Ponderings

Devotionals, prayer & insights from my Bible reading

Wash, rinse, sanitize (Prayer devotional for the week of February 12, 2012)

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Would you eat at a restaurant that only rinsed off its dishes? What if they washed the dishes with soap and cold water? I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you would not want to eat at such an establishment. Health codes (and common sense) require that the dishes not only get washed and rinsed properly, but commercial kitchens even have an extra sink basin for sanitizing.

I grew up watching the late Marvin Zindler on Houston’s KTRK Eyewitness News, and seeing one of his exposes on local restaurant violations was enough to make anyone reconsider cooking at home. I remember watching newscasts with my family and hoping that none of the restaurants we frequented were ever on his list of busted facilities. The fact of the matter is, when we sit down to eat at a restaurant, we want to trust not only that the food has been prepared under sanitary conditions, but also that the plate and utensils have been scrubbed free of visible filth and the invisible germs have been cleaned away, as well.

We have high standards when it comes to cleanliness. Or, do we?

In Matthew 23, Jesus went on a rant because the Pharisees were overly concerned about their outward appearance but cared little about what really mattered. In verses 25-26, he told them, “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something” (MSG).

Do we demand sparkling-clean dishes but fail to “sanitize” our own lives from the inside out? Do we serve dinner on perfectly coordinated place settings while our hearts are filled with self-righteousness? Do we keep the silverware polished but have tarnished attitudes? Let’s learn from the Pharisees’ mistakes; let’s not be falsely clean frauds.

What’s keeping you? (Prayer devotional for the week of February 5, 2012)

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Do you ever have days when it feels like you can’t put two thoughts together without being interrupted? You go from the bedroom toward the kitchen for a drink of water, and a few steps down the hall, you have to pause to mediate an argument between the kids. Then, you stoop to pick up a wayward sock. Then, you remember that there are more whites to wash in your bathroom, so you backtrack to grab the dirty laundry. In the hallway again, you step on a LEGO brick and lecture the kids to clean up their toys while you limp through the living room with an armload of laundry. Laundry loaded and started, and then you remember that you meant to iron that one blouse, so you stop to do that. The iron is out of water, though, so you take it to the kitchen to fill up the steam reservoir.

Twenty minutes after you first left the bedroom, you find yourself standing in the kitchen and can’t recall why you were planning to go there, in the first place.

The Bible tells us that Jesus never sinned, so sometimes it’s hard to imagine him ever having a rough day, in general. Luke 9, beginning in verse 51, tells us about just such a day. Jesus sensed that it was about time for him to leave Earth, so he decided to go to Jerusalem. (The NIV uses the phrase “resolutely set out for,” and The Message says that “he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey.”)

Along the way, he and his disciples faced interruptions. Some Samaritan folks were inhospitable to them, causing two of Jesus’ disciples to ask if they could call down lightning bolts on the village, so Jesus had to intervene. Passers-by approached him as he traveled and wanted to follow him, but he knew that they just wanted to tag along, not really devote themselves to him. He was blunt – perhaps even snippy – with a couple of them, but I imagine that after having a day like that, he’d probably had enough with the constant interruptions. He had a place to be: Jerusalem. He was ready to return to his Father. He wasn’t going to let follower wannabes keep him from his destination.

Is following Christ something we do if/when it is convenient, or are we living like true followers? If the answer is the former, then what’s keeping us from putting aside the distractions and joining him?