#biblical reflection

It’s so easy to treat God as our personal servant or butler; as someone we call on when we need something, and then ignore when once we get it. But that is not how God designed our relationship with Him to be. Our relationship with God is meant to be personal, intimate, and full of love for Him. He desires to be our Father, the first love of our hearts. This is much deeper than most of us are willing to go, but for those who are, He promises a life fuller with His grace and mercy, as well as an eternity with Him in the next life.

If you start to view God as someone to go to into when you need something, rather than the lover of your soul, then it may be time to examine your heart, and what exactly it’s filled with. Your heart is meant to belong to the Lord first and foremost, desiring only what is in His will and what is pleasing to Him. Treating God as your servant, rather than viewing yourself as His, is a sign that you aren’t fully giving yourself away to God as Jesus commands us. Rather, your heart is filled with the things of this world, honoring God with your lips rather than your heart.

If this sounds like you and your current spiritual situation, it’s time to return to your first love. Scripture says that today is the day of salvation, now is the time to give your life to the Lord. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, and we are called to make the most of our time because the days are evil. So I urge you, give your entire heart God, because He has given all of His to you in Christ Jesus.

"Our goal is to build a framework for discipleship for the 21st Century. With more people leaving traditional churches, we hope to fill in a gap for people who are still looking for faith formation opportunities."

If you want to incorporate queer-affirming, justice-oriented snippets of biblical reflection into your everyday life, Daily Ripple is a great option. Every weekday, subscribers receive a short reflection, ending with a question meant to guide you towards action. (It's free btw!)

If you're curious, here are a few of the recent daily posts that most resonated with me:

Lament as a skill, a gift

Considering neopronouns in light of Jesus's statement that "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath"

"How does your image of God reflect the image you experience in a mirror?"

Not only is this teaching unbiblical, it directly contradicts that entire point of the Gospel!

Throughout the entire biblical narrative, humanity proves time and time again that we are unfaithful and disobedient towards the Lord, ever since the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were tasked by God to tend to the Garden, multiply, and rule over the land. And yet, they decided to rule on their own terms, attempting to become like God and loosing both their home, and their intimacy with God in the process.

Ancient Israel, despite just being rescued from God out of Egypt, chose to make an idol out of a golden calf. And when God still appointed them as priests, they offered incense when not instructed to, resulting in the death of 2 of Aaron’s sons (see Leviticus 10).

And we all know the story of Samson; how he was anointed by God from birth, and commissioned as a judge to save his people from oppression by the Philistines. However, the lust of the eyes caused Samson to go his own way, sleeping with women who belonged to the enemy he was meant to destroy. This disobedience cost Samson his strength, his eyes, and his anointing from the Lord.

I can keep going on, but I think you get the point. The Bible is filled with accounts of God trying to partner with His creation in order to save it, only to be disappointed at our failures to do so. No amount of laws, animal sacrifices, or sabbath observances could change humanity’s biggest problem, our hardened hearts.

This is why Jesus had to come to save us.

Through His death and miraculous resurrection, we have been given the free gift of the Holy Spirit. With God Himself now dwelling within us, our hardened hearts are softened and we are able to adhere to the Lord’s commands via the power of God Himself. And when we fail, and we will, we can simply take our sin to God, repent, and accept the gift of reconciliation bought by Jesus on the cross.

The Bible isn’t meant to be a checklist filled with what to do to get into heaven. It’s a book that points towards the One who already paid your admission. To say that you can earn your way to heaven is to say that Jesus’ sacrifice was in vain, and not enough to cover your sins.

Think of it like this, wouldn’t it be way more polite to accept a gift, rather than just say, “I could’ve bought this myself”? If so, why do you treat God the same way?

The fact of the matter is, no amount of church attendance, Bible reading, donating to the homeless, kind words, praises to God, songs of worship, or anything else you can think of, will get you through their gates.

God’s way is simpler, to believe in Him whom He has sent.

If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, we will be saved. Our salvation is sent and carried by God Himself, and it’s to Him that we owe our entire thanks and gratitude.

Jesus is the only way to the Father. We can’t accomplish what God has already accomplished for us. Our role isn’t to secure our salvation, but to believe in the One who has.

I experienced this first hand today.

I knew God was calling me to spend time with Him in His word, but I became distracted by a YouTube notification on my phone. One of my favorite Christian content creators posted a video, which I misinterpreted as Him being forced out on the streets.

As a result, I ended up watching the video instead of spending my time in the Lord’s word. My intention wasn’t necessarily sinful (trying to see if I could help someone who I assumed to be in need), but it caused me to disobey God and go my own way.

In my attempt to stay on the narrow path, I actually strayed off it.

The intentions behind our actions matter to God. The widow’s offering from the Gospel of Mark shows us that God values our good intentions, even if we don’t have much to give (Mark 12:41-44). However, what God desires most of all from us is obedience.

Imagine a child wishing to cook their parents breakfast in bed, but in doing so, they hurt themselves on the stove, something they were told not to touch. The parents may appreciate their child’s intentions, but they valued their child’s obedience more than breakfast in bed.

God is exact same way. What God desires out of His children is direct and pure obedience to His will, all done out of reverence and awe of Him. To obey is better than burnt sacrifice after all.

It doesn’t matter how good our intentions are. If they go against the will of Christ, it is not in God’s will for us to carry them out. What good is a good deed if it wasn’t desired in the first place? What good is giving someone an apple when they’re hungry when they asked for an orange?

God’s will is perfect, as He is perfect, and to go against it is to go against God; whether we intended to or not. Sin is sin, regardless of the reason for committing it. Obey the Lord, keep His commands, and value His will above your own.

Family, today’s Verse of Providence is 2 Peter 1:4. Appetizer It gives us the beautiful answer to yesterday’s warning: sinful desire leads to corruption, but the promises of God lead us into life. Table Conversation Yesterday, James showed us the hidden movement of temptation: desire carried away into lust–enticed, conceived, bringing forth death. Today, Peter shows us another movement…

Okay, family, today’s Verse of Providence is Isaiah 1:16–17, and it brings us to instruction that will not let righteousness remain abstract: wash, remove evil, cease from evil, learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Table Conversation What does this passage mean for us today, and how do we move with the Holy Spirit into…

Today’s Verse of Providence is John 15:2, and it brings us to the careful hand of the Father: He removes what is fruitless, and He prunes what is fruitful so that it may bear more fruit. Let’s Eat Jesus does not describe the Father as careless with the vine. He describes Him as the vinedresser. That means the Father is not distant from the growth of His people. He is attentive. He sees the…

Today’s Verse of Providence is Hebrews 12:10–11, and it brings us to a hard but healing truth: the Father’s discipline is not His rejection of His children; it is His love refusing to leave them unformed. Let’s Eat Nobody enjoys the moment the soil breaks. Does the ground applaud the plow? The vine,  the pruning knife, while the branch is being cut? When I was a child receiving correction, I…