Doulos International ~ Robert Barkley

Doulos Meditation on Revelation 1:9 

Scripture: Revelation 1:9—I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

Reflection: John was banished from Miletus by the Roman governor about AD 95 to a Greek island in the Aegean near the coast of Turkey. The isle of Patmos is one of those places where you can be sure the traditions are generally true. John was there perhaps two years and is said to have been buried near Ephesus. His impact on the Eastern church was tremendous, just as Paul’s was in the Western church. 

It is a beautiful island in the Greek pattern—olive trees and oranges, beautiful white plaster houses against an unbelievably blue Mediterranean Sea. About 35 square Km with a coast line irregular beyond belief, harboring perhaps 25 small beach hideaways and a total population between three and four thousand. No airport—you have to go by boat or hydrofoil. The island was originally said to be a gift from Zeus to Artemis (goddess of hunting and young women). On the ruins of Artemis’ temple is built the monastery of St. John in Chora. Between there and Skala (on the coast) is the Cave of Revelation where tradition says John stayed and wrote the Apocalypse of the New Testament. In 1088 the island was given to the outstanding monk Christodoulos (“Christ-servant”) who began the monastery. In the 16th century it was fortified for military defense. Try Google on Patmos—you will be richly rewarded. 

Prayer Starter: Father, thank you for the great apostle whom Jesus loved and for his life in exile which you used to show him the things of the Apocalypse which edify us still. Amen. 



Doulos Meditation on Proverbs 25:28

Scripture: Proverbs 25:28—Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control.

Reflection: This ancient proverb pointed to the vulnerability of the person without self control. Having one’s appetites curbed and mastered keeps us from sin and even from just stupid decisions—protecting us from con artists, slot machines, things that waste time and money, useless pursuits and entertainments, things that will addict and kill us.  

Ancient cities had walls as thick and high as the city could afford and defend. In military conquests it was always the biggest challenge to breach the wall—either by tearing down a piece of it, storming the gates, or in the case of the Trojans deceiving their enemies into opening the gates and ingesting the hollow wooden horse that was their downfall. Once the wall is breached, the victory of the conqueror was quick. What destroys your wall—temptations to drugs, sexual adventures, evil thoughts about others, alcoholism, or the lure of fame and wealth? Do you sometimes feel like a defenseless city whose walls have been breached?

Prayer Starter:  Father, keep us strong. Implant in us your wisdom and through your Spirit strengthen our defenses against sin. May our lives be daily lived for your glory as people of power and purpose. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Revelation 1:9
Scripture: Revelation 1:9—I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Reflection: John was banished from Miletus by the Roman governor about AD 95 to a Greek island in the Aegean near the coast of Turkey. The isle of Patmos is one of those places where you can be sure the traditions are generally true. John was there perhaps two years and is said to have been buried near Ephesus. His impact on the Eastern church was tremendous, just as Paul’s was in the Western church. 

It is a beautiful island in the Greek pattern—olive trees and oranges, beautiful white plaster houses against an unbelievably blue Mediterranean Sea. About 35 square Km with a coast line irregular beyond belief, harboring perhaps 25 small beach hideaways and a total population between three and four thousand. No airport—you have to go by boat or hydrofoil. The island was originally said to be a gift from Zeus to Artemis (goddess of hunting and young women). On the ruins of Artemis’ temple is built the monastery of St. John in Chora. Between there and Skala (on the coast) is the Cave of Revelation where tradition says John stayed and wrote the Apocalypse of the New Testament. In 1088 the island was given to the outstanding monk Christodoulos (“Christ-servant”) who began the monastery. In the 16th century it was fortified for military defense. Try Google on Patmos—you will be richly rewarded.

Prayer Starter:  Father, thank you for the great apostle whom Jesus loved and for his life in exile which you used to show him the things of the Apocalypse which edify us still. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Judges 4:21-22

Scripture: Judges 4:21-22—But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. Then as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.”


Reflection: The writer of Judges was not reluctant to tell the stories of women who became heroes in Israel. The story of the war of Deborah and Barak against King Jabin of Hazor is a tribute to military women in antiquity. It was Deborah who sat as Judge in Israel between Ramah and Bethel, north of Jerusalem. Though at her call Barak came to assist, it is clear that Deborah is the leader throughout. Her song of victory goes “The peasantry prospered in Israel they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, as a mother in Israel.” The song does not overlook Jael, but sings “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” Similar words are in the New Testament where Elizabeth said of another heroine, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Lk1:42)


Prayer Starter: Father, thank you for strong women who have the courage to surrender themselves to your service, braving dangers and the unknown to your glory, yet in humility and faithfulness as true believers. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Ecclesiastes 11:2

Scripture:  Ecclesiastes 11:2—Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.

Reflection: A constant piece of advice you will receive if you read about investing in stocks and bonds is to diversify. Almost every financial advisor opposes the idea of putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak. This bit of wisdom reminds us that the wise men of ancient Israel were not only schooled in the Law of Moses, they early developed keen senses for business responsibility.

As early as the Joseph story, Jewish emigrants to other countries were becoming trusted stewards of wealth and power. This trusted status was combined with faith in the one Creator God who is holy and demands right conduct of his people. Because of their religion, they were never saddled with the reputation of the eastern despots of the world who gathered great wealth for themselves, but became known as thieves and liars. The Jews were known not only as capable but people of integrity as well. They reserved some of their wealth for the poor and had laws about gleaning. They faithfully gave a tithe to the service of God. They built a reputation that the Jewish people of today still maintain. 

Prayer Starter: Father, we thank you for men and women of integrity who live in this world according to the spiritual principles that come from you. Help the world to see that business wisdom and business morality can cohabitate the same body.

Doulos Meditation on 2 Samuel 15:33-37

Scripture: 2 Samuel 15:33-37—David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden…But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant…The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with  you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests…Their two sons are with them….by them you shall report to me everything you hear.” So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

Reflection: There’s hardly an aspect of human existence you cannot find in the bible. Take stories of political intrigue for example. Hushai was the ancient equivalent of the modern secret agent—spying is nothing new. Spying is no better or worse than the man who sends the spy.

Jude warned about people who entered church fellowships with secret agendas to do destructive things (Jude 3-4) and Judas served the chief priests as a spy who “began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.” (Lk 22:6) Koheleth advised “Do not curse the king…for a bird of the air may carry your voice…” (Eccl 10:20) Spies were everywhere both those sent by the king and those who would seek a reward for telling what they had heard. Modern governments and radicals alike are in the spy business in big ways. Unrevealed budgets and agendas abound, no less in democracies than in dictatorships.

Prayer Starter: Father, nothing is hidden from your eyes and you know the hearts of all people.  Help us keep our ethics intact even when we as a society must deal with the unscrupulous and the hidden world of intrigue and counter intrigue. Amen. 

Doulos Meditation on Matthew 4:15-16

Scripture: Matthew 4:15-16—Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light…”

Reflection: In antiquity, the most important international highway that ran through Israel was the Via Maris (way of the sea). It ran from Egypt northward near the Mediterranean coast through the Plain of Philistia, the Plain of Sharon and cut across the Carmel Mountain ridge at Megiddo, crossed the valley of Jezreel to Hazor and made its way to the great city of Damascus.

Earlier this important trade route was called “the way of the sea” (Is 9:1) and “the way of the land of the Philistines.” (Ex 13:17) It was probably a segment of this highway that was used by Joseph when he took Mary and the baby to Egypt to escape Herod’s violence. It may have been on the final section of this road near Damascus that Paul saw the Lord Jesus before he entered the city. The road ran near Nazareth where Jesus grew up—as a child we can imagine him sitting on a hill overlooking the highway and seeing the commerce of the world flow by: camel caravans, Roman soldiers on horses, pedestrians, sheepherders and flocks, or an occasional military convoy of chariots. On a mountain top not far away the resurrected Jesus told his followers “Go into all the world…” I wonder if he thought about this highway as he spoke.

Prayer Starter:  Father, thank you for our Savior who saw the traffic of the world through the eyes of love. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Acts 27:40b

Scripture: Acts 27:40b—At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars (rudder); then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.

 
Reflection: The rudder, steering paddle, or helm (various translations) was the flat board(s) at the stern of a ship that could be moved and aligned to the direction the steersman wanted the boat to go. Outfitted with a handle and held in place by ropes to maintain a constant direction, the small rudder steered the big ship. Compared with the massive weight of the boat, the rudder was quite small—it could be carried and installed by a single man with no help.

 
This disparity in size—the small rudder that causes big changes—was used by James (3:4) to illustrate the danger and glory of the tongue. Disproportionate to the size of your body is your tongue. Small in size, but capable of sinning big—of tearing up a church, engendering anger or violence, alienating husbands from wives, or causing your kid to rebel against God, the church, school and society. Your tongue can make or break you forever and ever. Like a nuclear weapon, it must never be out of control. You cannot afford to relax your vigilance. 

 
Prayer Starter: Lord, cleanse our hearts so that all that flows from them will in turn be pure. Keep our tongue under your control that we may speak tDoulos Meditation on Mark 15:21

Doulos Meditation on Mark 15:21

Scripture: Mark 15:21—They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross: it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

Reflection: Walking the Via Dolorosa (way of sorrow) to the cross, Jesus was unable to carry his own cross. The practical Romans conscripted a stranger named Simon to carry the cross. So why would it matter that Mark’s gospel bothers to specify “it was Simon—the father of Alexander and Rufus?” Let’s make an educated guess! Suppose that Simon was impacted by his brief contact with Jesus—he saw the injustice of the situation, the hatred and jealousy of the religious establishment, the nasty little minds that were out to be entertained by the crucifixion, the purity and innocence and love of the Savior of the world. Suppose that turned his whole life around and he became a believer and disciple. Maybe he was there in the crowd at Pentecost.

We don’t know. But scripture is generally purposeful in mentioning names and events. It was Paul writing to the Romans who said, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also.” Remember that only Mark mentions Simon’s sons Alexander and Rufus—but Mark’s gospel was the one written to Romans where Paul’s friend Rufus lived. More than coincidence do you think?

Prayer Starter: Father, thank you for Rufus, your chosen servant—and thank you for his believing father Simon who had come in such close contact with the savior that day. Amen.ruth with kindness. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Acts 1:12

Scripture: Acts 1:12—Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

Reflection: A Sabbath Day’s journey was the distance a keeper of the Jewish Law could go without violating the Sabbath. Maybe it originated in Exodus16:29, where the people were advised “…each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” Of course the Jewish religionists set about to define exactly what the limits were and the distance became a point of argument. They set the distance at 2000 cubits (about 1000 yards).

Originally the intent was to prevent the Sabbath from becoming a busy and stressful day—keeping it for worship, reading, reflection, and family. Pharisees made a legalism of all such things and Jesus often clashed with their narrowed mentality, saying on one occasion “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” For the Christian, the intent of law must never be overlooked nor ignored in favor of the letter of law.

Prayer Starter: Father, show us the depths of your law and the love that generates that law, but protect us from the blindness that produces empty observances of your law. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Romans 1:7

Scripture: Romans 1:7—To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints…

Reflection: Because of our historical heritage we often speak of the great men and women of scripture as saints:  Saint Paul, Saint Mary, Saint Peter, and so forth. In addition, several communions within Christianity use the word to refer to those departed souls outstanding in their lives of holiness on earth who through a process called canonization are recognized as having places of special honor in the eternal church. Protestants generally do not hold this view and especially object to the idea that saints intercede for humans before God and serve as patrons and protectors of human interests.  

Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Anglicans differ in their use of the word. In the New Testament, the term is used to speak of those who are called into lives of holiness and service to God—i.e. every Christian who through surrender and faith has been “set apart” (a major meaning for the term) for service to God. Saint means “holy one” and our verb “sanctify” is used to speak of the process of being made holy (what God does in believers). God is a holy God and can be approached only by holy people—but becoming holy is to be cleansed and made holy through the power of God and the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. If this is happening to you, then you too are a saint and called by God.  

Prayer Starter:  Father, we want to be holy as you are holy. Sanctify us through your Holy Spirit and the cleansing blood of Jesus the Christ. Thank you for calling us to be saints. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Acts 5:4b,5

Scripture: Acts 5: 4b, 5---“…how is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it.

Reflection: I hope that when your children lie, you take it seriously. Courts, the FBI, the IRS, and others take it seriously! But if it’s important in human affairs, isn’t it more so before God?

Do we ever lie in the practice of our religion? Do you sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give” or pray “thy will be done—on earth as it is in heaven?” What about the fellow who says “Amen” in agreement with the scripture that says, “Go into all  the world and preach the gospel…” And how about that frequent lie, “We’re praying for you?” Oh—and what about that one we usually overlook—“Do you take this person…in sickness or in health…as long as you both shall live? I do.” What are the consequences of lying before God—self deception; becoming unusable for God’s purposes; reserving for ourselves the wrath of God in judgment? It cost Ananias his life. Maybe God takes truth seriously. Have you ever lied to God?

Prayer Starter: Father, how many times we have said things that sounded good but we did not believe! Or promised you something and did not deliver? Or confessed our sins but changed nothing in our lives. Forgive us and makes us people of truth. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Proverbs 22:6

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6—Train children in the right way, and when old they will not stray.

Reflection: The family as an environment for rearing children has been badly damaged. It was more common in the past for the family to be united, full of love and respect for each other, focused on rearing children in the Christian faith, worshipping, serving and eating together. Now there is a widespread assumption that if a child is left alone, he will turn out okay—and if not it is the fault of the school, the church, kids down the block or the government. Our technology has allowed absentee parents to turn their kids over to surrogate parenting—video games, ipods, chat-rooms, pornography, and the like. Our kids are largely molded by movie stars, rock stars, drug users, fashion models, and TV at its worst.

Is it serious? Are we headed for a world we will not enjoy? Is there really coming a day when God will judge the world in righteousness? I don’t know about you, but I’m worried about our direction. It is true that sin and rebellion against God have been around since the beginning of time—but are we reaching a new level—maybe a crisis? And are we so anesthetized toward God and morality that we aren’t aware of the direction things are going? Are we really surprised that many are turning out to be adults with no faith or morality, passive couch potatoes, focused on the trivial, sensual, easy things that pamper their egos and shield them from responsibility? I’m not a pessimist, but as a realist I’m very concerned.


Prayer Starter: Father, you alone know the direction and extent of degeneration we now face. Only by faith in you will lives be meaningful and truth maintained on this earth. Father, wake up our people and intervene in our lives with the medicines you prescribe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Doulos Meditation on John 8:30

Scripture: John 8:30—As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Reflection: Everywhere Jesus went there were people with not much to do but hang out. It was no different in the temple courts—here he was often confronted by people who spent their time sitting around arguing religion. They had their minds made up—they were not seekers. We’ve all seen the type—in fact every church has its share—people who do nothing positive to share the gospel or strengthen believers but want to have their way and say. There’s a guy like that near my home—he has never spent a minute working on a church need, or visited a single sick person, or talked about Jesus. As long as things are smooth, he’s a church dropout, but at the first sign of controversy he is right in the middle—arguing, criticizing and condemning.


Some of Jesus opponents seem to have been these religionists and they loved attacking Jesus. But what is remarkable to me is that the more they argued with Jesus, the more people of the more honest type believed in him. I think they must have seen clearly the contrast between these blind egos and the humble man who said “I speak these things as the Father instructed me.” Jesus spoke of great things with humility—his opponents spoke of trivial concerns with unbridled arrogance. 


Prayer Starter: Our Lord Jesus, the more we look at your life and teachings, the more we are aware of the genuineness of your story. You are indeed the one sent from God to be the savior of the world. You are God Incarnate and we desire your abiding presence in each of us. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on 2 Samuel 13:15

Scripture: 2 Samuel 13:15—Then Amnon was seized with a very great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing was even greater than the lust he had felt for her. Ammon said to her, “Get out!”

Reflection: Amnon had raped his sister in a scenario often repeated in human history. His motive was lust, not love; getting not giving; using not sharing. His plan was premeditated after his friend Jonadab (“a crafty man”) suggested how to set up a trap for her. It involved pretending and lying, crafting circumstances and forcing sex on his sister. It has all the elements we would label base, criminal, animalistic, violent, lustful and sinful.

Our society knows the same kind of person—where sex, not relationship is the only object; self gratification justifies devious means; and premeditated seduction is a habitual lifestyle. But scripture is honest with us—that kind of sexual behavior wrecks relationships, destroys the happiness in marriages, and alienates people for a lifetime. Don’t be amazed that this was known 3000 years ago—when it was observed that loathing follows lust and that the end result is one person shouting at another “Get Out.” This could have been lifted from a modern book on sexuality just as well as from this ancient story about a spoiled brat who lived only for his own gratification and had no scruples, morality, or common courtesy in his life. It’s not a new story, just a perennially recurring and tragic one.    

Prayer Starter: Lord, show us the beauty of sexual relationship but mark for us the danger of allowing your creation to be abused and degenerated into self serving, lusting, demeaning use of others which produces loathing, strife, rejection and bitterness as its fruits. Amen.

Doulos Meditation On Mark 10:32

Scripture: Mark 10:32—They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem

Reflection: Languages differ in their expressions of direction, movement, time and space. In America and its language, we assume up is north and down is south and most of our maps are drawn with this orientation. When we use a compass we think of North as the starting place and chart our course from North, dividing the circle into degrees or radians.  

To understand the ancient minds, however, we have some adjusting to do. They went “up” to Jerusalem and this had nothing to do with North and South. It referred to elevation. It was a climb from every direction—the roads sloped upward to Jerusalem’s 2500 or so feet above sea level. Notice Lk 10:30 where the text reads “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho…” And north was not the primary direction from which all others were measured—East (direction of the rising sun) was primary and west was the abode of the god of death (Egypt), no doubt the setting sun playing its part in their thinking. Many people have been buried facing East because of its association with ideas of resurrection and in India some houses are built with strict attention being paid to the meaning of the direction they face. Heaven is up and hell is down in ancient thought. Day enlightens and night darkens the mind.    


Prayer Starter: Lord, we find the writings of your scriptures to be great indices of the thinking of our ancient predecessors. Show us how time and space, direction and movement have played their roles in our earthly orientations and impacted our spiritual reflections on things beyond what we can see. Amen. 

Doulos Meditation on Luke 11:28

Scripture: Luke 11:28—But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Reflection: The constant desire of the believer is to do the bidding of God and be caught up in greater purposes than mere mortals can invent. In fact, surrendering to the Lord Jesus involves denying our fleshly wills and fully accepting God’s will as our own. Obedience to God is never a tool of the flesh or mechanism for achieving our own righteousness, or a way to please God and earn a reward. These are impossible ideas and violate the very intent of the scriptures. The heart that wants what God wants merely responds by saying, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” No other response will do.  

Blessed means happy and to enter into surrendered obedience to God is to find the source of happiness. Living for self in the natural world of the flesh produces stress, conflict, and disorientation. But the inner person in each of us finds upon surrender to God more and greater joys than he ever imagined.   

Prayer Starter: Dear God and Father, we long for happiness but it eludes us. Only in you do our souls find peace and joy in overflowing and never ending abundance.  We bless your name and surrender each day our lives to you for you love us more than we love ourselves. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (9 of 10) 

#9 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1, 5—In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple…And I said: Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”


Reflection: Isaiah’s autobiographical story of his calling is in scripture for more reasons than just historical interest. As part of God’s revelation for our instruction, it contains a clear insight into the dynamic of the God-human encounter—as valid for us as for ancient Israel. The sequence is this (a) God confronts humans—i.e. the divine invades the natural. (b) The recipient of God’s revelation (unless he shuts God out) sees God’s glory. (c) Seeing God’s glory impacts the human mind with overwhelming guilt, shame, and sorrow—the foundational qualities that lead in the receptive heart to repentance.


There is no rightness but is preceded with a perception of wrongness—there is no forgiveness except it is preceded by anguish and awareness of sin—there is no salvation without repentance. Isaiah may have been a prophet for some time, but his true conversion waited for the time when God opened his eyes and he saw clearly his God and his self.


Prayer Starter: Father, blessed are you for revealing yourself to us—in your creation, law, history, scripture, experience and especially in Jesus our savior. Amen. 

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (10 of 10)
#10 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:7, 9, 12, 13, 14—“You are the man!...Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?...For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun…Nevertheless, because by this deed you have scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.”

Reflection: David was a great king—not just over the small nation of Israel, but his leadership compares favorably with the kings of the world’s greatest empires. There’s not a textbook on leadership you can read more powerful than the record of David’s life in scripture. 

And there is not a quality more pronounced in David’s character than his repentance. Perhaps the greatest shame he experienced was when Nathan the prophet confronted him with his sin of adultery and murder perpetrated against Uriah and his wife Bathsheba. God called his hand and bloodied his face—a painful confrontation (but God sometimes takes such drastic steps). It hurt, but what was David’s response? To get perspective ask yourself what would we expect a leader of today to do. Persist in denial? Rationalize that his accuser is mistaken or it was just a misunderstanding? Lay the blame on his co-workers? David is a profoundly wise and genuine leader—he says “I have sinned against the LORD.” He has a consistent record of such responses. Repenting over and over, he was called “a man after God’s own heart.”


Prayer Starter: Our God, how wonderful was the life of faith led by the great King David. Thank you for the insights in the scriptures that open to us the mysteries of repentance and redemption. Form in us the image of Jesus; make us after your own heart. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (8 of 10)

#8 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:10—Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Reflection: Repentance is more than feeling—like faith, hope and love it has attendant feelings but is more. Paul distinguishes God-oriented sorrow from world-oriented grief. The first is not sorrow that I got caught; or had to admit I was wrong. It is, rather, sorrow that I have personally slandered the God who loves me. To see this clearly, makes continuing in sin unthinkable. My sorrow produces confession and contrition—outpourings of my grief as I weep with distraught heart before God.  This kind of sorrow (Blessed are those who mourn…) goes somewhere—it reverses course and regains the track.

Worldly grief, however, does not lead anywhere. It worries over self; regrets embarrassment over getting caught or losing reputation. It circles around self until it festers and rots in a self pitying swamp of depression. Can you see a quality difference between sadness and bitterness? Godly sorry is major sadness over my sinful nature; worldly sorrow is angry bitterness over circumstances. One leads to life with no regret; one stalks us relentlessly through the valley of the shadow of death.  

Prayer Starter: Blessed God, source of peace and true happiness, bless all who mourn over sin with the comfort of repentance that leads to life abundant. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (7 of 10)

#7 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Luke 24:46-47—He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”


Reflection: It’s neat to notice that Jesus opened his ministry preaching repentance and Luke quotes him right before his ascension to heaven as saying the preaching of repentance in his name is to be done “to all nations.” Repentance is the conjoined twin of faith, the former encompassing all that I can conceive of regarding the self as habitant of the natural world; and the latter encompassing all that can be spoken of pertaining to the world of Spirit and righteousness. The Roman god Janus had two faces looking in opposite directions—for Christians this twofold look is the internal dynamic of repentance-faith.

I’m afraid we sometimes short change repentance as we preach faith. Preaching faith in God and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus is, of course, the core of what Christian preaching is about. But if that message is taken seriously, there is no heart in man that does not weep over sin and cry “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Prayer Starter: Father, to see and celebrate your glory is to mourn and repent of our sin. As painful as the process is we know you are extending your grace when you destroy our facades and denials and force us to face up to our alienation before you. Open our eyes that we may see you and in so doing see ourselves and thus receive both repentance and faith. Amen.

#5 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Psalm 51:1,2,3,4,10—Have mercy on me, O God…Wash me thoroughly…For I know my transgressions…Against you, you alone, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me…


Reflection: This is the great Psalm of repentance composed by King David after his sexual encounter with Uriah’s wife. Full of deepest sorrow and surrendered humility it speaks the essence of repentance in our time as well. Perhaps the core of repentance is in verse 17, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”


The repentance David sought involved both his heart and his actions. His heart he confessed was corrupt from conception; his actions were sinful in God’s eyes. Now at the point of repentance he looks to God in humility, trust, and hope—that God will correct the heart problem and give his actions a fresh start (“Then I will teach transgressors your ways…”.) No books of the bible are closer to the heart of Jesus than Psalms and Isaiah—in them are the greatest writings of the bible dealing with repentance. And Jesus came to God’s chosen people saying “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”


Prayer Starter: Lord, you sent Jesus to call sinners to repentance. We have heard your call and have been appalled at the vileness of our sins. How marvelous that you have loved us when we were so unlovable and have cleansed our filth by the blood of the cross. Grant us daily repentance from sin and faith that looks to you for blessing. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (2 of 10)

#2 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Luke 5:32—I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.
 
Reflection: Jesus referred to his mission as a call to repentance. The Christian faith which flowed from the ministry of Jesus has the same mission as the master—to call the world to repentance. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, the Christian often accommodates to the world instead of confronting the world with its need for repentance.

Sometimes we are not clear on what we are asking the world to do. We come across as criticizing, condemning, and demanding that others see things our way. The call to repentance is none of these. It is rather pointing steadfastly to the righteousness of God and saying “This is where it’s at—not in the sex, booze, and drugs where you are looking for happiness. Real peace and eternal life comes only from God—not from the flesh or the world. To persist in the world path is to ultimately be reduced to death and despair. The first step in recovery is to repent—turn away from what you can see has no answers—and turn to the only source of happiness and peace and eternal life.” I suspect that true sorrow for sin comes on the heels of really perceiving that sin is not where life is to be found and we have wasted God’s resources and spurned his love. When we see all this, remorse is inevitable and turning from sin to God is the only course that makes sense.

Prayer Starter: Father grant us a deep sorrow for the rebellion of our souls which has afflicted all of us so tragically. Move our sorrow into action that we might turn away from sin and surrender to you every day. Forgive us and cleanse us in the atoning blood of Jesus. Amen. 

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (3 of 10)

#3 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Matthew 27:3—When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned; he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

Reflection: Judas’ repentance was a tragic and desperate attempt to change what could not be changed. Some see Judas as zealous for God and wanting to force Jesus’ hand into taking action, but basically innocent of evil intent. He is an enigma and we have very little insight into his mind and motives, but scripture does not let him off so easy. Luke commented “Satan entered into Judas…” (Lk22:3), John says “After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him…” (Jn13:27) and Jesus himself said regarding the disciples “…not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost…” (Jn17:12)

Whether Judas was a zealot, a fool or a devil we can’t know for sure—but he found that his repentance did not remove the consequences of his sin.

Prayer Starter: Father, many times we have sinned against you and found ourselves grieving over our sins. Make our repentance genuine and turn us from sin. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Repentance (1 of 10)

 

#1 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Matthew 4:17—From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

Reflection: How much church can you attend without hearing the word “repent?” I haven’t heard a sermon on repentance for years.  Yet when I read the gospel it seems the first words out of the mouths of John and Jesus are “repent—for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

I believe I have the answer—repentance is an unpopular topic—ranking with chastity, tooth cavities and income tax. You see, repentance means turning away from sin—but sin is a constant source of pleasure, ego satisfaction, pride, and revenge. Not only demanding I give these attractive activities up, it plainly means I was wrong—I am a sinner and deserving of hell. I don’t like to admit I’m wrong. But down is the way up. I am never saved because I am right—I become right only through the salvation I receive in Christ.


Prayer Starter: Father my ego has been bloodied many times by your stick as you taught me that sin and relationship with you cannot co-exist. Bring us to humble repentance. Amen. 




Doulos Meditation on Repentance (2 of 10)

#2 of 10 Meditations on Repentance.

Scripture: Luke 5:32—I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.

 

Reflection: Jesus referred to his mission as a call to repentance. The Christian faith which flowed from the ministry of Jesus has the same mission as the master—to call the world to repentance. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, the Christian often accommodates to the world instead of confronting the world with its need for repentance.

Sometimes we are not clear on what we are asking the world to do. We come across as criticizing, condemning, and demanding that others see things our way. The call to repentance is none of these. It is rather pointing steadfastly to the righteousness of God and saying “This is where it’s at—not in the sex, booze, and drugs where you are looking for happiness. Real peace and eternal life comes only from God—not from the flesh or the world. To persist in the world path is to ultimately be reduced to death and despair. The first step in recovery is to repent—turn away from what you can see has no answers—and turn to the only source of happiness and peace and eternal life.” I suspect that true sorrow for sin comes on the heels of really perceiving that sin is not where life is to be found and we have wasted God’s resources and spurned his love. When we see all this, remorse is inevitable and turning from sin to God is the only course that makes sense.


Prayer Starter: Father grant us a deep sorrow for the rebellion of our souls which has afflicted all of us so tragically. Move our sorrow into action that we might turn away from sin and surrender to you every day. Forgive us and cleanse us in the atoning blood of Jesus. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on the Lost Coin Parable (2 of 3) 

#2 of 3 Meditations on the Lost Coin Parable. 
Scripture: Luke 15:9—When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. 

Reflection: I can almost see in my mind this poor lady living in a mud brick two room hut with dirt floor. She has a little pile of possessions stacked against one wall in the bedroom which also serves as a place to talk, mend clothes, and bed sleeping children. Her treasure of silver coins is hid away in a small leather pouch under the rolled up bedding. 

But she has neighbors just as poor as she. And they understand each other. Her loss is their loss and when the coin is found, her joy is their joy. What a rich parabolic display of Paul’s more formal statement, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Rm 12:15) And what rejoicing there is when the fellowship of the church joins with the fellowship of heaven with all that world of spirits and angels who rejoice together when a sinner repents. 

Prayer Starter: Lord, what a blessing to see someone we love turn their back on sin and come to you in faith. How can we ever be so degraded in our hearts that we do not care and do not love those humans made in your image and trapped in sin. Make each of us a messenger of your reconciliation. Show us how to love and encourage the lost and lead them to Jesus. Amen. 

Doulos Meditation on the Lost Coin Parable (3 of 3)

#3 of 3 Meditations on the Lost Coin Parable.

Scripture: Luke 15:10—Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Reflection: God is pictured as a happy God. He rejoices over prodigal sons who return (Lk 15:11ff) and over coins that are found. Check this against your own experience—have you ever had a relationship that appeared to be lost forever—until you and your friend (spouse, son, parent, or daughter) and you talked it through and accepted each other with tears and joy? Was there forgiveness involved; seeking; love? Reconciliations occur when someone we love was lost and now is found—even in the family sense in everyday life. Lostness was an Old Testament concept—the Hebrew term Shagah referred to the sheep who wandered around until he was far from the flock. Have you ever been lost in the woods and found every tree looking alike and every trail fading into the underbrush? It’s a terrible feeling, yet that sense of disorientation and lostness was picked up by the biblical writers as descriptive of sin’s effects on the unprotected soul.

God’s love brings rescue from lostness. It brings release of enslavement to sin. Even God’s angels are said to rejoice over a repentant sinner.  Repentance has spacial connotations—it is involved with turning—from something and to something. It arises out of a heart of love to reconnect us with what was lost. It is the beginning of a renewed relationship and the occasion for great celebration. 

Prayer Starter: Our Father, day by day I find new needs in my life to turn to you and away from sin. Grant me repentance that is true and sincere. Renew in me our relationship. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on the Lost Coin Parable (1 of 3)

#1 of 3 Meditations on the Lost Coin Parable.

Scripture: Luke 15:8—Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?

Reflection: Did you ever lose something important, like car keys, wallet or the grocery list?  The coins were drachmas; a day’s hard labor was required to earn each one of them. Multiply by 10 what you make in a day to get some idea of the value. But remember that the lady belongs to a poor family—and saving 10 days wages was difficult. I know many poor people whose struggle each day to earn enough to feed their family for that day alone—no savings accounts, no luxuries, no vacations—there is typically no money to spare and none left over after the absolute necessities are acquired. On days of illness or injury there is not enough even to buy bread for that day—they simply go hungry—and this happens to millions every day.  

Isn’t God amazing? He considers each of us valuable—Jesus pictures himself not as the rich king who can afford a big loss, but as a poor woman searching diligently until she finds her lost coin. Wouldn’t it be terrible if God said, “forget about that fellow, he’s not worth the effort to search.” God is cast in scripture as the seeker and in another setting Jesus said, “So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” (Mt 18:14)

Prayer Starter:  Father, we have failed utterly to know your heart when we do not deeply care for the lost. May we value each person in the same way you do.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Doulos Meditation on 2 Peter 3:14
 
Scripture: 2 Peter 3:14—Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.

Reflection: Christians widely acknowledge that it is God who cleanses and forgives and that this blessing comes from his grace and is accessed by our faith. We sometimes rest in this assurance (and justly so) but fail to notice that our choice of behaviors must always be careful avoidance of sins small and large.

Without denying that God is the source, power, and righteousness I experience in salvation, I must also pay attention to those areas where I have control. In things where I exercise my own choices, the responsibility is mine to choose the good, avoid the evil, and practice Christian service. Working to get rid of every spot and blemish is a joyous work in itself, knowing that God has saved me and my self discipline is the result of his great gift of the Holy Spirit—not the old me working my way to heaven, but the new me reveling in the practical outworking of my new righteousness through faith.

Prayer Starter: Father, teach us to examine ourselves and yield up to you every thought and deed that you might cleanse them in the blood of Christ. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on 1 Corinthians 13:8
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:8—Love never ends.

Reflection: One of the ways to distinguish between love and its counterfeits is to examine its durability. A major confusion occurs when someone is "in love" but a few months later gets a divorce because they were no longer "in love" with that person. What they are calling love is perhaps a strong feeling of affection, sexual attraction, or warm fuzzy emotion—great feelings all, but not very useful in defining the biblical word love.

Love is concern with commitment. It is not a feeling. It can cause us to experience feelings, of course, but we must never count it only an emotion. Feelings come and go continually and the only predictable thing about my feelings at the moment is that they will change. I cannot sustain fear, anger, joy, peace, alarm, or laughter continually. One feeling replaces the previous one as the situation or my perception changes. Love can co-exist with dozens of feelings. The parent who spanks the child does not at that moment quit loving him—but he may be angry that the child did something so bad.

Prayer Starter: Our Father, your love has given meaning to our human loves. In your Holy Spirit disperse your love through us to all we touch so that the world may understand the real meaning of love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Doulos Meditation on Hebrews 3:3
Scripture: Hebrews 3:3—Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.

Reflection: Moses was a man—a man of faith and surrender to the will of God, but he was part of God's creation. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Incarnation of God—he was in the beginning and created all things including Moses.

The faith of Moses through which God gave the Law was great and useful and we honor him today for the mighty acts of God connected with the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. But he was human and is our brother. Jesus is God and is our Master and Lord. The writer of Hebrews is so conscious of the distinction that he contrasts the Law of Moses with the Atonement provided in Jesus throughout his book. Jesus has no equal, no peer, no competition. It is in him that all religious intent must find its purpose—to focus instead on the earthly, no matter how noble, is to fail to see what God has done.

Prayer Starter: Father, we honor Jesus as the Christ, the one you have sent to be our prophet, priest and king. And thank you for your servant Moses who showed us what trust in you can bring. Amen.

Doulos Meditation on 1 Peter 1:4
 
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:4…into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading…

Reflection: I marvel at the brevity and comprehensiveness of the Apostle Peter. In short power strokes he hacks down three of the greatest obstacles of successful living. As humans we are dismayed that no matter what we try to achieve, it seems to deteriorate—the house that we painted needs painting again—the plumbing we fixed is
broken again—the poem we memorized we have forgotten.

Then we are faced with the problem of life's dirty laundry. The good deed we did went sour when we became jealous—the filth of our thoughts and deceptions of our minds pollute and contaminate all we do. And finally what we so greatly prized we have lost interest in. We no longer know the joy of our salvation—the peace we felt when we
first trusted—the vigor of our early love to share the gospel with the lost. These three maladies are amply cured only by the new birth—it alone brings us to the imperishable, the undefiled and the unfading.

Prayer Starter: Lord, thank you for the powerful thoughts you put into that early apostolic mind. This has blessed the lives of millions and continues to give us hope in eternity. Amen.