Wednesday, December 14, 2011

My Weekly (At Least) Reader


We heard a sermon recently in which the pastor brought up something that's a key factor in many poker games -- reading.
 
"Jesus read them like a book," the pastor said.  He used this quote from the human life of Christ as an illustration:

"Has not Moses given you the law?  Yet not one of you keeps the law.  Why are you trying to kill me?" - John 7:19

Verse 1 of this chapter indicates Jesus knew about a plot against His life by people in Judea.  It could be easy to dismiss this as a matter of the Lord's disciples passing along information and warnings they'd heard.  But let's go deeper....
 
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?" - Matthew 9:4
 
How did Jesus know what some of the scribes were thinking?  We've heard several explanations of this, even from ministers.  Some say the Lord simply had good intuition -- and that may well be true.  But we prefer to think something more was at work in this special Someone from heaven....

But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.  He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. - John 2:24-25

(If you really want to know what's "in a man," check Jeremiah 17:9-10.  You may not like what you read.)

You see, other ministers consider this "knowledge" a proof that Jesus was and is God -- because the knowledge was provided by the Holy Spirit at work in Him.
 
He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts...." - Luke 16:15

Reading an opponent at the poker table admittedly isn't quite on this level.  But for starters, we recommend praying for wisdom to "judge righteous judgment," as John 7:24 puts it.  What other tips would you offer for reading someone else's hand -- keeping in mind God and Jesus Christ reads all of us much more accurately?


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