Keeping my Mind Centered

Scripture: The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. Acts 13:17-20

Observation: While in Pisidian, on the Sabbath, after the reading of the scriptures, the rabbi offers Paul a chance to speak, and this is how Paul begins. He walks through the first phase of Israel's history, from the patriarchs entering Egypt as a family of ~70 people, to the nation of over 1 million people claiming the promised land of Canaan. Paul will continue on with this historical review, quickly getting the point, which is that, from the line of David, Jesus has come, and every prophesy about the Messiah has been fulfilled through Jesus including his resurrection.

Several times in his ministry, Paul preaches to the Jews in their synagogues, and does so by taking whatever that day's reading was and contextualizing the messianic prophesy in it to Jesus. So that begs the question, what was this day's scripture reading that Paul is using to begin his lesson?

Based on this beginning, it could have been anything, but here are some reasonable guesses:

-- Exodus, as he begins with them leaving Egypt.

-- Joshua, as he covers the overthrow of seven nations and the 450-year timeline.

-- Numbers, as it is the narrative that fits between these two other guesses.

The truth is ... this is just a guessing exercise - a little intellectual game - and there is probably no way of really knowing. Perhaps Paul wasn't even following his normal pattern, and this was just his normal "Gospel 101" sermon that he had ready to go as his first lesson about Jesus.

Application: You know what? I really like reading the bible every day! Maybe that sounds like an odd thing to say, but the truth is that, every day, I get a little something I didn't expect. Sure, sometimes it's a lesson - a scolding, or a deep insight - that I need to adjust my life. However, sometimes it's just an interesting and even fun little side-trip down some intellectual path.

Today's reading, between Acts and 1 Kings, took me into little side quests like ... what did the pillars of Solomon's temple really represent, and why do time periods of ~450-ish years pop up often, and of course what was the scripture reading this day. All of these are things I could ponder and meditate upon, and doing so will bring me closer to the Lord. Even if I can't even come up with guesses, just the thought effort keeps my mind centered on him and his nature and his plans. And oh, how I absolutely need to have my mind centered on the Lord more and more every day.

And just because ... I think the scripture reading that day was from Numbers.

Prayer: Lord, my mind goes into terrible, dark, and problematic places far too often. Please, Lord, forgive me for my thoughts and actions when my mind goes to those places. Sure, I can learn all about "the psychology of Gen X" to understand that, but that isn't the solution. The solution is for me to keep my mind on you, and on your things above. You tell me that in your word, and I know it. May I find ways to keep my mind on you alone, with you central in my thoughts. Amen.