usually referred to as scrip. This made it impossible for workers to store up cash savings. Workers also usually lived in company-owned dormitories or houses, the rent for which was automatically deducted from their pay. In the United States the truck system and associated debt bondage persisted until the strikes of the newly-formed United Mine Workers and affiliated unions forced an end to such practices. *

The word Sabbath means seven. We associate it with rest. God built into His calendar many different times and ways for us to obtain rest. He gave the seventh day as a rest from our work so that we may focus upon Him. He gave the completion of seven weeks from firstfruits as a festival to commemorate the beginning of the church. He gave the seventh month of the Jewish year for three different Sabbaths. He gave the seventh year as a year of rest for the land. He gave the year following the seventh Sabbatical year as a year of economic rest. This fiftieth year is called the year of jubilee.
Have you ever heard the old saying, “It takes money to make money?” Well there is a lot of truth to that statement. And when people run into rough financial times, whether through mismanagement or no fault of their own, it is the people who have equity that benefit. They gain the wealth of those with the problems. So how do you bring equity to the situation for the person with no fault? When there is fault, shouldn’t there be room for forgiveness? The principles involved in the year of Jubilee allowed for equity and forgiveness. It allowed for adjustments to be made within the society so that the gap between the super rich and the super poor could be closed.
Not only was it practical for the economy, but it also is a picture of our freedom and rest that we receive in Christ. It’s a picture of our forgiveness, which leads to release from bondage. Work as we might there remains a rest for the people of God.
We were in bondage to sin. Work as we might we could not earn enough to deliver us from bondage. Whether it is from what we inherited from our father Adam or whether we agreed with his sin by willingly committing it ourselves, we were in bondage. It is the glory of our Lord that He delivered us. He brought us rest. He is our year of Jubilee! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
*Wikipedia contributors. "Sixteen Tons." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Luke 16
Okay, I admit it. I enjoy listening to Hank the Cow Dog. When my kids were little (before personal DVD players), we learned that listening to stories made traveling in the car so much easier. If you have never heard a Hank the Cow Dog book, you ought to try one. But be careful, you might get hooked like me. Hank has a book called The Incredible Priceless Corn Cob. The whole basis for the book is Hank's inability to determine what is truly valuable. Pete the barn cat tricks Hank into believing that the corn cobs from the table scraps are more valuable than the meat scraps. Of course this sets the stage for much of the conflict of the episode. It also is a platform to humorously reveal Hank's pride. It is amusing to me because not only is it so much like dogs, but it is also so much like humans.
The Pharisees really loved money and the things it could buy. (It sounds just like Americans, doesn't it?) As a result, they made fun of Jesus' parable of the unjust steward and His statement that you cannot serve God and money. Jesus responds with, "What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." What we highly esteem is really an incredible priceless corn cob. And we are not just talking about money or the things it can buy. If that were the case, we would be satisfied with daily bread, shelter to be warm in the winter and out of the sun in the summer, safety from predators and with modest clothing to cover our bodies. But we are not satisfied with rudimentary provision. We always want more, something just a little nicer or bigger or better or newer.
WHY? We have bought the lie that our identity is derived from what we possess or accomplish. If I live in a certain type of house, I am someone. If I drive a certain type of car, I am somebody. If I dress in certain kinds of clothes people will notice me. If I have a beautiful woman (or women), then I am a real man. If I have power to influence people, then I am eternal. If I am used of God to build a big church, then I am something. If I don't have that house, I am nothing. If I cannot drive that car, I am nobody. If clothes don't look right, I am embarrassed. If cannot influence people, I am just a bump in the road. If my church fails, I am useless and of no value. So thought the rich man and so think we. It is an incredible priceless corn cob. I wonder, is God ever amused with our valuing corn cobs?
BUT, our identity is not derived from those things. We are created in His image. Our identity is derived from Him. That is why His glory is so important. As the moon cannot produce light from itself, we cannot primarily find our identity from each other but from Him. Yes, we are created in community to reflect His image, but our identity is found first in Him then in relation to each other. He must be exalted first. It is His glory that must first shine. Otherwise we are nothing but corn cobs--I've heard that they had a rather inglorious purpose before toilet paper. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john