tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45952192193371788282024-02-20T14:18:53.719-06:00Joel DetlefsenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger619125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-23172295333477484662019-03-11T16:10:00.001-05:002019-03-11T16:12:05.213-05:00Sanitized Scripture1 Samuel 15 is a hard chapter of the Bible to read. Not because it's difficult to understand, but because some of what is described therein seems to be so brutal and barbaric that it's hard to think that God condoned what took place.<br />
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But he did. <br />
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In this chapter of scripture, God gives King Saul a mission: go and completely obliterate the Amalekites - man, woman, child, and animal. This Saul does, albeit not completely. He saves some of the choicest animals and he also saves Agag, the king of the Amalekites, presumably to show him off as a trophy of his victory. <br />
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But this is not what God has commanded. Instead, God commanded the complete annihilation of the Amalekites, including their animals, and including their king. In response to what Saul left undone, Samuel himself finishes the job, so to speak: "And Samuel said [to Agag], 'As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.' And Samuel <i>hacked Agag to pieces</i> before the Lord in Gilgal." (1 Samuel 16.33, ESV, emphasis added) <br />
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I don't know about you, but hearing that <b>anyone</b> was "hacked to pieces" is enough to make me wince, let alone hearing that it was done "before the Lord." It's a description that is mean to illicit a visceral reaction from us, the readers, and I think it's safe to say it succeeds in doing so. <br />
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As I was studying to <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2019/3/11/regrets" target="_blank">preach this text</a> recently, I read the same passage in the NIV, and was surprised to find this translation of the same verse: "But Samuel said [to Agag], 'As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.' And Samuel <i>put Agag to death</i> before the Lord at Gilgal." (1 Samuel 16.33, NIV, emphasis added) <br />
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You'll notice that the description of Agag's death in the NIV is much more sanitized and palatable. It's a lot easier to read that someone was "put to death" rather than "hacked to pieces." <br />
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The most literal translation of the original Hebrew follows more closely with the ESV rendering of "hacked to pieces." Why then does the NIV translate the same verse as Agag simply being "put to death"? Clearly this rendering takes our modern sensibilities into account. We don't like to hear about a human being having been "hacked to pieces." It's easier and less messy and creates fewer questions to hear about them being simply "put to death." <br />
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But as difficult as it is for us to read, I think we need to retain the language of Agag being hacked to pieces. Is it brutal? Yes. Is it graphically violent? Yes. Does it illicit reactions of shock and disgust? Yes.<br />
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And that's the point. <br />
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We bristle when we think that God told Saul to wipe out the Amalekites completely, man, woman, child, and animal (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+samuel+15&version=NIV" target="_blank">1 Samuel 15.3</a>). We put up our defenses, based mostly on our 21st century sensibilities, and we accuse God of over-reacting. Certainly it's not necessary to kill every<i>one</i> and every<i>thing</i> in the nation of Amalek, is it? Even the children? Even the animals? What did they do?<br />
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Not long after being released from slavery in Egypt, and right after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites (Exodus 17). And not only that, but when the Amalekites attacked, they purposely attacked the weakest people in Israel: the women, children, elderly, and ill (Deuteronomy 25). Like a schoolyard bully picks out the weakest kid on the playground to pick on him, knowing that he won't fight back, so the Amalekites chose the weak, under-nourished, untrained Israelites to pick on right after leaving 400 years of slavery. As a result, God declares holy war upon the Amalekites and promises their destruction (See Exodus 17.14 and Deuteronomy 25.19). <br />
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By the time of King Saul, the Amalekites had continued to be a thorn in Israel's side for centuries, and, put simply, their cup of wrath had filled up to the brim. God was merciful to not destroy them outright at the very beginning. Instead he was patient and long-suffering, giving them hundreds of years to repent and turn to him, but they never did. So now the time has come for their sin to be dealt with. And the means of dealing with them that God has chosen is to send in Saul and the Israelites to utterly wipe them out - man, woman, child, and beast. <br />
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This is why, I think, it is important to know that Agag, king of the Amalekites was "hacked to pieces" and not simply "put to death." God cannot allow sin to go unpunished, and his punishment must be severe - severe enough to satisfy the justice of a perfectly holy, perfectly righteous God. What does <i>that</i> kind of justice look like? It looks like the total decimation of the Amalekites, and the hacking to pieces of their king. God's justice is more than just a "put to death" kind of justice. It's a "hacked to pieces" kind of justice. Although it might seem harsh and brutal to us, it is just. It is a picture of how grievous sin is to a holy God, and how desperate our need is to be made right with him. <br />
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But in actuality, the destruction of the Amalekites and the grisly death of their king is but a shadow of the divine justice of God. It is nothing compared to his wrath upon sin that will be poured out for all eternity in hell. As severe as the punishment of the Amalekites was, and as much as we recoil in horror at the thought of Agag being hacked to pieces, both of these pale in comparison to God's eternal vengeance toward sin, in a place where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched (Mark 9.48). <br />
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I don't say these things for their shock value, but rather to magnify the glory of the cross. Because you and I are just like the Amalekites. We have spurned God at every possible opportunity, and we deserve the same fate as the Amalekites and that of King Agag. Actually, if we're honest, we deserve worse. <br />
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But God did the unfathomable: he sent his Son into the world to suffer that fate for you. Jesus Christ willingly offered himself to be decimated and "hacked to pieces" in my place, himself suffering the eternal vengeance of a holy God on my behalf. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2.4-7).<br />
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This is why I appreciate the ESV translation of 1 Samuel 15.33, hard as it might be to digest. When the consequences of sin are magnified (like being hacked to pieces), the glorious grace of God in the gospel is likewise magnified. <br />
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Time had run out for the Amalekites. Their cup of wrath was full and it was time for justice to be served. But there is still time for you. You don't have to share their fate. You don't have to live in the fear and regret of offending a holy God, because that same God sacrificed his Son to save you from destruction if you will call out to him. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-62451944004370386542019-02-10T23:17:00.001-06:002019-02-10T23:17:10.475-06:00Hour of Power<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was a kid I remember watching a television program called "The Hour of Power." It was a religious broadcast of the services from the Crystal Cathedral, pastored by Robert Schuller, and for a time was the most watched church service in the world. The show usually consisted of a testimony of some well know professed Christian, a special music number, and a brief meditation by Schuller. In time, Schuller went off the theological rails, embracing a form of universalism, and the Crystal Cathedral closed in 2010, about five years before Schuller died. <br />
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While Schuller's ministry and the Crystal Cathedral eventually met their demise, the title of the television broadcast is worth considering. The "Hour of Power" referred to the length of the church service at the Cathedral, and it seems to me that an "hour or power" is a powerfully accurate way to describe what happens on Sunday mornings at Bible believing churches all around the world. I'd refer to Riverview's service as an "hour of power," but our services usually last about 75 minutes, and "An Hour and Fifteen Minutes of Power" just isn't as catchy. <br />
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Nevertheless, I would argue that perhaps the greatest act of power that a Christian can enact is simply to attend a worship service at a local church on a regular basis. There is unquantifiable power that is part of a church service, and Christians can tap into that power every time they gather for worship. <br />
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Just consider all that takes place within a worship service: dozens, scores, and even hundreds of voices unite in song, declaring truths about who God is and what he has done. These truths serve to bind up the broken-hearted, give confidence and courage to those who are weak, drive out fear, and inspire hope. <br />
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Moreover, when churches come together in prayer those same dozens and hundreds unite their hearts in petitioning the Lord of the universe, who answers them when they call. Indeed, cities, nations, and the hearts of rulers are changed and affected by the joined prayers of God's people in worship. Consider that: God's people have more power in prayer than do the mightiest of rulers. <br />
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When we read the word of God together, we remember his mighty works, the wonders he has performed, and the miracles he has done. And we remember that God has promised that same power is available to those who believer. <br />
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When the word of God is preached it does not return void. That is, it accomplishes all that God purposes to accomplish through it, either to soften hearts to his truth, or to harden them. Either way, the word of God is powerful, and when it is declared faithfully, authoritatively, and prophetically it likewise has the power to build up, tear down, transform stony hearts into hearts of flesh, and make the dead come alive. <br />
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When we gather around the communion table, we "declare the Lord's death until he comes." This, too, is an act of great power. Participation in communion is described by Paul as equivalent to a declaration of what Jesus has done. And not only that, but also a declaration of what he will do (when he comes). It is a symbolic and powerful act that declares the power of Christ in conquering death and sin and providing victory over the same through his death and resurrection. When we proclaim the Lord's death, we are literally tapping into resurrection power. <br />
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Furthermore, when we gather together as a community, we have the power to encourage one another, to provide divine support, confession, service, correction, and to intercede for one another through prayer. All of this comes from spiritual power provided by God. Were it not for him, we would have no such power to minister to one another. <br />
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But there's more. In fact, the church itself is a sign of the power that is ours. The church is a band of disparate sinners who have all rallied under the banner of Christ. This is no small feat, considering the multitude of differences that exist between us, and that would otherwise serve to divide us. But in Christ, we have the power to overcome those differences and unite under our common allegiance to our Savior. Through Christ we have the power to overlook our differences (or, probably more accurately, to see our differences for what they are in light of our unity in Christ). Our unity in Christ is an action of God-fueled power. <br />
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And we are also empowered to serve God and one another through the miraculous, supernatural gifts given to us by the Spirit of God. All believers, regardless of their "natural" abilities, have been given supernatural gifts by God for the benefit of serving the church and reaching out t the world. These gifts are not common, but are Spirit-empowered. When we use the gifts God has given to us through his Spirit, we are enacting a great amount of divine power. <br />
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Too often we think of attending church as something rather common, or perhaps more unfortunately, something that has become rote, or that we take for granted. May it never be! Instead, going to church to gather with the body of Christ is a supernatural act of power. May we see it as such, and may we tap into this unending source of power. But in order to do so, you have to actually go to church. Better yet, you should join a church - better even still, become a member at Riverview! The local church is the context that God has chosen to display his miracle working power. Come, and be a part of it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-48952485859394938142019-01-28T17:04:00.001-06:002019-01-28T17:04:42.258-06:00No God But One: A Short Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"The secret things belong to the Lord our God." So says Deuteronomy 29.29. The Apostle Paul agrees: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" <br />
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When it comes to the life and death of author and speaker Nabeel Qureshi, these are the only truths I can cling to when I try to understand why the Lord allowed him to die of stomach cancer in 2017. By all accounts, Nabeel was poised to continue a dynamic gospel ministry to even larger platforms, reaching more people, and preaching the gospel to those who need to hear it. An accomplished apologist and communicator, Qureshi's writing and speaking were persuasive and powerful. It seemed to me that he was just beginning his rise to prominence and exposure, so that he could have the greatest impact for the kingdom. So why would God see fit to end his life at the age of 35? <br />
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<i>"The secret things belong to the Lord our God." </i><br />
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Without a doubt, the process of Nabeel's death was a testimony to the goodness of God. Throughout his dying process, Nabeel created multiple videos where he talked about faith, life, and death. His grim prognosis gave him a unique perspective by which he could talk about significant spiritual and eternal issues to a large audience. You should take the time to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCepxnLs6GWAxAyI8m2U9s7A" target="_blank">watch some of his videos</a>. <br />
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A couple of years ago I read Nabeel's first book, "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" which told the story of his conversion from Islam to Christianity, and I was entirely enraptured by the book. It was fascinating to read of his Muslim upbringing to the relationships he made with Christians that challenged his views, and whom God used to ultimately bring Nabeel to saving faith in Christ. Throughout that book, Nabeel made passing comments about Muslim objections to Christian doctrine and briefly explained the intellectual process of first attempting to defend the Muslim faith, to ultimately conceding that it could not answer his questions in the way that Christianity could. If you have not read this book, <a href="https://joeldetlefsen.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-books.html" target="_blank">I highly recommend</a> it to you. <br />
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This year I read Nabeel's second book, "No God But One" and was once again blessed by his thought, passion, ability, heart for the lost, and love for the gospel. The difference between the two books is that "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" is more of a biographical book about Nabeel, where as "No God But One" is an overarching defense of the Christian faith with some biographical bits scattered throughout.<br />
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"No God But One" is superficially billed as a defense of the Christian faith against the Islamic objections to it. It is that, to be sure, but it is also so much more. Rather, the strength of this book rests in Qureshi's ability to ask life's biggest questions and then to answer them from both the Muslim and Christian perspectives. Having been a devout Muslim for the first 20+ years of his life, and a Christian until the time of his death, Nabeel is uniquely qualified to answer the questions from both perspectives (not to mention, he's no intellectual slouch, holding multiple degrees in multiple fields of study). And his manner of writing is down to earth, accessible, and inherently readable and accessible to all. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to you. You will be blessed by it. Here are some things you will gain if you read "No God But One":<br />
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1. You will better know how to defend your Christian faith and answer life's biggest questions. As stated previously, the strength of this book is not so much a defense of the Christian faith as much as it is a training manual on how to answer the big questions. Throughout this process, Nabeel examines what he calls the "positive evidence" and the "negative evidence" for the answer to those questions given by both Christianity and Islam. For example, what is the "positive evidence" that Mohammed was the messenger of Allah? What is the "negative evidence" for such a claim? What is the positive and negative evidence that Jesus existed and that he died on the cross and rose again? Can those claims coexist? <br />
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2. You will know why your Muslim neighbors believe what they do about God, Jesus, and the Bible. From the Muslim perspective there is quite a bit of overlap between Christianity and Islam. For example, Muslims regard Christ as a great messenger of God, and the Bible as a message from God. Why do they believe these things and yet not see Christ as Messiah? Why do they not believe that Jesus died on the cross? Why do they not believe in a triune God? As a former Muslim, Qureshi has particular insight into why Muslims believe what they do about Christianity. This knowledge can help you gain a sympathy and love for your Muslim neighbors as you seek to share the gospel with them. <br />
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3. You will learn more about Muslim culture. In his discussion of Mohammed, Nabeel makes several connections between Muslim theology and Muslim culture. For example, why do Muslims find it offensive to depict Mohammed in cartoons? Nabeel explains the theological and cultural connections that create this offense. Because of many cultural difference between Muslims and Christians, the thought of engaging Muslims in spiritual dialogue can be somewhat overwhelming for many Christians (including myself). This book will help you see these details and know how to navigate them. If the thought of engaging your Muslim neighbor in conversation about spiritual things makes you nervous, you need to read this book. <br />
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4. You will increase your burden for the lost, especially for Muslims. And that is always a good thing. Nabeel's heart bleeds with a desire for lost people to come to know Jesus. When you read his passion, you will find yourself sharing in it. <br />
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5. You will discover what it looks like to lose the whole world and gain your soul. In Christianity, we often flippantly talk about disciples of Jesus leaving everything to follow him. Muslims like Nabeel (and a few others he mentions in the book) know exactly what it means to leave everything to follow Jesus because they actually did. Conversion to Christianity in the Muslim culture is not taken lightly. The testimony of these fellow believers will serve to strengthen you in your faith and firm up your resolution to boldly follow Christ. <br />
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6. You will increase your love of the gospel and your desire to share it with others. Nabeel does an excellent job of presenting and defending the gospel message in relevant ways. I came away from this book with a greater appreciation for God's saving work in the gospel. If a book can do that for you, it's worth a read. <br />
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There are numerous other positive elements to Nabeel's writing and thinking that would take too much room to list. The only negative aspect of Quereshi's story and writing, in my opinion, is the weight that he gives to revelatory dreams. That is, he believes that God can and does speak to people through dreams. Indeed, Nabeel himself would attribute the determining factor of his conversion to a series of dreams he had in which God appeared to him. I do not believe that such a thing is impossible, but rather the notion of God communicating with individuals through dreams is one that can get out of hand quickly, so when we declare that God has spoken through a dream, we should do so slowly, and with much thought before hand. To his credit, I believe Nabeel does this. <br />
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As an added bonus, I recommend that you consider "reading" this book as an audiobook (as I did). The book is read by the author, and he does a wonderful job of narrating his writing. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-78775015920811212962019-01-22T16:04:00.000-06:002019-01-22T16:04:50.635-06:00The Definition of Manliness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this month the American Psychological Association (APA) <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/01/10/american-psychological-association-traditional-masculinity-harmful/2538520002/" target="_blank">came out denouncing</a> "traditional masculinity" which it defines as "a particular constellation of standards that have held sway over large segments of the population, including: anti-femininity, achievement, eschewal of the appearance of weakness, and adventure, risk, and violence." This kind of masculinity, the APA has said, is "harmful." Even more recently, Gillette released an online advertisement that eschews several masculine traits and behaviors, seemingly in line with the APA's definition of "traditional masculinity." The Gilette ad generated quite a bit of backlash, and there have been at least two very good biblical responses to the content and message of the ad, and I commend them both to you (<a href="https://www.christiandailyreporter.com/news/dear-gillette.html" target="_blank">this one</a>, and <a href="https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/grooming-the-next-generation" target="_blank">this one</a>).<br />
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More and more frequently, it seems, our culture is generating new definitions for words and ideas that, heretofore, have been affixed in their meaning and commonly embraced by our society. The most significant example I can think of has been the redefinition of words like "marriage," and "love," and "man," and "woman." These words have been redefined within our society in order to accommodate the political and personal persuasions of cultural elites and vocal protestors, and now the same thing is being done to the concept of masculinity. The understanding of what is (or is not) masculine, and whether or not those traits and characteristics are either harmful or beneficial is only the most recent concept in our society to be judged by cultural elites as wanting, and quickly redefined. <br />
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Leaving that discussion aside for a moment, hopefully we can all agree that the definition for "traditional masculinity" generated by the APA is almost laughably absurd. As <a href="https://www.christiandailyreporter.com/news/dear-gillette.html" target="_blank">Adam Ford has pointed out</a>, who among us is not thankful for the for the risk, achievement, and spirit of adventure that led us to send men to the moon? And is there anyone among us who is not glad that brave men used violence to overthrow Nazi Germany? Does not the APA believe that a man's willingness to use violence to overthrow evil represent a good and positive thing, rather than "harmful, traditional masculinity?" I, for one, was glad that when I was a child, I could count on my dad to "eschew the appearance of weakness" when faced with trials. Once, when I was eight or nine years old, an intruder attempted to break into my family's house in the middle of the night. But before he could do so, he was confronted by "traditional masculinity": the physical presence of my dad, placing himself between the intruder and his family, willing to do whatever he had to in order to protect and preserve them. I thank God for my dad's "traditional masculinity." <br />
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Similarly, just a couple of nights ago, around 10:00 PM, my wife called for me to come upstairs. Our daughter had a bad dream and my wife said she needed a "Dad Hug." I came upstairs to find my daughter sitting up in bed with a worried and scared look on her face. I sat down and asked her what was the problem, and she told me about her dream. She dreamt that there was someone who was breaking into our house with an intention to hurt her. After hearing about the dream I did my best to calm and encourage her. I told her that it was just a dream, and dreams aren't real. But even if there were someone trying to break into our house, it was my job, both as her father and as the "man of the house," to do everything in my power to protect her (and her mother and brother) from anyone who might wish to do her harm, and that, under my protection, she need not fear intruders. According to the APA's definition, my assurances given to my daughter that I would deal with any threats to her wellbeing exhibit at least three, and perhaps four, characteristics of this "traditional" and "harmful" masculinity.<br />
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The APA has answered that, of course they don't mean that <i>all</i> forms of adventure, or achievement, or risk are inherently harmful masculine traits - just the ones that are taken to an extreme. But what do the "extreme" versions of these traits look like? And who gets to decide which masculine traits are harmful and which aren't? And therein lies the problem with redefining words and ideas in order to fit the cultural persuasions of the times: all of these definitions (such as this new definition of traditional masculinity) are utterly subjective, and are only based on the preferences of the elites who are self-appointed to make such definitions. The APA has appointed themselves the arbiters of the definition of masculinity, and have implied condemnation for all forms of masculinity that don't fall within their approved parameters. <br />
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We need better definitions, and I don't mean definitions that fit more in line with <i>my</i> preferences over and against the preferences of our culture or of the APA. After all, <i>my </i>preferences are just as affected by sin as those of the larger culture. Rather, we need <i>objective</i> definitions of words and ideas. Thankfully, we have them. The Bible shows us what masculinity looks like, and it doesn't change with the times or at the whim of cultural elites. <br />
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The Bible tells us what a real man is, what he does, the kind of character he exhibits, how he acts, how he talks, how he treats women, how he relates to his kids, how he works, and so on. Rather than try to formulate a new definition for masculinity that complies with our day and age, we would be wise to learn, study, and master the definition that God provided millennia ago.<br />
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This is not to say that the APA is entirely wrong in its evaluation of "traditional masculinity." Indeed, many forms of "traditional" (read: cultural) masculinity <i>are</i> abhorrent and should be admonished. Certainly men <i>should</i> treat women well, measure their actions against potential consequences, admit their weaknesses, be satisfied in an honest day's work, and restrain their propensity towards violence. But the reason for this is not because <i>I or anyone else</i> happen to think so, but because the Bible has spoken clearly. These are all traits that the Bible has commanded and commended for millennia. <br />
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And we should also be <a href="https://world.wng.org/2019/01/grasping_at_manhood" target="_blank">quick to affirm</a> that the Bible teaches that human masculinity is fallen; that is, it has been corrupted by sin, and as such, needs to be redeemed. The Bible has much to say about "harmful masculinity" and it only takes a brief look through its pages to find a myriad of examples. There are indeed sinful aspects to fallen masculinity. But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Rather, let us preach the gospel so that men - and their masculinity - can be redeemed through by the power of the Holy Spirit and be transformed into men that will follow the example of Jesus and lay down their lives for others daily through service and love. <br />
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The same is true of femininity. Our culture has much to say about what femininity is and isn't. To give weight to such definitions is just as effective as chasing after the wind because the definition will likely change in the near future. Women, like men, need an objective and eternal standard of womanhood. We don't need new definitions that are based on a self-appointed elitist's fallen moral preferences. Instead of listening to cultural definitions of important ideas, Christians should return to their Bibles. God has already told us what a man should be. That was enough for Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul, and it is enough for me and for my son. Let's not train up our sons to be men of the APA, but men of God according to his word. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-73652722099649309532019-01-08T13:35:00.000-06:002019-01-08T13:35:14.847-06:00Praying SMART Prayers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been thinking a lot about prayer in this new year. Like most Christians, I have a desire to pray more, and to pray better. Prayer is a struggle for a lot of Christians. We find it difficult to find the time to pray intentionally, and then when we do have the time, we don't know what to pray about or what to pray for. Prayer is a struggle, but then again that's kind of the point. Prayer is an act of dependence. <br />
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Throughout my study of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+samuel+1.1-2.11&version=ESV" target="_blank">1 Samuel 1.1-2.11</a> and seeing <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2019/1/7/pouring-out-my-soul-before-the-lord" target="_blank">how Hannah "poured out her soul" in prayer</a>, I've been thinking a lot about how I can pray better. Not that some prayers have more value than others, but I want to be more intentional about my praying, and more intentional about watching God answer my prayers and work in my life according to what I've been praying about. <br />
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This made me think about SMART goals. I first learned about SMART goals in college. It's a time management and organizational tool that can be used to help you stay focused on tasks and to set realistic expectations for yourself in school, work, business, or really for any part of life. The word "SMART" is an acronym that stands for "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound." As I've thought about it, these are also great guides for us in prayer. <br />
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<b>1. Pray </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Specifically.</i> Too often, I think, I find myself praying about broad, nebulous ideas rather than for specific things. Perhaps we think that we can just take a shortcut and ask God for the big picture and assume the specific details will all be worked out. This is certainly true, but I think the more specifically we pray, the more we will be aware of God's work in our lives. For example, I might pray that God would give me a general spirit of trust, but not that God would help me trust him for something specific. Or that God would provide for my needs, but I rarely bring to him a specific need. This year I'm going to try to pray more specifically, for the little things, the details. That way, when I see God answer my specific prayers, I can glorify him all the more for his provision.<br />
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<b>2. Pray for results that are M</b><i style="font-weight: bold;">easurable</i>. This is not to say that we should put God to the test, such as saying, "Give me this, or else..." but rather that if we are able to measurably observe God's working in our lives, we'll be all the more aware of what he is doing and glorify and praise him better. This is a big one for me. Too often I take God's work in my life for granted, or I don't pray specifically enough to even have measurable results to see him working! The more we pray specifically, the more we can observably see what God is doing and "measure" his activity in our lives in response to our prayers. <br />
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<b>3. Pray for things that are </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Achievable.</i> This is the fun one, because there is literally nothing that isn't achievable for God. He is able to do for more than we could ever ask or think. Too often, though, I get caught up in the realm of the possible and my prayers are limited by my puny, temporal existence. I need to start praying for things that are <i>achievable</i>, which is anything I can think of. <br />
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<b>4. Pray for things that are </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Relevant</i>. When I look at the content of many of my prayers, it seems that my focus is mostly in the here and now, the immediate need, or the physical circumstances rather than the spiritual side of things. For instance, as a pastor, many people ask me to pray for their various physical needs: health, finances, job interviews, etc., and to the best of my ability, I do offer up their needs to God in prayer. However, I think sometimes we get so caught up in the immediacy of our physical needs that we fail to address the very real and relevant spiritual aspect of our needs. Although our physical needs are important and relevant to our everyday lives, certainly our spiritual needs are even more relevant. When I pray for the sick, I want to pray for their healing and simultaneously for their even more relevant provision: that they would lean into God and his provision, care, and comfort, during their time of illness. <br />
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<b>5. Pray with a sense of <i>Time</i> in mind.</b> I believe it is biblically sound and spiritually healthy to ask God to respond to our prayers within a certain window of time, or perhaps stated more bluntly, with a deadline attached. Not that we are forcing God's hand or demanding that he operate on our time schedule, but as a sign that we are faithfully anticipating his provision. Indeed, God works according to his will and in his perfect timing - not ours. But this is similar to praying specifically: if we ask God to respond to a certain request within a certain period of time, we will be more sensitive to his working in our lives, because we can see him answering specifically within the time frame we allotted in prayer. Again, we should not be surprised or disturbed when God answers our prayers according to his timeframe rather than ours. Either way, we should glorify God for his provision. But when appropriate, ask God to answer your prayers with a certain time in mind. Perhaps you have a more general, less immediate need you're praying about. Ask God to give it to you in 2019. Perhaps you have an immediate need. Ask God to respond this month, this week - today, even. And when he answers according to what you have requested, glorify him for his faithfulness. <br />
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In all of this, I don't intend that we should pray for anything we want. As Christians, our goal is to pray within the will of God, revealed through his word. And in doing so, he has promised to give us anything we ask (John 14.13-14). May we ask effectively, pray well, deepen our dependence, and believe our good and gracious Father who gives good gifts. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-36679691633939247822018-12-17T16:01:00.000-06:002018-12-21T07:53:45.739-06:00The Greatest Miracle in the Bible<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What is the greatest miracle recorded in the pages of scripture? Certainly there are many from which to choose. Depending on how you define what is or isn't a miracle, the Bible records more than 100 miracles performed by a small number of individuals, each of them displaying the glory of God to varying degrees. <br />
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Is it possible to classify or rank the miracles of the Bible? Perhaps we could classify them by their perceived greatness, or the effort that it took to perform a particular miracle, or by the number of people affected by the miracle. Is the parting of the Red Sea a greater miracle than Elisha parting the Jordan River, since the sea was bigger than the river? Is Jesus' greatest miracle the feeding of the 5,000 because it affected so many people at one time? <br />
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If we define a miracle as a supernatural action or indecent that is unexplainable by natural processes, then it seems to me that one of, if not the greatest miracles of the Bible must be when the sun stood still in the sky, recorded in Joshua 10. Joshua and the Israelites are in pursuit of their enemies, but once darkness falls they will be significantly inhibited from routing them entirely. So Joshua prays that the sun would stand still in the sky, creating continuous daylight so that Israel can hunt down and destroy her enemies completely. And it does. The sun stands still in the sky! Of course, we know that the sun did not stand still in the sky, but rather that the earth ceased its spinning for a period of time. Imagine that: the earth stood still. <br />
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When we think about miracles as enlighten human beings, we want answers. We want to be able to explain these unexplainable phenomena. For instance, one scientist has attempted to show how the 10 plagues of Egypt could have been caused by global warming. Many have attempted to do something similar in the case of the sun standing still by showing how, scientifically speaking, the earth could not possibly have stopped spinning without devastating and catastrophic consequences. After all, the earth weighs 1000 trillion tons. How can that much rock and water simply stop or slow down without falling apart? What about life on earth? How could it survive if the earth stoped spinning? What about gravitational forces? The moon? There are serious scientific objections to the assertion that the earth miraculously stopped spinning. <br />
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In response to these objections, an 18th century Anglican minister named Bishop Watson said, "The machine of the universe is in the hand of God; he can stop the motion of any part, or of the whole, with less trouble than any of us can stop a watch." In other words, of God is the Creator of the universe, and if he is sovereign over the universe, the notion that God either stopped or slowed the spinning of the earth in order to aid in Joshua's military actions is not only reasonable, but very believable. Regardless, the halting of the earth's rotation at the request of Joshua must certainly be one of the greatest miracles of the Bible.<br />
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But it is not <i>the</i> greatest miracle, not by any measure. There is one greater, although we don't usually think of it as a miracle. The greatest miracle of the Bible must be the incarnation: God becoming man. The incarnation is not just <i>a</i> miracle, but the miracle of miracles. Because unlike the sun standing still in the sky, or the sick being healed, or even the dead being raised, there is no scientific theory or assertion that we can use to begin to explain how it happened. <br />
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Is it possible to make a square circle? Of course not. The question poses a logical impossibility, so the very notion of a square circle is nonsensical. Yet that is similar to the incarnation. Not that the incarnation is nonsense, but that it is beyond the ability of our minds to comprehend. We cannot conceive of the infinite, let alone the infinite becoming finite. How does the one who holds the stars in the palm of his hand, and who uses the earth as his footstool fit in the crook of his mother's arm? How does the eternal God become bound by time in a human body that ages? How does the one who created all plants and animals for food need to be fed? How does spirit become flesh? How do the invisible hands that created all life and matter become the flesh and blood hands nailed to the cross - the very wood and metal he himself created, nailed there by the very life he created? <br />
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These are questions that we can't even begin to answer. They remain mysterious to us, so far above our capacity to understand that we can but wonder at the glory and power at work in the birth of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. Just try to think about it for a few minutes, and then take a rest when your brain starts to hurt!<br />
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As you contemplate this greatest miracle of history this Christmas, allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the glory and power that God that was at work when God the Son became a human being. And allow yourself to be overcome by the reality that God worked this miracle <i>for you</i>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-382559842576508912018-11-06T15:49:00.001-06:002018-11-06T16:05:41.257-06:00Did Jesus Go To Hell? <b>Tricky Bits</b><br />
When my kids were young, they watched the wonderful "What's in the Bible?" series created by Phil Vischer. One of the segments that was featured in the show was called "Tricky Bits with Buck Denver." Buck Denver was one of the puppets on the show and he would explain some of the harder parts of the Bible to understand.<br />
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The book of 1 Peter has several "tricky bits." In fact, in my estimation, there aren't too many other books of the New Testament with <i>more</i> tricky bits than Peter's first letter. It's ironic that Peter describes Paul's writings as "<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+peter+3.16&version=ESV" target="_blank">hard to understand</a>" when, in my opinion, Peter is easily more confusing than Paul!<br />
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There are two "tricky bits" in just three verses of 1 Peter 3 that have confused Christians for centuries, and have even been used as a justification for division between Christian denominations (just Google "Did Jesus go to hell?" and you will find dozens of answers and explanations!). The goal of this post, and the following post, will be to try to give an explanation for these tricky bits. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJowqlQB_JYXtl13v5ngksoSQF9LYoHxoSbPPoE_I0TtNBR-ssFm8pFvqNG9gt9NbUVWoeFLE4-4AQUxNWU032tYTULwiLYX2C3g63Aeqa57sQlrKAijsgu6e8U76wxcUqIpuTg2Yw3E/s1600/260353-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJowqlQB_JYXtl13v5ngksoSQF9LYoHxoSbPPoE_I0TtNBR-ssFm8pFvqNG9gt9NbUVWoeFLE4-4AQUxNWU032tYTULwiLYX2C3g63Aeqa57sQlrKAijsgu6e8U76wxcUqIpuTg2Yw3E/s200/260353-003.jpg" width="200" /></a>The first tricky bit from 1 Peter 3 comes in verses 18-19: "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison..." These verses make it sound as though after his death, Jesus went somewhere - a "prison" - and spent at least a bit of time preaching to people who were incarcerated in such a prison. In the very next chapter, Peter also says that the gospel is preached to those who are dead. Could this mean after his death, Jesus preached the gospel to dead souls presently in hell? Seemingly in support of this notion, Paul says in Ephesians 4.9 that Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth."<br />
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These passages and one or two others have led some to believe that, after his death, Jesus spent at least some time in hell, doing <i>something,</i> although what exactly it was he was doing is still up for debate. This idea became so prevalent that even the Apostle's Creed, embraced and recited in churches around the world, says, "...he was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell..." <br />
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So did Jesus go to hell and do something during the three days when he was "dead?" That's definitely a "tricky bit," and we'll try to answer that question now, although it should be noted that the answer I'm going to give is my own, based on my personal study, and is by no means definitive or authoritative. You are free to disagree. Just make sure that scripture carries your thinking. Also, note that this is far from a comprehensive study. I'm only addressing the two sections of 1 Peter that speak to this question. <br />
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First, let's be clear that the Bible never explicitly teaches that Jesus went "to hell." It might appear to imply or suggest it here and there, but it is never explicitly said. </div>
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Second, there are words used in the verses noted above that are frequently used in a variety of ways in scripture. Knowing how those words are translated and understood in the context of the passages they are in will determine our interpretation of these verses and help us to answer the question. <br />
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That being said, no, I don't believe Jesus ever went to hell. Let's look at the two verses we've already noted. <br />
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<b>1 Peter 3.18-19</b> - In these verses Peter notes Christ's death and resurrection, and seems to imply that in the interim he went and preached to "the spirits in prison." In order to understand this verse, we need to know what Peter means by the words "spirits" and "prison." It seems unlikely that the "spirits" mentioned in this verse refers to disembodied souls in hell, or even in a "place of the dead" such as the oft-mentioned Sheol, because of what verse 20 says: "...because they formerly did not obey..." The idea of there being a second chance to hear and believe the gospel after death is contrary to every other teaching of scripture (see, for instance, Luke 16.19-31). Scripture is clear that the time that we have to hear and respond to the gospel is the time between our natural birth and natural death. The Bible never tells us that there is a second chance to hear and believe the gospel. If this is what Jesus did for spirits that were imprisoned in hell, it would be in contradiction with the rest of scripture. <br />
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Rather, because of Peter's comparison of what Jesus did to what Noah did, it seems more likely that the "spirits in prison" refer to human beings alive at the time of Peter's writing. The Bible describes Noah as a preacher of righteousness who preached God's judgment and salvation. Noah's audience were "spirits in prison" (of sin) who "did not obey." Jesus similarly came to preach God's judgment and salvation to "spirits in prison" who "did not obey" (us). And Just as Noah was saved from God's judgment by the ark, we are saved from God's judgment by the Ark of God's Son. Peter's readers were to see themselves as the people to whom Noah went and preached, and to see the ark that rescued Noah as the Ark that rescued them. <br />
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<b>1 Peter 4.6 - </b>In the next chapter, Peter says, "For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does." Many have understood this to mean that Jesus traveled to hell to preach the gospel to its dead inhabitants. Here again, we need to know what Peter means by the word "dead." The Bible frequently refers to human beings as "dead" even though they are very much alive. The implication is that the word "dead" describes their spiritual condition. For example, Ephesians 2.1 describes unregenerate human beings as being "dead in...trespasses and sins..." Paul clearly doesn't mean that we were dead and in hell in trespasses and sins, and we know that because he goes on to say that God made us spiritually alive. So it is unlikely that when Peter says that "the gospel was preached even to those who are dead" that he is referring to actual dead people who are in hell. Rather, it seems much more likely that Peter is referring to the dead spiritual condition of those to whom the gospel has been preached. <br />
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It is also possible that Peter is merely referring to a temporal distinction between those who are alive presently, and those who were alive in the past but are now dead. The previous verses indicate that God is the judge of "the living an the dead." The "living" certainly can hear the gospel presently, but the dead cannot. That is why "the gospel was preached even to those who are dead," meaning that, when they were alive, the gospel was preached to them, but now they are dead an cannot hear the gospel. It's just a temporal indication, not meaning that they were preached to <i>while</i> physically dead. <br />
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<b>Does it really matter if Jesus went to hell or not? </b><br />
It is possible for Christians with differing opinions on this question to have unity with one another. We need not separate ourselves over whether or not we believe that Jesus went to hell between his death and resurrection. In fact, those who argue that Jesus <i>did </i> go to hell have wonderful an gospel-affirming reasons for doing so. It is my opinion, however, that the Bible simply does not support Jesus going to hell during the time of his death. <br />
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Apart from that, we can be encouraged that Jesus experienced everything that we have or will experience - including death. And, like him, at our time of death, we will leave our bodies and join him in paradise, absent from the body but present with the Lord. As Jesus cried out on the cross: "It is finished!" There is no need for us to fear death or hell. We can live in confidence that he has paid the price for our salvation in full, and we can live each one of our days with confidence in his victory over death. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-27559677592528446982018-08-27T13:51:00.002-05:002018-08-27T13:51:58.045-05:00My BiblesAbout a month ago my wife and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. It has been my practice to follow the "traditional" anniversary gifts for my gifts to her. This means that for our 15th anniversary I got her a crystal vase with our names engraved into it. It was very nice, if I do say so myself. <br />
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But then, on the way to meet her at the restaurant to celebrate, I dropped the vase on the concrete sidewalk and it broke into a million pieces. So much for that. <br />
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My anniversary gift for my wife didn't work out, but she got me a gift too: a new Bible. It's a compact, yet large print, ESV Bible with my wife's nickname for me ("Hubbz") imprinted in gold on the front cover. I was excited to receive it, and immediately moved my previous "go-to" Bible from its spot on my desk to a retirement position on my bookshelf. It had gotten worn out over the past 10 years or so that I've had it, and it was time for a new one anyway. <br />
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That got me to thinking about the Bibles I've owned through different seasons of my life, all of which I still have in my possession. Each one of those Bibles tells a story about my life at the time I was using it. <br />
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The first Bible I ever <i>wanted</i> for myself was a King James Version. For some reason I don't recall, my friend and I were fascinated with the old-times feel of King James english so I asked my mom to get me a copy, and she did. I was probably about 12 years old at the time. It was a large print King James, with the words of Christ in red (which I don't recommend). At the time I got this Bible, I wasn't a Christian, and the King James english proved to be more challenging than I thought it would be. This Bible is still in great shape because it was almost never read. <br />
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The second Bible I remember having was given to me at some point in time when I was a teenager. I don't remember who or why it was given to me, but it was. This one was a NIV Student Bible. Inside of this Bible are little explanatory notes that help the reader understand the context of scripture. This is a special Bible to me. In high school, I used to bring this Bible with me to school and place it on the top of the chest-high lockers in the school and read it before class started in the mornings. As you can see from the picture, there are plenty of teenage indicators on the Bible: stickers, duct tape, and <i>lots</i> of highlighting and underlining and drawings in the margins (I don't highlight or underline anything in my Bibles anymore - you can, but it's not something that helps me). This Bible is also special to me because it is the Bible I used when I read the Bible from cover to cover for the first time in my life. According to a note I put in the margin, I finished my first read-through on August 4, 2002. This Bible - by far - is the most-used one I've ever owned. It went with me through my teenage years and also through college, and its pages are stuffed with notes, cards, and other mementos from that time in my life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhowvOVZTZ1cvNv_7lmmoSdWmkjSwGxxEXIZBDS7f5Jd5kKn9fWrA3Df0Tz-9hCMEZsiX4x0di-V4OgRUMV9PwIctI-Yw1HnDkGMxCXHhS3i4N381pg1-K9OKxD0842pj4b3pGxorSzkI/s1600/Slide3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhowvOVZTZ1cvNv_7lmmoSdWmkjSwGxxEXIZBDS7f5Jd5kKn9fWrA3Df0Tz-9hCMEZsiX4x0di-V4OgRUMV9PwIctI-Yw1HnDkGMxCXHhS3i4N381pg1-K9OKxD0842pj4b3pGxorSzkI/s200/Slide3.jpeg" width="200" /></a>After I got married, I bought my next Bible: a New King James Version of the John MacArthur Study Bible. This Bible got me through my first years of vocational ministry, and helped me immensely as a budding preacher in his mid-twenties. MacArthur's commentary is wonderful, and the New King James translation is solid. One of the significant factors of this Bible was the price tag, a hefty $70.00, which was a big deal for a newly married couple. I remember that when I got home with it, I plopped into a hammock we had hanging outside and began to read. These days the cover is frayed and torn a bit, and the bookmark was somehow cut off, but overall, it's still in good shape. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfzElK0XphaK4ue2bB3c7oQzffXOG80S6AIicO-HNe1Sj1aNUIzfte2YfwBfVqzlfdRpqy3s9vS9tT9FLaac2jC0ZWhwgVxQwvUiI8yXXzA4ldqZ2DhxQ2D6nTG0E4GGo5qSO7lU-87w/s1600/Slide4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfzElK0XphaK4ue2bB3c7oQzffXOG80S6AIicO-HNe1Sj1aNUIzfte2YfwBfVqzlfdRpqy3s9vS9tT9FLaac2jC0ZWhwgVxQwvUiI8yXXzA4ldqZ2DhxQ2D6nTG0E4GGo5qSO7lU-87w/s200/Slide4.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
My next regular Bible is the one that I've just retired. I've been using it regularly for about 10 years or so. This is the Bible that could tell the most stories about ministry. It's been to hospital rooms, to the bedside of the sick and dying, in broken homes, and and through many counseling sessions. As I said earlier, I don't like to write in my Bibles, but this Bible has some writing in it. But the writing all has to do with counseling sessions I've used it in. If there is something underlined or written in it, it was done in order to show someone else what it was saying. One of my favorite things about this Bible is the single-column text, which seems to be a rarity in Bibles these days. I really love having the text in a single column for some reason. I think it makes it easier to read. There are some torn pages, and as you can see in the picture, the cover is well worn. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizY7ODkYJeRYu2sTyaNS7NUZHmVCjtHOr_PY3663QIvHYhRfggl1xmeS2zSObna89mtfZBtQao13hsBk-ASKaf6sVaQ55mPbBgIpzUAOfdk7ACYEMN7W7w-hsG3ptnOSHfRY0PwrRWxBg/s1600/Slide5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizY7ODkYJeRYu2sTyaNS7NUZHmVCjtHOr_PY3663QIvHYhRfggl1xmeS2zSObna89mtfZBtQao13hsBk-ASKaf6sVaQ55mPbBgIpzUAOfdk7ACYEMN7W7w-hsG3ptnOSHfRY0PwrRWxBg/s200/Slide5.jpeg" width="200" /></a>Finally, here's the new Bible my wife got me as an anniversary present. Who knows where I'll go with it, or where <i>it</i> will take <i>me.</i> Just as God used and directed my use of his word in throughout the seasons of my life, I know that he will do so again as I look to the future of studying and applying his word. Truly, there is no greater gift than a new Bible. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-83296569112607674902018-08-21T14:05:00.001-05:002018-08-21T14:07:54.525-05:00The Healing Power of LamentIt's hard for us to admit that things aren't going well in our lives. When we see a friend or neighbor, they ask, "How's it going?" and we instinctively answer "Great!" without giving it a moment's thought, even if things in our lives aren't actually that great. There's an unspoken cultural pressure for us to put on a front that our lives are happy, successful, and fun. <br />
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But often that's just not the case. <br />
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One of the common themes we see throughout the pages of scripture is that of lament. A lament is an emotional and visceral response to the often sad state of reality in our lives. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, dozens of them are classified as "lament psalms," in which the author of the psalm mourns the ever present reality of living in a fallen world where difficult things happen. The author asks big questions, like "Why did this bad thing happen, God?" and "Do you even still love me? Do you care about me? Are you really watching over me? Because sometimes it doesn't seem like it." In our society (and especially in the church) there's an unspoken pressure to come off as a happy, successful, fulfilled person, in which there isn't much room for lament.<br />
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But the reality is that bad things <i>do</i> happen, and we <i>do</i> have big questions about life and God and how he orders things because, sometimes, it just seems unfair and even malicious. I was visited by a friend recently and he expressed to me that he was questioning God's love for him, because lately in his life, it sure didn't seem like God actually did love him. He had been through the wringer, to put it mildly, and he was lamenting his circumstances. He was lamenting that it seemed like God's love had been cut off from him, and that God's mercies weren't actually new every morning, as scripture says. It was a difficult conversation, but I was so glad that he felt able to come and express these feelings to me. Even though we all have questions and feelings like these, I think it's common for most of us to bottle them up and put on our happy face (especially when we go to church) and pretend that everything is great. Lament allows us to put down our guard, admit that the smile we put on when we come to church is phony, to be open and honest with each other and with God. <br />
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We need to make room in our Christian lives for lament, because when we lament we ask good and deep questions about God and life. Some people are afraid of asking those hard questions, because they feel that to ask them is to expose doubts in their hearts. But the writers of scripture knew that God was big enough to handle their questions, their complaints, and even their doubts, and so they laid them all before God. We should learn to do the same. And in the process, we will discover that lament can be a healthy and even healing thing in our lives because, when we ask deep questions, we find satisfying answers in God's word. <br />
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A year or so ago, my friend Pam died of cancer. She had been diagnosed a year previous, and went through the usual treatments and the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy. She was miserable. About a week before she passed away, she told me she had some questions for me and would like to talk, so I went to see her. As we talked, she very honestly lamented to me, "Why me? Why did God give me this cancer?" <br />
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Have you ever been asked that question? It's not an easy one to answer. <br />
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All I could do was reaffirm to her what scripture tells us: We don't know the exact reason why God does what he does, but the Bible tells us that he is wise, kind and good. It tells us that he watches over us, both in our best times and in our worst times. It tells us that he cares for us, and he uses all things - even cancer - to make us more like Jesus. <br />
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Pam rejoiced and found peace in this answer. To be clear, this wasn't <i>my</i> answer to her question, but it was the answer that God gives us through his word. And in this answer, Pam found her hope. She had lamented that it seemed that God was far from her, but in turning to scripture she could stand firm on the truth, even in the face of death. We ended our visit together by singing her favorite worship song, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=936BapRFHaQ" target="_blank">He Will Hold Me Fast</a>," which she sang loudly and with a newfound confidence in her God. A confidence which she may not have had, had she not brought before the Lord her lament. We need to make room in our Christian lives for this kind of lament because it can lead us to truth and healing. <br />
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My favorite biblical example of the healing power of lament is in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+77&version=NIV" target="_blank">Psalm 77</a>. The first nine verses of this psalm are the author's lament. In these verses he says things like, "I remembered you, God, and I groaned" (wow!), and "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?" and "Has God forgotten to be merciful?" Those are pretty serious complaints. Obviously the author of this psalm has been through something difficult, and he feels that God just simply doesn't care. And so he honestly, openly, offers his lament. <br />
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But the psalm doesn't end there. The psalmist's lament leads him to the healing truth of the testimony of what God has done. In response to the deep and significant questions the psalmist has about life and God, he turns to the record of the testimony of what God has done: "Then I thought, 'To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.' Your ways, God are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." <br />
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The answer to the psalmist's deep questions was the truth of God's word. The healing to his pain came in the knowledge of what God has said and done throughout history, and the faith that he would act again. <br />
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It's OK to be sad. It's OK to have questions. It's OK to be angry (as long as your anger doesn't lead you into sin). It's OK to lament. And not only is it OK, but it's a good and healthy Christian practice. So make room in your Christian life to lament. Maybe the next time someone asks you how you're doing, instead of the usual "Great!" answer you can lament, and use that as a way to be a witness of how God has been working in your life. Or maybe instead of wearing the typical "Perfect Christian Smile" the next time you go to church, share about the difficulties you've been struggling with. Lament. And be healed. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-59656456129102646712018-07-10T15:20:00.000-05:002018-07-10T15:22:40.990-05:00Top 10 List<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTFIqWziO6wdqWQ9i3gYZNVW9iaazfHAHsrdMlJApebO97zUaRad6SLDFINFWRcGk_brpSMEXPes-pVZo2P6m8jCoaOXosXawNnqd9NYYZs-jDfrVTePH1AgNulydY1GF6bFihfqkxtU/s1600/0071410603-01-1_20180630.jpgx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTFIqWziO6wdqWQ9i3gYZNVW9iaazfHAHsrdMlJApebO97zUaRad6SLDFINFWRcGk_brpSMEXPes-pVZo2P6m8jCoaOXosXawNnqd9NYYZs-jDfrVTePH1AgNulydY1GF6bFihfqkxtU/s1600/0071410603-01-1_20180630.jpgx.jpg" /></a>This morning I participated in the graveside service of a spiritual giant in my life. Virginia Ahlquist was a member at Riverview for decades and had a significant impact in my life. In fact, as I said at her funeral service, of all the people in my life who have had an impact on me spiritually, Virginia would be high on my top 10 list. No, we didn't have a special or even particularly close relationship, although I've known her all my life. And no, I can't point to one single event or or dramatic experience in which Virginia was the difference maker or proclaimed to me some deep spiritual revelation. Rather, it was in the ordinary ways that she served God that had such a monumental impact on my life and, I believe, my eternal destiny.<br />
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Although I grew up in the church and made a public profession of faith at the age of nine, I don't believe I actually came to genuine faith until later in my teenage years. I can't pinpoint the day or time of my conversion as some people can. Instead, I can point you to a season in my life in which I believe God saved me. It wasn't dramatic, and there weren't any bright lights or voices from heaven. It was a process over a long period of time. But that process actually began much earlier in my life. <br />
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I grew up at Riverview, and as such, I still go to church with people who taught my Sunday School classes when I was a child. Virginia was one of those teachers - a fact that she reminded me of almost every week she was at church during my tenure as Senior Pastor. Each week I shake hands with people as they exited the sanctuary, and whenever it was Virginia's turn to shake hands, she'd do so, look at me, and say, "My little first grader!" She said this because I was one of her first grade Sunday School students (or maybe it was kindergarten - or both! I don't recall). I think it was special for her to see one of her old Sunday School students serve as the pastor of her church, and it was special to me to serve one of my old Sunday School teachers from 30 years ago. <br />
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And that's mostly it. Like I said, Virginia's influence in my life - from an outsider's perspective - would have seemed rather minimal. Sure, she was my Sunday School teacher as a child, but we never had an exceptionally close relationship. The reason I mark her as having such a monumental impact on my spiritual life is that it was the biblical foundation laid by her and others when I was young that God ultimately used to bring me to faith.<br />
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Even though I grew up in the church, I was rebellious, and I was really good at hiding it. I'd put on one face for church, and another face for other interactions. Most people thought I was a good kid, and I suppose that by some metrics I was. But I, like most, had periods of deep rebellion. And regardless of how things looked on the outside, on the inside I was lost. I was at enmity with God. I was bound for hell.<br />
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But in the midst of rebellious activity that I set my hand to before my conversion, there was always an inner voice that was appealing to the biblical foundation that had been laid in my childhood. The Spirit used what so many faithful volunteers and teachers had put into my mind to convict me that what I was doing was wrong, that I knew better, and most importantly, I knew the truth: that I needed a Savior who could save me from my sin. When I eventually listened to that conviction and began to act upon it, it was the biblical foundation that Virginia and others had laid that God used to bring me to salvation. Where would I be had Virginia not invested in teaching me the foundations of the Christian faith so many years ago? God only knows.<br />
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For this reason, I rank Virginia rather highly on my top 10 list of people who have had a significant spiritual impact on my life. I'm sure that when Virginia said "Yes" to being a volunteer first grade Sunday School teacher, she probably had no conception of the monumental and eternity altering impact it would have on the young children she would be teaching. Rather, she probably thought that it was something simple that she could do to use her time and talents to serve the Lord and glorify God. But that's the point: God takes our simple acts of obedience (like teaching first grade Sunday School) and magnifies them into salvation-building events that change the course of eternity. I praise God for the life and ministry of Virginia Ahlquist. We don't often think of first grade Sunday School teachers as being world-changers, but Virginia certainly was. <br />
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The testimony of Virginia's simple acts of obedience provide all of us with a wonderful example to follow. God doesn't need us to be dynamic preachers, to have international appeal or reach, to have limitless funding for ministry initiatives, or anything else. All he needs is for us to say "Yes" when he calls us to do something. The reality is that God probably <i>won't</i> call you to some dynamic international preaching ministry that will affect the hearts of millions. But God probably <i>will</i> call you to do something small, something simple, and something ordinary. And if you will say "Yes," to that small thing, God can and will do amazing things with your willingness to obey. <br />
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In what small way could God use <i>your</i> obedience to potentially change the eternity of someone else? Maybe, like Virginia, you could teach a Sunday School class. Providentially, Virginia's husband, Al, who passed away several years ago, also occupies a spot on my top 10 list. He was never a Sunday School teacher of mine, but when I was a teenager he offered to simply hang out with a group of boys from our youth group once a week during the school year. Those times spent with him were deeply impactful to me. And all we did was hang out. <br />
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I don't know if I'm on anyone's top 10 list the way that Virginia is on mine. I hope I am, but not for any vainglorious reason. Rather, I want to be found faithful in the little things. I want to be used by God to be a part of his eternity-shaping work in this world. I know that I serve a great and powerful God who can do remarkable things with my ordinary obedience. My prayer is that God would lead each of us to say "Yes" to the simple and ordinary acts of obedience. If we do that, God can use us to change the world. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-71883716227329242052018-07-02T16:39:00.000-05:002018-07-02T16:39:37.428-05:00But Ruth Clung to HerJuly 26, 2018 will mark the fifteenth anniversary of the wedding between my wife and I. Time seems to move faster as it goes on, I think, and it is remarkable to me that fifteen years will have gone by so quickly. In just a few short years, I will have spent more of life with my wife than without her. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbX5vQPnlJ1VZCq4jspPqKtC-_Qgjc6JUtGuxAwTS41Uz1OQsKGEMFPczX0ATKtuD0C0fhJCKD2mb_oJs7Fk8BLeJRhlPvlMhxntnuLlR1FIIPS5WkG7uscsc2abZnGVx8dzRV7WHAq-c/s1600/Digging+Deeper+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbX5vQPnlJ1VZCq4jspPqKtC-_Qgjc6JUtGuxAwTS41Uz1OQsKGEMFPczX0ATKtuD0C0fhJCKD2mb_oJs7Fk8BLeJRhlPvlMhxntnuLlR1FIIPS5WkG7uscsc2abZnGVx8dzRV7WHAq-c/s320/Digging+Deeper+2.jpg" width="320" /></a>The vows that my wife and I chose for our wedding ceremony came from Ruth 1.16-17, which I just preached on this past Sunday: "...where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me if anything but death separates you and me." As he was reciting these vows for my wife and I to repeat, my father-in-law (who performed the ceremony) had a slip of the tongue and said, "Where you die I will die, and there I will be <i>married" </i>instead of <i>"buried."</i> Everyone had a good laugh. I think every wedding ceremony needs a slip-up or two to remind us that nothing is perfect. <br />
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As I prepared to preach this text this past week, I read K. Lawson Younger Jr.'s commentary on Ruth. Toward the end of his comments on chapter 1, he has a section that argues that the use of Ruth 1.16-17 as wedding vows is a misuse of this text, as the circumstances between Ruth's commitment to Naomi are completely different than those between a husband and wife. Having read Younger's argument (and perhaps, much to the chagrin of my wife!), I am inclined to agree with his assessment. The context of Ruth 1.16-17 is not at all similar to that of a marriage covenant between a man and a woman. Moreover, it would be downright wrong for a person to commit to another that "your God will be my God," as though he or she would follow the lead of one spouse from god to god! That being said, I <i>do</i> believe that the commitment of Ruth to Naomi is one that is admirable and which all husbands and wives should seek to emulate toward their spouses. <br />
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The broader context of the story of Ruth helps to illustrate this. Naomi (Ruth's mother-in-law) saw herself as a marked woman, a target for the displeasure of God. After all, her husband and both of her adult sons had died, leaving her a destitute woman. As such a woman in a patriarchal society, Naomi had no prospects of joining the work force and providing for herself. There was a very real danger of her facing death by starvation. At best, she could be a beggar who subsisted on the leavings of and charity of others. Needless to say, the outlook on her life was grim to say the least.<br />
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This is why Naomi encouraged her daughters-in-law (Ruth and Orpah) to go back to their hometowns, remarry, and live happy lives. If they were to stay with Naomi, they would share a similar fate of destitution and even potentially death by starvation. "And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her" (Ruth 1.14). <br />
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At her mother-in-law's insistence, Orpah takes off with a kiss goodbye. But Ruth "clings" to Naomi. What is pictured by these words is an embrace - an extended and passionate hug. But there is much more that is going on. By "clinging" to Naomi, Ruth is throwing in her lot with Naomi to the extent that they will share a common destiny, a common fate. Whatever happens to Naomi will happen to Ruth; however Naomi suffers, Ruth will suffer; wherever Naomi goes, Ruth will go; wherever Naomi dies, that is where Ruth will die. <br />
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Just think about what Ruth was willingly accepting by "clinging" to Naomi: Naomi was too old to remarry, but Ruth wasn't. By clinging to Naomi, Ruth was willfully giving up the prospect of remarrying and having children (note: this wasn't ultimately the case for Ruth, however - read Ruth 4!). <br />
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By clinging to Naomi, Ruth was giving up her cultural and social identity and taking on a new one: that of a destitute widow. <br />
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By clinging to Naomi, Ruth was accepting the fate of Naomi: most likely death by starvation. <br />
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By clinging to Naomi, Ruth's identity was wrapped up in Naomi's. Whatever happened to Naomi would happen to Ruth. If one suffered, they both suffered; if one rejoiced, they both rejoiced. <br />
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Compare Ruth's commitment to Naomi to the sentiment communicated by traditional vows that are used in wedding ceremonies: "I take you to be my husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in scenes and in heath, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." They sound pretty similar to me. <br />
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I imagine that Ruth wasn't excited about the prospect of becoming a destitute widow who faced starvation - especially when she had the opportunity to go back to her homeland, remarry, and live happily ever after - but that's what she chose to do. Why? Because she was clinging to Naomi. I'm sure she also wasn't excited about moving from her homeland to go to Naomi's homeland where Ruth would be a foreigner. <br />
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What it meant for Ruth to "cling" to Naomi is exactly what it means for us to "cling" to our spouses: to take on a common destiny or fate. To stand by each other regardless of the circumstances we face individually or as a couple. Sometimes one spouse does something that creates difficulty and tension for the other spouse, or in the marriage, or even in the family in general. And the results can be miserable: discontentedness, strife, emotional distress, and so on. But still, we cling. We have intertwined our fates together, our individual destinies have become one destiny together. "Where you go, I will go; how you suffer, I will suffer; where you die, I will die." Sometimes clinging to a spouse isn't very fun or enjoyable - indeed, sometimes it's downright miserable. But still we cling.<br />
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It's important to note that this type of clinging in marriage doesn't give one spouse license to run roughshod over the other spouse, or to be intentionally harmful, manipulative, or abusive. It's not as though one spouse can behave terribly and demand allegiance from the other spouse under the guise of clinging to one another. This would be to completely misunderstand Ruth's commitment to Naomi. <br />
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Although Ruth's exact words to Naomi may not be appropriate to recite during a wedding ceremony, the principle behind her words are exactly the kind of commitment that husbands and wives should endeavor to display in their marriages. Be like Ruth, and cling. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-20561469870470014662018-06-04T14:12:00.000-05:002018-06-04T14:23:06.103-05:00And Also Much CattleAlthough the book of Jonah is known primarily for its fantastic tale of a rebellious prophet who is swallowed by a fish, it has another distinction that it shares with only two other books of the Bible. This distinction is that the book ends with a question. Only the books of Nahum and Jeremiah also end with open-ended questions. <br />
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Not only that, the specific question that concludes the book of Jonah is kind of a strange one. God asks Jonah, "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" The confusing part of the question is the last four words: "and also much cattle." It makes sense that God would certainly care about and pity the great city of Nineveh and the 120,000 inhabitants that he had made in his own image. But why is God so concerned about the cattle? Does God want to save the cattle? Certainly cattle can't repent of their sin, nor do they have immortal souls to save. This is one of the few places in scripture where God is concerned with not just the human beings in the picture, but also animals. <br />
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This question - and particularly God's regard for cattle - has puzzled Bible scholars for some time. But I don't think this verse is too tricky to understand when we consider the scope of the plan of redemption that God has in mind for the world - including cattle. God's rescue plan includes not just people, but also the world which he has made, including everything in it and on it. God is in the process of redeeming the world, including cattle!<br />
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A year or two after my wife and I were married we adopted a stray kitten that a neighbor friend had found. It was just a tiny little thing that was discovered sleeping on the engine block of a car, huddled up for warmth during the winter. We took this kitten in and named her Martha. We still have her, but she has gotten old, and you can start to tell her age. She's moving slowly, she has a bit of a limp, and she's becoming thin. It's becoming more and more apparent that she probably doesn't have a lot of time left. <br />
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Does God care about my cat's life? Much to the chagrin of dog lovers, the answer is, "Yes!" Cats - and all animals, all living things - die because we live in a fallen world were sin affects every living thing. God did not create cats to get old and thin, and to limp and die. God created all things good and perfect, and he is int he process of redeeming the world to recreate it the way that it was. <br />
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So does God care about the cattle in Nineveh? You better believe he does. Not because he's a member of PETA or because he's a vegetarian, but because God created cattle to be good - not to die under his judgment. And God is redeeming the world because he cares about all of his creation. <br />
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<i>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory fo the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together int he pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.</i><br />
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God is in the process of redeeming <i>the world and everything in it:</i> cats, dogs, cattle, the ground, human beings, etc. The heart of God is to redeem the world, including cattle - and cats! As his people, we long fo the day when we will experience the redemption of our bodies and of this world, and we will live forever with our cats. <br />
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And all of God's cat-lovers said, "Amen!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-55805940887717279542018-05-28T11:39:00.000-05:002018-05-28T11:39:04.306-05:00RememberingToday is Memorial Day. Memorial Day was originally intended to honor soldiers of the Civil War who died in combat, and was first observed on May 30th, 1868. Observance of Memorial Day gradually caught on throughout the country and every state was celebrating it by the end of World War I, in honor of all soldiers who had given their lives in war. We celebrate Memorial Day to honor the dead, those who sacrificed their lives in war to ensure our freedom and liberty. Memorial Day is a day of remembe<br />
ring. <br />
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But we are not to remember for remembering's sake. There is to be a purpose in our remembering. Remembering the sacrifice of those who have died for our freedom would be worthless if it did not change our thinking and living in the present. As we remember those who died, we remember them in gratefulness for their sacrifice, and so that we might be changed by our remembering. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIjTHvyj5WwEHRZKKdD4pOlnzA675HGfFVR2jBfFrr1EJi2DvusNJ2d4xbSN9X0VZonL6RUQNFyo4n2_c3ifxaakqu4RzW3UMeLZsN2wF2WFgHJKzCOSRGGZMWAuDY1xUyhaTUtaLv2w/s1600/fe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIjTHvyj5WwEHRZKKdD4pOlnzA675HGfFVR2jBfFrr1EJi2DvusNJ2d4xbSN9X0VZonL6RUQNFyo4n2_c3ifxaakqu4RzW3UMeLZsN2wF2WFgHJKzCOSRGGZMWAuDY1xUyhaTUtaLv2w/s320/fe.jpg" width="320" /></a>Memorials point us to God. Throughout scripture, certain monuments, historical events, songs, or histories served to remind the people of the greatness of God. God commanded his people to remember not specific people, places, or events primarily, but that they should instead remember the God who orchestrated the events, used the people, and created the spaces. The Bible teaches us that memorials exist to remind us of the God who is working in the world. Even days like our American celebration of Memorial Day serve to point us to the God who uses people for his purposes in the world. God has used people in our nation's history to accomplish his purposes. And as we remember <i>them</i> we must remember <i>him</i>. "Remember the Lord your God." This was the command to God's people throughout scripture, and it is the command to us this day. <br />
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The Bible is replete with memorials that are designed to cause God's people to remember (Exodus 12.11-14, Leviticus 2.16, Acts 10.4, Joshua 4.1-7, Luke 22.14-21, 1 Corinthians 11.23-26). But why are they to remember? God does not tell his people to remember for the sake of remembering, or for the sake of living in the past, or even for the sake of honoring a memory. Nor does he tell his people to remember as a sentimental or nostalgic notion. Rather, God tells his people to remember the past in order to affect the present. Remembering the past is worthless if it does nothing to affect the present. <br />
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In Psalm 78 we read about the Ephraimites who, on the day of battle, turned back in fear and timidity. The author of Psalm 78 directly connects their retreat to having forgotten the works of God (Psalm 78.9-16). God had proven himself to the Ephraimites throughout history, and he commanded them to remember his works. But they forgot his works and they wonders he had shown them. And so, on the day of battle, they turned back, running away and forgetting that God is a God who works in the world. The purpose of remember the past is to affect the present. If we will not remember, we will not trust in God or in his power. <br />
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In Psalm 77, a man named Asaph sits alone in the middle of the night, feeling as though his life were pressing in on him. His depression was deep; his suffering was profound; nothing in his life was going right, and it felt as though God had left him. So he said to himself, "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" (Psalm 77.7-9) To Asaph, it seemed as though the good ness of God was gone. What could he do to convince himself that God truly cared? What could he do to assure himself that God was present with him in his suffering? What would lift his spirits? <i>Remembering</i>. Considering the memorials of the Lord. <br />
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"Then Asaph said, 'I will appeal to this to the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.'"<br />
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The remedy for Asaph's depression and suffering was <i>remembering.</i> Its was in remembering the works of the Lord that Asaph knew that the goodness of God had not ceased. It was in remembering the works of the Lord that Asaph knew that God had not left him. It was in remembering the works of the Lord that Asaph knew that God would act again on his behalf. It was in remembering the God who works wonders and who has made known his might among the peoples that this God would work wonders yet again, and make his might known among the peoples once more. <i>It is through remembering the past that God's people draw strength for the present.</i><br />
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In his letter to the Romans, Paul declares that the cross of Christ is the ultimate memorial that should speak to us of what God will do in the future. He says, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8.32) The cross of Christ is a memorial. It speaks of the greatness of a God who created the world and its inhabitants, and who loved them and desired to show his glory among them. But they rebelled against him. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1). This rebellion separated them from God and made them worthy of the just and holy judgment of God. But in his mercy, God desired to save his creation for his own glory. So he sent his Son. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21). <br />
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And now, Paul says, "Look at that cross! Look at the Son of God who died there and remember the love of God for you. God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. That cross is a memorial of his great love and mercy. And since he has given us the gift of greatest price - that of his only Son - know this: he will graciously give us all things! IN all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. As you look to the future, look back to that memorial cross and know that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present northings to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from then love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."<br />
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The cross is the ultimate memorial that points to God's continued faithfulness. <br />
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As you celebrate Memorial day, remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. And remember the God who works in the world, who has shown his power through his mighty works, and who has made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of all those who will trust in him. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-50879097614001110312018-04-23T15:27:00.001-05:002018-04-23T15:27:42.404-05:00Come Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night I logged onto Netflix and immediately saw a new release to the streaming service - a movie called "Come Sunday." I watched the trailer for the movie and was intrigued. It's a true story about a Pentecostal minister named Carlton Pearson who eventually adopted a universalistic theological stance and was subsequently excommunicated from his church and denomination. I clicked "Play" and found the movie engaging and intriguing. Although Pearson eventually comes to adopt what I would consider to be an unorthodox and heretical theology, I thought it was a good movie and one that is worthy of being watched. In fact, I would recommend that parents of high school-aged children watch the movie and work together to think biblically about how Pearson comes to his conclusions <i>outside of</i> the guidance of the Bible and <i>against</i> the counsel of close and trusted godly friends. If anything, the movie is a fantastic example of how man's wisdom fails and the wisdom of God as found in his word holds true. (Note: the movie contains a couple of "mild" swear words and some discussion of homosexuality).<br />
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Pearson starts out as an orthodox Pentecostal minister who consistently and persuasively preaches the biblical gospel to his church and to all those who will hear. As time goes on, however, he becomes increasingly disturbed by the plight of Africans - particularly Rwandans - who are dying as a result of war and atrocity. He cannot bring himself to understand how God - a loving God - would condemn to hell those who have not heard the gospel due to no fault of their own, and who are condemned to perish forever in hell simply because they were unfortunate enough to be born in a country where Christianity is not prevalent, and ruthless violence is a regular part of life and death. Pearson is torn by what the Bible teaches about the punishment of hell for unbelievers, and the plight of his unevangelized fellow human beings. <br />
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Later, Pearson tells his church that he has had a direct revelation from God - hearing a voice "as clear as my own" - that those who die without ever hearing the gospel are already saved and in heaven. In short, Pearson adopts a universalistic soteriology, meaning that he believes that all people will be saved, regardless of their knowledge or belief. When members of his church - including trusted friends - push back against his newfound universalism, Pearson clings to the personal revelation he received as his reason for not being willing to recant. After all, why would God have told him that all people would be saved if it weren't true? Even when encouraged to consider the possibility that the devil told him this, and not God, Pearson balks, and holds that his personal revelation is from God and is true. <br />
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The rest of the film deals with the consequences of Pearson's new beliefs (such as losing his church, his excommunication, strained family relationships, etc.). The movie is superbly acted, especially by its star (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was heretofore unknown to me, and is entertaining and engaging to the end. I especially appreciated how the movie was fair and balanced to the different stripes of Christian belief that were present. In other words, none of the characters were made to seem as Bible-thumping crazy religious people, even though they held very different views. Additionally, the movie's treatment of homosexuality was good and balanced. It's refreshing to watch a movie with religious themes that doesn't make you feel like your beliefs are getting picked on. <br />
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Although the movie is indeed entertaining and engaging, it is worth noting that the primary issue that it raises (Pearson's struggle over how God can allow people to go to hell who have never heard the name of Jesus, and his eventual embrace of universalism) is not new, nor is he the first to succumb to its draw. This is a question that honest believers have wrestled with - and provided solid, biblical answers to - for centuries. In fact, one of the characters in the movie (Pearson's closest friend and advisor, Henry) gives Pearson a solid biblical answer to his questions. He says that everyone has exposure to God, regardless of their geographical location or cultural eccentricities (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1.19-20&version=ESV" target="_blank">Romans 1.19-20</a>) according to what has been made (creation), and are therefore responsible to seek him. Indeed, even God's invisible attributes are made known to all people. Those who seek God according to his natural revelation will find him, as Henry says, "...through a missionary, or through a dream or a vision." This answer, however - both generated from scripture and from the mouth of a wise and godly friend - is not enough to persuade Pearson. <br />
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Perhaps the biggest warning given by the movie to Bible-believing Christians is the danger of so-called personal revelation. After all, Pearson's persuasion to universalism is <i>primarily and almost completely</i> founded on "hearing God's voice." The foundation for Pearson's move to universalism is that he allegedly heard God speak to him and tell him that all people are saved. To be fair, Pearson does use <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+john+2.1-2&version=ESV" target="_blank">1 John 2.1-2</a> as a proof text for his newfound beliefs, but his argument from scripture for universalism takes a far back seat to the personal revelation he received from God (not to mention that 1 John 2.1-2 is not even close to teaching universal salvation, nor does the film portray Pearson dealing with the immensity of scripture that teaches individual salvation).<br />
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This is the danger of "hearing" from God outside of his word. We have no objective way of knowing that the voices, impulses, or feelings that come and go in our hearts and minds are from God, or are from the undigested bit of pepperoni pizza I ate last night. If we regard personal "revelation" and feelings from God to be authoritative in our lives, a large number of people would venture out on all sorts of crazy crusades. Indeed, a brief observation of history yields a myriad of examples of people who have done just that!<br />
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Instead, we must trust that God has spoken to us through his word, and that his communication to his people in these last days is limited <i>only</i> to his word. We know that God has spoken to us through the Bible; we are very much less certain about feelings and hearing voices in our heads. <br />
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Moreover, to suggest that in order to answer life's difficult questions we need personal revelation from God, the implication is that the Bible is not enough to answer those very same questions. Pearson had a very legitimate and honest question: "What happens to people who die who have never heard the name of Jesus? Will they go to hell?" To find answers to that question, he relied on a "voice from God." What Pearson apparently didn't know was that God has already answered this question with the voice of his word (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1.19-20&version=ESV" target="_blank">Romans 1.19-20</a>). If Pearson believed that he needed a personal revelation from God to answer his question, then he (either knowingly or unknowingly) implied that the Bible was not sufficient to answer his question. <br />
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Bible-believing Christians reject this notion. In his word, God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. If we were in need of additional revelation from God to be able to think, live, and answer difficult questions in life, then by necessity the Bible is insufficient. And, as Pearson's story so vividly and painfully illustrates, when we elevate personal revelation above the revelation of God in his word, we are very easily drawn away from the true and saving message of the gospel. <br />
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The Bible is enough. Know it. Love it. Live it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-8933821509630962102018-03-19T14:24:00.000-05:002018-03-19T14:33:05.127-05:00Not the Kind of King We Want<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaxttwL2qrPyVmDZbgURJTlolRNgwDhvSBM8pNdAh4bbQSj6dqupC0BhT3HEx1Qu09o2qIkxfpIx7HesE5UXv4yL_GZUKRF48b9SiJ8i3dnNrZu8ETQD9Gd8aubnMWHH4B6nU8yBXXug/s1600/King+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaxttwL2qrPyVmDZbgURJTlolRNgwDhvSBM8pNdAh4bbQSj6dqupC0BhT3HEx1Qu09o2qIkxfpIx7HesE5UXv4yL_GZUKRF48b9SiJ8i3dnNrZu8ETQD9Gd8aubnMWHH4B6nU8yBXXug/s320/King+2.jpg" width="320" /></a>This Sunday marks Palm Sunday, the day when the church remembers Jesus' triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. At Riverview, we mark this Sunday by singing triumphant hymns, and watching as cute preschoolers march down the center aisle, waiving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!" Additionally, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week - the final week of Jesus' life - when we remember his crucifixion, death, and subsequent resurrection. <br />
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But the celebration of Palm Sunday has often confused me, and still does. Aside from the fact that Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem fulfilled scripture (Zechariah 9.9, Psalm 118.25-26), and the fact that Israel's rightful king was entering into her capital city, I don't see much to celebrate. If anything, the "celebration" that took place on the original Palm Sunday only served to show that Jesus is the kind of king the people don't really want. <br />
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There has been some scholarly debate recently over whether or not the crowd who cried "Hosanna!" on the day of Jesus' entry was the same crowd that cried "Crucify him!" just a week later. <a href="https://www.challies.com/guest-bloggers/guest-blog-the-crowd-was-not-fickle/" target="_blank">John Ensor says</a> that the two crowds were distinct, and that those who welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday were not the same as those who called for his execution later in the week, whereas <a href="http://sbcvoices.com/did-the-crowds-really-turn-on-jesus/" target="_blank">Dave Miller thinks</a> the two groups were one in the same. <br />
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My opinion? It doesn't really matter. Regardless of which crowd you find yourself in - either the "Hosanna!" crowd, or the "Crucify!" crowd - when it all boils down, Jesus isn't the kind of king you want. <br />
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Obviously those in the "Crucify!" crowd didn't want Jesus to be their king. If they did, they certainly wouldn't be calling for his execution. But I would also argue that those who declared "Blessed is he who comes in name of the Lord!" also didn't really want Jesus to be their king. The reason for this is that Jesus wasn't the <i>kind</i> of king they wanted. <br />
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The people wanted a national king - a king who would re-establish Israel as a world-power; a king who would release them from he tyrannical grip of Rome; a king who would bring them peace and prosperity; a king who would assert their dominance as an international force to be reckoned with, like in the days of king David; a king that would rule over the nations, with Israel as its head. Israel wanted a king that would align himself with a predetermined political agenda. <i>That </i>is who they thought he was, and <i>that</i> is what they thought he would do, and <i>that</i> is why they shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"<br />
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Even Jesus' closest friends and followers - his disciples - were very confused on this issue. They thought that Jesus' kingdom would be an earthly one - one over which they would help him rule. This is why they asked to sit at his right and left hand when he came into his kingdom (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+10.37&version=ESV" target="_blank">Mark 10.37</a>). Presumably, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, his disciples probably thought that all they had imagined about his (supposedly earthly) kingdom was about to come true. And even when Jesus was about to ascend into heaven after his resurrection, his disciples thought that he was still going to establish an earthly kingdom (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+1.6&version=ESV" target="_blank">Acts 1.6</a>). Put simply, the crowds who shouted "Hosanna!" - and even the disciples - didn't know what kind of king Jesus was. <br />
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But they would learn, and quickly. Right after Jesus went into Jerusalem, he "cleansed" the temple by driving out all of the merchants and their wares, essentially condemning the corruption that had become a regular part of Jewish religious life. To drive the point home, he declared Jerusalem spiritually bankrupt and publicly condemned its religious leaders and teachers. <br />
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"Wait a minute," the people say, "maybe this guy isn't who we thought he was..."<br />
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Jesus didn't enter Jerusalem to establish a new or continuing earthly kingdom in Israel. He didn't come to defeat their enemies and set Israel up as a leader on the world stage. He wasn't the kind of king they wanted.<br />
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We want a king who will do what we tell him to do, not the other way around. Or, as my mentor Dave Wick used to say, "Most people want to serve God in an advisory capacity." That is, we're happy to shout "Hosanna!" as long as the king does what we want him to do. What we want is a king who thinks and does exactly like we do. We want to be our own king. <i>I am</i> the kind of king <i>I want.</i><br />
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But this is not the kind of king Jesus is. Jesus will not be forced into a political agenda; Jesus will not be subservient to your desire to obtain a prosperous life. Instead, Jesus is the kind of king who is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1. 15-20). <br />
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Is that the kind of king you want? Because that's the kind of king Jesus is, and that is what he came to do. <br />
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If we will know Jesus for who he truly is, then we will not set him up on some man-made pedestal that he was never meant to be on (as many of even his own followers did in the first century), and then become angry when he doesn't live up to our selfish expectations of him. Jesus came to fulfill <i>his</i> purposes, not <i>mine.</i><br />
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Palm Sunday is a time for us to know who Jesus is, in truth. It is a time for us to submit ourselves to Jesus' kingship, rule, and reign. It is a time to remember the kind of King he is, and to worship him in spirit and in truth. It is a time to remember that <i>my </i>own rulership of the world only leads to sin and sadness, and that his way leads to life. It is a time to submit my own will and desires to his sovereign rule. It is a time to repent of trying to force the will of God into my own agenda. It is a time to trust and rejoice in our good King. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-19259201688234706982018-03-12T15:53:00.001-05:002018-03-12T16:00:42.563-05:00What Does it Mean to Take the Bible Literally?<b>Living Biblically? </b><br />
Last night I watched the first two episodes of a new sitcom on CBS called "Living Biblically." The show tells the story of a man who recently lost a best friend to death, and who also recently received news that he and his wife were expecting their first child. As a result of these two significant life-changing experiences, he decides to make a change in his life, and that change is to take the Bible "literally," word for word, for at least the next nine months until his child is born. As you can probably guess, his commitment to the "literal" interpretation and application of the Bible leads to (supposedly) hilarious outcomes (although I watched the first two episodes and only snickered once). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZRuo2EMxq6RUscsFtg7PHz_ZgUhWIsYJGfzYTsuL2i50MvqJ90s5UTb14zCXsYmOBsyL3JUnOKkQY1jtwUciF7XoueD-uv-15SgLBsEKLkkbAu540au_8U906vGD52JV9pV5nnh72sw/s1600/MV5BNzI2OTA4MDcwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjE2NzU2NDM%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZRuo2EMxq6RUscsFtg7PHz_ZgUhWIsYJGfzYTsuL2i50MvqJ90s5UTb14zCXsYmOBsyL3JUnOKkQY1jtwUciF7XoueD-uv-15SgLBsEKLkkbAu540au_8U906vGD52JV9pV5nnh72sw/s200/MV5BNzI2OTA4MDcwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjE2NzU2NDM%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" width="135" /></a>But this isn't the first iteration of the culture's attempt to take the Bible literally. 10 years ago, author A.J. Jacobs wrote the book <i>The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible </i>to rave reviews among secularists and Christians alike. In the book, Jacobs describes what his life is like when he follows every command of the Bible to the letter. And just a few years ago, Rachel Held-Evans wrote <i>A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband 'Master'</i>, in which Held-Evans recounts her attempts to "literally" obey every biblical command directed toward women for the period of one year. As you might expect, both Jacobs and Held-Evans have plenty of interesting and strange stories about what it's like to follow Old Testament laws and commands in a 21st century world. <br />
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If nothing else, these cultural excursions into the realm of biblical Christianity have served to show that people are generally very confused about what it means to take the Bible "literally." The culture believes that taking the Bible literally means following each Old Testament command to the letter, and obeying every obscure Jewish ritual and tradition. For instance, one of the first changes the character Chip makes in his life in the show "Living Biblically" is to make sure that he only wears clothes that are made of a single type of fabric. After all, Leviticus 19.19 says "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material" (NIV). So if we take the Bible literally, we shouldn't mix fabrics, right? <br />
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Similarly, Christians are often maligned in the culture when they insist upon the Bible as an absolute source of moral authority. Christians are charged with inconsistency at best, and hypocrisy at worst because, after all, there are plenty of laws in the Bible about not eating shell fish, and we don't follow those. The accusation leveled against Christians is that we pick and choose which parts of the Bible we want to take "literally." <br />
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So what does it mean to take the Bible "literally?" According to the culture (and even to some within Christendom), it means to follow every jot and tittle of every command in the Bible, irrespective of when the command was given, why it was given, and to whom it was given. If the Bible says it, it must be obeyed, no matter what - shell fish, fabrics, and everything else. And that's what it means to take the Bible "literally."<br />
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Except, no. That's not it. Not even close. As with almost every attempt the culture makes to determine just what it is Christians believe about a particular doctrine, this one is a resounding swing and a miss. To take the Bible literally does <i>not</i> mean to follow it word for word, or to obey commandments that were given to a nomadic people group three thousand years ago as they wandered around in the wilderness.<br />
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Well then, what <i>does</i> it mean to take the Bible literally? <br />
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<b>First, it means to believe that God wrote the Bible. </b><br />
Taking the Bible literally means believing that it is actually inspired by God, and that the Bible contains God's message to human beings. The Bible is a revelation of God's character and nature (who he is and what he is like), and a message to human beings as to how we are to respond God's revelation of himself. What does he want from us? How are we to act towards him? Can we live in relationship with him? And if so, how? God himself tells us these things in the Bible. Did you catch that? <i>God himself</i> tells us these things in the Bible. The Bible was written by God - the Creator of the universe. If we are believing that the Creator of the universe communicated with us personally, we will be far less likely to treat the Bible flippantly or in some silly manner. The first step to taking the Bible literally is to believe the Creator of the universe wants to communicate with <i>you</i>, and he has done so through his word contained within the Bible. <br />
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<b>Second, it means to receive what God has said </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">in context.</i><br />
The Bible wasn't written <i>to</i> you and I - it was written <i>for</i> you and I. Over 70% of the Bible (the Old Testament) was written <i>to </i>the ancient Israelites who lived 3000 years ago in and around the nation of Israel as shepherds and farmers. Thus, the commands were given <i>to </i>them in their specific time, geographic location, cultural context, etc. It would be (and is) ridiculous to try to "literally" apply commands given to nomadic shepherds 3000 years ago to our modern day lives. <br />
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Put simply, there are a myriad of differences between us and the people to whom the Bible was written (time, culture, language, political, geographical, covenantal, etc.). It would be <b>ludicrous</b> to not recognize these differences as we seek to understand and apply the Bible in our lives today. However, this is exactly what A.J. Jacobs, Rachel Held-Evans, and the producers of "Living Biblically" are doing when they universally apply commands given to a specific people, in a specific geographic location, in a specific culture, etc. to our present circumstances. It's no wonder that several Old Testament laws seem foreign to me: I'm not a wilderness-wandering shepherd living in 3000 B.C. <br />
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In order to take the Bible literally, we must understand it in its historical and grammatical context. This means that in order to understand what God told his people, we first have to understand <i>them:</i> their history, their culture, their language, their socio-political circumstances, etc. God's commands to <i>them </i>will only make sense to <i>us</i> if we know who they were, how they thought, how they lived, etc. <br />
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This does not mean, however that because I am not a wilderness-wandering ancient Israelite that the Old Testament is obsolete or irrelevant to me as a 21st century American. Far from it! Remember, the whole Bible shows us God's character and nature. So although I don't apply the Old Testament purity and cleanliness laws (such as the laws regarding fabrics, shellfish, etc.), those laws tell me about a holy and righteous God who desires to live in relationship with his people. I don't apply the laws literally, but I apply the principles communicated by the laws when understood in context, literally. <br />
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Also, we need to realize that the Bible contains different genres of literature. This means that different parts of the Bible function differently from others. For example, history books tell an historical story. Poetry books contain poetry. You wouldn't read a poetry book to learn history, nor a history book to learn poetry. So then, we have to take the Bible "literally" according to the rules of interpreting literature. <br />
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<b>Case Study: Exodus 21.28-29</b><br />
Let's use an example to see how we can apply Old Testament commands literally. Exodus 21.28-29 says, "When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death." <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA4ExHEwx0m5FqdGHUmFXkcKm8fSgxjr5-Oa9Mm6POJTr2vyQzy_djReqt4YKVQ_gDKhHX9LDSBXqp9AvVW5kCh3UF8eFiX4nQVGoJ8xVn7pAxyY-zSjujF0HHPSW858bogoxalzfOI8/s1600/mPQvp6R.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA4ExHEwx0m5FqdGHUmFXkcKm8fSgxjr5-Oa9Mm6POJTr2vyQzy_djReqt4YKVQ_gDKhHX9LDSBXqp9AvVW5kCh3UF8eFiX4nQVGoJ8xVn7pAxyY-zSjujF0HHPSW858bogoxalzfOI8/s200/mPQvp6R.png" width="200" /></a>This law was given to a vagabond nation of wanderers about 3500 years ago. These people kept livestock as a regular part of everyday life, so God gave them rules and laws that would bring order to their society and help them to live in relationship with him. Then how can I - a 21st century urban American who does not own livestock - apply this command "literally?" By knowing the history of the people to whom the law was given, and the genre and grammar of the literature in which it was communicated. <br />
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According to our culture, in order to apply this command literally, I'd have to go out and buy some oxen and then make sure to keep them penned up securely. But to do so would be just as ridiculous as wearing clothes of the same material or swearing off shellfish. Instead, I can literally apply the <i>principles</i> of this command by interpreting what it is saying. For instance, from this command we learn at least three things about God: 1) Human life is valuable to God. God does not desire that men and women be killed by animals. 2) Personal responsibility is important to God. God expects people to act responsibly so as to minimize any potential threat to others or to the community. 3) Justice is important to God. In each scenario, punishment is meted out to fit the crime. <br />
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When we take this command literally, we don't go out and buy oxen and make sure to put up a sturdy fence around them, because this command was not given <i>to</i> us. Instead, we interpret the command, and apply the <i>principles </i>the command teaches to our lives literally. This means that we <i>literally</i> love and value life because God does; it means that we <i>literally</i> take responsibility for our actions for the betterment of ourselves and our communities; it means that we <i>literally</i> work and advocate for justice in our society. If we do these things, we will have obeyed the command to keep our rambunctious ox penned up, <i>literally.</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Note: for a great guide to how to read and apply the Bible literally in the ways briefly mentioned here, check out the book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Grasping-Gods-Word-Hands-Interpreting/dp/0310492572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520887531&sr=8-1&keywords=grasping+god%27s+word&dpID=51ULM8NajhL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch" target="_blank">Grasping God's Word</a></i> by Duvall and Hays. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-55410344805406267392018-03-05T13:58:00.000-06:002018-03-05T13:58:50.368-06:00Fighting Spiritual LazinessThis summer my family will be going to the North American Baptist Triennial Conference in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. It's a journey of more than 1,200 miles, and we're beginning to look into transportation options and costs. Like most people, I find the process of shopping for and booking travel accommodations to be a tedious and frustrating process. It's a pain to have to shop airlines, schedule departure and arrival dates, arrange rental cars, and everything else. In light of this frustration, I've decided that my family will travel to Canada this summer by bike. After all, each of us has a bike hanging on the wall in the garage. We won't have to navigate airline websites and arrange for rental cars if we all ride our bikes. All we have to do is take them off the wall and get going.<br />
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Obviously the above isn't true. We aren't going to ride our bikes to Canada this summer. But this is a great analogy for how Christians often treat their walk with Jesus: we neglect a source of immense power (an airplane) because it takes a little work to use it (booking travel), in favor of a more readily available, albeit much less powerful, way of doing things (a bike).<br />
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God has guaranteed that all those who belong to him will live in the power he provides through his Holy Spirit. The Bible says that the one who is in us is greater than the one that is in the world, and that by his power, we can overcome (1 John 4.4). Paul says that we are "more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8.37). The power of Christ has overcome the world (John 16.33), and Christians have access to that very same power. <br />
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If all of that is true, then why do I so often feel like a spiritual loser? Why do I so often feel spiritually beaten down, like a failure? Why do I find it so hard to forgive? Why is it such a challenge for me to love and honor my spouse? Why do I so easily lose my patience with my children? Shouldn't the power of God help me gain victory in those areas? <br />
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Yes, it can and it should. But it doesn't. <br />
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Why not? One of the primary reasons is that we are spiritually lazy. There is an ocean of divine power at our fingertips that Christians are able to access, but most of the time we don't put in the necessary time and effort to access it and gain the victory that we desire. We would rather just take the bike off the wall than go through the hassle of booking a flight on an airplane, even though we know full well that the airplane is more efficient and effective at meeting our needs. <br />
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In Mark 9, Jesus' disciples find themselves in an embarrassing situation: a father approaches them and asks them to heal his son who has been possessed by an unclean spirit. But try as they might, they are not able to exorcize the demon. This is awkward, because just a short time ago Jesus had given them authority over all demons (Luke 9.1). So then, why couldn't they drive out <i>this</i> demon? That's the question they want answered, so they ask Jesus, and his response is revealing: "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer" (Mark 9.29).<br />
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The disciples <i>did</i> have the power and authority to drive out this demon, but they failed to access the power. They opted for the bike instead of the airplane. Jesus says that this kind of demon could only be drive out by prayer, the implication being that the disciples <i>weren't</i> praying. Well, why weren't they praying? I'm suggesting to you it's because they were spiritually lazy. Prayer takes time, effort, and intentionality, and for some reason the disciples didn't put that time and effort and intentionality into their dealing with this demon. <br />
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Access to God's power takes time. It takes effort. It takes intentionality. Do you have a besetting sin that you struggle with, and you just can't seem to gain victory over it? Do you find it difficult to forgive? Do you find it hard to love and honor your spouse, or to be patient with your children? How much time have you spent in prayer about it? How much time have you spent studying the Bible about it? How much time have you spent talking to others about it and asking them for support and accountability? <br />
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If you haven't done any of these things, then don't expect to tap into divine power to help your areas of weakness. Spiritual laziness inhibits our access to God's power to transform our hearts, minds, and lives. Just like the disciples power over demons was directly connected to their willingness to spend intentional time in prayer, so is our power to see transformation in our lives connected to our willingness to spend intentional time in prayer, study, fellowship, and host of other resources God has given us to tap into his power. <br />
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And if you don't feel up to the task, that's alright. Neither did the disciples, and neither did most of the people Jesus came into contact with. Jesus is eager to help those who want to experience the power of God in their lives. He is eager to lend a hand to those who are spiritually lazy. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-28737199185978537162018-02-12T14:39:00.002-06:002018-02-12T14:42:26.343-06:00Questions and Answers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From time to time, something I say during a sermon generates questions from the congregation. This week's sermon produced several questions that I'd like to answer in this blog post. You can hear the sermon on <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+9.1-9&version=ESV" target="_blank">Luke 9.1-9</a> <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2018/2/12/proclaim-the-kingdom-of-god" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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<b>What is the "kingdom of God"? </b><br />
Throughout the gospels Jesus refers to the kingdom of God several times (more than 100 times, in fact). And in Luke 9.2 Jesus sends his 12 apostles out specifically to "declare the kingdom of God." Bible scholars have pondered the exact nature of what the kingdom of God actually refers to, and there are many nuanced interpretations that remain today. As I see it, the kingdom of God represents the new reality brought forth by Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus came to destroy the works father devil that first began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve fell into sin. He came to redeem people from the effects of living in that fallen world, and to usher in a new reality of atonement, forgiveness, and righteousness. Thus, when the 12 are sent out to "declare the kingdom of God," they are telling people that the destruction brought about by sin will be/has been remedied by the entrance of the Messiah onto the scene. Jesus has come, and he will right the wrongs caused by sin and build a new kingdom of righteousness. <br />
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This kingdom is partially realized when we put our trust in Christ. When we are saved from the consequences of sin and enter into the eternal life that God has prepared for those who trust in Christ, we become partakers (citizens) of this new kingdom. We no longer live in a world where the eternal effects of sin are hanging over our head. Instead, we live in a kingdom that is ruled by the righteousness of God in Christ, and we look forward to the full realization of that kingdom in this world when Jesus comes back. Until then, Jesus builds his kingdom in the hearts and lives of those who will be his subjects. <br />
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<b>Can we be witnesses for Jesus by how we live?</b><br />
Yes. The Bible clearly teaches that there is a marked difference between those who are living in the kingdom of God and those who are living outside of it (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+5.1-12&version=ESV" target="_blank">Matthew 5.1-12</a>, for example). And when the world sees us living as citizens of the kingdom of God, they take notice. They realize that we are different (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+5.13-16&version=ESV" target="_blank">Matthew 5.13-16</a>). Moreover, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+peter+3.1-2&version=ESV" target="_blank">1 Peter 3</a> says that wives are to win over their unbelieving husbands through their godly behavior. So according to these scriptures and many more, we can be faithful, obedient witnesses for Jesus by exhibiting godly behaviors, actions, and attitudes for the rest of the world to see.<br />
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But it is important to note that this is only one part of our witness and/or testimony about the truth of the gospel. The New Testament also clearly and explicitly says that faith comes by hearing, not by seeing. In order for the message of the gospel to be communicated, it must be spoken. After all, it would be difficult to "live out" the reality of the kingdom of God described above. What kind of actions would you perform to communicate that the Messiah has come to rescue fallen sinners? In order to communicate this message, we must speak. The fruit of transformed lives and hearts bears witness to the truth of the gospel, but it does not explain the gospel. In order to declare the gospel, we must speak.<br />
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<b>The disciples worked powerful miracles when they preached the gospel. Why don't we see those same kinds of miracles today? </b><br />
Luke 9.1 says that when Jesus sent the 12 out to declare the kingdom of God, he also gave them "power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases." The reason the disciples had this power was not to wow the crowds with their abilities or to perform magic tricks for entertainment purposes, but to act as signs about the truth of their message. Remember, they were sent to "declare the kingdom of God" - this new reality that was being ushered into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The proof of this new reality was that the disciples had authority over demons and the power to heal diseases. Jesus didn't give the disciples power for the sake of them being able to do cool miracles, but for the sake of authenticating their verbal message. <br />
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It is my belief that we don't see these kinds of miracles accompanying the declaration of the gospel today because we don't <i>need</i> to see them - we've seen them already. The authenticating signs and wonders performed by the apostles prove to us - just as much as it did to the people who saw them - that the new reality of the kingdom of God in the hearts and lives of people who follow Jesus is actual, and that it is true. To require additional signs and wonders on top of the ones already given to us as proof seems to me to be redundant. <br />
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That being said, the power of God is still evident in his word when it is declared and shared. It brings the power of conviction, repentance, faith, obedience, and a host of other actions that are simply impossible for sinful human beings to perform. We cannot respond to the truth of God's word without his power to strengthen us to turn from sin and believe. We cannot obey God's word without the power of his Holy Spirit to empower our obedience. We cannot join God in his mission to declare his kingdom without his power to energize our efforts and strengthen us to care for those who are perishing. God's word today brings with it no less power than it did in the first century. That power just doesn't manifest itself in signs and wonders anymore. <br />
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<b>Do we need to ask for God's power, or do we have it automatically?</b><br />
All those who are trusting in Christ are empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish whatever it is that God has called them to do. This power is given to us at the time of our conversion. The Holy Spirit empowers us to combat sin in our lives, obey God's word, venture into ministry endeavors, and a host of other activities. <br />
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As believers, this power is available to us on demand. It does not require a special prayer or incantation in order for it to be accessed. It is not forced upon us, however. For example, although Christians have the power to battle against sin and temptation in our lives, there are many times when we neglect to access this power, and instead give into sinful temptations. When this happens, it is not that we do not have the power to resist temptation, but rather that we have neglected to use it. We are not slaves to our sinful nature, and we do not <i>have</i> to obey it. We have power over it, and a free will to refuse its enticing demands. This ability only exists because of the power of God. Yet, there are many times when we choose to not exercise or take advantage of this God-given power, because we still struggle against our flesh. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-80389228885713386382018-01-22T15:35:00.000-06:002018-01-22T15:37:38.333-06:00The Glory of God in a 38-7 Loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Like most Vikings fans, last night I watched our hopes of Super Bowl glory fade away into a familiar void of despair. It's happened so often in my lifetime that it has become a familiar feeling: the Vikings will do well during the regular season, and then dash themselves against the rocks in the playoffs. Even my son, at the tender age of 10, chose to play Minecraft on the computer rather than watch the game because, according to him, "They're just going to lose." Such is life as a Minnesota sports fan (actually, if you're looking for a bandwagon to jump onto, check out the Timberwolves, who are having a great season). <br />
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Last week's "Minneapolis Miracle" that led to a spectacular first-round win against the Saints was the stuff of legends. I was pleasantly surprised by the commentary of several Vikings players last week who, after the improbable win, gave glory to God: "It's probably going to go down as the third best moment of my life," Case Keenum said, "behind giving my life to Jesus Christ and marrying my wife." Keenum preceded that sentiment with a huge smile and said, "God is SO good!"<br />
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The first words out of Stefon Diggs' mouth were "Glory to God, because without him, nothing is possible, and I wouldn't be here." I was glad to hear Keenum, Diggs, and several other players glorify God for what he has done in their lives.<br />
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But...there's a problem when we conflate God with professional sports, and that problem is when you get blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles 38-7 a week later. <br />
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After the "Minneapolis Miracle" took place, and after hearing from players like Keenum and Diggs, I couldn't help but wonder what the Christian players on the Saints team were thinking: were they giving glory to God after just losing what was possibly the biggest game of their lives? Were they giving glory to God after their almost certain victory was snatched from their hands in a matter of mere seconds? I doubt it. There probably weren't very many "All glory to God!" exclamations in the Saints locker room. I don't know for sure, but I would guess that the same was true of the Vikings locker room after yesterday's blowout loss. Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs probably weren't thanking God for all that he had done for them. <br />
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That's the problem when we associate God's activity in our lives with only the good things that happen: we begin to see God as someone who is only active in our lives when life is going well. Too often we think that God rewards us with good things in life, or that our life will be free from difficulty or painful football losses. We forget that God is sovereign over all things - the wins <i>and</i> the losses. God is not in the business of handing out football wins to those who give him the most glory. The reality is that all glory goes to God whether you win or lose.<br />
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Have you ever prayed a prayer that goes like this? "God, if you (fill in the blank), then I will (fill in the blank)." For some reason we are tempted to try to strike deals with God in order to get what we want, or to think that our good behavior will somehow garner his reward of a smooth, prosperous life. But then, when things go wrong, we are also tempted to blame God, and we can't possibly see how he could be glorified in our disappointments and failures.<br />
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The reality is that the Bible never guarantees that true faith in God will lead to a pain-free life. We live in a fallen world where suffering is unavoidable. Sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper - that's just the way it is. But not only is that the way it is, that is the way God has ordained to bring the most glory to himself. It sounds counterintuitive, but that's what the Bible tells us: that God can even use our disappointments, failures, and suffering to bring about his good purposes for us.<br />
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Nobody knew this truth better than Joseph (Genesis 37-50). Time after time, Joseph does the right thing and follows God, and as a reward he gets thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and thrown into prison. At every turn, Joseph does the <i>right</i> thing, yet God allows bad things to happen to him. Compare that to how we often think that if we do the right thing, then good things will happen to us. But that's simply not always the way it works in God's plan. God is big enough and strong enough to even use our disappointments and failures and times of difficulty to accomplish his purposes. <br />
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Too many Christians have the false idea that if God is with us, then nothing bad will happen. We have a tendency to think that God is with us during the good times, but not during the bad. He's with us when we win the football game, but not when we lose. We think of Bible verses like Romans 8.31 that say, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" as if they promise us a life without adversity. But we leave out the verses that say we might experience suffering, famine, nakedness, peril, and many other obstacles (Romans 5.35-39). <br />
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We are tempted in the tough moments to question if God is with us, but the Bible assures us that he never leaves nor forsakes his people (Joshua 1.9, Deuteronomy 31.6, Hebrews 13.5). Our hope is not in a God who keeps bad things from happening to us, but in a God who is with us in life and death, and who sees to it that nothing separates us from his love in Christ Jesus (Romans 8.38-39). No suffering, no disappointment, no failures in our personal lives can remove us from the reach of his grace or disrupt his eternal plan. <br />
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Imagine for a moment that you are one of Jesus' disciples, standing at the foot of the cross. All of your hopes and dreams are nailed up there on that cross. There's absolutely no way that you could ever imagine something good coming from having your Savior nailed to a cross. But that was not God's plan. God's plan was to use the horror of the cross for good, and so he did. In order to rise from the dead, Jesus had to die; in order for him to be exalted, he had to be brought low; in order for him to be vindicated, he had to suffer. <br />
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The difference-maker is that we know that God is sovereign over <i>all</i> aspects of our lives - even failure, disappointment, and suffering. And God promises that he will use all things to carry out his plans and purposes, even those things that are very painful in the moment. Your sadness and disappointment and pain are not in vain; they are not meaningless; God can and will use them to carry out his plan. <br />
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Let's face it: disappointments and failures <i>are</i> coming in your life. Don't fall for a fake Christianity that says that God is not in those times, or that he can't or won't use them for your good. You have a Savior who suffered before he lifted up, who died before he rose. And he said that those who follow him would suffer like him. But even in the midst of that disappointment and pain, we can rejoice because we know that God uses <i>all</i> things for his glory and our good. <br />
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So even if something hard happens in our lives, we can say with confidence and sincerity, "All glory to God!" because we know that he will use this difficult thing for exactly that purpose. And not only that, but we have the promise from scripture that God will use difficult times for our good - to shape us more into the image of Jesus. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-72244563828226268342018-01-08T15:43:00.003-06:002018-01-08T15:48:28.304-06:00Why Jesus Meant to Be Confusing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the things that he said, Jesus was often cryptic and mysterious, as though he were telling riddles that his audience had to discern in order to understand what he was saying. In Luke 8 his disciples ask him about the meaning of a particular parable he told and he says to them in verse 10: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" <br />
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This statement is shocking on its face. It seems to imply that God is deliberately hiding knowledge through parables from certain people. In fact, that's what Jesus not only implies but declares outright in Matthew 11.25: "...you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children." But why? Why would God want to hide life-giving information from people? Is God vindictive and just plain mean? <br />
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Rather than God acting unjustly, there are actually numerous reasons why God would only grant understanding to some and not others, and none of them has to do with God wanting certain people to be condemned. Indeed, God's desire is that all should come to repentance and faith (2 Peter 3.9). So it is not accurate to say that God is purposely hiding the truth from anyone because he is vindictive or unjust. Rather, the fact that the truth is hidden to some people tells us more about ourselves than it does about God. That being said, there are several practical reasons why "the secrets of the kingdom of God" are given to some but not to others. They include, but are not limited to, the following.<br />
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<b>1. Jesus hid the truth for practical reasons. </b> Throughout the gospels there is what is known as the "Messianic Secret." This refers to those times when Jesus healed people but told them not to tell anyone that it was him that healed them. The reason Jesus did this was to control the timing of the events that would lead to his death. Being the sovereign God of the universe, Jesus controlled even the timing of his own death. He knew that if word spread too quickly and too far about what he was doing, it would hurry along the process that would lead to his arrest and execution. So in some cases he insisted on secrecy. The same could be said of his teachings: Jesus' ultimate message was that he was the Son of God, come to save all those who would believe from the punishment of sin and to bring them back to God. The sooner that message got out, the sooner the religious leaders would get angry and call for his life. So in one sense, we could say that Jesus veiled the content of his teaching with parables because he was working on a predetermined time table.<br />
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<b>2. Jesus hid the truth because he wasn't going to be anyone's clown. </b> Another common aspect of Jesus' ministry is that he refused to be a clown. There were many people who came to him <i>only</i> to see or hear what he would do or say next. In other words, Jesus' ministry was attention-grabbing and provocative, and many people followed him just to see what miraculous thing he would do next, or what provocative statement he would make that would anger the establishment. Jesus knew of this tendency, however, and so he refused to perform like a trained animal. In some instances, he refused to perform miracles because he knew the people regarded him as a sideshow act. So it makes sense that Jesus would mask his message in parables so as to not be regarded merely as a provocative communicator. The things he said internalization and deep thought. Parables don't make good one-liners or soundbites. <br />
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<b>3. Jesus hid the truth because he knew that some people don't want to hear the truth. </b>This, again, is a very practical reason for Jesus veiling the truth of his teaching: why give people the truth when they refuse to hear it? The notion that some people don't want to hear the truth is a common refrain throughout scripture. When God commissioned Isaiah to be a prophet, he told Isaiah to go and preach to the people <i>even though</i> God already knew they wouldn't listen (Isaiah 6.9-10). Jesus' teaching ministry, on the other hand, was veiled in parables so that those who sought understanding would find it, and those who did not, wouldn't. <br />
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<b>4. Jesus hid the truth because some people won't believe the truth even if they hear it. </b>This reason is similar to number three above, but differs in that some people seem open to the truth but refuse to ever acknowledge it or act on it. This is made evident in Matthew 11 when Jesus cries out in woe against unrepentant cities. In these particular cities, the works of God had been performed marvelously and miraculously, right out in the open for everyone to see. But rather than respond to these miraculous works, the people just ignored them and went on about their business, making their ultimate condemnation even more just. The same is true of Jesus' teaching. Jesus, knowing that even if these people knew the truth of his words that they wouldn't act on it, hid the truth from them.<br />
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<b>5. Jesus hid the truth because understanding comes from a place of humility. </b>God has a track record of hiding things from the wise and proud and revealing it to the simple. People can't figure out God on their own, no matter how hard they try. And if they think all of their knowledge and wisdom will be enough to help them reach God, they're sorely mistaken. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4.6). If you think you've got it all figured out, it's actually proof that you <i>don't</i>. For this reason, Jesus taught the truth in parables that could be discerned by the humble, but which confounded the wise. <br />
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<b>6. Jesus hid the truth because understanding is given to those who want to understand. </b>In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says that "Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom..." The Jews of Jesus' day didn't want to understand the truth that Jesus was teaching - they just wanted to see signs. And Greeks, Paul says, want wisdom more than truth. In other words, neither Jews nor Greeks were too interested in understanding the truth. They had already determined what they wanted, and none of it had to do with Jesus. But for those who <i>do</i> want to understand the mysteries of God, God is gracious and is willing to give them understanding. Paul also says that "to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Those who want to see Jesus will find him. Those who want to know the truth will be given understanding. Jesus differentiated those who wanted truth and those who wanted something else by veiling his teaching in parables. <br />
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<b>7. Jesus hid the truth because understanding comes from God, not from human effort. </b>Finally, we simply have to come to the somewhat difficult realization that God grants understanding to those whom he will. In God's sovereign wisdom, he has granted understanding to some and not to others. So then, regardless of how much they try to puzzle out the truth of Jesus' teaching, they never will, because it has not been granted to them. This is why some of the smartest biblical scholars in the world are not Christians. They have monumental intellectual capabilities, but the mysteries of the kingdom of God cannot be discerned naturally, they must be known spiritually. In this sense, then, when Jesus spoke the truth of God, those to whom God had granted understanding understood, and those to whom God had not granted understanding, were left in confusion. <br />
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Regardless of <i>why</i> Jesus was sometimes confusing in his message during his ministry, rather than the reality that Jesus was sometimes intentionally confusing leading us to accuse God of some sort of injustice, it should instead cause us to seek understanding. It should cause us to ask God to show us the mysteries of his kingdom, and to give us the knowledge we need to be saved. It should inspire us to study God deeply, to know him, and to rely on him for all wisdom and knowledge. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-14080129280016538972017-12-18T16:55:00.001-06:002017-12-18T16:58:57.407-06:00Joy to the World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In Matthew 2 and Luke 2 we read about two groups of men who were invited to visit the newborn Jesus after his birth: the Wise Men from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+2.1-12&version=ESV" target="_blank">Matthew 2</a>, and the Shepherds from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+2.8-21&version=ESV" target="_blank">Luke 2</a>. Both groups of men learned of the birth place of Jesus and visited his family in Bethlehem, and both groups of men left that encounter overflowing with joy. In the <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2017/12/18/how-great-our-joy" target="_blank">sermon</a> I preached this week, we learned that the source of the joy of the Wise Men and the Shepherds was not that they got to cuddle a cute baby Jesus, but rather that God was true to his word. The Wise Men <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+2.10&version=ESV" target="_blank">"rejoiced exceedingly with great joy"</a> when the star came to rest over the town of Bethlehem because it was evidence that God was faithful to his promise to send the Messiah, and that he would be born in Bethlehem. And the Shepherds came away from their encounter with Jesus <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+2.20&version=ESV" target="_blank">"glorifying and praise God for all they had seen and heard,"</a> because everything they had seen and heard happened exactly the way that God said it would happen. <br />
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The source of the joy of the Wise Men and the Shepherds was not anything external, but rather the certain reality that God is true to his word. When they discovered and believed this truth, all they could do was overflow with joy. <br />
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Let's face it: the Christmas season can be difficult. On the one hand, our culture tells us to be happy and joyful, and to enjoy our friends and family and food and gifts. But on the other hand, those times and seasons that are supposed to be happy and joyous occasions can be stressful and frustrating, and can be times when we feel our pain and suffering most deeply. Some people weep through the Christmas season because it is the first time that they have spent the holiday without a loved one who has passed away. It's hard to have the joy of Christmas when you're grieving loss. Others wonder how they can have any joy in their lives when they don't agree on anything with their spouse, and they're not even close to seeing eye to eye. Parents wonder where the joy of Christmas is when their children have wandered so far from their family and so far from God that it seems like they'll never return. It's common for these supposedly joyful seasons of the year to instead magnify all the things in our lives that aren't going the way we'd like them to. <br />
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But like the Wise Men and the Shepherds, our joy in life should not be determined by external circumstances. This is not to diminish the difficult things that happen in our lives, but rather to declare that the difficult things - and even the positive things - that happen in our lives cannot determine our joy. The reason for this is that the external circumstances of our lives change. Marriages <i>do </i>fall apart; families <i>do</i> crumble; unexpected health diagnoses <i>do</i> come; your body <i>will</i> break down over time. So if your joy is based on the condition of your marriage or your family or your health, then prepare to live in despair. If your joy in life is derived from circumstances, then prepare to ride a torturous rollercoaster because circumstances change, and sometimes life is downright miserable. Sure, sometimes things go well, but give it time. <br />
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Rather than finding our joy in the circumstances of our lives, we should take our cue from the Wise Men and the Shepherds, and find our ultimate satisfaction in the faithfulness of God. I don't mean to trivialize any of the deep and difficult troubles that you experience, but even in light of those difficulties we need to remember that God's word is true. <br />
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If you can't rejoice this Christmas because you are grieving the fresh loss of a loved one, you <i>can</i> rejoice because God's word is true.<br />
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If you can't rejoice this Christmas because your family is in shambles or because your marriage is falling apart or because your children are wayward, you <i>can</i> rejoice because God's word is true. <br />
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If you don't know what to do in your specific situation, you should rejoice that God does, and whatever he says about it is right and true. <br />
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If you don't feel like you have the strength to make it, you should rejoice in the fact that God does, and that he has promised to give you his own strength, and his promises are always kept. <br />
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If you don't feel like you could cry anymore than you have this Christmas, you should rejoice that God's word says that he is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit, and his word is true. <br />
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Those who trust in the Lord have a joy that is <i>not</i> derived from circumstances, but from an unshakable, indestructible trust that God's word is true. No matter what comes down the pike in your life, you can "rejoice exceedingly with great joy" because you know that God's word is true; he is faithful to his promises. That was the joy of the Wise Men and the Shepherds, and let that be <i>your</i> joy this Christmas and beyond: God is faithful; his word is true. <br />
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And the wonderful thing about Christmas is that it reminds us that <i>anyone</i> can have this kind of joy in their lives. When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he said, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for <i>all the people.</i>" The good news of the faithfulness of God is for all people. Anyone can come to God and experience the joy of his faithfulness. Through repentance and faith in Christ you can have the joy of knowing for certain that your sins are forgiven and that the punishment your sins deserved was taken by Jesus on the cross. God has promised to do this for anyone who will call out to him in repentance and faith, and if you will trust in him, you too will find that God's word is true, and that will lead to your joy. No matter what debilitating circumstances you're in at this very moment, even if your suffering is self-inflicted, this joy is for you. <br />
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It's easy to get lost in all of the cares and concerns of life and be overwhelmed by our circumstances. It's easy to take God's faithfulness for granted. It's easy to have an entitlement mentality when it comes to God's faithfulness to his promises. Don't have that mentality. Instead, allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the glorious truth that God is faithful, and that he will do what he has said he will do: he will be with you, he will strengthen you, he will provide for you, and he will help you. That's who he is, in truth. Let that truth wash over you, and then respond like a shepherd: glorify and praise God for all that you have seen and heard. <br />
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<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqjzpWYFJfc" target="_blank">Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! Let ev'ry heart prepare him room, and heav'n and nature sing!</a></i><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-85264629082642107732017-12-15T13:49:00.001-06:002017-12-15T13:57:50.290-06:002017 BooksOver my my other blog at the church website, I recently posted my top 10 books of the year that challenged me spiritually. Of course, I read other books this year that didn't necessarily challenge me spiritually but that I found enjoyable. I figured I'd do a second top 10 list here. Some books appear on both lists, but there's a good amount of diversity. This is a list of the 10 (and a half - more on that in a minute) books I found most enjoyable or most appreciated this year. Click on the thumbnails to find the books on Amazon. <br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Urgent-Charles-Hummel/dp/087784092X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513367344&sr=8-1&keywords=tyranny+of+the+urgent" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SuIeBVKY_LVPKDE60FvYB7QGRXxBfuC9pZzW4g32VfdY3B1FLrRq3F4XuPIlf-8RrgIzPvUF-6Gm1c8q_YYbKkbozgPLf2O4x1kQ8WjPqyOVC16EPX9IQqqZEKO6pMvHPq641HFcfsE/s200/51%252B7k9-ZsmL._SX348_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="140" /></a><span id="goog_474418085"></span><span id="goog_474418086"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><b>10.5 - <i>Tyranny of the Urgent</i> by Charles E. Hummel. </b> The first book on this list doesn't count as a full book (hence, it's #10.5) because it's very short - actually it's only a booklet. This is an important book. It was recommended to me just last month, and since it's very short it's very easy to read. The book(let) is important because most people find themselves too short on time. And being a pastor, I know firsthand that when people are short on time, the first thing they usually sacrifice is church involvement. It doesn't have to be that way, though. And in fact, as this book explains, you don't even have to be short on time at all. You need to learn to budget and use the time God has given you wisely and well. This very short book will help you do that. <br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Benedict-Society-Trenton-Stewart/dp/0316003956/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367445&sr=1-1&keywords=mysterious+benedict+society" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="343" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzphATfd6hMfRRx46HoYs2y4oEN1kfbkXFBqXEYxBKPs-2TJECvwWamRhk2ms65EL258vaZ1m0MaF8I-R0hQepwzLnp6vOXmVwmHF-eT4nkJmjiVo4wS5ZkZwoF7NhEe8Is-2PWVCkRrw/s200/51k40kgo2RL._SX341_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="136" /></a><b>10. <i>The Mysterious Benedict Society</i> by Trenton Lee Stewart. </b>When the school year began, my son started reading this book for school. He loved it, and he recommended that I read it too, so I did. He kept telling me that it had an unbelievable ending, and it does. It seems that fiction I read and really enjoy tends to be young adult fiction (go figure). One of the things I liked about this book was what seemed, to me at least, to be the old fashioned style of writing and dialogue used. It doesn't shy away from difficult vocabulary. And although the setting of the book is modern times, it almost feels like it was written 50 years ago. It's a fun, low-key adventure story (by the way, I'm currently reading through the second installment in this series, and enjoying it). <br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Helter-Skelter-Story-Manson-Murders/dp/0393322238/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367478&sr=1-1&keywords=helter+skelter" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyyoTDdLFjc_uf9Wl8vPgvHTTjKPZsjIfOG4jdwQc6O4n_xzEGxNzb2eYpT-IH8I1Sr7IIFsXAG8OREm_8byMCwL-c_hli4aqdJxz6HljIwV9ikdvl3Oi-8XqLYzneAXLxd5k_7DzE1Y/s200/41IqzFrvjaL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>9. <i>Helter Skelter </i>by Vincent Bugliosi. </b> We go from the young adult fiction of the entry above, to the horror of a mass murder scene by the infamous and now deceased Charles Manson. This book was recommended to me by a Facebook friend about how circumstantial evidence is worthwhile evidence and can be used to form conclusions. That's definitely the case with this book. The book details the murders of the so-called "Manson Family" and the court case that sent most of them to jail for life. This book is not for the faint of heart, as it does describe the mass-murders that took place at the end of the 60's, but the process of walking through the trial and hearing how the evidence was presented is fascinating. (Reader beware: this book obviously contains depictions of graphic violence, murder, and contains foul language.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Bastard-Life-Things-Allowed/dp/1101984589/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367511&sr=1-1&keywords=lucky+bastard" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinl8rsccQgSG8Z1R5yY36V6IUXBVUwptpS_DzQHV0u1afEUu5Yn-2ngZ6FMYuIQBjywpChHBEyCZKX_Mm2hRTAzygE8VLWKAh5gI4z7bW_ayVGShKxz4TupWykXugLBWvEat0t12Z3JgE/s200/9781101984567.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>8. <i>Lucky Bastard</i> by Joe Buck.</b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> Let me start by apologizing for the title, which was, in fact, enough to scare me away from this book for a long time. It turns out that the title is actually very descriptive of Joe Buck's life. And like it or not (I, for one, do not), Joe Buck is a mainstay in professional sports, especially Major League Baseball, if for no other reason than that he rides the coattails of his now deceased and legendary father, Jack Buck. I don't really like Joe Buck. I think his play-by-play announcing style - especially for baseball - is awful. As I listen to him, it is obvious to me that he is calling the game in such a way so as to set himself up for a really catchy or observant statement when a big play develops. It's ridiculous (plus, he's obviously biased for big market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox). Anyway, none of that has anything to do with the book. The book tells his story, all the way from being born out of wedlock - the result of an adulterous affair his father had with another woman - to the advancement he received in baseball announcing due to, well, luck. As I implied earlier, I hesitated to read this book mostly because of the vulgar title, and also because it was Joe Buck's life story. But I was actually taken in by his descriptions of growing up around the game of baseball, and what it's like to be an announcer. (For some reason, I have a deep fascination with play-by-play baseball announcing. Most of my childhood baseball memories are narrated in my mind by Herb Carneal and John Gordon.) If you like baseball - and even if, like me, you don't like Joe Buck very much - you'll enjoy this book. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">(Reader beware: this book contains plenty of foul language and irreverent humor.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Good-Thing-Secular-Christ/dp/071801734X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367541&sr=1-1&keywords=great+good+thing" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxpjj5e3dd4ns-Rv46lQZC4kikMKmU5qsYxLf00Gm9_-VOHMl6hcL431XtbI6jkNOI-MKdAajb9U_3ZAYSV8XKDZxi3-eEBAyy_coMN1WriLU_aljH8EOwifRvhlF1fqxB6jYTqHgPMY/s200/51HAawG52TL.jpg" width="130" /></a><b>7. <i>The Great Good Thing</i> by Andrew Klavan. </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">This book was recommended by a somewhat high profile preacher that I follow on Facebook. The book is the memoir of Andrew Klavan, who was born and raised a secular Jew. The book details the account of his spiritual journey and ultimate awakening to the truth of the gospel. It's a fantastic journey to see how God can intersect the life of anyone he chooses, no matter their circumstances or surroundings, and tear down the most prideful of hearts. Plus, Klavan is a great writer and narrator, if you decide to get the audiobook. I definitely had some theological and practical differences with Klavan along the way, but his story is encouraging and a worthwhile read. </span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Speech-Tom-Wolfe/dp/0316404632/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367595&sr=1-1&keywords=kingdom+of+speech" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHkBBgqVVjkgvDX82E13p8vZTFIz9vqtrjILkHT6DwP9ub_GByF2fN6FU2D9OaVTAgU7s_ws4Pb0hIGB4E6V_9b5dkeYsHbEmWhzQP2vfPbC6NI6EqKBr06umfy0WM-9EDtQxsDcC6pE/s200/Tom_Wolfe_The_Kingdom_of_Speech.png" width="132" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>6. <i>The Kingdom of Speech </i>by Tom Wolfe.</b> </span></span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Kingdom of Speech</em><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">is perhaps the most interesting book I read in 2017. It argues against the evolutionary hypothesis as a legitimate explanation of the origin of life, and it does so in a fascinating and entertaining way. The basic premise of the book is that evolution cannot account for the creation of human speech. A layman's look at the field of linguistics simply yet comprehensively demonstrates that the gift of speech could not have evolved. Plus, it's a rather short read. (Reader beware: there is some brief foul language.)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Elegy-Memoir-Family-Culture/dp/0062300547/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367636&sr=1-1&keywords=hillbilly+elegy" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="330" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3awyaI7pYxDCmJqN3T5IFvi3x3PC_ABlzO86GJfs3Bz-e7FptrLxTPSdd-rYglsT2aDYW-QYf20mgEHIN5szpSG6mvsJZsAUerOSA6F0P6DXJjjrLptBQz7qggliqP3b6LRMW0IaDF-Q/s200/51gufUMfXZL._SX328_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>5. <i>Hillbilly Elegy</i> by J.D. Vance.</b> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">This book has been on a lot of Top 10 lists across the internet, and created quite a buzz earlier in the year. It's a gripping true story about a young boy's growth into adulthood in "hillbilly" culture and turbulent relationships he has along the way with his parents, grandparents, and his culture in general. At times the tale is tragic, and at times, funny. The book is almost too complex to describe here. Although not written from a Christian perspective, you will be challenged to think long, hard, and biblically about poverty, justice, social classes and stigmas, human nature, personal responsibility, sin, family relationships, and a host of other issues. (Reader beware: this book contains plenty of foul language and depictions of drug and alcohol abuse.)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dodge-City-Masterson-Wickedest-American/dp/1250071488/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367668&sr=1-1&keywords=dodge+city" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="338" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8xCdrlVEGZiJXozoWiupzOvttwZY1HMxzieDzIBDeF_bIgKarZ5APyifIBHPmZbBZ0HeRCEwD_wtqG9aHvB1SNGM09NVn9tv4sWmlmUaZubwd5KaXKzsONdXbmDjTv3YQ0NSX7ZcdNk/s200/61h%252BD0Vaa3L._SX336_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>4. <i>Dodge City</i> by Tom Clavin.</b> I am fascinated by the old west, whether in book, movie, or TV form (I think my favorite fill of all time is "3:10 to Yuma"). Dodge City tells the story of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, the two lawmen who attempted to tame the "wickedest town in the American west." It was fascinating to be able to separate the fact from legend when it came to Earp, and to learn more about Masterson - someone whom I knew virtually nothing about before the reading of the book. Much to my delight, the book also contained biographic information about Doc Holliday and even an historical recounting of the gunfight at the OK Corral. There is a ton of historical information in this book that I ate up, and you will too if you're even remotely interested in the old west. (Reader beware: this historical book contains descriptions of violence, gunfights, prostitution, and other morally suspect activities that were common parts of early American life.)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Picador-Classics-Shusaku-Endo/dp/1250082242/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367705&sr=1-1&keywords=silence+endo" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="285" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwelZiV7lhvDyrw0d2PDOOj40BEqmA_0vk62PYnfoFdRo7pZ_S6HSTCz_o-ylu1z7wl3_OVKQI6okPuHR9uCPXUSCjKpJ_b19JJOEKnXwuK5EAHK6pa7KEuKBeWbZooHDCETBz_SrlEU/s200/25663542.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>3. <i>Silence</i> by Shusaku Endo.</b> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">Although written in the mid-20th century, earlier this year a movie of the same title was released, and I began to learn about the story of </span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">Silence.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> I did not see the movie, however, but instead decided to read the novel. Considered to be one of the best novels of the 20th century, I found it very interesting, very engaging, and a good look at suffering for Christ, albeit from a Roman Catholic perspective. The novel tells the story of a 16th century young Portuguese priest who goes on a missionary journey to Japan to see the oppression that Catholic missionaries and Japanese Christians have suffered at the hands of Japanese persecutors. What he finds is the barbaric treatment of priests and Japanese Christians, and even suffers the same himself. The title of the novel is derived from the central question of the story: "If God can see the evil that happens, why does he remain silent?" Unfortunately, Endo offers no answer to the question, and perhaps there is not one from the Catholic perspective. We do have answers, however, and that's what I found frustrating about this book: I wanted to shout out to the characters and encourage them with truth as they struggle with the difficult questions of life. This book caused me to think a lot, however, which is what good books do. (Reader beware: this book contains mild depictions of torture and violence.)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Here-Stand-Life-Martin-Luther/dp/1426754434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367737&sr=1-1&keywords=here+i+stand" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="329" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XE9OvOnML7E4JejvloRa54kpLRmX5KoekemJZGYQCON6gvETYrorJstSUWSVokhhzXJg8VisaG7QqAPWFVJK5rMm9NDfJn90supMruC4_ch6Pd6IAP6liZmc4TpEc2kQ1_-rWgafApA/s200/51Jb3RoZLxL._SX327_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>2. <i>Here I Stand </i>by Roland H. Bainton.</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">Also written in the mid-20th century is this biography of Martin Luther. 2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and so it seemed appropriate to me to read about the principle figure of the Reformation. Bainton's biography was recommended to me as the standard of Luther biographies, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Martin Luther is a complicated character, and it was an enjoyable and educational process to read more about the man's life, ministry, and role in history and western culture. As Bainton correctly asserts in the book, Luther remains one of the top-five culture-shaping characters in all of human history. (</span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">Here I Stand</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> is available in the Riverview Library)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Dark-Darkness-Wingfeather-Saga/dp/1400073847/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513367780&sr=1-1&keywords=on+the+edge+of+the+dark+sea+of+darkness" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="327" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdqVyLdV0DTBrFkgMgJS9PyA4Bq89Lw9uRd248_cmPrVEDl8osQ5UL8oaCWK8GhA2Uhmq6OylLhGOu09k7sX6fGGEyn2eVQA_wVu4eXjGEWZ7FBNdYZDQ0vVOEAVpmyldT0KWVSr8yp0/s200/51WE0-cjRHL._SX325_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"><b>1. <i>The Wingfeather Saga</i> by Andrew Peterson. </b> </span><i style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">The Wingfeather Saga </i><span style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">is yet another young adult fiction entry on this list and is, I think,</span></span><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> the best thing I read all year. To be fair, this is not just one book, but a series of four books, and I was taken in by each one. So much so that as soon as I finished the books on my own, I began reading them from the beginning to my children. Currently, we're working our way through the fourth book. The books tell the story of one family - the Wingfeathers - and particularly the children: Janner, Kalmar, and Leelee, and the adventures they have as they discover their true identities and the implications it has for the world in which they live as they battle against the Fangs of Dang and their master, Gnag the Nameless. An appreciation for fantasy literature is certainly helpful, but definitely not required. There are fascinating and excellent examples of good biblical character traits in these books, including heroism, sacrifice, courage, bravery, and countless other noble and biblical virtues. And Peterson brilliantly creates a whole new world filled with unique creatures and challenges. It's a great series for kids, and especially for boys, with perhaps one of the best endings I've ever read in a series of novels. The series begins slowly in</span><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> </span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness</em><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> and continues with</span><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> </span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">North! Or Be Eaten</em><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> and then becomes mysterious with</span><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> </span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">Monster in the Hollows </em><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">and concludes fantastically with</span><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;"> </span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Warden and the Wolf King</em><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">. Don't let the fact that this series is young adult fiction discourage you from reading it. I can't recommend this series highly enough for children and adults alike. (</span><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Wingfeather Saga </em><span style="color: #0c242c; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px;">is available in the Riverview Library.)</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-1138277350771598702017-12-11T14:47:00.001-06:002017-12-11T14:49:59.649-06:00Magnify God, Not Your ProblemsDuring the Christmas season we often focus on Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, and the many things that they did in order to prepare for the birth of their divine son. In many ways, our idea of what they went through is probably inaccurate. For example, we often think of them traveling to Bethlehem on their own, when in reality, they were most likely with a large group of family members. And when we conceptualize Jesus' birth, the picture we get in our minds is one of Mary and Joseph alone in a stable, surrounded by animals. This is almost certainly not the way it happened. In ancient cultures, fathers had almost nothing to do with the actual birth of a baby. Instead, midwives carried the mother along through the labor and actual birth. In our modern context, we simply know of a mother and father going to a hospital for a few days, and then coming home with a baby. But in first century Israel, it was a process that usually involved the whole extended family and a team of midwives. <br />
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I think another thing we misunderstand about the birth of Jesus is the social and cultural implications there would have been for Mary. After all, she was most likely a teenager <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+1.26-38&version=ESV" target="_blank">when the angel Gabriel announced to her that she would be the mother of Jesus</a>. And not only that, but she was also betrothed (engaged) to Joseph. An unexpected pregnancy no doubt brought suspicion of unfaithfulness on Mary's part. For example, upon learning of her pregnancy, Joseph assumed that she had been unfaithful to him and became pregnant outside of their betrothal, so Joseph actually decided to divorce (annul the engagement) Mary. If this would have happened, Mary would have found herself an unmarried teenage mother on the verge of destitution and poverty, and probably starvation. In first-century Israel, women relied upon men for their provision and even their daily food and shelter. Without Joseph, Mary and her baby would almost certainly be doomed to die. <br />
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No doubt these potential difficulties were going through Mary's mind when Gabriel told her that she would miraculously conceive in spite of her virginity. There must have certainly been flashes of fear, doubt, and uncertainty going through her mind. After all, she had no idea how Joseph would respond to her unexpected pregnancy, no less the news that it was immaculately conceived. And Mary likewise had no idea what the social and cultural response to her out-of-wedlock pregnancy would be. Put simply, from all natural indicators, Mary appeared to be staring down the barrel of a very difficult time in her life. <br />
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But the fascinating and wonderful thing about Mary is that she does not focus on what <i>could</i> happen as a result of this unexpected pregnancy, but instead she focuses on the faithfulness of what God <i>had</i> done in the past. Rather than magnify the many uncertain circumstances of her life that could lead to difficulty and even pain and suffering, instead she chooses to magnify the faithfulness of God. In so doing, she gives us a wonderful example for how we should respond to difficult circumstances in life. <br />
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Have you ever looked into a microscope? I have, but probably not since sophomore year biology in high school. But if you're familiar with the concept, you'll be able to follow what Mary wants to teach us. When something is magnified it becomes bigger in appearance. A microscope "blows up" an image so we can see it larger and in more detail. The tiny features that were hidden before become obvious and apparent. <br />
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Mary's remedy for dealing with the potential problems in her life brought about by her circumstances is to magnify (or "blow up") the truth about God in her mind. She says in Luke 1.46-47 "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Here Mary makes a conscious decision to focus intentionally on truth about God, and to put that truth into practice in her life by believing it and acting upon it. <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2017/12/11/five-reasons-to-magnify-the-lord" target="_blank">In the sermon I preached this past Sunday,</a> we looked at five truths about God that Mary "magnified" instead of magnifying her problems in life. I'd like to focus on just two of those truths now. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9DzHmeI9soHA5V4f-Ez7eVcSblCWAHG5SJ2JlKWuhMUROwWzzwb_3WLRyVQ0q0vaCzuF4jcENoQo3Z3ew99o6bDxW2gABErNv62K7bQKBa_vHk9sZ5Tr1yNJIGa-_1HyX2NICZsFws4/s1600/Magnify+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="1600" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9DzHmeI9soHA5V4f-Ez7eVcSblCWAHG5SJ2JlKWuhMUROwWzzwb_3WLRyVQ0q0vaCzuF4jcENoQo3Z3ew99o6bDxW2gABErNv62K7bQKBa_vHk9sZ5Tr1yNJIGa-_1HyX2NICZsFws4/s400/Magnify+2.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>1. First, Mary magnifies the truth that God watches over his people.</b> In Luke 1.48 Mary says, "...for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant." God is a God who looks upon and sees his people, and when he looks, he sees them through eyes of compassion. Sometimes the image that we have of God is that he is sitting up on his throne in heaven, watching us, just waiting for us to mess up and make a mistake. But this is not at all how God watches over his children. Instead, he watches over them with eyes of tenderness and compassion (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+peter+3.12&version=ESV" target="_blank">1 Peter 3.12</a>). He knows where his children are and what is going on in their lives, and he responds to their prayers. You and I can't even see what's going on in the other room next to us (without a window), but God can. He can see in every corner of the earth at all times, and that included Mary and her potential problems brought about by this unexpected pregnancy. <br />
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Mary also says that not only is God watching, but he is watching here even though she is in not a very important person. Mary was from the town of Nazareth, which was known at the time as something of a ghetto. It wasn't a city that had a lot of culture, and the people from Nazareth had a bad reputation of being low-class individuals (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+1.46&version=ESV" target="_blank">John 1.46</a>). But that didn't matter. No matter where Mary came from or who she was - even if she was a nobody - God was watching, and he knew exactly what was going on in her life and what she needed. <br />
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The same is true for you. God sees you. He knows exactly what is happening in your life, and he knows exactly how it's going to play out. He knows exactly what you need to get through your challenges, and he is faithful to give you what you ask for in prayer. And he knows all of this because he is watching. When life gets difficult, as it has the tendency to do, don't magnify your problems. Instead, magnify the truth that God sees you and he is watching you with eyes of compassion. Blow this truth up in your mind, and believe it, and then act on it. <br />
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<b>2. Second, Mary magnifies the truth that "He who is mighty has done great things for me."</b> That's what Mary says in Luke 1.49. One of the biggest temptations that we face when life is difficult is to forget all that God has done in the past. We can get so caught up in the moment and the difficulty of our circumstances that we can become shortsighted. It's easy to let the discomfort of "the now" to cloud our memory of all the great things God has done for us in the past. <br />
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Scripture teaches that the gift God has given us to fight for faith in the present is remembering what he has done in the past: "I will appeal to this to the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+77.10-12&version=ESV" target="_blank">Psalm 77.10-12</a>). The remedy for getting caught up in the present difficulty of life is to remember that "he who is mighty has done great things for me." It's magnifying what God <i>has done</i> rather than magnifying the present discomfort. <br />
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This is what Mary must have been saying to herself: "You know, things are pretty hard for me right now, but I can take comfort because he who is mighty has done great things for me. And if he has done great things in the pasty, he will again in the future." That, my friends, is hope. Instead of magnifying your present difficulty, magnify the truth of the mighty things God has done in the past. That knowledge should give you hope for today, tomorrow, and any time in the future. <br />
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Let's be frank: when troubles come, it is very easy to get caught up in the nagging questions about how and why we ever ended up in such a difficult spot in the first place. It's easy to find ourselves questioning God and even being angry or feeling sorry for ourselves. It is in those times that we must resist the temptation to magnify our problems, and instead magnify what we know to be true about God: that he looks upon his children and knows their suffering, and that he is faithful to keep his promises. Make your faith in those promises big, and your problems will begin to seem much smaller. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-3525885752007281062017-12-04T15:39:00.001-06:002017-12-04T15:47:59.663-06:00The Fullness of Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you ever wondered why Jesus came 2,000 years ago instead of some more recent time in history? Why didn't God wait to send his Son after the invention of the printing press? Imagine how easy it would have been to print his words on a press rather than copying them by hand. Or, why didn't Jesus come some time after the advent of the internet, or after smart phones became common? Imagine if we could take videos of Jesus' sermons on our smartphones, or document his miracles on video and share them on our Facebook pages. Wouldn't that have been more efficient (and convincing to unbelievers) than having Jesus come during a time when there weren't even still images or newspapers to spread the word? In a lot of ways, it seems like Jesus came into the world too early. <br />
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But rather than coming too early, the Bible says that Jesus came at just the right time. Galatians 4.4 says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law..." What this verse is saying is that God had predetermined a date that Jesus would come into the world to solve the sin problem. No, the date almost certainly was not December 25, 0 B.C., but there indeed was a date that God had determined would be perfect. And when that perfect date arrived ("when the fullness of time had come"), God sent his Son into the world. It was exactly at just the right time, right according to schedule. God didn't make a mistake by sending Jesus 2,000 years before the 21st century. It was the perfect time for him to come. <br />
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2,000 years ago, for the first time in history, the known world was unified and enjoyed relative peace under the "Pax Romana," or the peace of Rome. The Roman empire had gone out to virtually every known inhabited nation and had built roads that centralized commerce and communication. For the first time in human history, messengers could travel by road safely, and sea travel had advanced to the point that it was common and relatively safe. As Jesus' disciples would take the message of his life and death across the world, they would use these new roads by land and sea to bring their news. And since Rome ruled the known world, there were no impenetrable borders or places that were off limits to the gospel. <br />
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Moreover, since Rome ruled most of the known world, their language also dominated almost every culture. Practically everyone spoke the predominant language of the time: Greek - a language that is more articulate than even modern English. This made it easy for essentially all people of the known world to hear and understand the message of the gospel. No Bible translators were necessary because, in addition to their native languages, almost the whole world knew Greek. <br />
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God foresaw this time in human history, and he determined that this was the perfect time into which he would send his Son to solve the sin problem, once and for all. <br />
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But from our perspective, the time doesn't seem so right. Forget about the Roman roads and dangerous sea voyages - we have air travel! We can fly to the other side of the word in relative safety with the message of the gospel in less than a day. And for all for he technological and cultural advancements initiated by the Roman empire, the 21st century and all of the technological advancements that we alluded to earlier (smart phones, the internet, television, etc.) would be much more ideal time for the message of Jesus to spread to the whole world. Wouldn't it? <br />
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No, not really, for at least three reasons:<br />
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1. Technology becomes irrelevant and obsolete over time. We think of the technology of the Roman empire as irrelevant and obsolete because we have made amazing advancements over the past centuries. But at the time, the ancient advancements mentioned earlier were cutting edge. Similarly, the cutting edge technology we have today will be irrelevant and obsolete 100 years from now (if not sooner). If Jesus came today, in 100 years people would be lamenting that he came to early, given the technological advancements that will have been made in the next 100 years. If we judge the appropriate time for Jesus' advent according to humanity's technological advancement, then no matter when Jesus comes, it will have been too early, because technology will always be better at some later date. <br />
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2. Additionally, regardless of whatever means there are to propagate the message of the gospel - and no matter how convincing you can make it or how widely you can spread it - people will always find reasons to not believe. For instance, if Jesus were performing miracles on the earth today and those miracles were captured with a smart phone camera, providing video evidence of his divinity, someone would find a reason to doubt that the video was genuine. They'd say the footage was doctored, or that the testimony of the witnesses was unreliable. People will find any number of reasons not to believe the truth. Furthermore, no matter how clear the evidence might be, it is very possible for two distinct people to examine the same evidence and come away with different conclusions. <br />
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Jesus came 2,000 years ago and proved his divinity in a variety of ways. And despite the witnesses and the wide reports of his power, people did not believe. They looked the evidence square in the face and refused to believe. The same thing would happen if a video of Jesus' miracles was the most-viewed video on Facebook. Technological advancement does not produce faith. Only God can do that. Moreover, the scriptures testify to the faithfulness of God's word and the accounts therein that testify to the divinity of Jesus and to the veracity of the story of his life, death, and resurrection, yet people refuse to believe it. If they don't believe the Bible, why would they believe a Facebook video? <br />
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3. In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+16.19-31&version=ESV" target="_blank">Luke 16</a> Jesus tells a story about a rich man who dies and goes to hell. In hell, he asks Abraham, who is in heaven, to resurrect a poor man named Lazarus who had also died, so that Lazarus may go and preach to the rich man's brothers so that they might not suffer a similar fate. The rich man is convinced that if a dead man goes and preaches to them, <i>then</i> his brothers will surely believe such a miraculous sign. But Abraham says that the rich man's brothers already have Moses and the prophets preaching to them from God's word, and if they won't believe Moses and the prophets, then they wouldn't believe even a dead man who came back to life. The same is true of our world today: if people won't believe Moses and the prophets, they also wouldn't believe a miracle caught on camera. Jesus came when he came. His life, death, and resurrection were meticulously recorded and preserved to serve as a testimony to all people who came after him about what he has done. This testimony is enough. It is sufficient. <br />
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The bottom line is that God knew the exact right time to send Jesus into the world, and that's when he came. God had been waiting thousands of years for the right time to come, and it came roughly 2,000 years ago. At Christmas we celebrate not only that Jesus came into the world, but also God's perfect timing in sending the Savior. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595219219337178828.post-26972554742689471942017-11-27T16:39:00.000-06:002017-11-27T16:42:03.333-06:00Digging Deeper: Only Three Kinds of Christians<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho648RfXozYfPH1Gu6tvyYSTYzlMDzP-9fgRtG26DejcWV2lzPHxYKlRmOio8XNniQJJx04jz_k57pRLkWX12PEHuJ9rd_GxPLk-WOy13Lgk969NQSjS2SGc0aEBVuFg_CgEkN42Wp0lQ/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho648RfXozYfPH1Gu6tvyYSTYzlMDzP-9fgRtG26DejcWV2lzPHxYKlRmOio8XNniQJJx04jz_k57pRLkWX12PEHuJ9rd_GxPLk-WOy13Lgk969NQSjS2SGc0aEBVuFg_CgEkN42Wp0lQ/s320/Slide1.jpg" width="320" /></a><em style="color: #0c242c; font-family: freight-sans-pro; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.30000001192092896px; word-wrap: break-word;">Each Monday I try to maintain a series on this blog called "Digging Deeper." The purpose of these posts will be to "dig deeper" into the text that <a href="https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/weekly-messages/2017/11/27/a-blessing-to-the-nations" target="_blank">I preached the previous Sunday.</a> It is almost always the case that there is more that could be said on every text that I preach at Riverview, and sometimes time constraints don't allow me to say everything that could be said about a particular text we are studying together. Invariably, some things get left on the cutting room floor. For this reason I thought it might be helpful to pick up some of those scraps on Monday and try to learn from them.</em><br />
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In the first book of the Bible, Genesis 12.1-3 kicks off the story of a rescue mission that is initiated by God himself. Through Abraham and his descendants, God promised to send One who would repair the breech created by man's willful sin against God and thereby bless "all the families of the earth." God's rescue mission would be an all-encompassing, world-wide mission. God would send his Son into the world to live a perfect life, die a perfect death, and then defeat death through his resurrection. <br />
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And then, in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 7.9-10 shows us a future time which has not yet come to pass, in which people from "every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" are "standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" Clearly, God's world-wide rescue mission is destined for success. <br />
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Although the Bible tells us that God's world-wide rescue mission is indeed destined to be successful, it is not yet complete. We have not yet reached the Revelation 7 reality of people from every corner of the earth worshipping the Lamb because there are people of the earth who are still yet unreached. In his wisdom, God has chosen people to be the vehicle by which this blessing to the nations and all the families of the earth would be spread. God doesn't just snap his fingers and cause all people of the world to come to him for salvation. He could, but he doesn't. Instead, he uses his people to bring the blessing of Christ to the nations. A tremendous blessing has been give to the nations, and God calls each one of us to be his ambassadors and to bring that good news to all the families of the earth. <br />
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The question is, what are <i>you</i> doing to be a part of God's world-wide rescue mission?<br />
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John Piper has famously said, "There are only three kinds of Christians: those who send, those who go, and those who are disobedient." God has called you to be either a goer or a sender - or both. <br />
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<b>Those Who Send</b><br />
At Riverview, we value the work of international missions and missionaries - people who have dedicated their lives to going to other lands to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the families of the earth so that they might hear and be blessed. So we partner with several missions organizations and missionaries to do this work. Just last week, Bible translators <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PNGgallaghers" target="_blank">Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher </a>reported that they recently celebrated the five year anniversary of the translation of the scriptures into the Bariai language of the people of Papua New Guinea. Before their translation work, God's word did not exist in their language. As recently as last week, Steve and Carol Jean ran out of Bibles to give to people who requested them. God has a plan to bless the Bariai people, and it is our privilege to partner with Steve and Carol Jean to bring this blessing to them. Our part in God's blessing of the nations has been realized by <i>sending</i> people - from our own church - to the nations to declare the good news of Jesus Christ. In fact, Riverview has been privileged to send out several missionaries from our doors overseas, even to places where Christ has never been named. <br />
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<b>Those Who Go</b><br />
But the work of God is not limited to international missions. There are many here in our own nation who do not know God, who are still at odds with him, and who need to be blessed through the gospel. Every eight weeks a team of faithful people from Riverview travel to the Dakota County Jail to minister to the inmates there. The gospel is declared faithfully and clearly, as our own people <i>go</i> to be ambassadors of Jesus even in our own community. To be one who goes, you don't necessarily need to go overseas. You simply need to go across the street. <br />
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This is the call of every follower of Jesus: to send others to the nations by equipping and resourcing them for the task ahead, and to go into our own communities - our own families, even - to preach the good news of the gospel. God has a desire to bless the people living in the deepest, darkest jungles where Christ has never been named, and he also wants to bless the people in your social sphere, living in 21st century modern America. And he has called you to bring his blessing to the nations, across your street, into your community, into your workplace, into your school, and into your family. This is what Christians do. They act as agents of God right where they are, and by extension through sending others in their stead. <br />
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<b>Those Who Are Disobedient</b><br />
This is God's mission, but he has called us to be a part of it. To not participate is to be disobedient. Your job is to figure out how you will be obedient to partner with God in his world-wide rescue mission. Maybe you can't go overseas, but you can send others with your resources. Or maybe you can't go overseas, but you can go across the street. <br />
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<b>Which Kind Are You?</b><br />
As we come upon the Christmas season, we remember the most significant part of God's rescue mission: the sending of his Son into the world to save sinners. As you reflect on that marvelous miracle, reflect also on how God is calling you to be a part of what he is doing in the world. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0