A Holy Passion

How to Catch a Monkey

2011-02-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes my English students help me carry supplies from my car to our classroom in the church. Last year, a new student tried to help me with a bag that I was carrying. Actually, I had two bags on that arm, both looped over my wrist. In the same hand I had my keys ready to unlock the church, and something in my other hand as well.

So it was no easy task for my student to extract the bag from my arm. In fact, the bag that he happened to grab was looped under the other, and my closed hand was making it impossible for him to remove. We had a momentary tug-of-war. I couldn’t explain what the problem was. I didn’t want to drop my keys. He was determined to help.

There have been countless times during my work in this ministry when I have experienced awkward moments. I don’t know if it makes any sense, but it just seems that there is so much more opportunity to look like an idiot when you are attempting to communicate across language and culture barriers. Or, maybe it’s just me.

Whatever the case, I am slowly getting used to it. I have begun to feel God’s presence more distinctly in these moments. And the awkwardness is becoming more instructive than destructive for me. It is in the awkward moments that I am faced with my true self. It is here that I am forced to laugh or cry, to go on or to give up. It was at this particular moment, held captive by plastic bags, that I recalled a story I had heard about a technique hunters were using to catch monkeys.

It seems that if you place a desirable object in a clear glass jar in the jungle, a monkey will attempt to retrieve it. To catch the monkey, the jar needs to be heavier than the monkey is. It also needs to have a neck barely large enough for the monkey’s arm. Placed where he can see it, the monkey will soon attempt to get the object inside. It won’t take him long to realize he must reach into the jar through the neck. And in no time, he will grasp the object inside. But in so doing, he will have made a fist. And his fist, which is too large to fit back through the hole, essentially locks him to the jar. His desire to have the object holds him in place for hours. Even the approach of the hunters does not persuade the monkey to drop his prize and escape.

In the end, I laughed as I remembered the story and realized the only solution was to let go of my keys. My student and I managed to extract the bags from my arm. We survived the awkward moment. He has become one of my best students.

But it was through this event, and my struggle with this awkward moment that I was reminded of the profound truth in the monkey’s folly. We are so often held in place by those things we refuse to give up. Sometimes they are obvious things, like cars and houses. But sometimes they are hopes and dreams, or even anger and bitterness. Sometimes pride, as we allow ourselves to suffer awkward moments. It is in letting go that we become free.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Luke 18:22, 23

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:21

The Heart I Want to Have

2011-02-07T12:45:00.000-08:00

I prayed for a man in a grocery store parking lot this morning. It wasn’t what I set off to do, wasn’t on my agenda. But it was, I think, a God-ordered event that has pushed me a little farther along the path He seems to be taking me.

I have been giving quite a lot of thought lately to the loving of the “unlovable”. For me, at this moment, this has been the homeless. We all have reasons why some people are harder for us to love than others. For me, it’s not the threat of violence or even so much the idea of being latched-onto and taken advantage of. It’s the physical dirtiness and genuine likelihood of disease that I struggle with.

I watched a video a few years ago on refugees in Romania. The commentator was saying that genocides often begin when one group of people begin to see another group of people as less-than-human. In Romania, they began with various restrictions upon a particular people group that eventually escalated into complete segregation of these people from the rest of society. They were literally locked into camps within the cities. Of course, they could no longer support themselves or contribute to society in any way. They had limited access to water and food, and consequently became all that others claimed them to be—dirty, desperate, dependant. This scenario was compared with the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis. And of course, the Europeans did much the same thing with the Native Americans.

It’s not that I subscribe to the idea that homeless people have been forced into that position, or that they don’t own most of the responsibility for living the way that they do. But I do see the same spiral of destruction in their lives: that, once dirty, desperate and dependant, it is a practically hopeless pursuit to climb back out of that hole.

I have heard it said of Mother Teresa that she came to a moment of crisis—feeling God’s call upon her to care for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. She said of a man on the street that she knew if she didn’t help this person, she wouldn’t help anyone. She helped him.
Jonah, too, faced a crisis when asked to go to the ones he despised:

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. ...Jonah 1:2

Peter was given a command to go to the unclean accompanied by a vision:

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” ...Acts 10:11-14 NIV

We know now that Peter’s struggle was not about food. He was being sent to an unclean people as an instrument of God’s grace and mercy. Peter was being sent to the very people that he had taken diligent care to avoid his entire life.

Why does God do this? Why does he ask us to serve those we find it most difficult to love? Perhaps it is because, while we (humans) may find some people more or less loveable, God finds us all pretty dirty, desperate and dependant. Somehow, He loves us beyond our condition. He loves us in a better way, with a gracious, overlooking-what-we-have-become kind of love. He remembers us from the garden, I suppose, and sees in us what He created us to be. And this, I think, is how I need to see others. Not so much according to their condition as to who they are, who they were meant to be in Christ.

I know it’s not much in the scope of the whole world, but for me, this small step to pray publicly with a man who had simply approached me for money was an uncomfortably positive step forward. I’m sure that prayer was the last thing this man expected or wanted, but I hope that God will apply it to his soul nonetheless. As for me, I am a little closer to having the heart I want to have. And a little more thankful to God for loving me beyond my present condition.

Like Friends

2011-01-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

In our adult Sunday school class last year we were talking about why the world is so hostile to Christians. Someone shared about a bumper sticker they had seen, “So many Christians, so few lions.” Only a couple of us seemed to appreciate the humour. But what really surprised me was how so few of those present seemed to get why Christians are so offensive to everyone else.
From a Biblical perspective, we can explain it tidily enough. Our mere presence convicts them, the fragrance of Christ upon us is an offense before we open our mouths. But the heavenly realities are reflected in real causes in the material world as well. Christians are the spiritually rich living in a world of spiritual poverty. And the sad reality is that we are not so much different from the materially rich in their apathy toward the materially poor.
I watched a video this week about a popular outreach in our city. The sincerity of the speaker, the tenderness of the images were compelling. Many churches participate to bring food, hope, the Word to people on the street. I was completely captured until the tiniest phrase slipped out of the narrator’s mouth. He was saying that people recognize him now, that when he arrives, they call out his name. They are like friends, he said. Like friends.
And this, Christians, is why the world will throw us to the lions. He didn’t say “like” as an adjective. He didn’t say, “They are, like, friends.” He said, “They are like friends.”
You see, we Christians have this annoying habit of knowing that we are better than everyone else. Sure, we give, we share, we minister. But something is always out of balance. We are the giver, they the receiver. We are the good, the merciful, the kind. They are the unfortunate, the needy, the object of our kindness. We treat them well, pray with them, hope for them, but at the end of the day, we go home. Maybe we are fond of them, maybe they are “like” friends, but let’s face it, for many Christians they just aren’t friend material.
And when they realize this about us (and they will eventually realize this about us) they will be angry. Angry, because we talked to them about love, compassion and human worth as though we valued them. As though they were someone with whom we could become friends. But in reality there was never any intention of letting things get that far. These boundaries that Christians take for granted are a shock to those who take them at their word, who think that genuine friendship is being offered.
Friendship lends dignity because it assumes a mutuality of personality, enjoyment, and philosophy. One who thinks he is a friend expects a level of dignity that allows him to repay, to relate, to share equally. Charity, on the other hand, robs dignity through the one-way street of giver to receiver. Nothing is wanted, nothing expected, nothing valued the other way around. And when our tongues slip up and show the true intentions of our hearts (charity, not friendship) a seed of hatred is planted.
If we are going to involve ourselves in ministry where we are relating directly with people I think we need to grapple with this issue. Are we willing to risk real friendship? Or get real about not wanting them as friends? But if we don’t want them as friends, what are we doing there anyway?

Encouragement

2010-11-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

To encourage is to:
· inspire with courage, spirit, heart or hope
· nurture, advance or support
· promote confidence in a positive outcome
· foster through the expression of approval
· provide tangible or moral assistance

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.
Proverbs 12:25

A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.
Proverbs 15:13

A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words; though briers and thorns are all around you and you dwell and sit among scorpions, be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 2:6

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting (leaning on and being confident) in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7

...The Lord is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1

So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?
Hebrews 13:6

In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.
Psalm 138:3

Then there touched me again one whose appearance was like that of a man, and he strengthened me.
Daniel 10:18

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the [Gospel] message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was delivered out of the jaws of the lion.
2 Timothy 4:17

But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him...
Deuteronomy 3:28

...Be strong and of good courage. Dread not and fear not; be not dismayed.
1 Chronicles 22:13

...encourage the timid and fainthearted, help and give your support to the weak souls, [and] be very patient with everybody [always keeping your temper].
1 Thessalonians 5:14

I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me.
Matthew 25:36

So [instead of further rebuke, now] you should rather turn and [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage [him], to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow and despair.
2 Corinthians 2:7

[For my concern is] that their hearts may be braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love...
Colossians 2:2

...Be strengthened (perfected, completed, made what you ought to be); be encouraged and consoled and comforted; be of the same [agreeable] mind one with another; live in peace...
2 Corinthians 13:11

That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
Romans 1:12

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.
Galatians 6:9

We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair;
2 Corinthians 4:8

Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated)...
John 14:1

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
John 14:27

Discouragement

2010-11-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

To discourage is to:

· cause to lose heart (dishearten, dismay)
· deprive of hope, confidence, courage, or spirit (deject, depress)
· crush enthusiasm by the expression of disapproval (frown upon)
· hinder by intimidation or threat (daunt, frighten)
· hamper by persuasion or the raising of objections (dissuade, deter)
· obstruct by real or supposed opposition or difficulty (hinder, derail)

And some...shall be weakened and fall, [...will lose courage and become deserters. It will be a test] to refine, to purify, and to make those among [God's people] white, even to the time of the end...
Daniel 11:35

But as for the cowards... and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive... [all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone...
Revelation 21:8

He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Genesis 3:10

So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground...
Matthew 25:25

So I turned around and gave my heart up to despair...
Ecclesiastes 2:20

Why do you discourage the hearts of the Israelites from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?
Numbers 32:7

...and the people became impatient (depressed, much discouraged), because [of the trials] of the way.
Numbers 21:4

And He said to them, Why are you disturbed and troubled, and why do such doubts and questionings arise in your hearts?
Luke 24:38

And He said to them, What is this discussion that you are exchanging ( throwing back and forth) between yourselves as you walk along? And they stood still, looking sad and downcast.
Luke 24:17

ALSO [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).
Luke 18:1

And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words; though briers and thorns are all around you and you dwell and sit among scorpions, be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 2:6

Now My soul is troubled and distressed, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour [of trial and agony]? But it was for this very purpose that I have come to this hour [that I might undergo it].
John 12:27

Courage

2010-11-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

To be courageous is to possess the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face danger, pain, or other difficulties bravely. (Fearless, dauntless, brave, valiant, bold, daring.) (Not cowardly.)

...Fear not nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage...
Joshua 10:25

But... the men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves...
Judges 20:22

And when Asa heard these words... he took courage and put away the abominable idols...
2 Chronicles 15:8

Also Hezekiah took courage and built up all the wall that was broken...
2 Chronicles 32:5

Joseph... daring the consequences, took courage and ventured to go to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Mark 15:43

...the Lord stood beside Paul and said, Take courage, Paul, for as you have borne faithful witness concerning Me at Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.
Acts 23:11

...Jesus... said to the paralyzed man, Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitted.
Matthew 9:2

...And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.
Mark 10:49

Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, Take courage, daughter...
Matthew 9:22

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring...
Psalm 27:14

...Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight...
Nehemiah 4:14

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
John 16:33

But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!
Matthew 14:27

Weird

2010-11-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

I got called weird at church this week. Well, not only me, but most of my closest friends as well. It’s taken me a while to figure out what to do with that—being called weird, at church, for my personal theological convictions. It’s not as though I don’t accept that I might be a bit weird. But then, who isn’t? And am I weirder than most? Because of the way I pray?

So, just for kicks, I went online and Googled, “Am I weird?” (I figured just doing that was a pretty good indication.) Turns out there are plenty of quizzes out there that will tell you just how weird you are. Naturally, I took a few.

They all seemed to say that I’m pretty mildly weird, and I guess I have to agree in light of some of the questions they were asking. In the scope of the really scary-weird things that people think and say and do, my life suddenly seemed very tame.

Still, in the context of the Baptist church I attend, it’s likely that I register higher-than-normal on the weirdness scale. I’ve tried my best not to rattle sabres or nerves, but I guess it’s just in me to be weird. Even so, to be called weird for the way I pray? It’s not encouraging. And it has caused me to weigh, once again, the relative benefits of being considered weird in my current denomination against being accepted, possibly encouraged, in another.

Ultimately, all churches have the same problem—they are merely collections of flawed people. There is no perfect church. There are only people being perfected in Christ. And so my hope is not fixed on the church, but on Christ.

Weirdness is relative. I am Christ’s, and it is my intention to follow Him to the best of my ability, and in accordance with my personal convictions. If that makes me weird to some people, so be it.

2 Corinthians 4 (Part 2)

2010-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your servants (slaves) for Jesus' sake. For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
2 Corinthians 4:4-7

Unbelievers often describe God as silent, invisible. But the reality is somewhat the opposite. God is speaking, but we are deaf. He is visible, but we have been made blind. It gives one a better perspective of what is really going on.

And what is it that has been hidden from us? The illuminating light, light itself. Can you imagine, concealing light?

So, if sight is what unbelievers are lacking, understanding this helps us to pray for them. We can pray that they might see, that they might receive the illumination of their minds to the Gospel. We can pray that they will grasp the revelation of Christ as the manifestation of God.

And how sobering, to think that the treasure, this light, is being carried about in our mortal bodies. How wonderful, to consider that we possess this treasure. Whatever day-to-day drudgery we might find ourselves a part of, the reality is that if we possess Christ, we possess this light. We are light-bearers.

Lord, I am your messenger. Throw me like a blazing torch into the night.
Mary Skobtsova (took another woman's place in a Nazi gas chamber a day before the camp was liberated, Easter Eve, 1945)

2 Corinthains 4 (Part 1)

2010-11-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:1-4 (Amplified)

Today I read 2 Corinthians chapter 4, and was struck by the parallel between the “light” of the gospel referred to in this chapter and the light spoken into existence by God at the creation of the world.

For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your servants (slaves) for Jesus' sake. For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
2 Corinthians 4:4-7

In the context of this parallel, I find it amazing that the first recorded “command” of God is the creation of light. And it makes me ask the obvious question, “Was that intentional?" Did God already have His plan for our salvation in mind when He was forming the earth? Was the light of the world “The Light of the World”? (That is to say, was the light referred to in Genesis the person of Christ?) Is Christ aluded to before the foundations of world were begun? Before the animals? Before Adam? Well it only makes sense to say yes—but what a yes!

Cancer in the Church

2010-11-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

Cancer is a unique disease. Apparently cancer cells are always present in the body. But then something happens that no one seems to be able to explain. Either the cells themselves are triggered, causing them to run amok, or the body’s natural defences are weakened to the point that they can no longer deal with them efficiently. Either way, the abnormal cells begin to overtake the healthy cells, and the results can be catastrophic.

I have heard that the reason cancer is so difficult to treat is because it is the body’s own defences that have become hostile. Generally when there is disease, medicines are used that will amp up the immune system in an attempt to coax the body into healing itself. Once the foreign material is identified, the body can deal with it. But in the case of cancer, the immune system loses the ability to differentiate between friend and foe. The body begins to attack itself.

I have been pondering the issue of division in the church, and cancer seems an appropriate analogy. It is a deep and difficult disease to cure, the people of God hurting one another. Perhaps it is due to protectionism, perhaps mere misunderstanding. I think that there must be at the heart of the matter an unwillingness to be wronged. And a willingness to be wronged is an essential part, I think, of living out the Christian life.

If we believe that Christ is in control, giving up one’s right to be right is not so difficult. (And just as often we are not right anyway.) Really, we have no rights. We invent them to cushion ourselves against what we perceive to be unjust. But there are many, many people in the world living without any rights at all. And those who have followed Christ throughout history willingly laid down their rights. Their defence was never for themselves, but for Christ, and they accepted (even rejoiced) in the loss of their own rights and freedoms for the sake of following Him.

Perhaps disunity, this cancer in the church, is always present to some extent. And perhaps it flares up occasionally due to a general unhealth in the body or perhaps it is triggered by some unknown force. Either way, when the body is unable to deal with it efficiently, the results can be catastrophic.

So, should we treat division in the church as doctors treat cancer? As a friend of mine recently put it, the cut, poison and burn methods? Do we cut out the bad bits, and poison and radiate the rest of the body as severely as we can without killing it in an attempt to eliminate all trace of whatever started the problem?

There has to be a better way.

A Glimpse of the Early Church

2010-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is a passage of Paul's writing to the Corinthians, just after the explanation of Spiritual gifts, and his famous exposition on love. Let me quote first from the NIV, and then give the same passage from the Amplified Bible.

So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
1 Co 14:23-26 NIV

Therefore, if the whole church assembles and all of you speak in [unknown] tongues, and the ungifted and uninitiated or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are demented? But if all prophesy [giving inspired testimony and interpreting the divine will and purpose] and an unbeliever or untaught outsider comes in, he is told of his sin and reproved and convicted and convinced by all, and his defects and needs are examined (estimated, determined) and he is called to account by all, The secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so, falling on [his] face, he will worship God, declaring that God is among you in very truth. What then, brethren, is [the right course]? When you meet together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a disclosure of special knowledge or information, an utterance in a [strange] tongue, or an interpretation of it. [But] let everything be constructive and edifying and for the good of all.
1 Corinthians 14:23-26 Amplified

I read and re-read this passage, trying for a moment to ignore all I have ever heard or thought about speaking in tongues, and just concentrate on the rest of the passage. It actually provides an interesting account of the early church. Paul not only sheds light on what a church "service" might have looked like, but also provides a glimpse of the "method" employed in the conversion of a soul.

First of all, what is the church doing? Singing hymns, teaching, and giving inspired testimony. That sounds a lot like what we do now. But I was intrigued by the Amplified's emphasis on "all" (all prophesy, called to account by all).

And what is the response of the unbeliever? His heart is laid bare, he worships God and declares that God is present among them.

Of course there is so much more to be said about conversion, but I appreciated the implication that when God's people are going about God's business with complete sincerity that unbelievers walking into their presence are affected to the point of repentance and conversion. That is to say that the church did not meet for the purpose of converting that soul, but the soul, walking into the service, was converted. It speaks to our purpose and method of meeting as a church.

On Direction

2010-08-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

There is a theory that a fundamental shift has taken place in the rearing of our children. It asserts that children in our society are beginning to form stronger attachments with one another than with the adults in their lives. Busy parents and a lack of moral instruction in child care facilities and public schools are contributing factors. But regardless of the cause, the result seems to be that children are looking to other children for guidance and affirmation of what is right and wrong.
I mention this because I think it is a helpful picture of what appears to be happening in our churches. So many of us seem to be focused on one another. We look to one another as an example of what it means to live a Christian life. We rely on one another for guidance and affirmation that we are on the right track. This is not necessarily bad. Taken together with Christ as our head, it is probably a great thing. But we need to ask ourselves if Christ is genuinely our head. Is Christ who we look to as our foremost authority? Is He Who we set as our example? Is it from Christ that we seek our strongest affirmation? If not, we are not necessarily headed in the right direction. We are merely travelling together.

Glorifying God

2010-07-09T22:02:00.001-07:00

How different would this world be if we could only grasp that we are eternal beings pacing about in a temporal cage? If we understood that this world, these bodies, were fashioned for the drama of the greatest story ever told? If we knew that every leaf and rock and star bear witness, that every great and terrible deed brings God glory? That nothing, in fact, escapes the inevitable purpose of bringing of glory to God?
There is glory in our joyful alignment with God and there is glory in His conquest over our rebellion. The light of Christ within us testifies to His goodness and the darkess in those without Christ testifies to their poverty without Him.
How different would the world be if the rebellious could only grasp that they cannot escape glorifying God?

Woman at the Well—Epilogue

2010-05-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

Allow me now to skip down a few verses to the last we hear about this woman. This is the part of the story I have had to wrestle with the most.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”

First of all, let me say that on the surface of things, the people’s remarks are entirely fitting, and give glory to Christ. But again, from the perspective of the woman, I can only imagine that she found their words cutting. Having been lifted by Christ, she is again brought low in the eyes of men. Whether through insensitivity or the deliberate re-assertion of their status over her, she is essentially told that she is no longer needed.

I could speculate on the attitudes behind such remarks, but let me again focus on the woman, and the lesson that was intended for her. I believe that God allowed the remarks for the woman’s own good. And I believe that He preserved the conversation for ours.

She may have become proud. Or perhaps she was stepping beyond the role that Christ had given to her. Whatever the reality was, the perception was likely that she was acting beyond her station. And the people’s words, apart from giving glory to Christ, hold a note of correction.

In any case, the woman was in a precarious position spiritually. Having been an outcast, she must have been overwhelmed by the acceptance she was receiving. Having been disgraced, she was undoubtedly enjoying the honour that came from introducing her town to the Messiah. She was almost certainly in danger of exchanging the living water that Christ had given her for the temporal water of acceptance with her people.

And so, Christ bestows on her this final, difficult mercy. She is given an earthly disappointment to remind her to seek heavenly treasure. She will not find the restoration she needs among her people. She will need to draw that deep water from Christ alone.

Woman at the Well - Part 7

2010-05-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

The woman said, “I know that Messiah... is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

No sooner does Jesus reveal His identity to the woman than the disciples return. One can imagine the disciples assessing the situation as they walk up to Jesus, looking back and forth between Him and the woman. The gospel records that they are “surprised” that he has been talking with her. (Which is kind of remarkable, really, when you consider that they have seen Jesus talking with tax collectors, the blind, lepers.)

For the woman, the conversation is over. Yet this is clearly not an ending for her. She leaves the well without her water, without her jug. She leaves transformed. She came alone. She leaves calling out for others. She came an outcast. She leaves with a desire to draw others to Christ. She came in shame and condemnation. She leaves with confidence. She came for water, she left with living water. She met the giver, understood the gift, and left filled with a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Woman at the Well - Part 6

2010-05-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

If everything I have said about this woman hasn’t convinced you that her question was genuine, I invite you to consider this—that Christ’s response to the woman ought to be proof enough of the sincerity of her question. If she had been insincere like the Pharisees, we would expect to see Jesus ignore her question or rebuke her. But He doesn’t. Christ’s response is more like His response to Nicodemus. And the woman is given further honour by being the lone benefactor of a deeply theological discourse. Jesus told her,

“Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

I’m sure books could be written on this discourse alone, but since my focus is on the woman, let me keep this brief. Her theology is gently corrected. Her status as a Samaritan (that is, of being less than a Jew) is confirmed. But at the same time, Jesus lights within her a hope that some new order is coming (indeed, is already here) when being a Jew or a Samaritan will be less important. And true worship will not depend on a place, but on something entirely new.

The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Again, I see sincerity in the woman’s response. It appears that she knows the scriptures well enough to see the connection between the “coming time” and the “coming Messiah.” And I would add that this woman, though fallen, exhibits faith. She expects that the Messiah will come to her people and will “explain everything” to them. And of course, this is precisely what happens.

Woman at the Well - Part 5

2010-05-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

“The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.”

Most commentaries seem to pitch their tent here. They dwell on the woman’s guilt and shame. They even go so far as to dismiss the woman’s next statement as an attempt to deflect attention away from herself.

So, let’s talk about her shame for a moment. Of course there is a sense in which this woman must be faced with her true self, to experience repentance, to feel the need of the gift that Christ has come to give her. But I don’t believe His words were intended to deepen her sense of shame. She was already living an isolated existence. She was profoundly and daily aware of her condition before God and men—just as the lepers knew what it was to be a leper, and the blind knew what it was to be blind.

Christ did not speak to the woman in a way that would entrench her lowly status. Quite the opposite, His actions seem deliberately designed to lend her dignity, credibility and honour. After all, He was a Jew asking a Samaritan for water. He was a man alone, conversing with a woman. He was a person of good reputation associating with an outcast. In every practical way He was treating her with dignity far beyond her status.

By His words, Christ reveals that He is, in fact, someone greater than Jacob. And simultaneously, He reveals that he knows her, knows everything about her, and that He made no mistake when He spoke to her. She was not condemned on her previous accounts (of being a woman, being a Samaritan), and she is not condemned now.

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.”

I don’t believe that the woman is hanging her head in shame at this point. More likely, she is elated, released. She has been offered the opportunity to think and act and speak like a person after living a de-humanized existence. She knows, now, that the man in front of her is greater than every person who has condemned her, and yet He is talking with her as though she were worthy of His attention.

And so I conclude that the woman’s next statement, a question, is not borne out of shame—a mere deflection of attention away from herself. I believe it is the surfacing of a long-hidden hope to know God. A hope held lightly, as she could see no way to reconcile it with the reality of her life.

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Woman at the Well - Part 4

2010-05-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Finally, she asks for the gift He has come to offer. But what He has been trying to tell her hasn’t really sunk in. She’s missed a couple of steps. At the beginning of this conversation, He had told her:

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

She doesn’t know what the gift of God is. Nor does she recognize the giver. Jesus, in a tender yet expedient way helps her see both.

“Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

This handful of words brings everything into focus. The woman is immediately convinced of two things. First, that the man speaking to her really is important. She knows who He is now, or at least she is on the edge of knowing who He is. And second, that He knows who she is—that He is fully aware of her true condition and status.

Woman at the Well - Part 3

2010-05-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

The woman asked Jesus, “Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well...?”

Jesus affirms that He is. He explains that Jacob established a well which satisfied an earthly thirst. But that He has come to establish a well which will satisfy a spiritual thirst—a spring of living water welling up to eternal life.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

But the woman is still ensnared in worldly thinking. Her desire for the living water has been awakened, but she wants it for the wrong reason. She considers, now, that the water might have supernatural power—the power to permanently quench her physical thirst. But she seems to have missed the part about eternal life. She is unaware of her deeper need.

Woman at the Well - Part 2

2010-05-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

Jesus continues,

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

So what exactly is this gift? Some might answer “salvation” and others “the Holy Spirit” and others might call it “grace” but it is in effect the same gift: that we who are blind are given sight; that we who are captive are set free.

“...and who it is that asks you for a drink...”

I believe that Jesus is implying that the woman was capable of knowing the gift He speaks of, and of recognizing the one who would bring it. He is, in effect, saying, “You could have recognized me, but you didn’t.”

“...you would have asked him...”

In reality, she really would have asked. In fact, she does a few moments later.

“...and he would have given you living water.”

In Jeremiah 2:13, God calls Himself a spring of living water. If the woman had studied scripture, she would likely have recognized Jesus at this point.

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

She is struggling, now, to find a context in which Jesus’ words could make sense. There is no physical evidence to support his claims. But something within her causes her to search for another explanation. Perhaps He is greater than He appears...

Woman at the Well - Part 1

2010-05-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4:4-9

Most of the commentaries I have read summarize this story as another case of Jesus choosing a lowly instrument (in this case, a fallen woman, in other cases lepers and the blind) to announce His arrival to a town. That point being made, the remainder of their energy seems to be spent scrutinizing the character of the woman. She is examined with a microscopic analysis never applied to the blind or lepers. And such subjective comments are made that I truly have to wonder on what basis they are so widely accepted.

Take, for instance, the common view that the woman was “annoyed” when Jesus asked her for a drink from the well. I see no evidence of this in the text. I would expect that the woman answered Jesus the way that she did for any number of reasons. His request was not merely unusual; it probably appeared inappropriate on a number of levels. And while it may have piqued her interest in Jesus, it probably aroused a healthy suspicion of Him as well.

It would be like a man who is staying at a hotel coming up to a cleaning woman who has just exited the bathroom and asking her to bring him dinner. Since her identity is obvious, there is little cause to think she’s been mistaken. The request is not only odd, it involves a certain ethical dilemma: staff who clean toilets are not allowed to serve food. I don’t think the woman at the well was being difficult. She probably felt an obligation to warn Jesus (although she must have felt it should have been obvious) that fulfilling His request would force her into a position of breaking rules and possibly even defiling Him.

And perhaps that was the point. The woman at the well could have drawn water for Jesus. He had not asked her to explain herself. But in case He couldn’t see the obvious, she states it for Him. She has no desire to defile this man. Yes, she is a woman without honour. But that may be precisely where her sensitivity to protect the honour of others was born.

Methodology - Part 1

2010-04-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

Methodology: a body of practices, procedures and rules; a systematic way of accomplishing something; the belief that the use of a method or system will increase the productivity or efficiency of results.

Does the church use methodology? (Does it seek to increase the productivity or efficiency of God’s work?) Should it? Can it?

It is an important question. In order to subscribe to methodology, one has to believe that (a) the work of God can be made more efficient and (b) that if it can, it by all means should and ought to be.

This is rational thinking, the kind of thinking we apply to our household and jobs. Rational thinking is the currency of the world, and for the most part it pays pretty well. But is the power of God in our hands? Can it be metered out according to our plans and purposes?

Maybe you’re saying, yes, yes, to these questions. Yes, we could certainly be doing more for God. We could send more missionaries, we could train more pastors. And because we can, we ought to be doing... more and more and more.

But then, what is the meaning of the passage in Romans 12:2 about our being transformed by the renewing of our minds? Doesn’t it mean that to us the nature and workings of God are counter-intuitive? That we have to struggle to see things His way; that we wrestle in prayer, as the saying goes, not to change His heart but ours? Isn’t the prize before us to know God as He is, to love with His heart, to think His thoughts? To leave behind our old ways of thinking and adventure out to see what He has to say to us?

God’s ways are not my ways. In fact, His ways do not seem to me, in my fallen thinking, to be either supremely productive or efficient.

A few weeks ago I was stuck on the phrase, “at the perfect time.” Haven’t you been amazed, at times, to look back and see the perfection of God’s plan through times that seemed anything but perfect? And today, what struck me was that it is ALL perfect. It’s not that there are perfect moments. It’s that we are blinded by our nature. We have fleeting glimpses of God’s perfection only as He opens our eyes.

My Story

2010-03-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants the story of their lives to be a good one. To live a life that ends with richness and meaning—to be a story worth telling. I used to think that one day I would write a book about my life. Even in the confusion of my youth, I still had some expectation that all the rough and ragged strands of my life would be neatly bundled up with meaning at the end.

Now I see my life as something overlaid.

Have you ever seen a really nice atlas, or detail of the human body, where multiple transparencies are used to impart increasing information and detail? This is Christ’s work in me. My life, the drawing on plain paper, is unspectacular. It is what it is.

But Christ is at work in me. In Him I am overlaid with increasing beauty, complexity and meaning. True, I am hidden where He is revealed, but somehow this becomes the better way. I have no more desire to tell my story, only My Story in Him. It is the story of wood overlaid with gold, and I am grateful.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
1 Corinthians 6:19

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.
Exodus 37:1-2

Overlay:
· a layer of decorative material applied over a surface
· a protective covering
· a concurrency or overlap
· something put on top of something else, as a pattern over a piece of material
· in programming, when once process or program replaces itself with the code of another

Definitions I Found Helpful

2010-01-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

Church:
A society of Christians "voluntarily associated together for the worship of God and spiritual improvement and usefulness."

Christian:
One who "understands the doctrines, is acquainted with a work of God's Spirit in effectual calling" and whose "repentence from dead works, faith in Christ, subjection, life and conversation correspond with his profession."

Walking on the Sea

2010-01-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God. —Matthew 14:22-33 (ESV)

I love the way scripture is opened up to us differently every day. I love each new glimpse of Christ. I love the reassurance it gives me that I am His as He reveals Himself to me. I’m not going to try to explain this passage, only the little glimpse I saw in it this morning.

In the Old Testament, the sea is representative of turmoil and distress, danger and even death. We are baptized under water as a symbol of death to self and sin, of new life as participants of Christ’s death and resurrection.

And in this encounter between Jesus and his disciples, they are “beaten by the waves”... “a long way from land”...“with the wind against them.” They are in a sea of danger and distress, and then they see Christ. They should be overjoyed, but they are terrified. He is doing the unthinkable, the impossible. He is walking above the sea.

All are in doubt, but Peter expresses it aloud, “Lord, if it is you...” Christ, whose first words were encouragement, now calls Peter to himself. Peter “came to Jesus” but then he “sees the wind” and starts to sink. And of all the things Jesus could have said at this time, why does He ask Peter, “why did you doubt?”

We are often caught up in seas. And we think that our little boats are all that stand between us and destruction. But that’s not true. God Himself upholds us. Look at Paul’s many shipwrecks and you will see that God is not adverse to removing the very boats out from under us if it will help us to cling to Him.

It is possible to walk above our fears, to take courage, to trust Him. It is not easy or natural, but it is possible. I want to walk on the sea, too.

The Aroma of Christ to God

2010-01-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life...” — 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

There is such strange liberty in the Word of God. For years I have considered evangelism to be someone else’s gift. I have excluded myself on the basis of my own insecurities and shortcomings (thereby placing the lion’s share of the responsibility for “success” or “failure” on myself). But God has freed me from this bondage—the idea that Christ’s success depends on me.

There is a gift of grace, a “faith to faith” that spreads through us but is not of us. The sovereign grace of God is His alone to give, yet is delivered through the rough instrumentality of mortal creatures. “We have this treasure in jars of clay” says Paul in 2 Corinthians 4, “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (ESV)

How liberating that is! Salvation will never be in our hands. We cannot convince by argument or ply by emotion. Yet conversely, we are not hindered by past, or circumstance, by imperfection of speech or by the clothes we wear. Those whom we might intend to draw to Christ may nonetheless be repelled. Those who we do not seek may search Him out in us despite ourselves. I find great liberty and cause for boldness in this.

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession...” (ESV)

What is this triumphal procession? Is it not that we carry the very presence of God, the Holy Spirit, with us wherever we go? Remember David, in 2 Samuel 6, bringing up the Ark of the Covenant to the city of David—to the people with whom the presence of God was intended to dwell? Verse 15 says,

“So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (ESV)

A triumphal procession indeed!

“And through us,” Paul continues, “spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” Fragrance. Aroma. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers all teach that acceptable sacrifices are received by God as a “pleasing aroma”. And we know that the sacrifice of animals was a mere foreshadow of the things to come. How much more pleasing, then, must God find the one true and perfect sacrifice made by Christ?

“...For we are the aroma of Christ to God...” (ESV)

Yes, we who are covered with the righteousness of Christ are indeed accepted as God’s own beloved children, adopted and heirs with Christ, a pleasing aroma to God.

“...the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” (ESV)

Not only to God, then, but to all we meet, we carry this fragrance of Christ. We may not identify ourselves as Christ’s, but it will be known. His seal is upon us. And to those who are of Him, we are a fragrance of life, loved and loving one another beyond human capacity. But to those un-reconciled with God, to His enemies, we are hated, also.

We are called to love, called to Christ-likeness. We are called to bear witness. But the mystery of salvation is not in our hands. “...Thanks be to God.”

In Pursuit

2010-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

Seek: to inquire after; aspire for; endeavor to discover; go in search of; beseech; pursue; labour after.

In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. -- Psalm 10:4

He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD. -- 2 Chronicles 12:14

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. -- Psalm 14:1-2

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? -- Psalm 4:2-4
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. -- 2 Chronicles 14:2-4
Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. -- 2 Chronicles 30:18-20
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. -- Psalm 27:4
I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. -- Song of Solomon 2:2a
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. -- 1 Chronicles 16:8-11

I, Myself

2010-01-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you." --Duteronomy 31:23 NIV

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. --Deuteronomy 32:39 NIV

Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. --Isaiah 41:14 NIV

Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. --Ezekiel 5:11 NIV

" 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. --Ezekiel 17:22

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. --Ezekiel 34:11 ESV

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. --Ezekiel 34:15 NIV

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." --Luke 24:39 NIV

I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." --John 17:26

Blessings,
Maggie

Jeremiah 12

2009-10-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

Jeremiah has a heartbreaking task. The prophets before him were told to deliver the message to God’s people: repent, or destruction will come upon you. A difficult message, to be sure. But Jeremiah’s message is even more devastating: the time for repentance is past.

“I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.” Jer 13:14b

All that is left for the nation of Israel is to give glory to God and await His judgement.

“Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom.” Jer 13:16

When I think of the reality of the lives of the prophets, I am struck by the fact that men actually lived out these lives. They are too often seen only as lines in the pages of a book, the stuff of myths we dismiss all too easily. Yet Jeremiah lived, a human being with all our common frailties, called to incredible acts of faith that we would consider, probably, the acts of a madman.

God tells Jeremiah to buy a “linen girdle” and to wear it. Later, he is told to hide it in the cleft of a rock by the river. Later still, he is told to retrieve it. The ruined garment is compared to the nation of Israel. It is a wonderful illustration for those of us looking back, centuries later. But how mad the actions of Jeremiah must have seemed to his own people—his own people, who had come to prefer the messages of peace and safety delivered by their false prophets, while plotting against the life of God’s true prophet, Jeremiah.

Yet Jeremiah is still praying. He contends with God for his nation. God corrects him:

“Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.” Jeremiah 11:14

Jeremiah’s life was difficult. He was hated. He was misunderstood. He lived in obedience to a voice he alone could hear. And in his weakness, he contended with God. Yet instead of delivering a message of comfort and peace, even to Jeremiah, God tells Jeremiah that even more strength will be required of him. Jeremiah must steel himself for what is coming.

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

Love and Ministry

2009-08-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve spent the past few months teaching ESL to a group of Mexican migrant workers. And next to homeschooling my children, I would say it is the most rewarding work I have ever done. But it’s not just because I love to teach English.

Of course I’m proud of how much our students have learned in such a short time. But I am also haunted by the reality that what I am teaching them is unlikely to affect the hardship of their lives.

You see, these migrant workers are competent, intelligent men. We have ex-office administrators, construction workers, carpenters and fishermen. Men who once held good jobs, but who can no longer find work in their own country. So they come here. And they work in our greenhouses, clipping leaves and harvesting tomatoes. Six days, fifty-eight hours a week.

And lately, they have been choosing to spend most of that precious seventh day with us—a ministry outreach. Every other Sunday we have gathered the men from their various houses across Surrey, Richmond and Delta, and taken them to a park. They visit, play soccer, have a barbequed dinner, and hear the Word of God from our Spanish pastor.

It has been fascinating and rewarding for me to see the transformation in these men. When we began, they would look down when we spoke to them. They would choose to sit on the ground rather than sit beside us. It was often awkward, neither group knowing what to expect, and each slightly suspicious of the other. Now, we have built a delicate bridge of trust. The men look us in the eye when they talk. They will sit with us, communicating half with gestures, and half with a Spanish/English dictionary, and tell us about themselves, their families, their home. They laugh. We laugh. There is something genuine in the connection that I want to call friendship, despite our knowing very little about each another.

Maybe it isn’t quite friendship, but there is something—some intangible connection that was not simply purchased with food or English lessons. There is something that came from our hearts, and has been returned from theirs.

It makes me think of those certain people in the church who demonstrate such great warmth with a look or a handshake. Their demonstration of love is intuitive and intentional. They make us feel welcome and wanted. They are often considered the “people persons” of the church, the ones who are outgoing by nature. But it is more than that. It is a ministry. Their love is deliberate, the result of a genuine desire to care for others for Christ’s sake and glory.

My last blog was a paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13, the famous passage about love. We often hear it at weddings, but I think it is really about ministry. Whether we are teaching English or handing out hot dogs, it matters whether or not we care.

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred. Proverbs 15:17

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20

Maggie's Paraphrase - 1 Co. 13:1-8a

2009-08-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

If I have the ability to speak in every language in heaven and on earth, but have no genuine affection, my words can only be harsh and hollow echoes. If I receive an understanding of the eternal truths of God, and the ability to unravel all of the mysteries and knowledge of God, and if I have such unwavering trust that all things are possible, yet my heart remains unaffected, I am like a barren land. If I give away all that I have, and submit all that I am, but have no deep longing after Christ, it is all for nothing.

Love does not demand immediate satisfaction. Love is generous in goodwill. It does not resent the successes of another, nor flaunt its own. It is not vulgar, it is not self-serving, it is not temperamental. Love pardons without reservation. Love does not take pleasure in depravity but is deeply satisfied with the truth. It is ever vigilant, ever confident, ever assured, ever resolved.

Love never returns void.

The Proper Use of Pathos

2009-07-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has lived long enough has experienced something of sorrow and grief. There is no doubt that we find it difficult. Of all the emotions, it is probably the least desired. So how is it that some strange, contradictory desire for pathos lurks within us?

We watch tragic movies. We listen to hauntingly beautiful music. We wander the forgotten shores of lost dreams. We feel the bite of the wind on our face, yet we do not turn away. We deliberately walk through the waters of the whole world’s sorrows, allowing ourselves to be overcome.

There is no doubt that the world is filled with noble tragedies—stories of honor and courage that end in death, the suffering of children, the abuse of the weak, the terrible injustice that one man can inflict upon another. Such is the bittersweet nature of our world: beautiful, fallen, full of joy and sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” But what is that time to weep? What is that time to mourn? Is weeping only for earthly things, or for spiritual things also?

Paul told the Corinthians that he had more reason to boast than the false prophets who had crept in among them. Among his list of credentials were the many ways that he had suffered. He said,

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
2 Corinthians 11:23-28

Yet, if you think this is impressive, let us consider Christ and His credentials. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, gave up His just entitlement of position, power, and authority, and allowed himself to dwell in the vessel of a creature. And not only this, but He chose to be born in obscurity, poverty, and disgrace, and to live a life which was “familiar with suffering.” He willingly submitted to death on a cross, bore the sins of the world and faced the furious wrath of God His Father, although he was blameless and true. Jesus chose to be made “perfect in suffering” for the sake of His friends, His church, His bride.

And so I conclude that the proper use of pathos is this: to bring glory to God. For if anyone feels that their life has sadness, Christ has experienced it more deeply. If any injustice, Christ has endured more profoundly. If grief, that grief cannot begin to compare with the weight of His Father’s wrath. If a noble tragedy, Christ’s tragedy is nobler. There is no earthly sorrow greater than Christ’s.

But let us also consider His joy. For Christ overcame every trial and became Lord and Master of all. He pleased His Father in His obedience, and restored all of creation to Himself. Moreover, He rescued His Church, His beloved, His bride.

Yes, we will experience pathos. And I believe that we are meant to experience these depths as fully as the joys and pleasures of life, for it is in this way that we may share some small taste of the immeasurable joys and sorrows of Christ, and so, to honor Him rightly, and to glorify and praise Him all the more.

Thinking Biblically

2009-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom. 12:1-2)

It is difficult to think biblically.

For those of us raised in a secular home, thinking biblically is not just a matter of overcoming the absence of faith in our household, or the omission of God in our textbooks. It is a complete reformation of our fundamental values and beliefs.

Our character was formed like a coral forest—thought upon thought and action upon action. And though the newly-formed branches may be well-considered, the ancient forests of old thinking are increasingly hidden under layers of silt. And this would be well, if the ancient layers were right and true.

But in the secular home, all was not laid down right and true. And like disease in the coral, the results are sad but inevitable. First, that the disease will likely be carried throughout that whole system of thought, corrupting even the best intentions and well-planned actions. Second, that these entire branches must eventually give way, causing deep wounds to the whole.

It is our nature, upon conversion, to comply outwardly to some standard of Christianity that we perceive in our mentors, and to feel success and satisfaction in the living of a “good life.” And here is where we feel that we have almost finished (that we are only a few bad habits away from winning the race). But it is likely that the most deceived souls linger here, because it is so easy—so consistent with our nature—to exercise restraint in the body without ever allowing the deep work of Christ to renew our minds.

Our inclination to measure all things by ourselves obscures our ability to see God’s providence. Instead of making Christ the subject of our heart and mind and soul, we make Him the fuzzy background in a picture focused on ourselves. And so, acts of “spiritual worship” will always ring hollow without the Copernican shift of a renewed mind. Christ is at the centre.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Abundance, Variety and Order

2009-06-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Technology and innovation are remarkable. But they are nothing in comparison to the things designed by God. He has created a world filled with extravagant abundance, variety and order. Have you ever stopped to ponder, as you cleaned the seeds from a pumpkin, how many pumpkins might be produced from that single one? And how many such seed-producing pumpkins might grow on a single vine? The same principle holds true for wheat, and apples, and blueberries.

And did you ever wonder why God did not just create one type of everything—one type of tree, or even one type of apple? Why should there be endless types of things—of fruits or flies? And isn’t it remarkable that God’s design should not be diminished, but in fact enhanced, the more closely a thing is examined? One could spend a lifetime studying the properties of leaves, or roots or cells (those endless arrays of engines, neatly arranged and delicately sustaining all living things).

That God is a God of order is seen everywhere. Precision and pattern are strands woven into all His works. The curve of a seashell is mirrored in a flower. The same mathematical formula operates in the curve of fingerprints, hurricanes, and galaxies. And yet within these ordered principles lie the vast abundance, variety, and uniqueness of every created thing.

Look! And look again! For therein may be seen some wonderful quality of God.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20 NIV)

Philippians 1:12-25, Maggie's Paraphrase

2009-06-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

I am attempting to re-write some difficult passages, in an effort to grapple with the meaning and tone of these messages. I have taken liberties with the text, so please take them with a grain of salt. I welcome your comments or your version of a paraphrase in reply.

Philippians 1:12-25
It is important that you know that what has happened to me has really been the providential will of God, and is in fact providing opportunity for the advancement of the gospel. The whole palace guard and everyone here is now awakened to the reality that I am here in chains in the service of Christ. In fact, my being in chains has actually encouraged most of our brothers in the Lord to deliver the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly than ever.

There are some men, who, perhaps wishing to match what they suppose to be my “religious devotion”, preach the gospel out of envy and rivalry, but there are others who continue to preach out of goodwill. Those last do so in love, because they know that I am put here because I am a defender of the faith. The envious preach Christ for the sake of getting attention or power—not sincerely. Some who despise me even hope to increase my grief. This, by stirring up more trouble while they suppose I lay helpless in my enemies’ hands. But it doesn’t matter why men are preaching. The important thing is that in every way, according to the providential will of God, Christ is preached, both from false motive and from true. And so, I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, because I know that your prayers and the help of the Holy Spirit will result in my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will have no cause for shame, but that Christ will grant me sufficient courage to continue to glorify Him despite my human frailty (whether in life or in death). For in life, my aim is for Christ continually. But, to die is to receive and be received by Him. Still, as long as I live, I have opportunity to bear fruit. So which is better? I don’t know. I am torn between the two. I long to leave this world to be with Christ (which is far better), but for your needs’ sake I am compelled to remain . Yes, I am convinced that I will remain among you, striving for your spiritual development and joy.

A Question of Confidence

2009-06-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling with the issue of confidence for some time. Whenever I think I might have something valuable to say, inner voices shake me to silence with questions of my knowledge, my wisdom, my authority, or my fallibility. And for the most part, I have succumbed to these voices, finding myself wholly unfit to speak when I am so far from maturity in Christian growth. But curiously, the compulsion to write has grown despite all my efforts to squelch it.

What does God desire from me? I am quite certain of my own capacity for error. I cannot imagine what God could say through me that He could not say better through a thousand other people.

Yet, perhaps it is not so much the need of God to speak through me as it is my need to speak of God. In his book, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, John Piper tells of Calvin’s passion for preaching. He asserts that the glory and majesty of God in His Word “cries out for expository exultation.” Likewise, I think, our deepening appreciation of Christ fills some mysterious place within us to overflowing, so that we are compelled to exult God in speech, or song, or in an art of some kind.

But what can be said that has not been said? And what good can come of saying it all again? N.T. Wright, in his book, Simply Christian, speaks of God’s use of varying personalities to convey His message. He says,

“...writers, compilers, editors, and even collectors of scripture were people who, with different personalities, styles, methods, and intentions, were nonetheless caught up in the strange purposes of the covenant God—purposes which included the communication, by writing, of His word.”

Therefore, shouldn’t we all desire to bear witness to Christ through our own unique talents, producing ever new and unique reflections of the glory of God as revealed to us?

And so I face my fears: that my art may be mediocre, or that I may say something that will lead another astray, or that my ignorance may become all the more apparent. But if Christ will accept my dullest work, how can I withhold it? No book is infallible except the Word of God. And as long as I set my ignorance before me, it will serve as a reminder of my dependence upon Christ.

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Co. 4:13-15)

Chief End of Man

2009-06-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

“What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

I used to think of the answer to that question as an obligation—that it is our duty to glorify God. And I still believe this is true. But there is a deeper truth—that as we come to know God, as we begin to grasp who He is, we are pierced, again and again, with awe and wonder and humility and gratitude. We are filled up to overflowing, and we cannot contain it. Glorifying God becomes less a duty and more a spontaneous reaction. And if that is true here on earth where we can barely glimpse Him, imagine how full our hearts will be, how overflowing and full of spontaneous praise we will be when He is before us!

Questions

2009-04-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter…
Proverbs 25:2a NIV

I have been asking a lot of questions lately. With curiosity outweighing trepidation, I determined after years of hesitation to traverse that great distance between what born-and-raised Christians seem to know by osmosis, and what I understand. And I have learned a great deal. But I am finding that a subtle price is being paid. I am losing peace.

I don’t think my intentions were wrong. But somehow my motives became skewed. At some point I began climbing a ladder of human wisdom instead of sitting at His feet. My questions became more about “understanding” God than knowing Him. More about reason than wisdom. More about me than about Him. And for the first time, the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” spoke directly to my heart.

I had accepted that God was all-knowing, yet somehow I had never applied that to my own future. God knows all that I have done and thought. But He also knows all that I will do and will think. Somehow, despite myself, He still hears my prayers, knowing who I am. It is incredibly humbling. And it gives one a strange sense of peace, to know that God has seen what is behind every hidden corner of time. Einstein said that, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” How like God, to constrain us in this maze of time, so that we would need to rely upon Him. But He sees time as though looking down on it from above.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Hebrews 4:13a NIV

Therefore, that He hides certain things from us is not at all unintentional. It is His will. It is providential. So when we squirm about in our circumstances, searching for reason, it necessarily contradicts His purposes. At least, that’s how it seems to me now that it must be. Even the disciples were sometimes unable to perceive the meaning of Jesus’ words.

The disciples did not understand… Its meaning was hidden from them…
Luke 18:34 NIV

It doesn’t say that the disciples were thick and slow, or that they hadn’t spent enough time in school. It says that the meaning was hidden from them. And, it is to the disciples' credit that they let the matter go. For when we search for wisdom outside of the revelation of God, we dishonor God. As Luther charges Erasmus in his Bondage of the Will:

Why do you not restrain yourself, and deter others from prying into these things which God wills should be hidden from us, and which He has not delivered to us in the Scriptures? It is here the hand is to be laid upon the mouth, it is here we are to reverence what lies hidden, to adore the secret counsels of the divine Majesty, and to exclaim with Paul, ‘Who art thou, O man, that contendest with God?’ Romans 9:20

I like this thought—adoring the secret counsels of the divine Majesty. What has been revealed to us, we may adore. What is hidden, we may adore as well. Since Christ fully satisfies our every need, we should seek wholly after Him. All other speculations are meaningless. Therefore, our curiosity should be sated with Christ, seeking Him alone.

That they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:2b-3

Faith

2009-03-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

In the book of Mark, it is recorded that a man brought his son to Jesus to be healed. The boy’s father said to Jesus, “...if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:23-24 NKJV

What does Jesus mean by, “If you can believe”? Is faith an ability that some have, and others do not? Is faith something we can muster in trying times, or dig out from some hidden reserve? And what are we to make of this man, who believes (who clearly wants to believe) but is struck by the depth of his unbelief?

Most people understand faith to mean a leap beyond their ability to see, or reason, or justify. Or, they may see it as a summoning of some inner resource in order to bridge a gap. Faith, in our culture, is the tape used to mend the rift between some present reality and what we think that reality ought to be. But that is not faith.

The idea of faith seems to come into play most commonly when, in the jigsaws of our lives, a new piece comes to light that seems to have no place, or a new gap is presented with the outline of an impossibly-shaped piece. Then we jiggle and juggle all of our data in an effort to figure out what we are missing. For we must at all costs end the torment of our inability to explain our lives. And so, we have created this silly putty we call faith, to fill the gaps and prevent our reason from seeping away.

But is that what Jesus meant? Or did He mean, believe him? Faith is not a blind leap, but a real trust in a real God. As James Montgomery Boice explains in his book, Two Cities, Two Loves, faith is not subjective. That is, faith is not dependent in any way upon us. He who has made the promise is faithful. Faith is not a warm fuzzy feeling, nor is it some great leap we make past reason and logic. It is a trust placed upon a thoroughly dependable and competent God. Faith becomes, on this realization, a matter more of obedience than of hope. Faith is trust which is properly placed on the object of that trust, namely God. And it is God who makes that trust utterly reasonable and prudent.

What we may trust God for is another matter, and one best answered with prayer and the Word of God. But we are told that faith is a gift of God, and that God gives generously to those who ask. And so, the man’s answer to Jesus seems most appropriate after all. Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.

.

Why is the Bible so hard to understand?

2008-12-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

Many people find the Bible disjointed, archaic, and largely meaningless. It can be incredibly frustrating to the beginner. What is it all about? Why should we care?

Let's start with the Old Testament. Here we have a seemingly hapless mixture of creation and hero myths, endless genealogies, boring poetry, cryptic prophesies, and gruesome stories of battles where entire nations are slaughtered. Sprinkled throughout, there are laws and regulations, directions for building arks and temples, and step by step details of how to offer blood sacrifices. Let's face it, this is a book like no other, and without some assistance, who can make heads or tails of it?

Then we have the New Testament. This seems, at first glance, to be a whole other book, completely independent of the other. It is written largely in the form of letters to churches or to individuals, and is filled with the telling of who Christ is, what He has done, and how Christians should live.

Now I should emphasize that I am no expert, and there are entire books that devote themselves to the topic of how to read the Bible. But for those who will not (yet) purchase one of those books, let me tell you what I have learned so far.

1. What the Old Testament really is. The Bible is a revelation of God. It is "inspired" and "infallible" and should be read as the direct word of God to mankind. Woven through all of the stories, poetry, laws, and prophesies are glimpses of Jesus Christ, the coming messiah. The Old Testament is a treasure trove of insights into the person of Jesus and the mind of God. But it has to be read in the light of Christ, or it remains darkened to us.

2. The creation and hero myths are not myths. While there may be things that are hard for us to fathom or reason out, such as men living for hundreds of years, or a flood covering the entire earth, there are references in the New Testament of Christ confirming such events. If you believe in Jesus, and that what He said is true, you dare not discount the validity of the Old Testament as truth.

3. The genealogies may be difficult to slog through, but they are there for a purpose. They recount the central theme - that God chose one man out of many, Abram, to call to Himself. Of this man, He made a nation, the Israelites. And from this nation He provided a savior, not just for the Israelites, but for all men, Jesus, who put an end to the need for blood sacrifice because He fulfilled this need "once for all" through his death on the cross. The genealogies begin with Adam and Eve, and end with Christ.

4. The purpose of the nation of Israel. Israel was called by God to be separate, holy to God, distinct as a nation ruled by God directly. But Israel would not remain separate. They intermarried with other nations, and fell into worshipping other gods. The people wanted a king like the nations around them. Much of the Old Testament is filled with the recurring theme of Israel wandering away from God, God calling the nation back to Him (through the prophets), Israel returning for a while, and the pattern repeating. When it is clear that Israel will not serve God, the testament (covenant) is broken, and a new covenant (testament) is needed. This is what the coming of Christ is all about.

5. The prophesies are largely about Jesus. Some "historical" prophesies have already been fulfilled, which is fascinating, because we can go back and search history to see how marvelously these things came to pass. For instance, it is largely accepted that the statue referred to in Daniel was a prophesy of the coming kingdoms prior to Christ's arrival on earth. However, most of the prophesies in the Old Testament point to Christ. Consider Isaiah 53:

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

6. Laws and regulations. This is enough to turn non-Christians away at first glance, and to keep many new Christians tied up in meaningless rituals and traditions that have nothing to do with being a Christian. What were the laws for? To make us aware of our sin. Tell a child not to open a cupboard door and see what happens. The law itself speaks to the sin in our nature and causes a desire to do precisely what is forbidden. Christ was able to conquer sin, but we are not. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We, being awakened to our sinful nature, are faced with the only possible options: admit sin and cry out to God for mercy, or harden our hearts toward God, blame Him for our shortcomings, and refuse His blessing.

7. Arks and Temples. Like so much in the Old Testament, the details concerning these things come to life once we see them in the light of Christ's life and purpose. In the Old Testament, the temple was the "place of meeting" - It was literally where God dwelt among His people. In the New Testament, we are asked, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of God?" This new covenant, where Christ has become a gate and an intercessor between us and God, has blown away the need for a separation between man and God. Now believers do not need to go to a temple to meet with God, they are filled with His Holy Spirit and can approach Him directly.

8. Out with the Old? Many Christians say, out with the old and in with the new regarding the Old Testament, but I disagree. I have learned that an understanding and appreciation of the Old Testament is fundamental to our understanding of the New. Familiarity with the New Testament alone is like spending money in a foreign country when you don't know the exchange rate. You know you can get something, but you don't really know the cost.

Let me close in prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, creator and keeper of all things, illuminate our minds with your light and wisdom, so that we will find your word profitable to our lives and our understanding of you. Bring us ever closer to you. May we glorify you in all that we do. Amen.