Rams, Super Chivos, and Waterton Canyon

Colorado is a pretty amazing place to live, and like Ferris Bueller said, “life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

This year I’ve been trying to live spiritually, which means slowing down so I don’t miss anything.  Especially anything God has for me here in Colorado (Because that’s where I live so it’s best to open my eyes to what God has for me in my home state).

The other week, during the first week in June something out of the ordinary happened and I was blessed enough to see witness it.

On June first, I went biking up Waterton Canyon in South West Denver.  Waterton Canyon had been closed for the last two years, so I was pretty excited to be able go for a ride up the road next to the Platt River.  On my way up the trail I came across a heard of Rams.  It was amazing, but a couple came a too little close for comfort.

As I stood by my bike taking pictures, a couple of bikers slowed down to look, but then sped off.  It was as if they had seen such puny wildlife before.  Maybe this was special to me because I hadn’t been biking in Colorado in almost two years, but maybe it meant more to me because I went on the ride with my eyes open.  I wanted to see what God had for me.

I could’ve stayed home and not gone on the ride.  My bike was broken and I knew I would have to borrow a girl’s cruiser bike to be able to even go on the ride.  I was tired and would have enjoyed a nap.  But living spiritually means getting out on the trail even when it means a difficult ride.

Living spiritually means stopping and watching God’s wildlife, trusting that He’s in control.  Those rams were wild and I’m lucky they didn’t decide to fight my bike.  Or maybe I’m blessed to live in Colorado where I can see God’s wild creation if I just open my eyes.

What have you seen lately?  Are you biking right past the rams or are you living a little more like Ferris Bueller?

Don’t miss the life God’s given you.  Join my dad, Eugene Scott, and me as we look for the amazing in our daily lives.  Start living spiritually with us.

Some of you might be wondering what a Super Chivo is.  Well in English, it is a Super Ram, which is the mascot for Xela’s soccer team.  And it so happens that I was wearing my Xelaju soccer jersey on the ride and so maybe the ram didn’t ram me because I am a Super Chivo!

The Birthday Of A King

The esteemed hospital is the birthplace of Roger Bannister (the first runner to break the 4-minute mile barrier), musician Elvis Costello, actor Kiefer Sutherland, and Nobel Prize winner Rodney Porter. Penicillin, the antibiotic which has saved millions of lives, was also discovered there.

What better place to be born than a hospital as prestigious as this?

So, in order to ensure that the future king of England would be given the best medical care possible, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, the son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales was born on June 21, 1982 at St. Mary’s Hospital. With a birth as important as this, you wouldn’t want to take any chances.

How different was the birth of Jesus.

Contrary to many sentimental Christmas songs of our day, Jesus was likely born in a cave, not a stable. Back in the day, people didn’t understand the danger of germs and bacteria, so no one made any precautions to wash their hands before handling a newborn. Under modern conditions, the health department would shutter the dusty, grimy cave. Then, Jesus was placed in a manger—a feeding trough for sheep and cattle.

Quite in inauspicious beginning for a king! Imagine the vulnerability of a little baby lying in a manger in a cave.

Interestingly enough, the prophet Zechariah not only foretold the coming king, but even called him by name.

Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.”
Zechariah 6:11–13 (italics added)

If you’re a little rusty on your Hebrew like me, the Hebrew name Joshua is translated Jesu in Greek and Jesus in English.

Two thousand years ago, the king of the universe ruled the earth from a manger for his throne and a cave for his palace. His royal robe consisted of strips of cloth.

As I envision that night, the old song “Birthday Of A King” comes to mind. The rendition of the song in the video above is sung by the late Judy Garland. The lyrics are given below:

In the little village of Bethlehem,
There lay a child one day,
And the sky was bright,
With a holy light,
O’er the place where Jesus lay.

Alleluia!
O how the angels sang!
Alleluia!
How it rang!
And the sky was bright,
With a holy light,
‘Twas the birthday of a King.

Humble birthplace,
But O! How much God gave to us that day!
From the manger bed what a path has led,
What a perfect holy way.

Alleluia!
O how the angels sang!
Alleluia!
How it rang!
And the sky was bright,
With a Holy light,
‘Twas the birthday of a King.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

If you don’t have plans for Christmas Eve and you live in the Denver, Colorado area, please join Michael and Eugene at The Neighborhood Church. For more information click here.

TODAY’S READING

Zechariah 6:1-7:14
Revelation 15:1-8
Psalm 143:1-12
Proverbs 30:24-28

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Michael co-pastors The Neighborhood Church with Eugene Scott in Littleton, Colorado.

What Do You Do When God Loses The Election?

If I didn’t know better, I’d think every political candidate should be in jail.

At least that’s what I’d think if I believed every political ad on television. Political mud-slinging is at an all-time high in my state of Colorado. Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Ken Buck have attracted unprecedented amounts of money as both national political parties have determined that this particualr race is pivotal to control of the US Senate. Ironically, both sides complain about the mud-slinging that’s coming from the other side.

If you live in another country or you’re rusty on your civics, remember that only 100 people serve in the Senate. Currently the Democrats own a 59-41 advantage over their foes, which means that a change in only 10 seats—a very real possibility given the current anti-Obama climate among some—would change the political landscape in our country.

Which begs the question: what do you do if your candidate loses? I mean, if your political party lost by a landslide and the leadership grew increasingly hostile to your views, what would you do?

Move to another country?

Pray and ask God for deliverance?

Perhaps you’d even wonder how God could lose the election.

Welcome to today’s topic in our daily Bible conversation!

TODAY’S READING

Jeremiah 26:1-27:22
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 25:16

INSIGHTS AND EXPLANATIONS

Jeremiah 26:1-27:22. God instructed Jeremiah to give yet another message to Judah calling for repentance so that “perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way” (Jeremiah 26:3). The Old Testament prophets represented God’s relentless attempt to call his people back into relationship with him. The purpose of the prophets wasn’t to call down fire from heaven to destroy God’s people. Their purpose was to restore the people’s relationship with God. This perspective gives us a window into God’s relentless love toward us.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-18. Paul instructs the Thessalonian church not to associate with people who are idle. Apparently, some people in the congregation needed financial help from the church but weren’t willing to work themselves. Instead they were busybodies. This is a problem in congregations even today.

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THE WORD MADE FRESH

He was a pagan king. By his orders his troops destroyed Jerusalem and deported the best and brightest people to Babylon, where they served as his vassals. While his troops were at it, they also stole all the sacred implements from the temple. So brutal was he that after his troops ransacked Jerusalem, he ordered his men to kill King Zedekiah’s sons in front of their father before blinding the king so that his final visual memory would be that of his sons dying.

This man who was infamous for his temper also ordered the construction of an enormous idol and issued an edict stating that anyone who refused to worship the idol would be thrown into a fiery furnace. And sure enough, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—followers of Yahweh—refused to bow down, they were thrown into the furnace and then miraculously saved.

Without a doubt, King Nebuchadnezzar embodied the prototype of the negative ads we see on television. “If you vote for the other candidate,” we’re told, “you’ll have higher taxes, fewer freedoms, rampant government, corrupt officials, etc.” In other words, you’ll be electing a veritable Nebuchadnezzar. Why, voting for the other candidate is like voting against God’s candidate.

And surely evil King Nebuchadnezzar was an enemy of God himself.

Not so fast.

Today’s reading in Jeremiah chapter 27 should give us pause to reconsider the identity of God’s candidate. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told the people of Judah:

Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. Jeremiah 27:6

Did you catch that? God called Nebuchadnezzar his servant. If you think something got lost in the translation, God reinforced the message:

If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. Jeremiah 27:8

Resisting this pagan king meant resisting God.

What gives?

Amidst a political landscape where each side claims that voting for the other candidate is akin to voting for the Antichrist, it’s helpful to know that God uses whoever he wants to accomplish his will. This is also a good reminder that if the other side wins, it isn’t the end of the world.

God is always in control. Always. And God’s ultimate will is always accomplished. Always.

In the short run, the destruction of Jerusalem seemed like the end of the world. But in the long run, it broke Israel from its worship of foreign gods. And it also prepared Israel for the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ.

So if your candidate loses in an upcoming election, remember that God is still in control–just like he was before the election. And remember that God works with a long-term view on world affairs (and your life).

CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. What spoke to you in today’s reading?
2. Do you worry when the other candidate or political party wins an election? Why? How does it affect your trust in God?
3. When your candidate or political party wins the election, do you find it easier to trust in God’s control of the country? Why?

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Michael co-pastors The Neighborhood Church with Eugene Scott in Littleton, Colorado