Twas the night before the night before...
Here is hoping that this blog update finds you all well and increasingly enjoying the Christmas holiday. We have managed to squeeze in a bout of the 24 hour stomach bug for Mel this week, but she seems to be much better today and we are hoping for a clean bill of health the rest of the way through the break.
As always, I very much enjoyed the discussion on Sunday. I wasn't sure I wanted to do a Christmas discussion, but as it turned out I am glad we did.
As always, again, there were a few things I think are worth mentioning that we did not get to.
I want to go back to the whole idea of the angels appearing to shepherds. We did talk on Sunday about how shepherds were held in very low standing at the time. They were not even allowed to offer testimony in a court of law because of their social standing. And God, who often does such things, chose those who could not testify in a human court to bear witness to the birth of His son. And they did so! Luke tells us that they went their way telling everyone what they had heard and seen. And so, these common shepherds were the first to tell others about the Good Shepherd. Coincidence? I think not.
It has also been speculated that these sheep in the care of the shepherds on the hill may well have been sheep that would later be sold to Jews who needed a sheep for their sacrifice. That is not recorded in the scripture, but t was common practice and is not outside the realm of possibility. It would be just like God to do that as well- to play with the details and have the shepherds leave their sheep to go and see the sacrificial lamb.
In thinking about the fact that this kind of account of Jesus' birth is only recorded in Luke, and even then not to a great extent, there is another interesting principle in play. It is know as the "Principle of Proportion". The principle of proportion simply states that the more important parts of the story get more coverage in the scriptures. Luke is the only one to give a birth account and in comparison, the amount of "ink"given to the birth does not nearly compare to the amount of attention given by Luke and all of the gospel writers to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
It is interesting how the world can get all cozy with the idea of a baby in a manger, but wants nothing to do with an innocent man, beaten and hanging on a cross, to save all mankind. The beginning of the story, as wonderful as it is, is nothing without the end.
But it is a remarkable thing- that the rescue plan set in motion by the God of the universe began with the birth of a baby.
Unto YOU is born THIS DAY in THE CITY OF DAVID, a SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A Plethora of Pasta...
Good stuff last Sunday! We discussed the portion of Luke 9 in which we find Peter's great confession and some of Jesus' teaching on the cross- the cross of Christ, and the cross of the believer / follower. (Luke 9:18-26)
I especially enjoyed the discussion we had about who you say Jesus is. Remember the questions Jesus posed to the disciples- "Who do the crowds say I am?" and "Who do you say I am?". Those are the questions he asked then. But it is interesting to ask those same questions now. It is interesting to sit back and take note of how the rest of the world reacts to Jesus, and it is good for us to verbalize our own thoughts on the subject every once in a while. I consider it an honor to have the chance to hear people like all of you express your heart and speak of who Jesus is. I don't know how it is for you, but sometimes when I read scriptures like that I can just see Jesus looking straight into my eyes and asking me the question- "Who do YOU say I am?"
Immediately following Peter's confession in the passage, Jesus began to talk of all that he would have to endure, and he began to talk about the cross of the believer- the cross we all must take up daily. On Sunday, we did not really get to talk about that part of it- taking up our cross. I would like to offer a few thoughts here and, as always, comments and discussion are welcome!
First I have to say that while we have to we have been directed to take up our cross daily, (Luke 9: 23), whatever we have to endure that is associated with our "cross" is nothing compared to what Christ endured. Try as we might, we cannot grasp what Jesus has suffered. I would never dare to compare anything I experience to what he did. But having said that, there is a cross for the believer, and I think that it is characterized by a handful of properties.
1. Although different, the believers cross is directly related to the Cross of Christ.
The cross Jesus bore came complete with a full compliment of shame, guilt, pain, anguish, hardship... the list goes on and on. I already said that nothing that we bear compares to Jesus' sacrifice, but because our cross is related to his cross, it will come with its share of hardship and pain as well. We need not think that taking up our cross daily ends with morning devotionals. If we truly follow, at one time or another, there will be pain. I don't think I am telling you anything you don't already know.
2. The cross of the believer is more than external
We sometimes see our cross as those external things that come our way- sickness, accident, family turmoil, etc. Sometimes we say, "well, that's just the cross I have been given to bear." I won't argue that external things are part of it, but I think if we stop there, then we do not understand the full meaning of the cross. The full meaning of the cross has to include the internal as well. Luke 9 says we must deny ourselves.
1 John 3:16 says:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
Romans 12:1-2 says
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The cross is not the cross unless it includes an intentional setting aside of the self.
3. The cross of the believer is based on this principle: "to lose your life is to save it."
We all have thoughts and feelings about our security. We look out for the future and try to make wise decisions now so that we will be "OK" later. Nothing wrong with that. But the best way to be spiritually secure is to stop thinking about ourselves. It is an interesting thing to consider approaching each day by saying, "as long as I genuinely give myself to others for the sake of Jesus, I don't have to worry about anything."
I don't know about you, but I am not as good about that as I would like.
4. The cross is repulsive and will never be attractive to the world.
Let's face it. On the surface, from a strictly human view, this whole "deny self" thing sounds pretty bad. It is not something that will ever look attractive to the world. It is only through divine assistance that we come to any understanding of this cross. We can only accept this with God's help. On my own, I would size up this whole "Jesus" thing, and walk away. Which is exactly what many people have done- both then and now. Praise God that He has given me enough understanding to make the cross attractive to me.
There is a beauty to the cross, but I cannot see it with my own eyes. It is only because God breathes life into me each day that I can catch a glimpse of the glory of the cross, and make the decision, every day, to take it up, and walk.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
I especially enjoyed the discussion we had about who you say Jesus is. Remember the questions Jesus posed to the disciples- "Who do the crowds say I am?" and "Who do you say I am?". Those are the questions he asked then. But it is interesting to ask those same questions now. It is interesting to sit back and take note of how the rest of the world reacts to Jesus, and it is good for us to verbalize our own thoughts on the subject every once in a while. I consider it an honor to have the chance to hear people like all of you express your heart and speak of who Jesus is. I don't know how it is for you, but sometimes when I read scriptures like that I can just see Jesus looking straight into my eyes and asking me the question- "Who do YOU say I am?"
Immediately following Peter's confession in the passage, Jesus began to talk of all that he would have to endure, and he began to talk about the cross of the believer- the cross we all must take up daily. On Sunday, we did not really get to talk about that part of it- taking up our cross. I would like to offer a few thoughts here and, as always, comments and discussion are welcome!
First I have to say that while we have to we have been directed to take up our cross daily, (Luke 9: 23), whatever we have to endure that is associated with our "cross" is nothing compared to what Christ endured. Try as we might, we cannot grasp what Jesus has suffered. I would never dare to compare anything I experience to what he did. But having said that, there is a cross for the believer, and I think that it is characterized by a handful of properties.
1. Although different, the believers cross is directly related to the Cross of Christ.
The cross Jesus bore came complete with a full compliment of shame, guilt, pain, anguish, hardship... the list goes on and on. I already said that nothing that we bear compares to Jesus' sacrifice, but because our cross is related to his cross, it will come with its share of hardship and pain as well. We need not think that taking up our cross daily ends with morning devotionals. If we truly follow, at one time or another, there will be pain. I don't think I am telling you anything you don't already know.
2. The cross of the believer is more than external
We sometimes see our cross as those external things that come our way- sickness, accident, family turmoil, etc. Sometimes we say, "well, that's just the cross I have been given to bear." I won't argue that external things are part of it, but I think if we stop there, then we do not understand the full meaning of the cross. The full meaning of the cross has to include the internal as well. Luke 9 says we must deny ourselves.
1 John 3:16 says:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
Romans 12:1-2 says
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The cross is not the cross unless it includes an intentional setting aside of the self.
3. The cross of the believer is based on this principle: "to lose your life is to save it."
We all have thoughts and feelings about our security. We look out for the future and try to make wise decisions now so that we will be "OK" later. Nothing wrong with that. But the best way to be spiritually secure is to stop thinking about ourselves. It is an interesting thing to consider approaching each day by saying, "as long as I genuinely give myself to others for the sake of Jesus, I don't have to worry about anything."
I don't know about you, but I am not as good about that as I would like.
4. The cross is repulsive and will never be attractive to the world.
Let's face it. On the surface, from a strictly human view, this whole "deny self" thing sounds pretty bad. It is not something that will ever look attractive to the world. It is only through divine assistance that we come to any understanding of this cross. We can only accept this with God's help. On my own, I would size up this whole "Jesus" thing, and walk away. Which is exactly what many people have done- both then and now. Praise God that He has given me enough understanding to make the cross attractive to me.
There is a beauty to the cross, but I cannot see it with my own eyes. It is only because God breathes life into me each day that I can catch a glimpse of the glory of the cross, and make the decision, every day, to take it up, and walk.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Prodigal Pasta...
On Sunday we visited what might be the most commonly taught / preached / discussed / analyzed parable in the New Testament- the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus taught a lot when he went on His roll of "Lost" parables in Luke 15. We discussed some of this on Sunday. Here is a quick recap.
The first two verses give us the context for the telling of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. It seems the Pharisees were grumbling, (again), about Jesus welcoming sinners and tax collectors. Like usual, Jesus knew what they were thinking and saying, and their attitude and response to how Jesus treated sinners was what prompted the telling of the parables.
With that in mind we would have to conclude that there was a message to the Pharisees in the telling of the "lost" parables, and indeed there was. More about that in a minute.
There are some interesting things to note in the first two parables. Both the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin are about people who lost possessions. Granted- they are valuable possessions, but they are possessions nonetheless. But the point that Jesus seems to be making in the first two parables is that the way we feel about finding a valued possession is how all of heaven feels about the repentance of lost people.
The fact that Jesus started the first parable with the words, "Suppose one of you..." shows us that Jesus is trying to get the people who are listening to identify with the feeling He is describing. He could have started by saying, "How would you feel if you lost one of your sheep?" And, once He invoked the feeling, He followed up by expressing the idea that the way people feel about finding lost things is how heaven feels about finding lost people- there is great rejoicing when the lost is found.
In fact, in the first two parables, one could even say that there was a rather extravagant search effort and a rather extravagant response to the finding of the lost item. Reasoning from a strictly human frame of reference, I am not sure I would leave 99 sheep unprotected to go find one. But "heaven" would. I am not sure, if I found one lost coin, that I would throw a party that would cost me several coins. But heaven would.
And so, perhaps we can agree that the first two parables help to establish the supreme value that God has for each human life- that for even one lost human, God would launch an extensive search and, when found, there would be extravagant celebration.
And then comes the third parable in the set. The prodigal son. This one is different. And then its not. The third parable drives home some of the same things, but in a little different way.
In the Father, we see one who allows free will in letting the son seek his own way for a time. We see one who is continually watching for the return of the son who walked away. We find one who is so familiar with his son that "while he was still a long way off" he knew it was his son who approached. We find one who is full of grace- ready to forgive when the repentant heart returns. Um, I think we see God.
In the younger son we often see ourselves- at least at one point in our lives. We have walked away, we have been foolish, we "come to our senses" and returned to our father. But also in the younger son we see a model of true repentance- the son returned to his father and did not bring a list of demands. He did not make any claim to his place in the family, for he know he had forfeited it. He was truly repentant.
In the older son, we see that attitude of the Pharisees- that which Jesus was trying to point out in the telling of this story. The older son had the blessing of the father right before him the whole time. He could have had a party any time he wanted. He had all of the father's resources at the palm of his hand. But rather than enjoy being with the father, he chose to be jealous at the return of the son. He was upset because he did not feel he was being rewarded for his "hard work". And so we see that the older son in the story thought that the blessing of the father should be attached to the works of the son. The Pharisees thought the same thing- that blessing came from outward works- from following every jot and tittle of the law.
In the end I think the parable is really about relationship. At one time or another, neither son wanted to be with the father. They wanted to party and celebrate with their friends and not with the father. Apparently they did not think that they could find joy with the father. They did not think they could celebrate with the father. They both wanted to celebrate apart from the father.
And so, perhaps the thing that we learn here is that, no matter how good things might look elsewhere, being home with the Father is to be desired above all.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
The first two verses give us the context for the telling of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. It seems the Pharisees were grumbling, (again), about Jesus welcoming sinners and tax collectors. Like usual, Jesus knew what they were thinking and saying, and their attitude and response to how Jesus treated sinners was what prompted the telling of the parables.
With that in mind we would have to conclude that there was a message to the Pharisees in the telling of the "lost" parables, and indeed there was. More about that in a minute.
There are some interesting things to note in the first two parables. Both the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin are about people who lost possessions. Granted- they are valuable possessions, but they are possessions nonetheless. But the point that Jesus seems to be making in the first two parables is that the way we feel about finding a valued possession is how all of heaven feels about the repentance of lost people.
The fact that Jesus started the first parable with the words, "Suppose one of you..." shows us that Jesus is trying to get the people who are listening to identify with the feeling He is describing. He could have started by saying, "How would you feel if you lost one of your sheep?" And, once He invoked the feeling, He followed up by expressing the idea that the way people feel about finding lost things is how heaven feels about finding lost people- there is great rejoicing when the lost is found.
In fact, in the first two parables, one could even say that there was a rather extravagant search effort and a rather extravagant response to the finding of the lost item. Reasoning from a strictly human frame of reference, I am not sure I would leave 99 sheep unprotected to go find one. But "heaven" would. I am not sure, if I found one lost coin, that I would throw a party that would cost me several coins. But heaven would.
And so, perhaps we can agree that the first two parables help to establish the supreme value that God has for each human life- that for even one lost human, God would launch an extensive search and, when found, there would be extravagant celebration.
And then comes the third parable in the set. The prodigal son. This one is different. And then its not. The third parable drives home some of the same things, but in a little different way.
In the Father, we see one who allows free will in letting the son seek his own way for a time. We see one who is continually watching for the return of the son who walked away. We find one who is so familiar with his son that "while he was still a long way off" he knew it was his son who approached. We find one who is full of grace- ready to forgive when the repentant heart returns. Um, I think we see God.
In the younger son we often see ourselves- at least at one point in our lives. We have walked away, we have been foolish, we "come to our senses" and returned to our father. But also in the younger son we see a model of true repentance- the son returned to his father and did not bring a list of demands. He did not make any claim to his place in the family, for he know he had forfeited it. He was truly repentant.
In the older son, we see that attitude of the Pharisees- that which Jesus was trying to point out in the telling of this story. The older son had the blessing of the father right before him the whole time. He could have had a party any time he wanted. He had all of the father's resources at the palm of his hand. But rather than enjoy being with the father, he chose to be jealous at the return of the son. He was upset because he did not feel he was being rewarded for his "hard work". And so we see that the older son in the story thought that the blessing of the father should be attached to the works of the son. The Pharisees thought the same thing- that blessing came from outward works- from following every jot and tittle of the law.
In the end I think the parable is really about relationship. At one time or another, neither son wanted to be with the father. They wanted to party and celebrate with their friends and not with the father. Apparently they did not think that they could find joy with the father. They did not think they could celebrate with the father. They both wanted to celebrate apart from the father.
And so, perhaps the thing that we learn here is that, no matter how good things might look elsewhere, being home with the Father is to be desired above all.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Pasta for Your Thoughts...
When it came right down to it, I couldn't talk Melanie into painting her face. So disappointed...
However, on our way to the Colt's game we did continue to discuss this parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16. One of Mel's comments was, "That's just kind of a strange parable..." I have to agree. It is not one that just jumps right out and says, "Here is your bible lesson of the day!" The bible lesson is in there, it just doesn't jump out immediately.
I mean, when you read it, there are all kinds of things that seem to not jive with what you would expect from the bible, (thus the tension of the passage). Here we have a property owner who pretty much gets hosed twice by a less than exemplary manager... and commends him for it! If we make the logical leap that you would make with most parables and assume that the property owner in the story represents God, then we have God condoning dishonest and irresponsible behavior. Not likely.
So the inescapable conclusion is that the property owner does not represent God in this story. And that is what leads us to the idea that this is another one of those "parables of contrast." The behavior of the characters in the story shows us not how we ought to act, but how we ought NOT act. The manager was irresponsible with his masters' resources in the first place, and that drove him to further action that only made things worse. Faithful managers of the master's resources find no need to take the kind of action shown in the parable.
But, the manager did figure one thing out, (well, ok, two things). The manager knew his days were numbered and he knew that the money was going to run out. The property owner had given the manager a period of time to "get accounts in order", and then the manager would not have access to it, (the money) any more.
Are we really much different? In terms of our life on this earth, our days are numbered. And the access we have to the earthly riches around us will end. (Of course, we look forward to a day when we are surrounded by the riches of heaven which makes this world pale in comparison.) So we come to these two conclusions- we won't be here forever and we won't take anything with us when we go. Nothing really new there. But, these two conclusions should move us to action. We are not going to take the earthly riches with us, so we may as well use them while we are here for the best purpose we can find.
We can afford to be kind and generous with what we have. Jesus always was. And you will notice that Jesus did not offer himself only for those who He knew would respond. He gave His life once and for ALL. If He can do that, then we can use
what we have now to help people along in this life. And, to bring them to Christ.
I want to return for a moment to my analogy from Sunday that came from, (gasp), Star Wars. When Han Solo says, "Thanks for coming after me", it sounds pretty routine. Like, "Thanks for the ride". But the truth is that Luke, Leia, Chewy, and Lando went to extremes to get Han out of clutches of Jabba the Hut. There was an elaborate plan, they got thermal detonators, they had voice changers, they had disguises, they traveled for light years... this was no routine thing! They put it out there! Not everything went perfectly, but they laid it all out- they were all in- they sold out for the cause. And because they did, Han was freed.
Again I say, we are not so different. There are people in the clutches of Satan all over the world. We can use the resources we have in this world to free them. The challenge for all of us is, just how sold out will we be?
We all have to answer the question of how we will use our resources here. We have to provide for our families. We have to render to Caesar. But one thing that comes from this parable in Luke 16 is that we must also manage to use worldly wealth in such a way as to make friends in heaven.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
However, on our way to the Colt's game we did continue to discuss this parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16. One of Mel's comments was, "That's just kind of a strange parable..." I have to agree. It is not one that just jumps right out and says, "Here is your bible lesson of the day!" The bible lesson is in there, it just doesn't jump out immediately.
I mean, when you read it, there are all kinds of things that seem to not jive with what you would expect from the bible, (thus the tension of the passage). Here we have a property owner who pretty much gets hosed twice by a less than exemplary manager... and commends him for it! If we make the logical leap that you would make with most parables and assume that the property owner in the story represents God, then we have God condoning dishonest and irresponsible behavior. Not likely.
So the inescapable conclusion is that the property owner does not represent God in this story. And that is what leads us to the idea that this is another one of those "parables of contrast." The behavior of the characters in the story shows us not how we ought to act, but how we ought NOT act. The manager was irresponsible with his masters' resources in the first place, and that drove him to further action that only made things worse. Faithful managers of the master's resources find no need to take the kind of action shown in the parable.
But, the manager did figure one thing out, (well, ok, two things). The manager knew his days were numbered and he knew that the money was going to run out. The property owner had given the manager a period of time to "get accounts in order", and then the manager would not have access to it, (the money) any more.
Are we really much different? In terms of our life on this earth, our days are numbered. And the access we have to the earthly riches around us will end. (Of course, we look forward to a day when we are surrounded by the riches of heaven which makes this world pale in comparison.) So we come to these two conclusions- we won't be here forever and we won't take anything with us when we go. Nothing really new there. But, these two conclusions should move us to action. We are not going to take the earthly riches with us, so we may as well use them while we are here for the best purpose we can find.
We can afford to be kind and generous with what we have. Jesus always was. And you will notice that Jesus did not offer himself only for those who He knew would respond. He gave His life once and for ALL. If He can do that, then we can use
what we have now to help people along in this life. And, to bring them to Christ.
I want to return for a moment to my analogy from Sunday that came from, (gasp), Star Wars. When Han Solo says, "Thanks for coming after me", it sounds pretty routine. Like, "Thanks for the ride". But the truth is that Luke, Leia, Chewy, and Lando went to extremes to get Han out of clutches of Jabba the Hut. There was an elaborate plan, they got thermal detonators, they had voice changers, they had disguises, they traveled for light years... this was no routine thing! They put it out there! Not everything went perfectly, but they laid it all out- they were all in- they sold out for the cause. And because they did, Han was freed.
Again I say, we are not so different. There are people in the clutches of Satan all over the world. We can use the resources we have in this world to free them. The challenge for all of us is, just how sold out will we be?
We all have to answer the question of how we will use our resources here. We have to provide for our families. We have to render to Caesar. But one thing that comes from this parable in Luke 16 is that we must also manage to use worldly wealth in such a way as to make friends in heaven.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Late, Brief Pasta...
Got to squeeze this one in quick and short!! Sunday's comin...
In thinking back to our discussion of Luke 14 and the parables of the tower and the king, there are a few thoughts that come to mind.
The first is, again, how much I value and appreciate this class. It is such a privilege to be a part of it and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to get together and discuss the scriptures the way we do each Sunday. I continually pray that as I prepare lessons and outlines that the whole experience will be beneficial for all who are a part of it. I am just very grateful for a group of people who will bring their hearts and minds each week.
The other thing that is on my mind as I think back to this passage is the way Jesus would, every once in a while, throw out something that would sound repulsive on the surface. He did it in John 6 (as I mentioned Sunday) when He said things like "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6: 53-54).
Let's face it- at first hearing this sounds a little crazy. Not so much to us now because we have some historical perspective and we know the symbolic nature of communion... but for them? These words would have been a little hard to hear and I think Jesus knew that. I think that, like someone said Sunday, He said it to find our who was really serious.
A bit of the same thing is happening here in Luke 14. By saying that you have to "hate" your family and your own life in order to be a disciple, Jesus has thrown out an idea that needs a little further investigation. Through our discussion and our historical perspective, I think that we can come to the conclusion that the word "hate" in this scripture did not mean hate like we normally think of it. In this case it is more along the lines of "to love less".
I also think that similar things happen to people now. It might be scripture, it might be difficult things that happen in our lives, it might be shattered expectations- it could be any number of things. But sooner or later we face things that seem, on the surface, to be at odds with all we know and understand about God. It is at those moments when we find out if we are like the man who built the tower and the king in Luke 14, or if we are made of a different kind of stuff- the kind of stuff that lasts.
The 8th chapter of Isaiah speaks of Jesus being a rock that makes men stumble. I guess there are a handful of ways to look at that passage. I think that one way is to say that, in the course of our lives, hard things will come our way. And when they do, we will have to decide whether those hard things are going to make us walk away or not. Will be allow ourselves to become discouraged or will be continue to dig for understanding and peace and continue on.
In John 6 and Luke 14 we see instances where the hard teachings of Jesus made some walk away. I say, let's not walk away. Let's stay. Let's continue to work for understanding and stay right where we are- with Jesus.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
In thinking back to our discussion of Luke 14 and the parables of the tower and the king, there are a few thoughts that come to mind.
The first is, again, how much I value and appreciate this class. It is such a privilege to be a part of it and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to get together and discuss the scriptures the way we do each Sunday. I continually pray that as I prepare lessons and outlines that the whole experience will be beneficial for all who are a part of it. I am just very grateful for a group of people who will bring their hearts and minds each week.
The other thing that is on my mind as I think back to this passage is the way Jesus would, every once in a while, throw out something that would sound repulsive on the surface. He did it in John 6 (as I mentioned Sunday) when He said things like "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6: 53-54).
Let's face it- at first hearing this sounds a little crazy. Not so much to us now because we have some historical perspective and we know the symbolic nature of communion... but for them? These words would have been a little hard to hear and I think Jesus knew that. I think that, like someone said Sunday, He said it to find our who was really serious.
A bit of the same thing is happening here in Luke 14. By saying that you have to "hate" your family and your own life in order to be a disciple, Jesus has thrown out an idea that needs a little further investigation. Through our discussion and our historical perspective, I think that we can come to the conclusion that the word "hate" in this scripture did not mean hate like we normally think of it. In this case it is more along the lines of "to love less".
I also think that similar things happen to people now. It might be scripture, it might be difficult things that happen in our lives, it might be shattered expectations- it could be any number of things. But sooner or later we face things that seem, on the surface, to be at odds with all we know and understand about God. It is at those moments when we find out if we are like the man who built the tower and the king in Luke 14, or if we are made of a different kind of stuff- the kind of stuff that lasts.
The 8th chapter of Isaiah speaks of Jesus being a rock that makes men stumble. I guess there are a handful of ways to look at that passage. I think that one way is to say that, in the course of our lives, hard things will come our way. And when they do, we will have to decide whether those hard things are going to make us walk away or not. Will be allow ourselves to become discouraged or will be continue to dig for understanding and peace and continue on.
In John 6 and Luke 14 we see instances where the hard teachings of Jesus made some walk away. I say, let's not walk away. Let's stay. Let's continue to work for understanding and stay right where we are- with Jesus.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Put the Pasta to the Test...
I thought that Sunday's discussion of Jesus' final temptation in Luke 4 was interesting and thought provoking. Let me quickly recap before I make my main point of this entry....
We talked about how one rather remarkable thing about this final temptation was that the devil used scripture this time. Having been thwarted by scripture on the two previous occasions, Satan now tries to "beat Jesus at his own game" and use scripture to coax a quick response. (Shoulda known betta...)
The devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and asks Jesus to throw himself off. He then proceeds to quote Psalm 91 that talks about how "you will not strike your foot against a stone." The Jews, and apparently the devil interpreted Psalm 91 as a messianic prophecy, meaning that it was pointed exclusively at the one who would be the Messiah. Modern day scholars are not so sure and I am not either. When you read Psalm 91, there is nothing about it that is quite as specific as most messianic prophecies. It is more of a general promise about the protection of God for all who love Him.
It is interesting to note here that there was a Jewish thought and tradition that said that the Messiah would manifest himself by throwing himself down from the highest point of the temple. We did not talk about that on Sunday. I ran across that little fact in several sources, but could never find out much about where that idea came from or why they thought that. But it is interesting to see that what Satan was asking Jesus to do was something that the Jews would have identified as being associated with Messiah. If anyone has information about where that tradition came from I would love to know.
Anyway, Jesus responded to Satan's scriptural challenge with scripture- no surprise there. And the scripture Jesus used is the key to the lesson and to my main point today.
Jesus answered Satan with Deuteronomy 16:6 which says, "Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah." In Luke, the "as you did at Massah" is not included- most likely because Jesus was not inclined to go into long explanations with the devil. Jesus went straight to the point as He had in all of the other temptations as well.
But that phrase, "as you did at Massah" is what I want to concentrate on today.
At the end of our discussion on Sunday I asked the group, "Why is putting God to the test a sin?" We discussed it a bit on Sunday, but I just want to offer this clarification to my thought today. What I want to communicate is that I did not mean to say that I think "testing God" is ALWAYS a sin.
When a new believer is struggling and cries out to God and says, "God if You are there I need for you to show me..." I don't think that is sin. It is the cry of the heart of someone new to the faith.
Even those who have deep faith in God cry out in the middle of their distress and ask for God to show Himself. I don't think that is sin.
We all desire God's guidance and there are times when we pray for direction or some kind of indication from God because we truly desire His involvement in the course of our lives. I don't think that is a sin.
Pslam 34:8 even says "taste and see that the Lord is good..." We are invited to "test out" life with the Lord and give Him the chance to prove Himself to us.
So how and when and where is putting God to the test a sin? I think that it comes with that phrase, "as you did at Massah." We discussed it on Sunday. What happened at Massah? The incident that the Deuteronomy scripture is referring to is found in Exodus 17. It is an occasion when the Jews were about to "pitch camp" and there was no water. Now I have to say that I would have likely been concerned too, but the Jews began to argue with Moses and say, "You led us out of Egypt for this? We should have stayed."
And here is where we find the problem. The problem lies in attitude and motive. The Jews, who had recently witnessed miracle after miracle, could not see beyond the moment and put their trust in God. God had delivered them time after time already, and still they could not put their hearts and their minds at ease and trust Him to provide. Could not the God who parted the sea provide water for His people in some way?
These are people who should have known better. When their temporary circumstances did not meet up with their criteria of what was "right" or "proper" or comfortable, they wanted to go back to their old life. They wanted God to meet their conditions. They wanted everything to be easy and comfortable.
And that is the manner in which we must not test God. We must never think that we know better than God. We must never look back at our old life- before we were saved- and think it was better. We must never lose sight of the fact that God is leading us where we need to be and where He wants us to go. If it is a little tough along the way, then so be it. He knows what He is doing and He knows where we are going. He would not bring us here if He did not know how to finish the trip.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
We talked about how one rather remarkable thing about this final temptation was that the devil used scripture this time. Having been thwarted by scripture on the two previous occasions, Satan now tries to "beat Jesus at his own game" and use scripture to coax a quick response. (Shoulda known betta...)
The devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and asks Jesus to throw himself off. He then proceeds to quote Psalm 91 that talks about how "you will not strike your foot against a stone." The Jews, and apparently the devil interpreted Psalm 91 as a messianic prophecy, meaning that it was pointed exclusively at the one who would be the Messiah. Modern day scholars are not so sure and I am not either. When you read Psalm 91, there is nothing about it that is quite as specific as most messianic prophecies. It is more of a general promise about the protection of God for all who love Him.
It is interesting to note here that there was a Jewish thought and tradition that said that the Messiah would manifest himself by throwing himself down from the highest point of the temple. We did not talk about that on Sunday. I ran across that little fact in several sources, but could never find out much about where that idea came from or why they thought that. But it is interesting to see that what Satan was asking Jesus to do was something that the Jews would have identified as being associated with Messiah. If anyone has information about where that tradition came from I would love to know.
Anyway, Jesus responded to Satan's scriptural challenge with scripture- no surprise there. And the scripture Jesus used is the key to the lesson and to my main point today.
Jesus answered Satan with Deuteronomy 16:6 which says, "Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah." In Luke, the "as you did at Massah" is not included- most likely because Jesus was not inclined to go into long explanations with the devil. Jesus went straight to the point as He had in all of the other temptations as well.
But that phrase, "as you did at Massah" is what I want to concentrate on today.
At the end of our discussion on Sunday I asked the group, "Why is putting God to the test a sin?" We discussed it a bit on Sunday, but I just want to offer this clarification to my thought today. What I want to communicate is that I did not mean to say that I think "testing God" is ALWAYS a sin.
When a new believer is struggling and cries out to God and says, "God if You are there I need for you to show me..." I don't think that is sin. It is the cry of the heart of someone new to the faith.
Even those who have deep faith in God cry out in the middle of their distress and ask for God to show Himself. I don't think that is sin.
We all desire God's guidance and there are times when we pray for direction or some kind of indication from God because we truly desire His involvement in the course of our lives. I don't think that is a sin.
Pslam 34:8 even says "taste and see that the Lord is good..." We are invited to "test out" life with the Lord and give Him the chance to prove Himself to us.
So how and when and where is putting God to the test a sin? I think that it comes with that phrase, "as you did at Massah." We discussed it on Sunday. What happened at Massah? The incident that the Deuteronomy scripture is referring to is found in Exodus 17. It is an occasion when the Jews were about to "pitch camp" and there was no water. Now I have to say that I would have likely been concerned too, but the Jews began to argue with Moses and say, "You led us out of Egypt for this? We should have stayed."
And here is where we find the problem. The problem lies in attitude and motive. The Jews, who had recently witnessed miracle after miracle, could not see beyond the moment and put their trust in God. God had delivered them time after time already, and still they could not put their hearts and their minds at ease and trust Him to provide. Could not the God who parted the sea provide water for His people in some way?
These are people who should have known better. When their temporary circumstances did not meet up with their criteria of what was "right" or "proper" or comfortable, they wanted to go back to their old life. They wanted God to meet their conditions. They wanted everything to be easy and comfortable.
And that is the manner in which we must not test God. We must never think that we know better than God. We must never look back at our old life- before we were saved- and think it was better. We must never lose sight of the fact that God is leading us where we need to be and where He wants us to go. If it is a little tough along the way, then so be it. He knows what He is doing and He knows where we are going. He would not bring us here if He did not know how to finish the trip.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Mmmm... Tempting Pasta....
As we forge ahead in our study of Luke, I have decided to attack the book in a bit of a topical manner. Part of the study will focus on parables. Part of the study will focus on miracles and healings. Part of the study will focus on significant events in the life of Jesus. That means that we will not move from chapter to chapter, but I think it will make for an interesting study of the book.
Right now, we are looking at the temptation account in chapter 4. As we discussed on Sunday, the account is critical to us, and the event is critical to the the ministry of Jesus.
Consider this- the scripture tells us that Jesus was "led by the Spirit in the desert..." That means this "wilderness time" was by God's design. And he was there for 40 days. It seems God has a tendency to take His chosen ones through the wilderness. Moses spent time in the wilderness by God's design. The nation of Israel spent time in the wilderness by God's design. Jesus spent time in the wilderness by God's design.
So what does that mean for us? Well, I don't know how it is for you, but sometimes this life feels like a wilderness. Now don't get me wrong- I do not for a moment take for granted the wonderful things I have - a wife who loves me in spite of who I am, wonderful children, a vital church, all of creation to enjoy, (and photograph) - I am grateful for all of that. But sometimes it feels like we are just trudging along from day to day and it is hard to see what God is really up to. Can I get a whoop whoop?
But the thing we have to remember about God is that He takes all those He loves through the wilderness. He wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to see what can happen when we place our faith and trust in Him. If everything was milk and honey all the time, we might never realize the power and the faithfulness of our God. It is in the wilderness we learn who God really is.
So we see that this time in the wilderness was designed by God. And Jesus was tempted all this time by the devil. And here at the end of the 40 days, the devil comes with his "best shots". In the coming weeks we will consider each of the three final temptations, Jesus' response, and what all of it means for us.
Last Sunday- for those who could not be there- we discussed the first temptation; "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." It is an interesting challenge that the devil throws on the table.
Look at the first part... "If you are the Son of God..." Wow. This is totally a playground bully challenge. Before we even get to the part about stones and bread and the idea that Jesus was hungry, we see what the devil is trying to do. He might as well have said, "If you think you are so tough why don't you just prove it!" The first level of this temptation is nothing but a challenge of pride. Jesus could have done it too. He had (has) the ability to do any number of things that would have proven that He was the Son of God. But, like we said Sunday, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Then we come to the second part of the temptation- the appeal to Jesus' hunger. The devil was trying to goad Jesus' into ill-advised action on the basis of human instinct and desire. And this is where Jesus shows us how to live in one kingdom while being a member of another. This is where Jesus shows us that though we are human, we are not at the mercy of human cravings. Jesus shows us that we can shoot for something higher- that life is not about satisfying the lust of the moment, but it is about intimate companionship with God. He did not waste any time setting the bar high. Which is what He came to do.
And think if Jesus had somehow failed this test. The entirety of His ministry would have been rendered null and void before it even began. When the time came for the cross, there had to be a blameless sacrifice- without blemish. I have to believe that Jesus knew the reason He came, and He was not about to put God's plan of salvation in jeopardy. Not then, not ever.
There is a great deal to learn here. And more to come. In the next few weeks we will consider the remaining two final temptations.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Right now, we are looking at the temptation account in chapter 4. As we discussed on Sunday, the account is critical to us, and the event is critical to the the ministry of Jesus.
Consider this- the scripture tells us that Jesus was "led by the Spirit in the desert..." That means this "wilderness time" was by God's design. And he was there for 40 days. It seems God has a tendency to take His chosen ones through the wilderness. Moses spent time in the wilderness by God's design. The nation of Israel spent time in the wilderness by God's design. Jesus spent time in the wilderness by God's design.
So what does that mean for us? Well, I don't know how it is for you, but sometimes this life feels like a wilderness. Now don't get me wrong- I do not for a moment take for granted the wonderful things I have - a wife who loves me in spite of who I am, wonderful children, a vital church, all of creation to enjoy, (and photograph) - I am grateful for all of that. But sometimes it feels like we are just trudging along from day to day and it is hard to see what God is really up to. Can I get a whoop whoop?
But the thing we have to remember about God is that He takes all those He loves through the wilderness. He wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to see what can happen when we place our faith and trust in Him. If everything was milk and honey all the time, we might never realize the power and the faithfulness of our God. It is in the wilderness we learn who God really is.
So we see that this time in the wilderness was designed by God. And Jesus was tempted all this time by the devil. And here at the end of the 40 days, the devil comes with his "best shots". In the coming weeks we will consider each of the three final temptations, Jesus' response, and what all of it means for us.
Last Sunday- for those who could not be there- we discussed the first temptation; "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." It is an interesting challenge that the devil throws on the table.
Look at the first part... "If you are the Son of God..." Wow. This is totally a playground bully challenge. Before we even get to the part about stones and bread and the idea that Jesus was hungry, we see what the devil is trying to do. He might as well have said, "If you think you are so tough why don't you just prove it!" The first level of this temptation is nothing but a challenge of pride. Jesus could have done it too. He had (has) the ability to do any number of things that would have proven that He was the Son of God. But, like we said Sunday, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Then we come to the second part of the temptation- the appeal to Jesus' hunger. The devil was trying to goad Jesus' into ill-advised action on the basis of human instinct and desire. And this is where Jesus shows us how to live in one kingdom while being a member of another. This is where Jesus shows us that though we are human, we are not at the mercy of human cravings. Jesus shows us that we can shoot for something higher- that life is not about satisfying the lust of the moment, but it is about intimate companionship with God. He did not waste any time setting the bar high. Which is what He came to do.
And think if Jesus had somehow failed this test. The entirety of His ministry would have been rendered null and void before it even began. When the time came for the cross, there had to be a blameless sacrifice- without blemish. I have to believe that Jesus knew the reason He came, and He was not about to put God's plan of salvation in jeopardy. Not then, not ever.
There is a great deal to learn here. And more to come. In the next few weeks we will consider the remaining two final temptations.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Ah... Pasta in the Fall...
You gotta love the change of seasons. Its not so much the calendar date, but there are always those days when you first "feel it". It starts to feel like the new season. This week feels like fall to me. Maybe it was the HUNDREDS of buckeyes we picked up in our back yard the other day.
We are off and running on our study of Luke and I wanted to post a quick recap for those who could not be there on Sunday and jot down a few notes about some things that we did not discuss.
One thought that I want to emphasize here is the approach we take to the study. We all look up to certain people and would like to be like them. I don't know how it is with you, but I don't find myself really thinking, "I want to have more of the qualities that Jesus showed when he was on earth." Maybe it is an over-reaction to the whole WWJD movement from a while back. And when I do think about it I am not as specific as I need to be. I might think, "Gee, I need to be more like Jesus..." But what I really need to do is participate in a little self-evaluation and think, "you know, I really need to work on this specific quality..." And then I need to look hard at what the scripture has to help me in a specific area.
On Sunday I mentioned the passage in Mark 5 when the woman affected with bleeding made her way through the crowd to touch Jesus because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." (Mk 5:28 NIV) This happened at a time when Jesus was in a large crowd and was being pressed on all sides by many people. When the woman touched him, Jesus stopped and asked "Who touched me?" The reaction of the disciples was the same as mine would have been- "You're kidding, right? You are in the middle of a crowd, and yet you ask, "who touched me?? Everybody is touching you!!!"
But the touch of the woman was different than the touch of the rest of the crowd. The rest of the crowd was with Jesus and they were following Jesus, but the contact was casual and incidental. The woman, however, made contact that was born in faith- her contact was intentional, her contact was hopeful, her contact could even be called desperate, (the passage tells us that she had already suffered for 12 years under the care of many doctors and she was getting worse). The touch of the woman was completely different than the touch of the crowd and Jesus knew it.
I see this passage as a metaphor for our lives, and as a metaphor for our study of scripture. As we approach this study of Luke, we can decide what kind of encounter it will be for us. Each one can make their own decision. Will this be casual contact? A "brush up" against Jesus? Or will this be an intentional, hopeful, desperate effort on our part to "touch his clothes and be healed"?
I know that I need to be intentional about this. I need for this to be an intimate encounter and not just a routine glance at another book of the bible.
In the first 38 verses of Chapter 1 we hear the story of the angel's announcement to Elizabeth and Zechariah concerning the birth of John the Baptist, and we hear the announcement to Mary of the coming birth of Jesus. There are some similarities in the announcements (and some differences) and there are some real differences in the reactions of the people involved.
When the angel announced to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, Zechariah could hardly believe it. Not that I blame him. He and Elizabeth had prayed and waited and I am sure had resigned themselves to the fact that they would not have children. Now, remember here that Zechariah and Elizabeth were upright, God-fearing people who upheld the laws of the Lord. They would have been familiar with the scriptures we now call the Old Testament, and they would have known about a few miraculous births (Abraham and Sarah come to mind). But still, Zechariah found it hard to believe. An because of his "unbelief" he was struck dumb. Still, I can't be too hard on him, I would have had a hard time grabbing onto that with my brain too.
Mary received an even more astounding announcement, but her reaction was a great deal different. Zechariah asked for a sign so that he would know that this announcement was true. Mary asked for clarification , ("How will this be... since I am a virgin?"), but she did not question that it would be done. In fact, her response was "May it be to me as you have said."
Interesting to note how God is getting His work done here. Not new, just interesting. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old with no children- a quick ticket to low social status in their day. Historians tell us that they lived outside the city as well- another "low status" marker. These are people who, by any social measure of the day, were nothing.
Mary was, um, a woman. Don't have to go much farther than that. Women did not hold high social status then. It was just part of the culture. And now she finds that she is going to be pregnant and not married? Strike two. Again, socially, she was pretty much nothing.
By all human measures at that time in history, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary just did not count for much. But God chose them to play extremely significant roles in His plan. Now that sounds just like Him!
Kind of gives you hope that we might count for something after all, doesn't it? Not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
We are off and running on our study of Luke and I wanted to post a quick recap for those who could not be there on Sunday and jot down a few notes about some things that we did not discuss.
One thought that I want to emphasize here is the approach we take to the study. We all look up to certain people and would like to be like them. I don't know how it is with you, but I don't find myself really thinking, "I want to have more of the qualities that Jesus showed when he was on earth." Maybe it is an over-reaction to the whole WWJD movement from a while back. And when I do think about it I am not as specific as I need to be. I might think, "Gee, I need to be more like Jesus..." But what I really need to do is participate in a little self-evaluation and think, "you know, I really need to work on this specific quality..." And then I need to look hard at what the scripture has to help me in a specific area.
On Sunday I mentioned the passage in Mark 5 when the woman affected with bleeding made her way through the crowd to touch Jesus because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." (Mk 5:28 NIV) This happened at a time when Jesus was in a large crowd and was being pressed on all sides by many people. When the woman touched him, Jesus stopped and asked "Who touched me?" The reaction of the disciples was the same as mine would have been- "You're kidding, right? You are in the middle of a crowd, and yet you ask, "who touched me?? Everybody is touching you!!!"
But the touch of the woman was different than the touch of the rest of the crowd. The rest of the crowd was with Jesus and they were following Jesus, but the contact was casual and incidental. The woman, however, made contact that was born in faith- her contact was intentional, her contact was hopeful, her contact could even be called desperate, (the passage tells us that she had already suffered for 12 years under the care of many doctors and she was getting worse). The touch of the woman was completely different than the touch of the crowd and Jesus knew it.
I see this passage as a metaphor for our lives, and as a metaphor for our study of scripture. As we approach this study of Luke, we can decide what kind of encounter it will be for us. Each one can make their own decision. Will this be casual contact? A "brush up" against Jesus? Or will this be an intentional, hopeful, desperate effort on our part to "touch his clothes and be healed"?
I know that I need to be intentional about this. I need for this to be an intimate encounter and not just a routine glance at another book of the bible.
In the first 38 verses of Chapter 1 we hear the story of the angel's announcement to Elizabeth and Zechariah concerning the birth of John the Baptist, and we hear the announcement to Mary of the coming birth of Jesus. There are some similarities in the announcements (and some differences) and there are some real differences in the reactions of the people involved.
When the angel announced to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, Zechariah could hardly believe it. Not that I blame him. He and Elizabeth had prayed and waited and I am sure had resigned themselves to the fact that they would not have children. Now, remember here that Zechariah and Elizabeth were upright, God-fearing people who upheld the laws of the Lord. They would have been familiar with the scriptures we now call the Old Testament, and they would have known about a few miraculous births (Abraham and Sarah come to mind). But still, Zechariah found it hard to believe. An because of his "unbelief" he was struck dumb. Still, I can't be too hard on him, I would have had a hard time grabbing onto that with my brain too.
Mary received an even more astounding announcement, but her reaction was a great deal different. Zechariah asked for a sign so that he would know that this announcement was true. Mary asked for clarification , ("How will this be... since I am a virgin?"), but she did not question that it would be done. In fact, her response was "May it be to me as you have said."
Interesting to note how God is getting His work done here. Not new, just interesting. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old with no children- a quick ticket to low social status in their day. Historians tell us that they lived outside the city as well- another "low status" marker. These are people who, by any social measure of the day, were nothing.
Mary was, um, a woman. Don't have to go much farther than that. Women did not hold high social status then. It was just part of the culture. And now she finds that she is going to be pregnant and not married? Strike two. Again, socially, she was pretty much nothing.
By all human measures at that time in history, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary just did not count for much. But God chose them to play extremely significant roles in His plan. Now that sounds just like Him!
Kind of gives you hope that we might count for something after all, doesn't it? Not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Mid-September Pasta...
Is September half over already? Really? Yikes...
We have wrapped up our study of 2 Thessalonians and we are moving on to study the Gospel of Luke. I have to say that I am excited about studying a gospel. It has been a while since I had a good reason, (like I need one), to sit down and dig into a gospel. I just think that as we try to move about this world and try to figure out how best to live a life that is pleasing to God, we will find no better help than when we examine the accounts of the life of the only one who did it perfectly.
But before we move on to Luke, I want to look back at 2 Thessalonians a bit. You know how it is- each time you study a book you find new things that stick with you. This time I am coming away from the book of 2 Thessalonians with more of an appreciation of how similar it is to 1 John. I have mentioned in class that 1 John is my favorite book of the Bible, (if we are allowed to have favorites), and I just found a lot of similarities and connections between the two books this time.
1 John is so much about establishing Godly habits and directions in our lives. It is about the habitual pattern of the things we do from day to day. John talks about "walking in the light" and developing the ability to test the things we see and hear around us to determine whether they are of God or not. 2 Thessalonians is not so different! In the second chapter of 2 Thess. Paul addresses the confusion caused by a "bogus" letter being circulated in his name. It is in that chapter we find Paul's words about those who are perishing and those who are destined for salvation. It is in that chapter we find Paul's emphasis on truth and on the "sanctifying work of the spirit". I just think that the target audience of 2 Thessalonians was a group of people very much like us. There were people who had chosen a direction for their lives and faced the challenge of staying on course while surrounded by opposition. Not so different from now is it?
To stay on course requires intentional action. To stay on course requires having some set specifications for the destination, and it requires remaining focused on the fixed points that are going to guide you to the place you want to go. Inattention to the habits and directions of our lives may seem rather innocent in some ways, (well gee, I guess I just wasn't paying attention...), but the end result is just as tragic and devastating as if we directly chose to move away from God. To arrive at the destination requires attention, intention, and effort. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling..."
It is for this reason that I enjoy Sunday School (or a small group) so much. When people come together for the purpose of reading God's Word- talking about it, hashing it out, bouncing ideas back and forth, sharing perspective- they find one more way to be intentional about the direction of their lives.
Which brings me back to being excited about studying the book of Luke. Again, I think that if we are serious about our desire to walk this earth in the best fashion possible, it does us good to look closely at the one, (and only one), to pull it off perfectly.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
We have wrapped up our study of 2 Thessalonians and we are moving on to study the Gospel of Luke. I have to say that I am excited about studying a gospel. It has been a while since I had a good reason, (like I need one), to sit down and dig into a gospel. I just think that as we try to move about this world and try to figure out how best to live a life that is pleasing to God, we will find no better help than when we examine the accounts of the life of the only one who did it perfectly.
But before we move on to Luke, I want to look back at 2 Thessalonians a bit. You know how it is- each time you study a book you find new things that stick with you. This time I am coming away from the book of 2 Thessalonians with more of an appreciation of how similar it is to 1 John. I have mentioned in class that 1 John is my favorite book of the Bible, (if we are allowed to have favorites), and I just found a lot of similarities and connections between the two books this time.
1 John is so much about establishing Godly habits and directions in our lives. It is about the habitual pattern of the things we do from day to day. John talks about "walking in the light" and developing the ability to test the things we see and hear around us to determine whether they are of God or not. 2 Thessalonians is not so different! In the second chapter of 2 Thess. Paul addresses the confusion caused by a "bogus" letter being circulated in his name. It is in that chapter we find Paul's words about those who are perishing and those who are destined for salvation. It is in that chapter we find Paul's emphasis on truth and on the "sanctifying work of the spirit". I just think that the target audience of 2 Thessalonians was a group of people very much like us. There were people who had chosen a direction for their lives and faced the challenge of staying on course while surrounded by opposition. Not so different from now is it?
To stay on course requires intentional action. To stay on course requires having some set specifications for the destination, and it requires remaining focused on the fixed points that are going to guide you to the place you want to go. Inattention to the habits and directions of our lives may seem rather innocent in some ways, (well gee, I guess I just wasn't paying attention...), but the end result is just as tragic and devastating as if we directly chose to move away from God. To arrive at the destination requires attention, intention, and effort. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling..."
It is for this reason that I enjoy Sunday School (or a small group) so much. When people come together for the purpose of reading God's Word- talking about it, hashing it out, bouncing ideas back and forth, sharing perspective- they find one more way to be intentional about the direction of their lives.
Which brings me back to being excited about studying the book of Luke. Again, I think that if we are serious about our desire to walk this earth in the best fashion possible, it does us good to look closely at the one, (and only one), to pull it off perfectly.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
True Pasta
Well the truth of the matter is...
We hear those words fairly often. The truth of the matter. And that, if you were unable to be with us last Sunday, was the biggest part of our discussion. Truth. You see, in the second chapter of II Thessalonians Paul describes "those who are perishing..." He says they are perishing because they "refuse to love the truth". And later in the chapter Paul describes the Thessalonians people chosen by God to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit and "through belief in the truth." And so it seems that truth is a central issue. Those who refuse to love the truth are perishing and those who believe the truth are chosen for salvation.
It comes as no shock that truth is a critical concept for every person, whether they want to admit it or not. In fact, we talked about my little "Truth Syllogism" which follows below:
1. Truth is Foundational
2. Truth Can Be Confusing
3. Therefore- We Had Better Be Careful!!!
(It's not a perfect syllogism in the classic sense, but it will work for what we are doing here... if we agree on #1 and #2, then #3 follows)
It is not hard to conclude that truth is foundational to our lives. The things we consider to be true make all the difference in the world as we move around from day to day. And if ever something we held as true for a long time dissolves in front of our eyes, it is devastating. Any kind of betrayal comes to mind- if we think for years and years that person x is our very good friend and then find that they have suddenly turned on us, we are hurt and crushed and angry. What we thought was true, we suddenly find is false and our world gets re-defined.
As for the confusing part... again, it does not take long to see why people get confused about what truth is. Dave Pugh said well that, at least on a certain level, the prevailing conditions go a long way to define truth. Given a set of circumstances, thing A or Thing B might be true. But if the circumstances change, then thing A or thing B may no longer be true. I used the example of traveling from Indiana to California. At one time in history, it would have been a true statement to say that the trip from Indiana to California would take months at best. That is no longer true because the conditions have changed. So at least to some extent we have to live with truth that changes with the conditions.
But then there were other people on Sunday that mentioned that they thought truth was absolute and unchangeable. And I think that it is important that we remember that while some things may change with conditions, there are other kinds of truth that don't change. I think all of us would place God's Word into that category. I think all of us would put God's promises in that category. They are absolute and unchanging. But we can even see this "black and white" kind of truth in other things.
A lot of you may remember the case of Caylee Anthony- the little girl from Florida who disappeared mysteriously. Her mother reported it after 3 months of Caylee being gone. Then that December her body was discovered buried in the woods not far from her house. Last I heard the mother was in prison having been arrested for the crime, but was admitting to nothing. And so, the authorities were embarking on their journey to find "the truth" about what happened to Caylee. Now, let's think about this. How is this "truth" going to be established? There will be (has been) testimony, evidence, theorizing, conjecture, deliberation, and some conclusion about what a court or a jury is convinced is true. How closely will that "story" match what really happened? We will never know. When all the while, there is a "real truth" about this case. There is someone, assuming they are still alive, who knows EXACTLY what happened to Caylee.
And so it is true with most actions of man. We either did or did not do such and such. We either did or did not say so and so. Even before we get to the level of "heavenly truth" we find that some things are either true or they are not. Period. No gray area. And then when we do get to "heavenly truth" I think we find even less, or more likely, NO gray area.
This truth thing. It is confusing. And part of the reason it is confusing is because of our dual citizenship. We are part of a created, temporary world. This world is governed by rules and laws put in place by God and established by man. The laws of physics seem pretty black and white to us. Every time I have dropped an egg it fell to the floor. There has never been a time when I lost my grip on an egg and it just hovered there in front of me, (but then I have never been on orbit in the space shuttle- then the conditions change and the rules are not the same and.....ARRRG! My brain hurts!!) So, as long as we are a part of this world we will have to "put up" with some of those conditional truths. It is just a part of living here. But at the same time, we are guided by a truth that is black and white, absolute, and unchanging. Because we are children of the King.
We do need to be careful with the truth. We need to be careful where we get our truth. We need to be careful what we do with it ourselves. We must discipline ourselves not to bend it or break it. We must respect it. We must guard it. We must apply it. It is foundational.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
We hear those words fairly often. The truth of the matter. And that, if you were unable to be with us last Sunday, was the biggest part of our discussion. Truth. You see, in the second chapter of II Thessalonians Paul describes "those who are perishing..." He says they are perishing because they "refuse to love the truth". And later in the chapter Paul describes the Thessalonians people chosen by God to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit and "through belief in the truth." And so it seems that truth is a central issue. Those who refuse to love the truth are perishing and those who believe the truth are chosen for salvation.
It comes as no shock that truth is a critical concept for every person, whether they want to admit it or not. In fact, we talked about my little "Truth Syllogism" which follows below:
1. Truth is Foundational
2. Truth Can Be Confusing
3. Therefore- We Had Better Be Careful!!!
(It's not a perfect syllogism in the classic sense, but it will work for what we are doing here... if we agree on #1 and #2, then #3 follows)
It is not hard to conclude that truth is foundational to our lives. The things we consider to be true make all the difference in the world as we move around from day to day. And if ever something we held as true for a long time dissolves in front of our eyes, it is devastating. Any kind of betrayal comes to mind- if we think for years and years that person x is our very good friend and then find that they have suddenly turned on us, we are hurt and crushed and angry. What we thought was true, we suddenly find is false and our world gets re-defined.
As for the confusing part... again, it does not take long to see why people get confused about what truth is. Dave Pugh said well that, at least on a certain level, the prevailing conditions go a long way to define truth. Given a set of circumstances, thing A or Thing B might be true. But if the circumstances change, then thing A or thing B may no longer be true. I used the example of traveling from Indiana to California. At one time in history, it would have been a true statement to say that the trip from Indiana to California would take months at best. That is no longer true because the conditions have changed. So at least to some extent we have to live with truth that changes with the conditions.
But then there were other people on Sunday that mentioned that they thought truth was absolute and unchangeable. And I think that it is important that we remember that while some things may change with conditions, there are other kinds of truth that don't change. I think all of us would place God's Word into that category. I think all of us would put God's promises in that category. They are absolute and unchanging. But we can even see this "black and white" kind of truth in other things.
A lot of you may remember the case of Caylee Anthony- the little girl from Florida who disappeared mysteriously. Her mother reported it after 3 months of Caylee being gone. Then that December her body was discovered buried in the woods not far from her house. Last I heard the mother was in prison having been arrested for the crime, but was admitting to nothing. And so, the authorities were embarking on their journey to find "the truth" about what happened to Caylee. Now, let's think about this. How is this "truth" going to be established? There will be (has been) testimony, evidence, theorizing, conjecture, deliberation, and some conclusion about what a court or a jury is convinced is true. How closely will that "story" match what really happened? We will never know. When all the while, there is a "real truth" about this case. There is someone, assuming they are still alive, who knows EXACTLY what happened to Caylee.
And so it is true with most actions of man. We either did or did not do such and such. We either did or did not say so and so. Even before we get to the level of "heavenly truth" we find that some things are either true or they are not. Period. No gray area. And then when we do get to "heavenly truth" I think we find even less, or more likely, NO gray area.
This truth thing. It is confusing. And part of the reason it is confusing is because of our dual citizenship. We are part of a created, temporary world. This world is governed by rules and laws put in place by God and established by man. The laws of physics seem pretty black and white to us. Every time I have dropped an egg it fell to the floor. There has never been a time when I lost my grip on an egg and it just hovered there in front of me, (but then I have never been on orbit in the space shuttle- then the conditions change and the rules are not the same and.....ARRRG! My brain hurts!!) So, as long as we are a part of this world we will have to "put up" with some of those conditional truths. It is just a part of living here. But at the same time, we are guided by a truth that is black and white, absolute, and unchanging. Because we are children of the King.
We do need to be careful with the truth. We need to be careful where we get our truth. We need to be careful what we do with it ourselves. We must discipline ourselves not to bend it or break it. We must respect it. We must guard it. We must apply it. It is foundational.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Drug Induced Pasta...
The unfortunate truth is that there is very little in the tank right now. A kidney stone, (affectionately known around here as Oliver), has wiped out the week. I think the crisis has "passed" but the effects of the pain medication linger. I think that rather than worry about being "asleep at the wheel", I will soon be asleep for real!
I did very much enjoy our discussion on Sunday. And I am in hopes that I will be recovered for this Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
I did very much enjoy our discussion on Sunday. And I am in hopes that I will be recovered for this Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thessalonian Pasta...
Let's review...
The church at Thessalonica was a flagship church of sorts. The people of that group displayed exemplary spiritual behavior in many ways. We studied about that in chapter one.
In the first half of chapter two we find that Paul has some strong attachment to these people. In fact, the context we used, (and the picture that Paul paints), was that of parenting. We discussed the things that you try to do as a parent and we talked about how some of those roles are "gentle and nurturing", but other roles are more forceful and challenging. Typically, society may group those into the "mother" and "father" roles. Some families fall right in line with that model, some don't. I mentioned briefly on Sunday that the functionality of a family has less to do with who does what role, (structure), and more to do with the fulfillment of the roles. If children are getting the gentleness, instruction, firmness, compassion, etc. etc. etc. that they need, then it does not matter quite so much who does it. Even single parent families can be very functional (not that its an easy thing).
Paul addresses these people like a parent- both a mother and a father. Paul expressed the gentleness and compassion of a mother in verse 7. In fact, the phrase, "like a mother caring for her little children" could have been translated along the lines of "like a nursing mother caring for her children (emphasis mine- that's twice in two weeks!!! Woot!!)
In verse 11 Paul comes along sounding like a father- talking of how he has tried to be encouraging and how he has challenged the people to a life worthy of God!
So, in these few verses we see how Paul has cared for these people in a great variety of ways- tender like a mother... challenging like a father... And like I said on Sunday, I am not sure if after reading this part of the book I think, "Gee, I understand parenting better in light of 1 Thessaolonians 2" or "Gee, I understand 1 Thessalonians 2 better in the light of parenting." Or maybe it is both- whatever. I am not sure its a bad thing any way you go.
One of the things we have to remember as we look at the rest of chapter 2 is that is was not an easy thing to boldly believe in Jesus at the writing of this letter- at least not in Thessalonica. Look at some of the language Paul uses as he writes this letter:
1:6 - severe suffering
2:14 - suffered from your own countrymen
2:14 - suffered from the Jews
2:15 - drove us out
2:15 - hostile to all men
2:16 - in their effort to keep us from speaking
2:18 - but Satan stopped us
3:3 - trials
(all word references are NIV)
You cannot come away from this book without the knowledge and the feeling that the atmosphere of the time was not exactly conducive to Wednesday night small group or Sunday morning bible class! So here we have the challenge for this church (and, I believe, for us). If we are to continue to grow in a hostile world, how will we do it? How will we continue? How will we survive?
Paul offers some help in the second half of the second chapter. None of it is really surprising, but all of it is valuable, and all of it is good to remember on a regular basis.
The Word of God:
Paul mentions the response to the Word. (2:13) It all comes down to the attitude with which these people treated the Word of God and the teachings. They received the Word and gave it due respect. The "internalized" it to the point where they lived out the things they learned from the Word. They accepted the Word as truth and built their lives around the truth they found there. As we walk through a world that is hostile to the truth, let us be as respectful and diligent about the Word as the Thessalonians.
The People of God:
We all have said it- "I don't know where I would be if not for the love and the kindness show by my friends- those all around me who care." (At least, I hope we have all felt that at one time or another) These Thessalonians could not have endured the difficulties had they not stood together. 1 Thess 2: 14-15 paints that picture of a group of people, firm in their belief, standing together in the face of opposition. That is one of the things I love so much about our class- I feel like I am standing firm, surrounded by people who believe that same as me. And there is, indeed, some safety in numbers.
The Hope of God:
We have spoken a fair amount about hope lately. And that's OK. Without it we are lost. In verse 17-19, Paul turns his eyes (and ours) toward the hope and the glory before us. Paul was training this church to be forward looking- to always remember the glory of God that is coming. We will see more of this as we progress through the book. There is nothing like the hope of something better to help one get through the difficult moments. Again, I say that we have the same challenge- to remember that we are "holding on" until the return of the Lord. We are often blessed with good things here on this earth- family, friends, relationships, black raspberry pie, but nothing here is better than what is coming, and it is especially good to remember that when things are hard. Remember Zoom.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
The church at Thessalonica was a flagship church of sorts. The people of that group displayed exemplary spiritual behavior in many ways. We studied about that in chapter one.
In the first half of chapter two we find that Paul has some strong attachment to these people. In fact, the context we used, (and the picture that Paul paints), was that of parenting. We discussed the things that you try to do as a parent and we talked about how some of those roles are "gentle and nurturing", but other roles are more forceful and challenging. Typically, society may group those into the "mother" and "father" roles. Some families fall right in line with that model, some don't. I mentioned briefly on Sunday that the functionality of a family has less to do with who does what role, (structure), and more to do with the fulfillment of the roles. If children are getting the gentleness, instruction, firmness, compassion, etc. etc. etc. that they need, then it does not matter quite so much who does it. Even single parent families can be very functional (not that its an easy thing).
Paul addresses these people like a parent- both a mother and a father. Paul expressed the gentleness and compassion of a mother in verse 7. In fact, the phrase, "like a mother caring for her little children" could have been translated along the lines of "like a nursing mother caring for her children (emphasis mine- that's twice in two weeks!!! Woot!!)
In verse 11 Paul comes along sounding like a father- talking of how he has tried to be encouraging and how he has challenged the people to a life worthy of God!
So, in these few verses we see how Paul has cared for these people in a great variety of ways- tender like a mother... challenging like a father... And like I said on Sunday, I am not sure if after reading this part of the book I think, "Gee, I understand parenting better in light of 1 Thessaolonians 2" or "Gee, I understand 1 Thessalonians 2 better in the light of parenting." Or maybe it is both- whatever. I am not sure its a bad thing any way you go.
One of the things we have to remember as we look at the rest of chapter 2 is that is was not an easy thing to boldly believe in Jesus at the writing of this letter- at least not in Thessalonica. Look at some of the language Paul uses as he writes this letter:
1:6 - severe suffering
2:14 - suffered from your own countrymen
2:14 - suffered from the Jews
2:15 - drove us out
2:15 - hostile to all men
2:16 - in their effort to keep us from speaking
2:18 - but Satan stopped us
3:3 - trials
(all word references are NIV)
You cannot come away from this book without the knowledge and the feeling that the atmosphere of the time was not exactly conducive to Wednesday night small group or Sunday morning bible class! So here we have the challenge for this church (and, I believe, for us). If we are to continue to grow in a hostile world, how will we do it? How will we continue? How will we survive?
Paul offers some help in the second half of the second chapter. None of it is really surprising, but all of it is valuable, and all of it is good to remember on a regular basis.
The Word of God:
Paul mentions the response to the Word. (2:13) It all comes down to the attitude with which these people treated the Word of God and the teachings. They received the Word and gave it due respect. The "internalized" it to the point where they lived out the things they learned from the Word. They accepted the Word as truth and built their lives around the truth they found there. As we walk through a world that is hostile to the truth, let us be as respectful and diligent about the Word as the Thessalonians.
The People of God:
We all have said it- "I don't know where I would be if not for the love and the kindness show by my friends- those all around me who care." (At least, I hope we have all felt that at one time or another) These Thessalonians could not have endured the difficulties had they not stood together. 1 Thess 2: 14-15 paints that picture of a group of people, firm in their belief, standing together in the face of opposition. That is one of the things I love so much about our class- I feel like I am standing firm, surrounded by people who believe that same as me. And there is, indeed, some safety in numbers.
The Hope of God:
We have spoken a fair amount about hope lately. And that's OK. Without it we are lost. In verse 17-19, Paul turns his eyes (and ours) toward the hope and the glory before us. Paul was training this church to be forward looking- to always remember the glory of God that is coming. We will see more of this as we progress through the book. There is nothing like the hope of something better to help one get through the difficult moments. Again, I say that we have the same challenge- to remember that we are "holding on" until the return of the Lord. We are often blessed with good things here on this earth- family, friends, relationships, black raspberry pie, but nothing here is better than what is coming, and it is especially good to remember that when things are hard. Remember Zoom.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Thursday, July 23, 2009
New Testament Pasta...
We have returned to the New Testament with the start of our study of the Thessalonian letters. I am excited about our study- partly because of the motivations I find in the letters. The Thessalonian church was a good example of a group of people who responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a manner worthy of our study and imitation.
Last Sunday we looked at the motivations that drove the activity of the Thessalonians mentioned in verse 3. Paul says that he continually remembers:
...their work produced by faith
...their labor prompted by love
...their endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
The Thessalonians who responded to the gospel message turned away from idol worship and focused their attention on Jesus. Because of this change, they experienced the same kind of persecution that we read about and studied in the book of Acts. It could not have been "easy" for them to be a Christian. It was "work". It was hard. But their faith in Christ made the transformation complete. Their faith made them able to do what was necessary to remain in Christ.
They were on only receivers of the message, but they were transmitters as well. Once they had the truth in their hearts, they could not hold it in. They were so clear in their example that Paul says that the Lord's message "rang out" from them. Wow. There's a challenge. Does the Lord's message "ring out" from me?
The had a quality of hopefulness about them that comes from waiting for something wonderful. When you have something you are looking forward to, you can endure a lot of things. Things might not be perfect at the moment, but if you have something coming that you value, then the "less than perfect" current circumstances don't seem so bad. Hope is such a critical element of life. If we cannot picture things being different or better, then our energy level and motivation just drops like a sack of hammers. This early church lived in hopeful expectation of the Lord's return. Yikes... another challenge! I am not sure I think about what is to come often enough. I want to work on making that hopeful anticipation a bigger part of my day to day.
This church was exemplary for a number of reasons. I look forward to studying the rest of the text!
Just Keep Swimming....
Jon
Last Sunday we looked at the motivations that drove the activity of the Thessalonians mentioned in verse 3. Paul says that he continually remembers:
...their work produced by faith
...their labor prompted by love
...their endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
The Thessalonians who responded to the gospel message turned away from idol worship and focused their attention on Jesus. Because of this change, they experienced the same kind of persecution that we read about and studied in the book of Acts. It could not have been "easy" for them to be a Christian. It was "work". It was hard. But their faith in Christ made the transformation complete. Their faith made them able to do what was necessary to remain in Christ.
They were on only receivers of the message, but they were transmitters as well. Once they had the truth in their hearts, they could not hold it in. They were so clear in their example that Paul says that the Lord's message "rang out" from them. Wow. There's a challenge. Does the Lord's message "ring out" from me?
The had a quality of hopefulness about them that comes from waiting for something wonderful. When you have something you are looking forward to, you can endure a lot of things. Things might not be perfect at the moment, but if you have something coming that you value, then the "less than perfect" current circumstances don't seem so bad. Hope is such a critical element of life. If we cannot picture things being different or better, then our energy level and motivation just drops like a sack of hammers. This early church lived in hopeful expectation of the Lord's return. Yikes... another challenge! I am not sure I think about what is to come often enough. I want to work on making that hopeful anticipation a bigger part of my day to day.
This church was exemplary for a number of reasons. I look forward to studying the rest of the text!
Just Keep Swimming....
Jon
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Interjected Pasta...
In the last two weeks we have interjected a quick study of Isaiah 40:31. We will move on to a study of I and II Thessalonians beginning this Sunday. But for now, a few recap thoughts about Isaiah 40:31...
What a wonderful passage! It's not news, but this is a fabulous source of promise and hope! The scripture addresses especially those who are struggling at the moment, but it has application for all of us at all times.
We discussed how all of the promises in the passage are conditional- they all hinge on a choice made by the believer. The promises come to "those who hope in the Lord..." We discussed this but there is an important distinction here- this is not a "those who keep a positive attitude" or a "those who keep a smile on their face" kind of thing. (Nothing wrong with having a positive attitude or keeping a smile, but there is more to this...) This condition involves planting our aspirations and dreams for the future firmly in the hands of Jesus Christ. You can put your hope in the Lord in the middle of the worst thing you have ever experienced. You might not be smiling, but you have this conviction that things can and will be better- you KNOW if because He promised it. And that makes this hope different than any other hope in all eternity. It is sure. The Hebrew writer said it this way; "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."- Heb 6:19 (emphasis mine- I always wanted to write that!)
Having said all that, what are the promises? Isaiah sums them up by saying they "will renew their strength." I would venture to say that there is not a one of us who cannot identify with the need for renewal once in a while. Everyone needs time off, time away, vacation, rest, a change of pace... we don't have to get spiritually deep to understand the process of getting "weary" and needing rejuvenation. The beauty of this promise is that God promises that when we need it, times of renewal will come. When we grow weary, when new challenges present themselves, when disaster strikes, God provides the new strength needed to keep moving.
And that brings us to the details of this renewal spelled out in the passage. The scripture promises we will "soar on wings like eagles", "run and not grow weary", "walk and not be faint".
Sometimes the flow of life will be effortless- it will seem easy. We will be blessed with the perspective that comes from being "up high".
Sometimes we will just feel solid. We are running and we feel like we can keep running. We're not "soaring", but we're OK. We are blessed with the ability to keep going at a "good pace" and not feel tired. I would say that I spend most of my life here- running... doing OK... at least that is my own assessment. (God or my wife might tell me something different)
Sometimes the only thing we can muster is the next step. We don't really feel a direction or a plan. It is hard for us to see where everything is going. We just do not have the strength to do much but survive. Even then we are blessed with the promise that God will not let us just "pass out" and get "stuck". God will help us keep moving even if it is only one step at a time.
The promises found in Isaiah 40:31 cover the cycles of our lives. None of us are full time "soarers". None of us are full time "walkers." We are imperfect people of cycles. And we live with a God who is with us in the midst of all of it.
In class I shared the book "Zoom" by Istvan Banyai. If you are interested in the book you can see the author's website here and you can find the paperback version at Amazon here.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
What a wonderful passage! It's not news, but this is a fabulous source of promise and hope! The scripture addresses especially those who are struggling at the moment, but it has application for all of us at all times.
We discussed how all of the promises in the passage are conditional- they all hinge on a choice made by the believer. The promises come to "those who hope in the Lord..." We discussed this but there is an important distinction here- this is not a "those who keep a positive attitude" or a "those who keep a smile on their face" kind of thing. (Nothing wrong with having a positive attitude or keeping a smile, but there is more to this...) This condition involves planting our aspirations and dreams for the future firmly in the hands of Jesus Christ. You can put your hope in the Lord in the middle of the worst thing you have ever experienced. You might not be smiling, but you have this conviction that things can and will be better- you KNOW if because He promised it. And that makes this hope different than any other hope in all eternity. It is sure. The Hebrew writer said it this way; "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."- Heb 6:19 (emphasis mine- I always wanted to write that!)
Having said all that, what are the promises? Isaiah sums them up by saying they "will renew their strength." I would venture to say that there is not a one of us who cannot identify with the need for renewal once in a while. Everyone needs time off, time away, vacation, rest, a change of pace... we don't have to get spiritually deep to understand the process of getting "weary" and needing rejuvenation. The beauty of this promise is that God promises that when we need it, times of renewal will come. When we grow weary, when new challenges present themselves, when disaster strikes, God provides the new strength needed to keep moving.
And that brings us to the details of this renewal spelled out in the passage. The scripture promises we will "soar on wings like eagles", "run and not grow weary", "walk and not be faint".
Sometimes the flow of life will be effortless- it will seem easy. We will be blessed with the perspective that comes from being "up high".
Sometimes we will just feel solid. We are running and we feel like we can keep running. We're not "soaring", but we're OK. We are blessed with the ability to keep going at a "good pace" and not feel tired. I would say that I spend most of my life here- running... doing OK... at least that is my own assessment. (God or my wife might tell me something different)
Sometimes the only thing we can muster is the next step. We don't really feel a direction or a plan. It is hard for us to see where everything is going. We just do not have the strength to do much but survive. Even then we are blessed with the promise that God will not let us just "pass out" and get "stuck". God will help us keep moving even if it is only one step at a time.
The promises found in Isaiah 40:31 cover the cycles of our lives. None of us are full time "soarers". None of us are full time "walkers." We are imperfect people of cycles. And we live with a God who is with us in the midst of all of it.
In class I shared the book "Zoom" by Istvan Banyai. If you are interested in the book you can see the author's website here and you can find the paperback version at Amazon here.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Patriotic Pasta...
...only because it is being written on the 4th of July.
Last Sunday we took a look at Jacob's prayer in Genesis 32. As we have established, Jacob was a sneaky, conniving kind of guy for the first part of his life, but at Genesis 32 we have hit the part of the scripture where there is a change in Jacob, and the Jacob we see after chapter 32 is not the same Jacob we have seen to this point.
In chapter 32 Jacob faces a "terrifying" situation in his life and we have his prayer to God recorded. There are some things that are worth imitating from this prayer- we discussed them on Sunday and I will mention them briefly here:
1. Jacob's Prayer Was To The Point
Jacob's request was that God would save him from his brother Esau. Jacob did not beat around the bush- he asked directly for what he desired. We can do the same. We do not need to couch our request in flowery words or a certain "prayer speech". Just lay it out on the table. God knows anyway. It was Charles Spurgeon who said that we should come before God with "Real Business".
2. Jacob Expressed a Real Sense of Humility
Jacob knew he was undeserving of the blessing of God- both the blessings he had already received and the ones he was asking for- and he said so to God. We truly have to come to that same place in our heart if we hope for our prayer to have any credibility before God. If there is any hint of "you owe me..." in our prayer, then we lose the power of our prayer.
3. Jacob's Prayer was Argumentative
Not in the sense we think. Not in the sense of our kids arguing with each other or a kid arguing with a parent. Not in the negative sense that the word indicates. Rather, Jacob's prayer made a case for his request. The case is not based on our own merit, (see #2 above), but it is based on the character of God and what we know of Him. Jacob made a case by invoking these arguements:
- Covenant (Gen 32:9)
Jacob "reminded" God that He had made a covenant with Abraham and Isaac. God did not really need reminding, but Jacob brought it up to point out that the covenant could not be broken. He called upon God's faithfulness in this case.
-Obedience (Gen 32:9)
Jacob knew he was doing what God had instructed. He was returning to his "homeland" as God had instructed. Since he was acting within the bounds of obedience, that could be claimed as a part of his case.
-Mercy (Gen 32:10)
God had shown Jacob mercy in the past. Jacob appealed to God's mercy and ask that He continue to show his mercy in this coming "crisis"
-Promise (Gen 32:12)
Closely related to covenant (see #1 above) One thing God cannot do is break a promise. When we find promises in scripture, we can claim them before God
I should mention that this is not a comprehensive guide to "How to Pray". There are many aspects of prayer- intercession, adoration, thanksgiving, supplication- that we have not even touched here. But, in terms of bringing our requests before God, I think that we find some practices that are worthy of our imitation.
The other item that we did not get to on Sunday, (too much pasta), is what happened right after the prayer. First we need to know that in chapter 33, Jacob's prayer is answered. Esau is not angry with Jacob and the brothers are reunited... and it feels so good. (Couldn't resist) But before that, Jacob has to wrestle.
The night before he met Esau, Jacob has an encounter with an angel. They wrestle all night. When the angel sees that he cannot overpower Jacob, he touches Jacob's hip, wrenching it, and causing Jacob to limp for the rest of his life. (Gen 32:22-32)
I find the whole encounter fascinating and confusing. I have not done much in depth study on this one, and we could probably make a week or two out of this if we wanted to, but that is not my plan for right now.
I think, (and I stress I THINK- don't really have a ton of research backing this), that there are a few things that come from this. Jacob's prayer was answered, but not without struggle. Maybe it is that way with us as well. God is willing to answer our prayers, but it may not come the way we think- it may come after much struggle. There is a lot I do not know about God, but I do know this- He knows better what I need and how I need it than I do. He has proven that over and over and over. And if the things He has for us come after struggle, then so be it. And, sometimes it is struggle that marks you for life. Jacob limped for the rest of his life after this encounter. All of us have struggles that mark us for life. But when we hold on through the struggle and do not let go, God blesses us. That is exactly what happened with Jacob. He was blessed because he was not overcome by the struggle.
Sara Groves is one of the best Christian song writers and performers out there. On one of her early albums, she has a song entitled "Painting Pictures of Egypt". The song is up there in my top ten of songs with astounding lyrics. In the song, there is a part where she says:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
Oh my.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Last Sunday we took a look at Jacob's prayer in Genesis 32. As we have established, Jacob was a sneaky, conniving kind of guy for the first part of his life, but at Genesis 32 we have hit the part of the scripture where there is a change in Jacob, and the Jacob we see after chapter 32 is not the same Jacob we have seen to this point.
In chapter 32 Jacob faces a "terrifying" situation in his life and we have his prayer to God recorded. There are some things that are worth imitating from this prayer- we discussed them on Sunday and I will mention them briefly here:
1. Jacob's Prayer Was To The Point
Jacob's request was that God would save him from his brother Esau. Jacob did not beat around the bush- he asked directly for what he desired. We can do the same. We do not need to couch our request in flowery words or a certain "prayer speech". Just lay it out on the table. God knows anyway. It was Charles Spurgeon who said that we should come before God with "Real Business".
2. Jacob Expressed a Real Sense of Humility
Jacob knew he was undeserving of the blessing of God- both the blessings he had already received and the ones he was asking for- and he said so to God. We truly have to come to that same place in our heart if we hope for our prayer to have any credibility before God. If there is any hint of "you owe me..." in our prayer, then we lose the power of our prayer.
3. Jacob's Prayer was Argumentative
Not in the sense we think. Not in the sense of our kids arguing with each other or a kid arguing with a parent. Not in the negative sense that the word indicates. Rather, Jacob's prayer made a case for his request. The case is not based on our own merit, (see #2 above), but it is based on the character of God and what we know of Him. Jacob made a case by invoking these arguements:
- Covenant (Gen 32:9)
Jacob "reminded" God that He had made a covenant with Abraham and Isaac. God did not really need reminding, but Jacob brought it up to point out that the covenant could not be broken. He called upon God's faithfulness in this case.
-Obedience (Gen 32:9)
Jacob knew he was doing what God had instructed. He was returning to his "homeland" as God had instructed. Since he was acting within the bounds of obedience, that could be claimed as a part of his case.
-Mercy (Gen 32:10)
God had shown Jacob mercy in the past. Jacob appealed to God's mercy and ask that He continue to show his mercy in this coming "crisis"
-Promise (Gen 32:12)
Closely related to covenant (see #1 above) One thing God cannot do is break a promise. When we find promises in scripture, we can claim them before God
I should mention that this is not a comprehensive guide to "How to Pray". There are many aspects of prayer- intercession, adoration, thanksgiving, supplication- that we have not even touched here. But, in terms of bringing our requests before God, I think that we find some practices that are worthy of our imitation.
The other item that we did not get to on Sunday, (too much pasta), is what happened right after the prayer. First we need to know that in chapter 33, Jacob's prayer is answered. Esau is not angry with Jacob and the brothers are reunited... and it feels so good. (Couldn't resist) But before that, Jacob has to wrestle.
The night before he met Esau, Jacob has an encounter with an angel. They wrestle all night. When the angel sees that he cannot overpower Jacob, he touches Jacob's hip, wrenching it, and causing Jacob to limp for the rest of his life. (Gen 32:22-32)
I find the whole encounter fascinating and confusing. I have not done much in depth study on this one, and we could probably make a week or two out of this if we wanted to, but that is not my plan for right now.
I think, (and I stress I THINK- don't really have a ton of research backing this), that there are a few things that come from this. Jacob's prayer was answered, but not without struggle. Maybe it is that way with us as well. God is willing to answer our prayers, but it may not come the way we think- it may come after much struggle. There is a lot I do not know about God, but I do know this- He knows better what I need and how I need it than I do. He has proven that over and over and over. And if the things He has for us come after struggle, then so be it. And, sometimes it is struggle that marks you for life. Jacob limped for the rest of his life after this encounter. All of us have struggles that mark us for life. But when we hold on through the struggle and do not let go, God blesses us. That is exactly what happened with Jacob. He was blessed because he was not overcome by the struggle.
Sara Groves is one of the best Christian song writers and performers out there. On one of her early albums, she has a song entitled "Painting Pictures of Egypt". The song is up there in my top ten of songs with astounding lyrics. In the song, there is a part where she says:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
Oh my.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sizzling Pasta...
It's only sizzling because its so hot outside! Yikes!! But I do like summer...
Last Sunday our discussion centered around what we learn from Joseph's time in prison in the house of Potiphar. Talk about someone unjustly accused! Joseph was a victim of some tough circumstances that certainly seem "undeserved". He was sold into slavery by his brothers, and even if he was a favored son, he did not deserve to be sold. Now in Genesis 40 we find him in prison after doing everything he could to do the right thing in the incident with Potiphar's wife. As far as I can discern, Joseph is pretty much a guy who has done pretty much nothing wrong and has had his life turned upside down. And yet, what we see here is a man who is faithful to God and more concerned with others than himself. If it's me, I am likely to sit around and tell anyone who will even come close to listening about how I did nothing wrong and yet here I am in this prison! So what we see here is a man with a remarkable attitude and a mindset that is worthy of our emulation.
So how did he do it? How do you keep from becoming bitter or angry or overwhelmed or indignant or cynical or...... the list of negative attributes goes on and on.
Well, I think we did a nice job of analyzing that on Sunday, and for those who could not be there, I will briefly recap...
To be like Joseph, there are some things that we must believe very deeply. Among them...
1. God is Present
The presence of difficulty does not equate to the absence of God. So often we feel, when difficulty comes, that God has "stepped aside" somehow. We don't go clear to the point of thinking God does not exist, but we think He is "not there anymore". We have to get over that one. Deut. 31:6, Joshua 1:5, Heb. 13:5 are jut a few of the scriptures that remind us of the constant presence of God .
2. God Delivers
The difficulty does not last forever, and it is God who moves us out of our difficulty and forward to a new place. We do not get the details and we don't have much to say about the timing, but if we pursue Godly living, He moves us on to new places. "Endurance" is often a better keyword than "escape".
3. God Provides
God provides the mindset we need. We, (at least I), marvel at how Joseph can be in prison while innocent and still say things like, "Why are your faces so sad today?" We often do not see ourselves as capable of such thinking, but the good news is, we don't have to be. This is one of those things that falls under the transforming power of the Spirit.
4. God Exceeds
... our expectations. No matter how much we may love and trust another person, they are just a person. Joseph surely thought that the cupbearer would help him out in Genesis 40- but that didn't happen for 2 years! That would have been enought to send me off the deep end. But Joseph trusted God who brought about an end to the story that was greater than anything Joseph imagined. Expectations are such dangerous things. But I do believe that we can expect a great deal from God and I don't think we will be disappointed.
5. It's God's Story
The other thing I think we can take away from chapter 40 is that Joseph was careful to tell the whole story that was revealed to him by God. He told the cupbearer the good news, but he also told the baker the bad news. He did so because he knew that the truth had come from God and that he had better not alter it or leave anything out. I think we have the challenge and responsibility to do the same as we bring the news of Jesus to the world.
Got to scoot!
Just Keep Swimming....
Jon
Last Sunday our discussion centered around what we learn from Joseph's time in prison in the house of Potiphar. Talk about someone unjustly accused! Joseph was a victim of some tough circumstances that certainly seem "undeserved". He was sold into slavery by his brothers, and even if he was a favored son, he did not deserve to be sold. Now in Genesis 40 we find him in prison after doing everything he could to do the right thing in the incident with Potiphar's wife. As far as I can discern, Joseph is pretty much a guy who has done pretty much nothing wrong and has had his life turned upside down. And yet, what we see here is a man who is faithful to God and more concerned with others than himself. If it's me, I am likely to sit around and tell anyone who will even come close to listening about how I did nothing wrong and yet here I am in this prison! So what we see here is a man with a remarkable attitude and a mindset that is worthy of our emulation.
So how did he do it? How do you keep from becoming bitter or angry or overwhelmed or indignant or cynical or...... the list of negative attributes goes on and on.
Well, I think we did a nice job of analyzing that on Sunday, and for those who could not be there, I will briefly recap...
To be like Joseph, there are some things that we must believe very deeply. Among them...
1. God is Present
The presence of difficulty does not equate to the absence of God. So often we feel, when difficulty comes, that God has "stepped aside" somehow. We don't go clear to the point of thinking God does not exist, but we think He is "not there anymore". We have to get over that one. Deut. 31:6, Joshua 1:5, Heb. 13:5 are jut a few of the scriptures that remind us of the constant presence of God .
2. God Delivers
The difficulty does not last forever, and it is God who moves us out of our difficulty and forward to a new place. We do not get the details and we don't have much to say about the timing, but if we pursue Godly living, He moves us on to new places. "Endurance" is often a better keyword than "escape".
3. God Provides
God provides the mindset we need. We, (at least I), marvel at how Joseph can be in prison while innocent and still say things like, "Why are your faces so sad today?" We often do not see ourselves as capable of such thinking, but the good news is, we don't have to be. This is one of those things that falls under the transforming power of the Spirit.
4. God Exceeds
... our expectations. No matter how much we may love and trust another person, they are just a person. Joseph surely thought that the cupbearer would help him out in Genesis 40- but that didn't happen for 2 years! That would have been enought to send me off the deep end. But Joseph trusted God who brought about an end to the story that was greater than anything Joseph imagined. Expectations are such dangerous things. But I do believe that we can expect a great deal from God and I don't think we will be disappointed.
5. It's God's Story
The other thing I think we can take away from chapter 40 is that Joseph was careful to tell the whole story that was revealed to him by God. He told the cupbearer the good news, but he also told the baker the bad news. He did so because he knew that the truth had come from God and that he had better not alter it or leave anything out. I think we have the challenge and responsibility to do the same as we bring the news of Jesus to the world.
Got to scoot!
Just Keep Swimming....
Jon
Friday, June 19, 2009
Pasta for President...
In case you had to submit an Absentee Ballot last Sunday, the majority of our discussion was devoted to the doctrine of "Divine Election" - the theme we find in scripture that indicates that God does some choosing. There are many scriptures that present the concept. Here is a short list, (but a little longer than the one we used on Sunday):
Ex. 33:19
Deut. 7:6,7
Deut. 10:14,15
Ps. 65:4
Ps. 106:5
Mt. 20:15-16
Mk 13:20
Lk 18:7
Rom 8:28-30, 33
James 1:18
And then you also run into scriptures like Romans 9:18 that says "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." Yikes.
Suffice it to say, the concept of Divine Election is somewhat complex. At least I think so.
We talked Sunday about the two "schools of thought" about the idea- Conditional Election and Unconditional Election. In its purest form, conditional election holds that God chooses us based on His knowledge of what we will choose in our lifetime. Unconditional Election in its purest form holds that God chooses according to His good pleasure and nothing we do has any bearing.
As is often the case, I think that the "purest forms" tend of oversimplify, and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The purely conditional position kind of says, "God gets a vote, Satan gets a vote, so the deciding vote comes down to me." Like I said on Sunday, depending on how you interpret that, it leaves the pivotal point of salvation on my own decision. In one sense I guess it is- I have to respond to the gift of Christ. But, (and I think Todd Dillon said this well on Sunday), if the gift was never given in the first place, then no response of mine would be strong enough. So, I think it is safe to say that this "conditional" position can be tricky.
On the other hand, the purely unconditional position is hard to accept as well. Someone might come along and say, "God will choose whoever He wants and nothing we do makes any difference." On the surface, the previously quoted scripture from Romans 9 seems to say that. But then you have to deal with scriptures like Romans 10:13 that says, "...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ( actually a quote from Joel 2:32). I cannot conceive a situation where someone truly calls upon the name of the Lord and is not saved- and a purely unconditional position would leave that as a possibility.
Arg! Now my brain hurts. But not really. Here is one more conclusion I come away with- in the matter of Divine Election, I think we are going to have to live with some tension. We are never going to fully understand this one as long as we are a part of this world. And I am OK with that. I think the key is believing in a God who will never, never make a wrong judgment. No matter what or how or who God chooses, He is my hope. And He is right.
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Ex. 33:19
Deut. 7:6,7
Deut. 10:14,15
Ps. 65:4
Ps. 106:5
Mt. 20:15-16
Mk 13:20
Lk 18:7
Rom 8:28-30, 33
James 1:18
And then you also run into scriptures like Romans 9:18 that says "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." Yikes.
Suffice it to say, the concept of Divine Election is somewhat complex. At least I think so.
We talked Sunday about the two "schools of thought" about the idea- Conditional Election and Unconditional Election. In its purest form, conditional election holds that God chooses us based on His knowledge of what we will choose in our lifetime. Unconditional Election in its purest form holds that God chooses according to His good pleasure and nothing we do has any bearing.
As is often the case, I think that the "purest forms" tend of oversimplify, and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The purely conditional position kind of says, "God gets a vote, Satan gets a vote, so the deciding vote comes down to me." Like I said on Sunday, depending on how you interpret that, it leaves the pivotal point of salvation on my own decision. In one sense I guess it is- I have to respond to the gift of Christ. But, (and I think Todd Dillon said this well on Sunday), if the gift was never given in the first place, then no response of mine would be strong enough. So, I think it is safe to say that this "conditional" position can be tricky.
On the other hand, the purely unconditional position is hard to accept as well. Someone might come along and say, "God will choose whoever He wants and nothing we do makes any difference." On the surface, the previously quoted scripture from Romans 9 seems to say that. But then you have to deal with scriptures like Romans 10:13 that says, "...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ( actually a quote from Joel 2:32). I cannot conceive a situation where someone truly calls upon the name of the Lord and is not saved- and a purely unconditional position would leave that as a possibility.
Arg! Now my brain hurts. But not really. Here is one more conclusion I come away with- in the matter of Divine Election, I think we are going to have to live with some tension. We are never going to fully understand this one as long as we are a part of this world. And I am OK with that. I think the key is believing in a God who will never, never make a wrong judgment. No matter what or how or who God chooses, He is my hope. And He is right.
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Not Really Pasta at All...
First I want to thank Eric Walters for filling in while I was away last week. I appreciate Eric's willingness to help out!
Like many of you, VBS kept me busy all week long, so I am just now getting to posting for the week.
This really has nothing to do with the purpose of the blog, except to prove that I really was at the air show like I said, (as if my texting Mel in the middle of class were not proof enough- couldn't resist).
Here are a few of my photos from the air show. If you want to see more click here
See you Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Like many of you, VBS kept me busy all week long, so I am just now getting to posting for the week.
This really has nothing to do with the purpose of the blog, except to prove that I really was at the air show like I said, (as if my texting Mel in the middle of class were not proof enough- couldn't resist).
Here are a few of my photos from the air show. If you want to see more click here
See you Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Of Abraham and Air Shows...
Not that there were Air Shows when Abraham was walking the earth- at least not the kind I go to...
There was one question that came up briefly on Sunday that we did not really discuss. Do we change God's mind? Does our persistent and passionate prayer change the course of God's action? To tell you the truth, I am not really sure. I would value your comments and thoughts and opinions. There are some things I do know-
I do know that in Luke 11 we read the story of a man and a neighbor and an unexpected visitor and a midnight request for bread... you know the one I am talking about? In that story, Jesus says that "because of the man's boldness" the neighbor will give him what he wants. In the following verses Jesus urges his disciples to ask. I think it is inherent to the command that we should ask boldly.
I do know that God is a relational God and that he does like to hear the requests of His children. If you have your own children, you are not completely unfamiliar with this. You know how it is... you don't want to give your kids everything they ask for because that is not good for them. But, boy do we love to say yes whenever we can! There is not much better than to see your kid respond when you are able to give them something they really want. I cannot help but think that it is a bit this way with God. We don't control Him. We don't manipulate Him. But when we prove that we really want something and want it for the right reason, I think that it gives Him great pleasure to grant our request.
I find the encounter in the second half of Genesis 18 interesting because of the nature of the discourse between Abraham and God. Abraham is rather bold before God in the passage. Now, one of two things is going on here. For someone to be so bold as to say the things that Abraham said, you have to be one of two kinds of people. You are either someone who is unfamiliar with who God is and you do not know any better than to open you mouth, or you are someone who is intimate enough with God that you can, in a respectful manner, be confident enough to speak your mind. I do not think there is much "in-between" here. Well, it doesn't take much reading to know which of those Abraham is. And it is here that I think we see a wonderful example for us all. Who of us would not like to feel so intimate with God that you could say things like "far be it from you to do such a thing..." (Gen. 18:25) I just think that the whole exchange between God and Abraham in Genesis 18 shows the give and take between two who have walked together and lived together and shared together on a very consistent basis. And I want to be like that.
I won't be there Sunday, but I will be hanging out with Angels!! (The Blue Angels!!)
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
There was one question that came up briefly on Sunday that we did not really discuss. Do we change God's mind? Does our persistent and passionate prayer change the course of God's action? To tell you the truth, I am not really sure. I would value your comments and thoughts and opinions. There are some things I do know-
I do know that in Luke 11 we read the story of a man and a neighbor and an unexpected visitor and a midnight request for bread... you know the one I am talking about? In that story, Jesus says that "because of the man's boldness" the neighbor will give him what he wants. In the following verses Jesus urges his disciples to ask. I think it is inherent to the command that we should ask boldly.
I do know that God is a relational God and that he does like to hear the requests of His children. If you have your own children, you are not completely unfamiliar with this. You know how it is... you don't want to give your kids everything they ask for because that is not good for them. But, boy do we love to say yes whenever we can! There is not much better than to see your kid respond when you are able to give them something they really want. I cannot help but think that it is a bit this way with God. We don't control Him. We don't manipulate Him. But when we prove that we really want something and want it for the right reason, I think that it gives Him great pleasure to grant our request.
I find the encounter in the second half of Genesis 18 interesting because of the nature of the discourse between Abraham and God. Abraham is rather bold before God in the passage. Now, one of two things is going on here. For someone to be so bold as to say the things that Abraham said, you have to be one of two kinds of people. You are either someone who is unfamiliar with who God is and you do not know any better than to open you mouth, or you are someone who is intimate enough with God that you can, in a respectful manner, be confident enough to speak your mind. I do not think there is much "in-between" here. Well, it doesn't take much reading to know which of those Abraham is. And it is here that I think we see a wonderful example for us all. Who of us would not like to feel so intimate with God that you could say things like "far be it from you to do such a thing..." (Gen. 18:25) I just think that the whole exchange between God and Abraham in Genesis 18 shows the give and take between two who have walked together and lived together and shared together on a very consistent basis. And I want to be like that.
I won't be there Sunday, but I will be hanging out with Angels!! (The Blue Angels!!)
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Funny Thing About Making a Name for Yourself...
The funny thing is that when we try hard to make a name for ourselves it does not stick. Think about it- did you ever want to be called by a certain nickname? When we try to establish nicknames for ourselves it seems like it never works. Nicknames come from others. Nicknames come from our quirky human tendencies. Nicknames come from the observation and affection (or malice) of the people around us.
Even at your job or your business, if what you really focus on is making a name for yourself it more often than not turns out in disaster. But, if you concentrate on doing good work, putting out a quality product, or achieving some level of proficiency or excellence, then the whole "make a name" thing takes care of itself.
In Genesis 11 we see that whole process at work. These people described in the chapter decided that they wanted to make a name for themselves. As we discussed Sunday, they were actually, whether they knew it or not, going against God's intent for mankind. God had "commanded" or "instructed" that mankind should "fill the earth". These people we find in chapter 11 decided they did not want to be spread throughout the earth. So they took root and decided to "make a name for themselves". They tried to establish or find their identity in what they did and what they made and what they accomplished by the work of their hands. It became their whole goal and focus. And it worked out about as well as when we try to make our own nicknames- it didn't last.
As I have reflected on last weeks discussion and thought about that issue I have found myself reminded that my true identity is / needs to be completely wrapped up in who I belong to. My identity needs to be all about the fact that I have been redeemed by love and that I have been created by a loving God. And I need to be satisfied with that. Now don't get me wrong- I think that striving for excellence in the things we do is valuable, commendable, important, admirable... the list of positive adjectives goes on and on. But, like so many things in our walk with God, it comes down to our motivation for being excellent. If our true motivation is, indeed, to make a name for ourselves, then we will ultimately fail. We may enjoy popularity or profit for a while, but it will not last and it is not eternal. But if we strive for excellence because we feel it is our responsibility to use the talents God gave us to the fullest- if we want to show the character of God by doing all we can to do things well- if we want to show the world the goodness of God and not the goodness of self- then we move, I believe, in the right direction.
Perhaps rather than making a name for ourselves we should allow God to make our name for us.
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Even at your job or your business, if what you really focus on is making a name for yourself it more often than not turns out in disaster. But, if you concentrate on doing good work, putting out a quality product, or achieving some level of proficiency or excellence, then the whole "make a name" thing takes care of itself.
In Genesis 11 we see that whole process at work. These people described in the chapter decided that they wanted to make a name for themselves. As we discussed Sunday, they were actually, whether they knew it or not, going against God's intent for mankind. God had "commanded" or "instructed" that mankind should "fill the earth". These people we find in chapter 11 decided they did not want to be spread throughout the earth. So they took root and decided to "make a name for themselves". They tried to establish or find their identity in what they did and what they made and what they accomplished by the work of their hands. It became their whole goal and focus. And it worked out about as well as when we try to make our own nicknames- it didn't last.
As I have reflected on last weeks discussion and thought about that issue I have found myself reminded that my true identity is / needs to be completely wrapped up in who I belong to. My identity needs to be all about the fact that I have been redeemed by love and that I have been created by a loving God. And I need to be satisfied with that. Now don't get me wrong- I think that striving for excellence in the things we do is valuable, commendable, important, admirable... the list of positive adjectives goes on and on. But, like so many things in our walk with God, it comes down to our motivation for being excellent. If our true motivation is, indeed, to make a name for ourselves, then we will ultimately fail. We may enjoy popularity or profit for a while, but it will not last and it is not eternal. But if we strive for excellence because we feel it is our responsibility to use the talents God gave us to the fullest- if we want to show the character of God by doing all we can to do things well- if we want to show the world the goodness of God and not the goodness of self- then we move, I believe, in the right direction.
Perhaps rather than making a name for ourselves we should allow God to make our name for us.
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Saturday, May 23, 2009
And We All Come Tumbling Down...
It seems so unfair to me...
God set up this perfect existence- the garden, no work, no guilt, no shame, no disease... perfect. And then the whole incident with the serpent and Eve and Adam and choice and sin and... arg!!! They blew it! They had it perfect and they blew it!! And they didn't just blow it for themselves- they blew it for all of us! It just isn't fair! I have to inherit this "human sin condition" because Adam and Eve couldn't keep their hands out of the cookie jar? Come on!
What's that? What did you say? You say I would have probably done the same thing if I had been there? Um.... you're right. I most likely would have.
But it is interesting to think about. I mean, in chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis you have this perfect creation and everything is moving along just the way it was designed. Then, in chapter 4 you have murder and jealousy. So, chapter 3 becomes the "black box". What happened? Things were fine and then they weren't!
Well, we pretty much know what happened, but it is interesting to look at how it happened.
Chapter 3 brings up a lot of questions that are not answered right in that chapter- questions like "Where did Satan come from" and "Why was there any evil around anyway?" I am not really going into those questions right now. The thing I want to look at briefly is the approach of the serpent. There are three things I find especially interesting about how the serpent approached this whole thing.
The first thing is the serpents statement- it was erroneous and he knew it! He comes to Eve and says, "Did God really say you cannot eat from any tree in the garden?" That isn't at all what God said! God made a prohibition about ONE tree. The serpent misspoke God's words on purpose. When Eve heard the incorrect statement she felt obligated to straighten things out, but it also brought the one forbidden thing right to the front of her mind. We have all seen it. When you tell your kids they cannot have something, they want it. It is not because the really want it. Five minutes ago they could not have cared less about it. But as soon as they find out they "can't have it", they want it. They want it more than anything else. Sometimes to the point of distraction. The serpent (Satan), knew exactly what he was doing, and he still does today.
Another brief but important thing about how the serpent ran his scam is that he (the serpent) is certainly not an Atheist. He did not say, "Oh God is just a myth." or "God does not exist", or "God is not really in charge". The serpent did not deny anything about God's existence, presence, or even authority. He just misrepresented what God said. That tactic is alive and well today in Satan's arsenal.
The other thing that really hit me with this account when I read it this time was that the serpent managed to shift Adam and Eve's focus from God's provisions to God's denials. Let's face it- there are certain things that are prohibited. God has drawn lines. There are things that we are not to be a part of- if for no other reason than "God said so." But, in the case of Adam and Eve, (and for us as well), they had been given EVERYTHING and denied ONE thing. They had been given infinitely more than what had been denied! It would seem that would be enough! They should have been happy! But NOOOO! But I am the same way. There are far too many days when I spend time thinking about what I don't have and what I can't have and forgetting all about what I DO have. I have been given EVERYTHING. Whatever has been prohibited has been held back for my own good. I can't always get that through my head.
I welcome discussion and thoughts on these first verses in chapter 3. There is so much more that we could discuss!
Looking forward to Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
God set up this perfect existence- the garden, no work, no guilt, no shame, no disease... perfect. And then the whole incident with the serpent and Eve and Adam and choice and sin and... arg!!! They blew it! They had it perfect and they blew it!! And they didn't just blow it for themselves- they blew it for all of us! It just isn't fair! I have to inherit this "human sin condition" because Adam and Eve couldn't keep their hands out of the cookie jar? Come on!
What's that? What did you say? You say I would have probably done the same thing if I had been there? Um.... you're right. I most likely would have.
But it is interesting to think about. I mean, in chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis you have this perfect creation and everything is moving along just the way it was designed. Then, in chapter 4 you have murder and jealousy. So, chapter 3 becomes the "black box". What happened? Things were fine and then they weren't!
Well, we pretty much know what happened, but it is interesting to look at how it happened.
Chapter 3 brings up a lot of questions that are not answered right in that chapter- questions like "Where did Satan come from" and "Why was there any evil around anyway?" I am not really going into those questions right now. The thing I want to look at briefly is the approach of the serpent. There are three things I find especially interesting about how the serpent approached this whole thing.
The first thing is the serpents statement- it was erroneous and he knew it! He comes to Eve and says, "Did God really say you cannot eat from any tree in the garden?" That isn't at all what God said! God made a prohibition about ONE tree. The serpent misspoke God's words on purpose. When Eve heard the incorrect statement she felt obligated to straighten things out, but it also brought the one forbidden thing right to the front of her mind. We have all seen it. When you tell your kids they cannot have something, they want it. It is not because the really want it. Five minutes ago they could not have cared less about it. But as soon as they find out they "can't have it", they want it. They want it more than anything else. Sometimes to the point of distraction. The serpent (Satan), knew exactly what he was doing, and he still does today.
Another brief but important thing about how the serpent ran his scam is that he (the serpent) is certainly not an Atheist. He did not say, "Oh God is just a myth." or "God does not exist", or "God is not really in charge". The serpent did not deny anything about God's existence, presence, or even authority. He just misrepresented what God said. That tactic is alive and well today in Satan's arsenal.
The other thing that really hit me with this account when I read it this time was that the serpent managed to shift Adam and Eve's focus from God's provisions to God's denials. Let's face it- there are certain things that are prohibited. God has drawn lines. There are things that we are not to be a part of- if for no other reason than "God said so." But, in the case of Adam and Eve, (and for us as well), they had been given EVERYTHING and denied ONE thing. They had been given infinitely more than what had been denied! It would seem that would be enough! They should have been happy! But NOOOO! But I am the same way. There are far too many days when I spend time thinking about what I don't have and what I can't have and forgetting all about what I DO have. I have been given EVERYTHING. Whatever has been prohibited has been held back for my own good. I can't always get that through my head.
I welcome discussion and thoughts on these first verses in chapter 3. There is so much more that we could discuss!
Looking forward to Sunday!
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Caution- Merging Traffic...
Excuses, excuses...
There has not been a post on this blog for a couple of weeks- this I know. There are reasons, but not excuses. The reasons include the final production blitz of the 8th Grade Video project - a project about which I tell myself every year that I am going to "spread the work" throughout the entire school year and never do- and, the whole Great Swelling of '09.
I am very sorry for the way last Sunday turned out. No one has any good medical explanation for why my face would wait until 4 days after a minor out-patient procedure and then balloon to Cabbage Patch proportions. I think I know why it happened though- it is related to the aforementioned video project. I think that God knew that there was no way on this green earth that I was going to finish that video if I had to go to school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this last week. So, in His inimitable style, He arranged circumstances that allowed me to be home with good reason and to continue work on the project.
Anyway, my appearance is now just about as good as it ever is, and I am merging back into the flow of human traffic. And thus, on with Sunday School we go!
This week we will get to work on our study of Genesis. I am hoping to make this a 6-8 weeks study of some major points in the book. There are 50 chapters and that is a little much for a chapter by chapter study right now (not that it would be a bad thing- its just a little long)
This week we will look at some things to get us started. We have to have a reference point. I want to look at how the book is divided, why the book is important to us, and a little about how Genesis is interpreted by different groups of people these days. This discussion will help to set up where we are headed in the next handful of weeks.
Looking forward to getting back at it!
Just Keep Swimming!
Jon and Melanie
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Nothing Like Late Pasta...
Wow. Busy week. And, I am afraid it may not get any better for a couple of weeks. Anyway, let's squeeze in a few bites of pasta before we get together again for another round...
Last week, because of some stellar group work, we summarized chapters 22-26. In case you were not there, we split up, took chapters, and worked on summaries, key verses, and important teaching points from each of the chapters. Remember that this is the part of the book where things turn pretty narrative in nature and the book of Acts becomes much more like a "story".
The big thing we find in these chapters is the account of Paul being "on trial" or at least in a "hearing"- making his case for the gospel and for his actions over and over again. This series of trials and hearings gives Paul the chance to testify about the truth of the gospel to a number of audiences, all of which include some powerful people. Hmm... think God had His hand in this? I think so!
It is interesting to note that in chapter 24 we find that Paul has been referred to Felix in Caesarea, and that whole change of venue and the ensuing proceedings lasted for 2 years! When Paul was promised that he would make it to Rome, I am guessing that he did not think it would take place exactly like this. Then again, maybe he was smarter than me, (well, ok- I know he was WAY smarter than me), and did not really develop any expectations about exactly how God would get him to Rome. Darn those expectations!! They are the source of all of our disappointments!
I just like the way God continues to show himself as sovereign through all of the process that we read about. I guess some people might read that account and say, "Gee, God sure had trouble getting Paul to Rome! What did it take- like three years or something?" I look at it and say, "Paul got to Rome just the way God intended for Paul to get to Rome." And, because Paul did not get focused on circumstances, but rather stayed focused on the gospel, all kinds of people heard about Jesus on the way. Hmmm.... anyone else seeing a bit of a lesson for all of us here?
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Last week, because of some stellar group work, we summarized chapters 22-26. In case you were not there, we split up, took chapters, and worked on summaries, key verses, and important teaching points from each of the chapters. Remember that this is the part of the book where things turn pretty narrative in nature and the book of Acts becomes much more like a "story".
The big thing we find in these chapters is the account of Paul being "on trial" or at least in a "hearing"- making his case for the gospel and for his actions over and over again. This series of trials and hearings gives Paul the chance to testify about the truth of the gospel to a number of audiences, all of which include some powerful people. Hmm... think God had His hand in this? I think so!
It is interesting to note that in chapter 24 we find that Paul has been referred to Felix in Caesarea, and that whole change of venue and the ensuing proceedings lasted for 2 years! When Paul was promised that he would make it to Rome, I am guessing that he did not think it would take place exactly like this. Then again, maybe he was smarter than me, (well, ok- I know he was WAY smarter than me), and did not really develop any expectations about exactly how God would get him to Rome. Darn those expectations!! They are the source of all of our disappointments!
I just like the way God continues to show himself as sovereign through all of the process that we read about. I guess some people might read that account and say, "Gee, God sure had trouble getting Paul to Rome! What did it take- like three years or something?" I look at it and say, "Paul got to Rome just the way God intended for Paul to get to Rome." And, because Paul did not get focused on circumstances, but rather stayed focused on the gospel, all kinds of people heard about Jesus on the way. Hmmm.... anyone else seeing a bit of a lesson for all of us here?
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Acticolli- Bite Sized Pasta from Acts 20 & 21...
In Acts 20 we see Eutychus fall asleep in a window and plunge to his death, and we hear Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders. Both noteworthy events!
In the account of Eutychus, we get a strong indication of Paul's focus on his message, and we see an interesting establishment of the relationship between miracles and the Word of God. When Eutychus fell, (and died), Paul did not say, "Woah there folks- we better call it a night!" He knew he was leaving and he had things to say. The level of Paul's faith is amazing. It is almost like he walked downsatairs, and in a very businesslike fashion, took care of raising Eutychus, then returned to what he really came for- preaching the Word. I don't mean to minimize the value of the miracle, but when you read the account you can't help but think that, at least in this case, the miracle was not as important as the preaching.
I think that is at least somewhat true today. People want miracles. Quick fixes. God stepping in and doing a John Madden, (BOOM- We'll miss you on Sunday nights, John). Where what they really need is the whole of the Word of God. The only miracle we really need took place on Calvary and in the empty tomb.
Also in Acts 20, Paul delivers his farewell address to the Ephesian elders- people he would have known well and loved dearly. I do not have much to say about this now, as we had good discussion in class, but I will say this- As I come away from this study of the book of Acts, I am more amazed at who Paul was than I have ever been. To be able to stand before those men and say (paraphrased) "You saw how I lived- I was never a burden to you- I told you the truth the best way I could tell it and I did not leave anything out." To be able to stand and speak like that is what we all want. And to do so only requires consistent day-to-day living in which we let every "today" take care of all of the tomorrows. I guess it is the nature of us/we (which is it) temporal humans that we can see and understand that, yet we (or at least I) struggle to do it.
In Acts 21 Paul seriously turns his sights on Jerusalem. The chapter tells the story of his travels through several cities and how he meets up with a number of people who tell him, "DON'T GO TO JERUSALEM!!" And these people are not just acting on emotion. Verse 4 tells of a group of believers who "through the spirit" urged him not to go. Verse 10 tells of the prophet Agabus (there's another baby name!) who demonstrates what will happen to Paul in Jerusalem, and again the people urge him not to go.
So, Paul is getting all of this advice- don't go, don't go, don't go. And it is coming from people who care about him and people who are Godly. What is an Apostle to do with such advice? Well, read verse 13 and 14. (I am not going to put the verses here- sorry. You'll have to grab your bible and read it.)
The thing this makes me think about is my own capacity to give sound advice. I come to the conclusion that I should be very careful and prayerful when I give advice about "serious" things. All of these people who told Paul not to go to Jerusalem were well meaning, and I don't blame them a bit for how they counseled Paul. After all, they cared for him, and having a strong feeling that danger awaited in Jerusalem, they did not want him to come to harm. But the truth of the matter is that in this case, they were advising against the will of God. Like I said- I don't blame them- I would have said the same thing. It just makes me think that I need to be careful when I advise people!
But let's think from Paul's perspective a bit. As we have mentioned, Paul was VERY in touch with God and His will. God had purposed for Paul to get to Rome, and in the coming chapters, we are going to see how He (God) manages to get him (Paul) there (Rome). The threat of danger and eminent suffering was nothing new to Paul. He is probably thinking, at least a little, "What are they gonna do to me that hasn't been done already?" Add to that the fact that Paul is so sold out at this point that he would gladly go to Jerusalem and die there if that is what God has in mind, (verse 13). And, later when we read Philippians we find that Paul considers it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ (Phil 1:29)
Later in the chapter, Paul participates in a cleansing ritual in the temple in Jerusalem, and is arrested on, (wait for it.... wait for it...) false charges!! (big surprise). There is an uprising, (big surprise), and Paul's trial sequence begins.
Chapters 22-26 tell the story of the series of trials and changes of venue- all a part of God's work to get Paul to Rome. We will be looking at the highlights of those chapters this coming Sunday, (April 26), and then finish the book off with a look at the "end of the story".
Just keep swimming....
Jon
In the account of Eutychus, we get a strong indication of Paul's focus on his message, and we see an interesting establishment of the relationship between miracles and the Word of God. When Eutychus fell, (and died), Paul did not say, "Woah there folks- we better call it a night!" He knew he was leaving and he had things to say. The level of Paul's faith is amazing. It is almost like he walked downsatairs, and in a very businesslike fashion, took care of raising Eutychus, then returned to what he really came for- preaching the Word. I don't mean to minimize the value of the miracle, but when you read the account you can't help but think that, at least in this case, the miracle was not as important as the preaching.
I think that is at least somewhat true today. People want miracles. Quick fixes. God stepping in and doing a John Madden, (BOOM- We'll miss you on Sunday nights, John). Where what they really need is the whole of the Word of God. The only miracle we really need took place on Calvary and in the empty tomb.
Also in Acts 20, Paul delivers his farewell address to the Ephesian elders- people he would have known well and loved dearly. I do not have much to say about this now, as we had good discussion in class, but I will say this- As I come away from this study of the book of Acts, I am more amazed at who Paul was than I have ever been. To be able to stand before those men and say (paraphrased) "You saw how I lived- I was never a burden to you- I told you the truth the best way I could tell it and I did not leave anything out." To be able to stand and speak like that is what we all want. And to do so only requires consistent day-to-day living in which we let every "today" take care of all of the tomorrows. I guess it is the nature of us/we (which is it) temporal humans that we can see and understand that, yet we (or at least I) struggle to do it.
In Acts 21 Paul seriously turns his sights on Jerusalem. The chapter tells the story of his travels through several cities and how he meets up with a number of people who tell him, "DON'T GO TO JERUSALEM!!" And these people are not just acting on emotion. Verse 4 tells of a group of believers who "through the spirit" urged him not to go. Verse 10 tells of the prophet Agabus (there's another baby name!) who demonstrates what will happen to Paul in Jerusalem, and again the people urge him not to go.
So, Paul is getting all of this advice- don't go, don't go, don't go. And it is coming from people who care about him and people who are Godly. What is an Apostle to do with such advice? Well, read verse 13 and 14. (I am not going to put the verses here- sorry. You'll have to grab your bible and read it.)
The thing this makes me think about is my own capacity to give sound advice. I come to the conclusion that I should be very careful and prayerful when I give advice about "serious" things. All of these people who told Paul not to go to Jerusalem were well meaning, and I don't blame them a bit for how they counseled Paul. After all, they cared for him, and having a strong feeling that danger awaited in Jerusalem, they did not want him to come to harm. But the truth of the matter is that in this case, they were advising against the will of God. Like I said- I don't blame them- I would have said the same thing. It just makes me think that I need to be careful when I advise people!
But let's think from Paul's perspective a bit. As we have mentioned, Paul was VERY in touch with God and His will. God had purposed for Paul to get to Rome, and in the coming chapters, we are going to see how He (God) manages to get him (Paul) there (Rome). The threat of danger and eminent suffering was nothing new to Paul. He is probably thinking, at least a little, "What are they gonna do to me that hasn't been done already?" Add to that the fact that Paul is so sold out at this point that he would gladly go to Jerusalem and die there if that is what God has in mind, (verse 13). And, later when we read Philippians we find that Paul considers it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ (Phil 1:29)
Later in the chapter, Paul participates in a cleansing ritual in the temple in Jerusalem, and is arrested on, (wait for it.... wait for it...) false charges!! (big surprise). There is an uprising, (big surprise), and Paul's trial sequence begins.
Chapters 22-26 tell the story of the series of trials and changes of venue- all a part of God's work to get Paul to Rome. We will be looking at the highlights of those chapters this coming Sunday, (April 26), and then finish the book off with a look at the "end of the story".
Just keep swimming....
Jon
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
More Pasta That Comes From Acts 19...
It seems like a long time since we met. Missing a week makes a bigger difference in my mind that I would have guessed! Anyway, I wanted to "ramp us up" by looking back at where we left off on the Sunday before Easter, and taking a quick peek at some things coming up for this Sunday.
The last thing we talked about was Acts 19: 13-20, where we hear Luke's account of the seven sons of Sceva and their attempts to drive out demons in the name of Paul. They apparently had experienced some success with driving out demons and other magical pursuits. Verse 13 says they "went around driving out evil spirits...". But they were pretty taken with the things that were happening in association with Paul, (things like people being healed by touching one of Paul's handkerchiefs or aprons), and they were now trying to drive out demons "in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches."
I mentioned this in class, but I absolutely LOVE the reaction of the demon. "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" (Acts 19:15)
You know, some names are just powerful. Think about it. If Barack Obama gets up in the middle of the night and says to someone in the White House, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", then you better believe that someone is going to have a large Italian Combo in front of him about as quickly as it can be made to happen. On the other hand, if I got up in the middle of the night and shook Mel and said, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", I think I would get a response somewhere in the neighborhood of "You know where Quiznos is buddy- knock yourself out." Hmm... what's the difference? Must be that name- that title, "POTUS".
To bring the idea to an even more familiar level... let's say you are sleeping in on a Saturday, (whatever that means for you- 6:00, 7:00, 10:00, whatever.) Through your blissful sleep you hear the phone ring, and in spite of your hopes and prayers otherwise you hear someone, (wife, child, whoever) say, "Its for you!" Now I am not going to make you show hands or anything here, but let's face it- for many of us the first question would be, "Who is it?". And exactly how you feel about getting up and and answering the phone depends on the answer to that question. Come on, you know its true! There are certain names that would get you out of that bed in zero-point-nothin and you would be on the phone sounding all awake and chipper. Then again, there are other names that would do little to even make you open your eyes. Now I am not going to go into any detail about who's name is on which list for me, but I will just say that NONE of you are on the "eyes closed" list.
Names don't get to that "powerful" state unless there is value or truth to back them up. What we have in Acts 19 is another incident where the very name of Jesus, and in this case Paul as well, had authority and truth behind it. Even the evil spirit in the story acknowledged that power of the name of Jesus. (And I am guessing that, in general, evil spirits are not really fans of Jesus- but they still see and understand the authority and truth behind his name.)
The chapter continues in verses 21 through 41 to tell about Paul's plans for the future and about a riot that breaks out in Ephesus. There are a few interesting things about the account of the riot...
Luke used the term "great disturbance" (NIV) to describe what happened, so it seems as though it was no small thing. The people involved in the situation draw an interesting comparison to today, and help us see God's sovereignty.
It all starts with Demetrius- a silversmith who made shrines of Artemis. The bottom line here is that this "one god" stuff being preached by Paul was hurting business! But, just like many people we see today, Demetrius tried to make it out to be all about the integrity of the great goddess, Artemis! Look at verse 27- "There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself.... will be robbed of her divine majesty." Nothing like appealing to a basic issue of integrity for the purpose advancing your own agenda, right? Nice try Demetrius, but I don't think for a minute that you really give a rip about Artemis. You're worried that you might need a government bail-out if this "one god" talk continues. Hmm... sound like anything that happens now? People going on and on about this issue or that issue in order to advance their own agenda? Some things never change!
Anyway, Demetrius stirs things up enough to start a riot and the crowd works its way to the theater where Paul has been teaching. Here is where I think we see God's sovereignty. Paul's friends see that there is no use in Paul addressing the crowd, so they intervene. We see Alexander, a local Jewish official try to step forward, but he is shouted down by the crowd. Alexander would likely agreed with Paul that there is one God, but the crowd did not want to hear that. Then comes the city clerk. The city clerk appears as a voice of reason, saying that "these men" (Paul and his companions), have done nothing wrong. They have not broken the law, they have not blasphemed Artemis, they have done nothing. The crowd dispersed, went their way, and Paul and crew live to continue their work.
Here is what I find interesting- in this matter, when the crowd was angry enough to kill, God intervened and used a person who wasn't even "on God's side" to defuse the situation. Think about it- This city clerk... was he a believer? No. Was he really even trying to defend Paul or the cause of Jesus Christ? No. But God used him in this instance to His (God's) purpose. Now some may say that God is nothing but a big manipulator- He just uses people like pawns in His big game. I guess that is one way to look at it. But for me, it goes back to the power of the name. God is sovereign. He created all things. There is no purpose greater than His. To become indignant at God's working in the world is to somehow think that our "rights" and our "purposes" have an equal or greater standing than His. They don't. They just don't. There is no other way about it. God's purpose always has and always will "survive".
I find that thought reassuring.
Coming Up...
We really have got to bring this study of Acts to an end. I have enjoyed it, and I apologize if I have dragged it out, but it is time to bring it down to a close. This week we will take a look at some of the highlights from Acts 20 and 21. If you get a chance you might read through those chapters to re-familiarize yourself with the material there, and we will try to move along in these next few weeks.
Just keep swimming.....
Jon
The last thing we talked about was Acts 19: 13-20, where we hear Luke's account of the seven sons of Sceva and their attempts to drive out demons in the name of Paul. They apparently had experienced some success with driving out demons and other magical pursuits. Verse 13 says they "went around driving out evil spirits...". But they were pretty taken with the things that were happening in association with Paul, (things like people being healed by touching one of Paul's handkerchiefs or aprons), and they were now trying to drive out demons "in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches."
I mentioned this in class, but I absolutely LOVE the reaction of the demon. "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" (Acts 19:15)
You know, some names are just powerful. Think about it. If Barack Obama gets up in the middle of the night and says to someone in the White House, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", then you better believe that someone is going to have a large Italian Combo in front of him about as quickly as it can be made to happen. On the other hand, if I got up in the middle of the night and shook Mel and said, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", I think I would get a response somewhere in the neighborhood of "You know where Quiznos is buddy- knock yourself out." Hmm... what's the difference? Must be that name- that title, "POTUS".
To bring the idea to an even more familiar level... let's say you are sleeping in on a Saturday, (whatever that means for you- 6:00, 7:00, 10:00, whatever.) Through your blissful sleep you hear the phone ring, and in spite of your hopes and prayers otherwise you hear someone, (wife, child, whoever) say, "Its for you!" Now I am not going to make you show hands or anything here, but let's face it- for many of us the first question would be, "Who is it?". And exactly how you feel about getting up and and answering the phone depends on the answer to that question. Come on, you know its true! There are certain names that would get you out of that bed in zero-point-nothin and you would be on the phone sounding all awake and chipper. Then again, there are other names that would do little to even make you open your eyes. Now I am not going to go into any detail about who's name is on which list for me, but I will just say that NONE of you are on the "eyes closed" list.
Names don't get to that "powerful" state unless there is value or truth to back them up. What we have in Acts 19 is another incident where the very name of Jesus, and in this case Paul as well, had authority and truth behind it. Even the evil spirit in the story acknowledged that power of the name of Jesus. (And I am guessing that, in general, evil spirits are not really fans of Jesus- but they still see and understand the authority and truth behind his name.)
The chapter continues in verses 21 through 41 to tell about Paul's plans for the future and about a riot that breaks out in Ephesus. There are a few interesting things about the account of the riot...
Luke used the term "great disturbance" (NIV) to describe what happened, so it seems as though it was no small thing. The people involved in the situation draw an interesting comparison to today, and help us see God's sovereignty.
It all starts with Demetrius- a silversmith who made shrines of Artemis. The bottom line here is that this "one god" stuff being preached by Paul was hurting business! But, just like many people we see today, Demetrius tried to make it out to be all about the integrity of the great goddess, Artemis! Look at verse 27- "There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself.... will be robbed of her divine majesty." Nothing like appealing to a basic issue of integrity for the purpose advancing your own agenda, right? Nice try Demetrius, but I don't think for a minute that you really give a rip about Artemis. You're worried that you might need a government bail-out if this "one god" talk continues. Hmm... sound like anything that happens now? People going on and on about this issue or that issue in order to advance their own agenda? Some things never change!
Anyway, Demetrius stirs things up enough to start a riot and the crowd works its way to the theater where Paul has been teaching. Here is where I think we see God's sovereignty. Paul's friends see that there is no use in Paul addressing the crowd, so they intervene. We see Alexander, a local Jewish official try to step forward, but he is shouted down by the crowd. Alexander would likely agreed with Paul that there is one God, but the crowd did not want to hear that. Then comes the city clerk. The city clerk appears as a voice of reason, saying that "these men" (Paul and his companions), have done nothing wrong. They have not broken the law, they have not blasphemed Artemis, they have done nothing. The crowd dispersed, went their way, and Paul and crew live to continue their work.
Here is what I find interesting- in this matter, when the crowd was angry enough to kill, God intervened and used a person who wasn't even "on God's side" to defuse the situation. Think about it- This city clerk... was he a believer? No. Was he really even trying to defend Paul or the cause of Jesus Christ? No. But God used him in this instance to His (God's) purpose. Now some may say that God is nothing but a big manipulator- He just uses people like pawns in His big game. I guess that is one way to look at it. But for me, it goes back to the power of the name. God is sovereign. He created all things. There is no purpose greater than His. To become indignant at God's working in the world is to somehow think that our "rights" and our "purposes" have an equal or greater standing than His. They don't. They just don't. There is no other way about it. God's purpose always has and always will "survive".
I find that thought reassuring.
Coming Up...
We really have got to bring this study of Acts to an end. I have enjoyed it, and I apologize if I have dragged it out, but it is time to bring it down to a close. This week we will take a look at some of the highlights from Acts 20 and 21. If you get a chance you might read through those chapters to re-familiarize yourself with the material there, and we will try to move along in these next few weeks.
Just keep swimming.....
Jon
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