A critic of a recent essay wrote to me and said, “Stop relying on what some Jewish zombie said 2000 years ago and just for once, FOR ONCE, do the right thing based on what is in your hearts and minds.” He took issue with the Bible and Christian faith in general stating his own belief that we can save ourselves by intelligently following our emotions. Sounds good, right? The whole ‘noble man’ thing is a very attractive philosophy to us. We want to think that deep inside of us, underneath our wounded feelings, our inadequacies, and our impulses, there is a self-directed being capable of accomplishing great good without any need for a Savior or God.
History would argue differently. Generally, people left to ‘follow their hearts,’ do not succeed at nobly improving the world except for themselves! We need the guidelines of law to restrain us, don’t we? In any social setting, chaos soon follows a break-down of governing authority. Take the teacher out of the classroom for a few minutes and she will return to students in disarray! Ramp that up to a national level and look at a place like Somalia where the central government collapsed. Cruelty and tribalism soon followed, bringing even more suffering and poverty to the people of that land.
The Bible teaches us why we cannot ‘just follow our heart’ to a better world. Here’s what we learn. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV) Our natural desire is self-preservation, which unchecked by law or Spirit, becomes an expression of selfishness. The turning point in the Bible is when Christ Jesus entered the world to bring us the message of salvation from sin and to teach us that transformation can happen through God’s power. The Law of Moses, though good, was insufficient to make us truly good because of the "sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway." (Romans 7:18-19, NLT) We need a Savior, who loves us and through His love makes us new, inside out!
My critic is right in his observations that religion can, and often does, become just another tool of power and a way for those with privilege to take advantage of the masses. Simply becoming part of an organized religion cannot produce the necessary change. What is needed is an encounter, through faith, with the Living God. And, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)
The Christian who is one because of spiritual transformation, and not simply because his has gone through some ritual, does not have an escapist philosophy that avoids engagement with the real, suffering world, nor does he live with any desire to conquer others with his way of life. Instead, like his Master, he is ready to give up his life to defeat evil with love. As Keller says, “If we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is god and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth. We can know that God is truly Emmanuel – God with us- even in our worst sufferings.” (Reason for God, Riverhead, 2008) We see the cross is followed by resurrection and therefore we have great hope that our dying to self will be followed by the emergence of something new and glorious.
My heart and mind are informed by the truth of the Word and I am made alive through faith in Christ Jesus. But, I will not trust my impulses alone. Instead, I will trust the One who leads me higher. I will find myself often in the company of those who also seek Him.
"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.
For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection.
But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:8-14, NLT)
Disciple, are you ready to die to Self and live for Christ?
Are you engaged with the world, meeting the challenges with hope and love?
This is the heart of the Gospel which we follow. Onward – for the glory of God!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
You’re wrong to say it, Pat Robertson!
Yesterday, as we learned of a human tragedy of stunning proportion unfolding in Haiti, Pat Robertson assumed God’s position and said that the earthquake Haiti was caused by an old ‘pact with the Devil’ made in the time when Haiti was was seeking freedom from French colonialism! I quote: "Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the Devil said, okay it's a deal." – Pat Robertson, 700 Club, 1/3/2010
My opinion is that such a statement is idiotic, an absolute disgrace to the name of Christ Jesus, and completely out of line. It is true that Haiti is plagued with voodoo and spiritual darkness. That nation has huge social problems that contribute to keeping her people grinding poverty of the people. Those are facts. But, can we really know why the earthquake struck, apart from the geological science? Oh, and if God were to send earthquakes on every nation that made a pact with the Devil somewhere in their history, civilization would have ended centuries ago! Why didn’t Mr. Robertson point out the horrible sin of colonial nations who created Haiti by ripping Africans from their land and bringing them to be slaves in the Americas? Why didn’t he point out the racism that has been part of the reason that Haiti was unable to attract development in decades past? Why didn’t he point to the sin of the oppressive dictators who exploited the nation?
We want quick answers for suffering. We need to make a direct line between ‘cause and effect’ because it makes us feel more safe. If we can distance ourselves from those who suffer by finding a cause we also can avoid their fate. That’s not always a bad thing. I’m glad somebody figured out the science of infection by bacteria and viruses. I’m glad to know that I can practice good hygiene and significantly reduce my risk of sickness. But, when it comes to earthquakes, a little humility is in order.
Jesus’ own disciples were ready to judge some people who experienced tragedy, quick to assume that they ‘brought it on themselves.’ Hasn’t Mr. Robertson read Jesus’ words about judging others? "About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” (Luke 13:1-5, NLT) Jesus’ rebuke to his disciples was a reminder that we’re all under the judgment of God and that repentance was a necessity for everyone!
In a another passage, Jesus found a man born blind along the road. Here’s the story. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work." (John 9:2-4, NLT) And then Jesus healed him! By His example, we learn that it is not for us to decide the ‘why’ of suffering and tragedy. It is our calling to rush to such incidents with hands that soothe, bringing healing and turning sorrow into joy, darkness to light. God only knows why- really!
Haiti’s sorrow is an opportunity for us, not to pronounce judgment, but to weep, to give, and even for some of us to go and help.
"This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love." (1 John 3:16-18, The Message)
My opinion is that such a statement is idiotic, an absolute disgrace to the name of Christ Jesus, and completely out of line. It is true that Haiti is plagued with voodoo and spiritual darkness. That nation has huge social problems that contribute to keeping her people grinding poverty of the people. Those are facts. But, can we really know why the earthquake struck, apart from the geological science? Oh, and if God were to send earthquakes on every nation that made a pact with the Devil somewhere in their history, civilization would have ended centuries ago! Why didn’t Mr. Robertson point out the horrible sin of colonial nations who created Haiti by ripping Africans from their land and bringing them to be slaves in the Americas? Why didn’t he point out the racism that has been part of the reason that Haiti was unable to attract development in decades past? Why didn’t he point to the sin of the oppressive dictators who exploited the nation?
We want quick answers for suffering. We need to make a direct line between ‘cause and effect’ because it makes us feel more safe. If we can distance ourselves from those who suffer by finding a cause we also can avoid their fate. That’s not always a bad thing. I’m glad somebody figured out the science of infection by bacteria and viruses. I’m glad to know that I can practice good hygiene and significantly reduce my risk of sickness. But, when it comes to earthquakes, a little humility is in order.
Jesus’ own disciples were ready to judge some people who experienced tragedy, quick to assume that they ‘brought it on themselves.’ Hasn’t Mr. Robertson read Jesus’ words about judging others? "About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” (Luke 13:1-5, NLT) Jesus’ rebuke to his disciples was a reminder that we’re all under the judgment of God and that repentance was a necessity for everyone!
In a another passage, Jesus found a man born blind along the road. Here’s the story. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work." (John 9:2-4, NLT) And then Jesus healed him! By His example, we learn that it is not for us to decide the ‘why’ of suffering and tragedy. It is our calling to rush to such incidents with hands that soothe, bringing healing and turning sorrow into joy, darkness to light. God only knows why- really!
Haiti’s sorrow is an opportunity for us, not to pronounce judgment, but to weep, to give, and even for some of us to go and help.
"This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love." (1 John 3:16-18, The Message)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
All our tomorrows
Robert Burns, the 18th century Scottish poet, wrote of the poor mouse whose nest was torn up by the farmer's plow.
"The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley, (go oft awry)
And leaves us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy."
If we chatted over a cup of coffee, I’m sure both of us could fill up an hour talking about those moments when our best-laid plans went awry! Millions of Americans saw dreams die with the economic collapse last year. In Haiti yesterday, the ground shook and in a country where daily existence was already beyond difficult, life just became impossible for thousands of desperate people. It doesn’t take an earthquake or a severe recession to turn life upside down. It can be much more personal. We can lose our way, make a stupid choice, allow ourselves to believe a lie just for a moment, only to find ‘naught but grief and pain!’
In Genesis, we meet a man named Joseph who met more than a few surprises on the way to his horizons! As the favored son of Jacob, he started life with great expectations. God loved him, too. He was blessed with dreams and intelligence. But one day in a dusty desert, his jealous brothers changed everything and sold him to slavers who took him to Egypt. Game over, right? Not quite! He persisted and found himself managing the household a rich man. One day in the bedroom that changed when Potiphar’s wife decided she really wanted to sleep with the good looking kid. His refusal earned him a false accusation of rape and a long term in prison. Game over? No. He kept on doing the right thing and through a set of unbelievable circumstances was led to the Pharaoh and a place as Prime Minister of a world class nation. Decades after that terrible day when he was wrenched from home and family and sold into slavery, his brothers showed up in court. When they found out who was sitting on the throne, they quaked with terror. Now it was Joseph’s turn to be a game changer. His faithful heart is revealed in what he said to them. “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:19-20, NIV)
“God has a plan,” people tell us when the world has just flipped! It can be just a cliché or we can receive it as the truth! He really does have a plan. In the amazing way that only an all-powerful and all-knowing God could, He takes our surprises and uses them to present new opportunities. When somebody says, “just trust me,” I’m immediately on guard. The line is often a lead-in to a scheme that will benefit the other person more than it will benefit me. But when our Lord says, “Trust Me!” we really can. We must. "While I wait for God as long as he remains in hiding, while I wait and hope for him." (Isaiah 8:17, The Message) “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation. I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!” Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:2-3, The Message)
I am not a fatalist! The Lord has given us freedom to choose and often we (and others whose choices effect us) choose unwisely or sinfully. But I am a ‘faithful-ist!’ He can take even the sinful choices and, if we will trust Him with them, use them to make us who He wants us to be. Rest in that today.
Here’s a prayer from the Psalms for those whose life has gone awry. If you’re struggling to make sense of it all, make it yours.
"Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me." (Psalm 40:11-13, NIV)
"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say, “The Lord be exalted!”
Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay." (Psalm 40:16-17, NIV)
________________
All my tomorrows, all my past,
Jesus is Lord of all.
I've quit my struggles,
Contentment at last,
Jesus is Lord of all.
King of kings, Lord of lords,
Jesus is Lord of all;
All my possessions
And all my life,
Jesus is Lord of all.
Jesus Is Lord Of All
Gaither, William J. / Gaither, Gloria
© 1973 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management
CCLI License No. 810055
"The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley, (go oft awry)
And leaves us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy."
If we chatted over a cup of coffee, I’m sure both of us could fill up an hour talking about those moments when our best-laid plans went awry! Millions of Americans saw dreams die with the economic collapse last year. In Haiti yesterday, the ground shook and in a country where daily existence was already beyond difficult, life just became impossible for thousands of desperate people. It doesn’t take an earthquake or a severe recession to turn life upside down. It can be much more personal. We can lose our way, make a stupid choice, allow ourselves to believe a lie just for a moment, only to find ‘naught but grief and pain!’
In Genesis, we meet a man named Joseph who met more than a few surprises on the way to his horizons! As the favored son of Jacob, he started life with great expectations. God loved him, too. He was blessed with dreams and intelligence. But one day in a dusty desert, his jealous brothers changed everything and sold him to slavers who took him to Egypt. Game over, right? Not quite! He persisted and found himself managing the household a rich man. One day in the bedroom that changed when Potiphar’s wife decided she really wanted to sleep with the good looking kid. His refusal earned him a false accusation of rape and a long term in prison. Game over? No. He kept on doing the right thing and through a set of unbelievable circumstances was led to the Pharaoh and a place as Prime Minister of a world class nation. Decades after that terrible day when he was wrenched from home and family and sold into slavery, his brothers showed up in court. When they found out who was sitting on the throne, they quaked with terror. Now it was Joseph’s turn to be a game changer. His faithful heart is revealed in what he said to them. “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:19-20, NIV)
“God has a plan,” people tell us when the world has just flipped! It can be just a cliché or we can receive it as the truth! He really does have a plan. In the amazing way that only an all-powerful and all-knowing God could, He takes our surprises and uses them to present new opportunities. When somebody says, “just trust me,” I’m immediately on guard. The line is often a lead-in to a scheme that will benefit the other person more than it will benefit me. But when our Lord says, “Trust Me!” we really can. We must. "While I wait for God as long as he remains in hiding, while I wait and hope for him." (Isaiah 8:17, The Message) “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation. I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!” Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:2-3, The Message)
I am not a fatalist! The Lord has given us freedom to choose and often we (and others whose choices effect us) choose unwisely or sinfully. But I am a ‘faithful-ist!’ He can take even the sinful choices and, if we will trust Him with them, use them to make us who He wants us to be. Rest in that today.
Here’s a prayer from the Psalms for those whose life has gone awry. If you’re struggling to make sense of it all, make it yours.
"Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me." (Psalm 40:11-13, NIV)
"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say, “The Lord be exalted!”
Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay." (Psalm 40:16-17, NIV)
________________
All my tomorrows, all my past,
Jesus is Lord of all.
I've quit my struggles,
Contentment at last,
Jesus is Lord of all.
King of kings, Lord of lords,
Jesus is Lord of all;
All my possessions
And all my life,
Jesus is Lord of all.
Jesus Is Lord Of All
Gaither, William J. / Gaither, Gloria
© 1973 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management
CCLI License No. 810055
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Family history
When we tell the stories of our families, there’s always the scoundrel that defies the rules and the good child whose success is celebrated. There are those crazy moments when all appears lost; then, a breakthrough changes everything! Of course, our histories include tragedies that came from nowhere which are unexplained even a century later. We look back and find wise and foolish choices; decisions that proved right and those that produced only regrets.
The family event that has had the most effect on my life was my paternal Grandfather’s conversion sometime around 1935. A Danish immigrant who arrived in the United States with a formal religion but no real love for God, the Lord found him when he visited a tent revival in a little town in Iowa when he was a middle-aged man, changing his life and mine! Much of who I am today is clearly the result of the choice that Walter Scott made when he accepted Christ and became part of a little Assemblies of God church in Truesdale, Iowa. That’s the real legacy of my Grandpa.
I am reading the story of the patriarchs in Genesis. Their entire lives are summed up in a few chapters which allow us to see choices they made and the results years later. Family sins get repeated in subsequent generations. Their choice of wives and even the places they lived change the courses of their lives. But, through it all, God is working out His plan to bring into existence the people of the Lord through whom He would bless the world. I doubt that even Abraham understood the implications of the promise “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2, NIV)
Through all their failings and successes, God’s hand guides. The legacy that counted most was the spiritual one, the passing of the faith in the Lord, generation to generation. Abraham’s God becomes the God of Isaac. In time, the God of Isaac becomes Jacob’s God.
What kind of legacy will you leave to your family?
When you grandchildren remember you will it be your spiritual heritage that they value most?
Will they be blessed by a foundational faith that you laid for their lives?
Spiritual legacies are created by consistent practices of faith, by dedication to godly things, by choices that demonstrate our most fundamental values. Paul, writing to a younger pastor named Timothy, reminds him of the legacy that blesses him. "I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you." (2 Timothy 1:5, NLT)
Let me leave you with a familiar passage found in Deuteronomy. It notes that we can only pass along what lives in us! Read it and begin to write a family history that will reveal to those who follow you that you were a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got! Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts.
Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.
Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates."
(Deuteronomy 6:5-9, The Message)
__________
We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road,
And those who've gone before us line the way;
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace.
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us,
Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all we've left behind,
May the clues that they discover, and the mem'ries they uncover
become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful!
May the fire of our devotion light their way!
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful!
Find Us Faithful
© 1987 Jonathan Mark Music
Birdwing Music (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management)
(a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Jon Mohr
CCLI License No. 810055
The family event that has had the most effect on my life was my paternal Grandfather’s conversion sometime around 1935. A Danish immigrant who arrived in the United States with a formal religion but no real love for God, the Lord found him when he visited a tent revival in a little town in Iowa when he was a middle-aged man, changing his life and mine! Much of who I am today is clearly the result of the choice that Walter Scott made when he accepted Christ and became part of a little Assemblies of God church in Truesdale, Iowa. That’s the real legacy of my Grandpa.
I am reading the story of the patriarchs in Genesis. Their entire lives are summed up in a few chapters which allow us to see choices they made and the results years later. Family sins get repeated in subsequent generations. Their choice of wives and even the places they lived change the courses of their lives. But, through it all, God is working out His plan to bring into existence the people of the Lord through whom He would bless the world. I doubt that even Abraham understood the implications of the promise “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2, NIV)
Through all their failings and successes, God’s hand guides. The legacy that counted most was the spiritual one, the passing of the faith in the Lord, generation to generation. Abraham’s God becomes the God of Isaac. In time, the God of Isaac becomes Jacob’s God.
What kind of legacy will you leave to your family?
When you grandchildren remember you will it be your spiritual heritage that they value most?
Will they be blessed by a foundational faith that you laid for their lives?
Spiritual legacies are created by consistent practices of faith, by dedication to godly things, by choices that demonstrate our most fundamental values. Paul, writing to a younger pastor named Timothy, reminds him of the legacy that blesses him. "I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you." (2 Timothy 1:5, NLT)
Let me leave you with a familiar passage found in Deuteronomy. It notes that we can only pass along what lives in us! Read it and begin to write a family history that will reveal to those who follow you that you were a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got! Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts.
Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.
Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates."
(Deuteronomy 6:5-9, The Message)
__________
We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road,
And those who've gone before us line the way;
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace.
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us,
Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all we've left behind,
May the clues that they discover, and the mem'ries they uncover
become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful!
May the fire of our devotion light their way!
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful!
Find Us Faithful
© 1987 Jonathan Mark Music
Birdwing Music (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management)
(a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Jon Mohr
CCLI License No. 810055
Monday, January 11, 2010
The passages that make you say, “what!?”
I open my Bible every morning and read the inspired Word. I love books like Ephesians that apply to my life and yield more easily to my understanding. But, right now, I’m reading Genesis where I find passages in which I understand the story, yet recoil in disgust or dismay. In those hard passages knowing what the principle is and how it applies to my life is more difficult. For example, today I read of Abraham’s second lie about his beautiful wife which he explains by implying she was, in fact, his half-sister! Why does God seem to give Abe a pass when he sins? He lies and the other guy gets punished. Then I read the famous story about Abraham’s trip to Mt. Moriah, where God asks him to sacrifice his son. Human sacrifice? That’s just wrong, yet there it is. Of course, at the last minute, as Abe stands with knife raised over his bound son, God makes the wonderful substitution of the ram caught in the bushes. Isaac was saved and Abraham calls the Lord, “Yahweh Yireh,” The LORD, my provider! That part, at least, is encouraging. (Please don’t send me long ‘explanations’ about inspiration, cultural context, etc. Thanks.)
My point today is that understanding the Bible as the Word of God requires more than the ability to read words. The Scripture only yields wisdom when we read it with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we read it just as literature or history, but fail to have the Spirit’s wisdom, do not consider the counsel of others who have studied, or fail to keep our mind open to the ‘mystery’ involved with discerning His purposes; we will surely miss the point. We will reach conclusions that are just plain wrong or we may decide to ignore passages that are admittedly hard to understand. Paul taught Timothy, and by extension, teaches us that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV) That’s does not mean that all passages are easily accessible!
Making the Bible into something God never intended, a book of formulas for life, will lead to terrible results. The Bible is God’s story! It is a record spanning 1600 years in which the Lord of glory reveals Himself through the humanity of those who loved and followed Him. Sometimes they did it well. Sometimes, just like us, they made a real mess of things! Honestly, Genesis without Revelation, Deuteronomy with Hebrews, Joshua without John, would be dismal. We need to be diligent students of the whole Bible so that we will ‘correctly handle the word of truth.’ (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)
It’s quite all right to reverently say, “I just don’t get that.” Some passages need time to settle into our understanding. Others make much more sense when our own journey takes us into a place where the Spirit brings a formerly incomprehensible chapter to mind and we say, “Ah, that’s just for me now.” Disciple, you and I will encounter parts of the Bible that baffle us, challenge us, or even resist our understanding. Never the less, we must keep reading! Remember that "the holy Scriptures …are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15, NIV)
In an excellent book, Reason for God, (Riverhead Press, 2008) Timothy Keller writes, “If you don’t trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you. … Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won’t! You’ll have a God essentially of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction. Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle, will you know that you have taken hold a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So, an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.”
" Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105, NIV)
"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." (Psalm 119:130, NIV)
My point today is that understanding the Bible as the Word of God requires more than the ability to read words. The Scripture only yields wisdom when we read it with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we read it just as literature or history, but fail to have the Spirit’s wisdom, do not consider the counsel of others who have studied, or fail to keep our mind open to the ‘mystery’ involved with discerning His purposes; we will surely miss the point. We will reach conclusions that are just plain wrong or we may decide to ignore passages that are admittedly hard to understand. Paul taught Timothy, and by extension, teaches us that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV) That’s does not mean that all passages are easily accessible!
Making the Bible into something God never intended, a book of formulas for life, will lead to terrible results. The Bible is God’s story! It is a record spanning 1600 years in which the Lord of glory reveals Himself through the humanity of those who loved and followed Him. Sometimes they did it well. Sometimes, just like us, they made a real mess of things! Honestly, Genesis without Revelation, Deuteronomy with Hebrews, Joshua without John, would be dismal. We need to be diligent students of the whole Bible so that we will ‘correctly handle the word of truth.’ (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)
It’s quite all right to reverently say, “I just don’t get that.” Some passages need time to settle into our understanding. Others make much more sense when our own journey takes us into a place where the Spirit brings a formerly incomprehensible chapter to mind and we say, “Ah, that’s just for me now.” Disciple, you and I will encounter parts of the Bible that baffle us, challenge us, or even resist our understanding. Never the less, we must keep reading! Remember that "the holy Scriptures …are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15, NIV)
In an excellent book, Reason for God, (Riverhead Press, 2008) Timothy Keller writes, “If you don’t trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you. … Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won’t! You’ll have a God essentially of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction. Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle, will you know that you have taken hold a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So, an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.”
" Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105, NIV)
"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." (Psalm 119:130, NIV)
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