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How To Pray: What To Say To God

2011-11-23T07:36:00.001-05:00

How To Pray - Review:
Week 1 - How Prayer Works
Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

Week 2 - Why We Pray
We pray to express concern, worry, fears, anxieties, terrors, tensions, problems; to join God in doing what is best for us and the world

Week 3 - What To Pray For
What are you willing to help answer? What will be a win-win-win for everyone involved? What have you learned about what Jesus values? What’s my motive for this prayer?

This Week - What To Say To God
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WHAT TO SAY TO GOD?

With your mouth. With your mind. With your tears.
With your attitude. With your actions. With your choices.

If we think of praying as only asking God for stuff, then we'll limit what we can say to God. But if we consider prayer as a form of communication, we open ourselves up to a wide range of opportunities. Think of all the ways you can communicate with the people around you.

Same with God. You can communicate with God through your mouth, of course - but also with your mind, he knows your thoughts. God sees your tears, which is a form of communication, and if you want, a kind of prayer. And so it is with your attitude, your actions, and your choices.

How's that saying go? Actions speak louder than words? Consider what that means for your praying.

So when you go to pray, what can you say to God? You can say anything you want to God.
Psalm 54:2  Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.

Here the Psalm-writer is desiring God to listen - whatever is said, he wants it heard. And so we can have confidence that God always hears everything we utter. We don't have to worry about how we start our prayers, end them, or how we express our thoughts or wants to him - God is less interested in the form and pays much more attention to our character and the content of our communication.

If you want God to hear what you say, consider your position before God – does he see you as righteous or wicked?
Proverbs 15:29  The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Who you are matters much more to God than what you say or do, or even what you are going through. You were created in the image of God. Humanity is the crown of creation. And more than anything, God wants righteousness to prevail on earth through you. This is what Jesus is getting at when he teaches us to pray: "Your kingdom come, your will be done."

So if you are thinking wicked thoughts, planning wicked deeds, guilty of wicked behavior - unrepentant, or apathetic, or defiant, or whatever, then don't think that God wants to hear what you have to say. If you care nothing for what God wants, there is no "right" way to say your prayer.

But, if you seek to do the right thing in God's eyes and your neighbors eyes, if you work for justice and mercy, if you care for the poor, if you forgive those who sin against you - all the things that Jesus qualifies as righteous, then you can say what you want to God with confidence.

Say “Thanks God…” and then say, “Help, God…”
Daniel 6:11 Three times a day [Daniel] got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men…found Daniel praying and asking God for help.

There are two basic kinds of prayers when it comes to saying something to God. By noticing what God has done in us, for us, through us, around us - it should prompt words and actions, attitudes and choices that reflect thankfulness. Praising God for his accomplishments is an appropriate response of gratitude.

Of course God wants us to come to him for help. He's the most capable Being in the Universe! There is no wrong or right way to ask for help. Again, it's the attitude and posture behind the help - the motive. Keep it simple when it comes to what you say to God - especially when it comes to asking for help.

The length of the prayer, the urgency of the prayer, the posture while you pray does nothing to increase the likelihood of getting the prayer answered, though. Who you are effects the answer to your prayer much more then what you say. Even more, what God wants in the world to happen is way more important a factor then you using the correct words when you pray.

So, relax when you pray - don't worry about getting the words right! Don't fret about what to say to God! Just say it.

Say, “God, I don’t know what to pray for…”
Romans 8:26  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Sometimes you don't know what to say to God. The attitude of gratitude is so rich in your heart, words are inadequate to express what is within. That's okay - a smile goes a long way with God! And sometimes the pain and suffering in life leaves you speechless. Your rage, your disappointment, your confusion make it almost impossible to formulate a request. Or maybe, in light of how complicated life can get, you just don't know what to ask for.

What a relief it is to know that God's Spirit, which dwells within those that trust Him, knows what we need, knows what we ought to pray for - and offers up the prayers to the Father and Son in Heaven on our behalf. This goes to show you how much God wants to be in relationship with us, to be in communication with us, to have us join him in the work he is doing in the world.

A few final words on what to say to God:
The art of conversation…
Prayer may begin as simple exchanges of "thanks" and "help" - but what we want to develop is an ongoing, unending conversation with God. As we move through life, as we come to understand that God is always with us - well he's always ready to communicate with us about whatever we are experiencing. Sometimes he initiates the conversation, sometimes we do. But at some point we'll realize that our exchange with God has never really stopped - it just picks back up where it left off. Like a good friend.

Conversation implies listening - and this is the oft overlooked part of prayers. By focusing on prayers as requests, you cut off the desire to listen. You just want miraculous results from God. But God wants relationship with you, and he wants his will done on Earth. So conversation and communication, listening to and looking for Him are part of our prayers, shaping what we say.

If you ask me how to have a conversation with God, it'd be like you asking how to have a conversation with your parents, or friends, or other adults. Learning how to pray may be part of you learning how to have a conversation with somebody that isn't rooted in complaining, trashing somebody, talking about yourself, or gossip.

Learning what to say to God may enrich your ability to have constructive communication with others.

Prayer as a speech/letter/journal entry to God
Writing out your prayers has a long and rich tradition. It takes longer to communicate through writing then it does speaking - and sometimes this slowed-down process is good for our minds and hearts. An advantage of writing out your prayers is that then you can review them at a later date.

By putting down on paper what you want to say to God, or what you think you are hearing from God, can add clarity to your mind. People have learned that sometimes what is swirling around in their head gets sorted out when written down. So it goes with our concerns, questions, fears, and prayers.

What to say to God in a letter? I always start my written prayers with: "Dear Father..." and then I just write and write and write. Try it.

Prayer as a song/psalm/poem to God
So many of the prayers in the Scriptures are communicated as a song, as a psalm, as a poem. It's a sophisticated, rich, thoughtful, beautiful way to express yourself to God. For the artist in you, this may be a great way to experiment with how you pray. To fashion what you say to God says as much about what you say as why you say it. Again, it matters less what you say, and more about why you say it.

In conclusion:
There is much more to learn about praying. And you only learn by doing it. Relax when you pray. Do not be afraid of saying it "wrong." If there is any fear in you while you pray, you are sabotaging your prayers! Again and again Jesus says to us: Do not be afraid! When you pray, whatever you say, do it with confidence.

Prayer requires belief: you must believe that God wants to hear your thanks and cry for help. You must believe that he wants to be in a relationship with you, that he wants to communicate with you, that he wants the conversation to pick up again and again and again. That he wants to hear what you have to say. Trust him in this.

Just start talking. Start reflecting with him about your life and everyday situation. Faith as small as a mustard seed is enough to get your prayers launched up to a God who is a close as the next breath.

When the disciples asked Jesus what to say to God, here's what he gave them:

Lord, Teach Us To Pray:
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge! You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."

BASED ON THIS TEACHING OF JESUS ON WHAT TO SAY TO GOD, WHAT CONCLUSIONS COULD YOU DRAW?

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What else do you want to know about how to pray?

How To Pray: What To Pray For

2011-11-22T08:08:00.001-05:00

How To Pray: Review:
Week 1 - How Prayer Works
Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

Week 2 - Why We Pray
We pray to express concern, worry, fears, anxieties, terrors, tensions, problems; to join God in doing what is best for us and the world

This Week - What To Pray For

Week 4 - What to say to God
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WHAT TO PRAY FOR

Or: What to listen for
Or: What to thank for
Or: What to bless
Or: What to communicate about
Or: What to discuss
Or: What to argue with
Or: What to see
Or: What to want
Or: What to ask for…yourself or others

We have to move beyond thinking of prayer as asking God for stuff. Prayer is not synonymous with requests, petitions, begging, pleading, or desiring. Prayer is mostly synonymous with communication, with conversation, with meditation, with contemplation.

If you only want to know how to pray so that you know what to pray for in order to get what you want, then there is nothing more to know about prayer.

But if you want to know how to pray, if you want to know what to pray for so that what is best, what God wants, prevails in your life, the lives of those around you, and in the world - well then there is much to learn, much that is possible.

In light of this refreshing understanding of prayer, here are some suggestions on what to pray for:

for God to be trusted as Father
for God to be seen for who he is (truth prevailing)
for God to set the world right, to do what is best for everyone
for God to give us just enough food for the day
for God to keep us forgiven with himself and forgiving others
for God to keep us safe from ourselves and evil
for God to be celebrated and honored for his work in the world
for God to be praised and enjoyed for his beauty in the world

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he taught them what we call The Lord's Prayer. The above listing is a reflection on what to pray for based on what Jesus taught his disciples. Consider how Jesus' teaching on prayer gives shape and direction to what to pray for. It moves beyond a laundry list of requests and wishes, it moves to something more substantive, more God-centered, more humanity-centered, and less self-centered.

What to pray for? The desire to ask God for help is primal. We often equate praying to requesting God for stuff, whether out of habit, desperation, or prompts by the Spirit. So if we are going to ask God to intervene, give us an answer, solve a problem, what kind of thinking should influence what to pray for?

Here are four questions to ask as you ask God for help, what to pray for when you pray:
What are you willing to help answer?
Stop praying for miracles. Stop praying for ballistic missile solutions (have God solve your problems from a distance at your behest without anyone getting their hands any dirtier.) If you want God to help answer your prayers, you need to pray in such a way that you are willing to get involved in helping answer your own prayer.

God is most times more interested in what he can accomplish in your character during hard times then getting you out of hot water. When we want God to intervene, he wants to do something with us more than just give us what we want.

What will be a win-win-win for everyone involved?
To often our prayers are mostly about our own life, feelings, perspective, and values. Even when we pray for others, it is often rooted in what we want for them. When we want God to do something for us, we'd be wise to contemplate how his work would benefit not only us, and others, but also Him.

We need to think community when we pray - what are the spillover effects if God actually answers this prayer? How much is this prayer about me, and how much is this about others?

What have you learned about what Jesus values?
As Christians, we follow the way of Christ. As disciples of Jesus, we study his teachings so that we may live by them. When it comes to prayer, how do we incorporate what Jesus taught about life and prayer?

If, as Christians, we don't live as Jesus instructs, and we don't pray in the way he taught, if we don't incorporate his values into our heart, then we may not ever really know what to pray for, or how to get what we want.

What’s my motive for this prayer? Pleasure and Convenience?
Motive is everything. How many prayers, if we are honest, are more about our desire for pleasure and convenience? Instead of our prayers fueled by love for others, we pray for the pain to go away because we just want everybody to be happy. Especially us.

But God doesn't really have an interest in making our life more convenient. If he does ever make life more convenient, you can bet it is for much bigger reasons then just for the sake of convenience. Our desire for our pleasure and convenience often blind us to the deeper realities going on within us and others, and the world around us.

What's your motive? Does your motive reflect the values of Jesus? Does your motive include a win-win-win attitude? Does your motive for praying involve a willingness to help answer your own prayer?

Here's what Jesus taught when the disciples requested of Jesus...

Lord, Teach Us To Pray:"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge! You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."

BASED ON THIS TEACHING OF JESUS ON WHAT TO PRAY FOR, WHAT CONCLUSIONS COULD YOU DRAW?

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What else do you want to know about how to pray?

He Learned Trusting-Obedience

2011-11-09T07:02:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 5

Who was Jesus? It seems that Jesus had several key identities. His title of Christ was a challenge to Caesar. It is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed one" in the Hebrew language. An "anointed one" referred to either a prophet, priest, or king. As Messiah to the Hebrew people, Jesus came as all three.

In this letter to the Hebrews, the author is connecting the dots between Jesus the Messiah and Israel's True High Priest. Jesus was the ideal High Priest for the people of Israel. He was compassionate with sinners. He was set apart by God, he didn't seek the position out for himself. Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow before God as he offered up his priestly prayers on behalf of the people. What a gift this kind of High Priest would be to the masses.

I imagine that this kind of generous and kind behavior from Jesus would have irritated and enraged the reigning and former High Priests of Israel. They had been politically appointed, had amassed great power and wealth, and sought to stabilize Israel's future with Rome. And then Jesus comes along, anointed as a High Priest of Israel, mediating between God and the people with beautiful results. No wonder they wanted to kill him!

What's interesting is that the one writing this letter to the Hebrews makes a point to remind us that Jesus had to learn "trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." We are often closest to Jesus when we suffer. Though we might even be suffering because of our own sins, even that has been fueled by those that have sinned against us - and it is there that we suffer like Jesus. And it is there, like Jesus, that we can learn trusting-obedience in God.

Jesus lived out a picture of what a True High Priest of Israel out to be. As this gracious High Priest, full of lovingkindness, Jesus laid down his life as if he were the unblemished lamb on the Day of Atonement. He's the High Priest that laid down his own life for the people of Israel. He's also the High Priest that becomes the scape-goat that wanders into the wilderness bearing on his backs all the sins of the people, carrying them away to be remembered no more.

Jesus is the Holy High Priest of Israel, through whom the world can be rescued from their sins as well. Anyone who believingly obeys Jesus, following his example, keeping his instructions, trusting his way, will find eternal salvation. Salvation from our sins that begins in this life and continues into the next.

A salvation that changes us into priests for God like Jesus in our world - ones who mediate between YHWH and the people in our life. We treat sinners graciously, we learn trusting-obedience through our suffering when sinned against, we weep as we pray on behalf of the people in our life.

Jesus learned trusting-obedience, and so should we until our last breath, until "It is finished."

God Has Given The Skill

2011-11-08T07:06:00.000-05:00

Exodus 36-40

God has given men the skill to create the works of art he has given them. Put another way, God has given men and women the wisdom to keep his commands. Or: God has given humanity the capacity to participate in the flourishing of the Earth.

Israel is discovering their identity at Mt. Sinai. God has given them a second round of Ten Words (or Commandments), plus a lot more words and commands to live by. Keeping these commands will lead to them becoming a unique nation in the Ancient Near East. If everything goes according to plan, unique so that they can be a blessing.

At Mt. Sinai they get detailed instructions on how to worship YHWH. Of course they would, how would they know to honor and praise him, they've been steeped in Egyptian idolatry for hundreds of years. They also were given detailed instructions on how to craft the objects to be used in this worship. We read these details with glazed over eyes. But if we read between the lines, what will we see?

God has given the detailed instructions on what he wants, and then he gives the skill to people to do it.

Think about that.

God is creating a new people, giving them a new way to worship him, to become a blessing to their neighboring tribes, to become a nation of their own having been delivered from an impressive and oppressive empire. And to do this, he not only gives them his presence - as cloud and fire - but words to follow, and then skills to accomplish it. That is good news for Israel. And us.

Alas, the rebellious instincts that lurk deep within us are powerful enough to derail us from the details God lovingly spells out for us. When Israel kept the commands, when the craftsmen hammered out the objects of worship, when the people participated in the worship of a holy God, they were blessed. But when they rebelled, grumbled, turned to idols, and rejected Moses, they became cursed. Despite all God did for them.

When we look around our community, our neighbors, our home, our church - God has details for us on how to get involved and join him in on the work he is doing. And the giving of the details often includes the capacity to do it with skill. Because God works through a community of people, he will place people in relationship to you so that together you can accomplish what he is doing in the world. Good news indeed!

You're Such A Stubborn, Hard-Headed People!

2011-11-07T07:27:00.000-05:00

Exodus 31-35

We like to think that if we had been the ex-slaves traversing through the Desert of Sin, milling around the lonely Mt. Sinai, that we would have been much more obedient to God. It's easy to assume that we would have chosen different had we been in those difficult and trying circumstances. Us stubborn? Me, hard-headed? Ha!

Several million Hebrews have been herded along by their shepherd Moses to meet the God who delivered them. There at the mountain God will sign a covenant, much like a king would create for his people, outlining the terms and conditions of his kingdom. The language and elements of this treaty between God and the Israelites is very similar to that of other treaties found in the Ancient Near East. What an unruly crew God was seeking to tame!

It's interesting to note that God grants special wisdom and skill to craftsmen so that they can create the buildings and ritual objects for worship. That encourages me: whatever God is asking his people and church to do today, he will give us the wisdom and skills to accomplish it.

But it's also interesting to note that following the tragic and disgusting episode of the Golden Calf, Moses has to talk God out of destroying the Twelve Tribes of Israel. God is so angry and offended by the blatant disregard for his commands and covenant and commitment to them that he wants to wipe the rescued slaves off the face of the earth. And Moses has to wrestle to get God to change his mind.

This becomes a helpful picture for what Jesus accomplished on the cross when he bore the penalties of our sins. When you think about how angry you get when you hear about sins committed against others, imagine how God reacts.

It's his creation, it's the people he loves, its the world that he is always at work in - and when people sin against Him and one another and creation in all the flagrant ways that we do, it angers him. On the cross Jesus bore the wrath of God for all the sins ever committed, and ever to be committed. Though we would still sin, we live as if already forgiven.

We're such a stubborn and hard-headed people yet today. God has impressive patience with us still. There are still consequences for our sins though, there are still missed opportunities from our fears and mistakes.

But God is still at work in us and through us to accomplish his work in the world - a work begun with Exodus, continued through Israel, climaxed with the crucifixion of Jesus, and now enlarged through the lives of the church. Jesus is now our shepherd, leading us though we resist and still rebel. But he still leads, he never leaves or forsakes us, rescuing us, and then reforming us.

Oh, how we still need to be reformed! The work God has for us to do - he makes us capable of accomplishing it. Though we might look at our past and grimace, or our life now and frown, God sees what he can do through us and smiles!

In letting God reform and renew us, in our being honest with God about our stubbornness and pride, we become more humble and useful to him. And to others.

And God Just Stands There

2011-11-04T07:04:00.000-04:00

Job 15-16

When you suffer, is it a direct result of your sins?

Yes and no.

For many of us, our complicated situations flow from our pride, anger, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, or apathy. So in these cases, there is a connection between our hardships and our transgressions.

But what about when someone sins against us? When we are innocent? When they trespass against us and produce hurt and anxiety and fear and woundedness into our life? What then? Are we too blame for the tsunami of difficulties that flow out of that?

For Job, he was convinced that he was innocent, and that God was to blame for his horrors. And to a degree, he was right - since we get to know the backstory, the conversation God had with Satan. For Job's friends, who like Job don't know the backstory, they are convinced that Job is guilty of sin, and this explains his terrible suffering.

Despite Job's protests to his innocence, the friends are sure that deep inside, despite the great reputation Job had for being blameless and upright, despite his life of righteousness, somewhere deep inside was lurking sin that has produced this terrible affliction of suffering.

Here is how Eliphaz puts it:

If you were truly wise, would you sound so much like a windbag, belching hot air?
Would you talk nonsense in the middle of a serious argument, babbling baloney?
Look at you! You trivialize religion, turn spiritual conversation into empty gossip.
It's your sin that taught you to walk this way.
You chose an education in fraud.

But Job resists their simplistic and unfeeling accounting of the situation:

I've had all I can take of your talk.
What a bunch of miserable comforters!
Is there no end to your windbag speeches?
What's your problem that you go on and on like this?
If you were in my shoes, I could talk just like you.
I could put together a terrific harangue and really let you have it.
But I'd never do that. I'd console and comfort, make things better, not worse!

And then Job speaks directly and forcefully to God about his dire situation:

People take one look at me and gasp.
Contemptuous, the slap me around and gang up on me.
And God just stands there and lets them do it,
let's wicked people do what they want with me.
I was contentedly minding my own business when God beat me up.
He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around.

Do you ever feel this way towards God? That the hard times you're going through are undeserved? We'd be wise to contemplate the thoughts of both Eliphaz and Job. There are times when our sins produce chaos in our life, and thus our repentance and return to God put us on the path to healing and restoration.

But sometimes, when we get sinned against, and life turns upside down, we have a choice: of either retaliating, of sinning in response, or crying out to God for intervention and rescue.

Job is caught in deep tension: he's convinced that the hard times are undeserved, and yet from God. He's also sure that God is the one that can rescue him. Job must wrestle with relying on a God who has seemingly been so unfair to him. Job is forced to reach out to a God who just seems to stand there.

Job is being tested. And in his rage against the injustice of his situation, he still trusts God for resolution. Even though he sees God as the cause of the storm, he's willing to believe that God will bring it to pass. And that God will have a good reason for all of this. But in the meantime, it's as if God just stands there.

Believe Without Seeing

2011-11-03T07:51:00.000-04:00

John 19-21

Is it more difficult to believe in Jesus now then it used to be?

Does the lapsing of time between the resurrection and our life today make it increasingly harder to have faith in Jesus? If we had been there to see the crucifixion of Jesus, would it be more likely we would have stronger faith? Probably not.

Here's how Jesus perceives the situation - it gets phrased through his discourse with Thomas the Twin: "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing."

Meaning: Jesus had a hard enough time getting people to believe in him while he did walk and speak and heal and celebrate with sinners. Imagine how hard it will be to get the next generation of Israelites and Gentiles to believe in a Jesus that is gone!

And yet... here we are two thousand years later and Jesus still has quite a following of believers. Impressive! Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those that would someday believe without seeing. Of course, this doesn't imply that you turn off your brain, become a robotic in your obedience, and cease to ask questions. It's about engaging your mind and not just your eyeballs.

The Gospel of John is a great example of how the disciples attempted to help people believe in a Jesus they had never seen, maybe never even heard of, possibly who don't like Jews. John blatantly admits his purpose in writing this gospel:

Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Believe without seeing came to mean: believe through hearing and reading and listening. This taps into Jesus' own ministry - his preaching and teaching required hearing and listening. Seeing Jesus - his life, even his death and resurrection - did not provoke belief, but rather denials, abandonment, and fear.

But the story of Jesus still needs to be told, and people need to be able to have the events unfolded so that we can see them in our mind.

Why was Jesus killed? That's kind of the point of the gospels that John and the others wrote. What did Jesus do that led to his crucifixion? But not just the why or how, but: what did it mean? What was the significance of the King of Israel being crucified by the elite rulers and mobs of fellow Israelites? What was the significance that King Jesus also claimed to be the Son of Man, but also understood to be the Son of God?

Be thankful that the Gospel writers gave us stories and not volumes of theological reflection. The stories of Jesus keep alive in us the powerful truths that change our life. Every generation must again, anew, go back to the stories and figure out what they mean for our day.

Seeing Jesus does not lead to believing. Reading and hearing and listening to the stories - and processing them, wrestling with them. understanding them - that leads to belief.

You must figure out the implications of what Jesus claimed, of what he taught and did. You must wrestle with it. Belief must be born out of struggle. Belief without seeing is difficult for sure. But belief born out of listening and contemplating and striving to understand - that is a gift, rare and precious.

Take The Mercy, Accept The Help

2011-11-02T06:59:00.000-04:00

Hebrews 3-4

This letter was possibly written by Priscilla, a well-regarded Christian woman who collaborated with the Apostle Paul. Since no author has been attributed to this thoughtful and rich letter, lots of theories have emerged. Some say Paul wrote it, but the style is much different then his other letters.

We know it was written by a Hebrew to Hebrews, hence the title it was given. It was written by someone with a deep love for Israel, a mastery of the First Testament, a deep understanding of their history, and unwavering loyalty to Jesus the Messiah.

The Hebrew Christians who received this letter needed assurance of their faith. They also needed more thorough explanations of how Jesus is connected to Israel as the High Priest, to God as the Son, and to the world as fully human. The author of this letter will draw extensively from Torah, but also the Poetry, the History, and the Prophets of the First Testament. This is an excellent letter to read with a Reference Bible - and then follow the "links" it provides, connecting the letter to the Hebrews with the hundreds of references in the First Testament.

It is vital that these Hebrews and Hebrew Christians that are reading the Bible don't make the same mistake as that first generation of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt. The Exodus was God's intervention for his people to deliver them to the Promised Land. And along the way, the people gave up on God, they turned a deaf ear to him, they quit trusting him. And so it is with this first generation of Christians - don't repeat the same mistake of our ancestors, don't turn a deaf ear to Jesus.

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do.

In our life, it's too easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. We can make other issues too important, too distracting. When it comes to our life as Christians, Christ is the focus. Christ the person, Christ the one who lived and died, the one who was resurrected and ascended. Christ the one who rescued us from sin and restores us to new life, reconciled with God and ready for life in the age to come. It's important that we not just focus on what Jesus does for us, but what Jesus was like and what he did for others.

Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Isn't that a great image of Jesus? He's eager for us to meet, to talk, to be present in the same place. At times he tracks us down, he follows us to our dark places, he stays with us despite our defiance and doubts. And then, when we're ready to turn around, he's right there, ready for us to receive what he has to offer. Are you ready to take the mercy and accept the help Jesus has to give?

Don't Boil A Kid In Its Mother's Milk

2011-11-01T07:37:00.000-04:00

Exodus 21-30

In reading through the whole First Testament and New Testament, the most difficult sections is the pieces that go on and on and on about arcane laws, tedious construction details, and disgusting sacrificial instructions. According to historians, the Exodus would have happened around 1400BC. Our society and culture is so different from then, which helps explain our slogging through some of these chapters.

Some of the commands we understand: Don't kill or beat people, don't steal or kidnap, don't be irresponsible or immoral, don't sacrifice to idols. Okay, we can appreciate those kinds of laws - in fact we seek to keep them yet today. But there there are other statutes that seem to baffle us, the most famous one being: don't boil a kid in its mother's milk.

As I read through the lists of do's and don'ts, it helps to remember the practicality of this book and the situation of the people. They are listing stuff that has been experienced, stuff that has been a problem requires a solution, hence the commands. Obviously there had been problems with abuse, robbery, idolatry, sexual immorality, and so on. What we get is a snapshot of what the complicated problems were facing the people, and the solutions they proposed.

I was put off by how many times death is proscribed as punishment for so many of the laws. It seems rather harsh. I suppose it helps to remember that we are dealing with document over three-thousand years old. Culture was different then. But it's interesting to note that when the death penalty was put in force, an option of redemption was possible. "If a ransom is agreed upon instead of death, he must pay it in full as a redemption for his life."

Admittedly, I skimmed through some of the details on how to construct the Tabernacle and other related items, including the vestments for the priests. I tried to read every single word, but I jumped ahead sometimes. I'm sure there is a good reason for including this information in the Bible, but it seems to have little practical application to my life. However, it does teach me that God cares about details, about creating fine art, about letting us know what he wants us to do, about practicality and beauty and functionality and holiness.

One last thing: the idea of holy is connected mostly to the idea that something is different, set apart. The priests are holy because they are not like the common person. The Tabernacle and related items are holy because they are set apart from common use, only to be handled by priests for worship.

Holy does not mean pure or unblemished, it just means different. However, the point of making the item holy is so that it won't be made impure or mishandled. In our lives, we don't become holy by becoming pure - we become holy by a decision of God. In making us holy, he sets us apart for a special task he enables us to accomplish.

But You're Special

2011-10-31T07:12:00.000-04:00

Exodus 16-20

In this story of freedom from slavery, we also find a story of covenant to God. Israel was freed by God - not so that they could do whatever they wanted. They were freed in order to become God's own people on the Earth. God rescued Israel, saved them that they might be his special treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

We don't know what kind of work God was doing in the whole world during the times of the Exodus. We do know that there were tribes of peoples all over the Earth, kingdoms, empires, cities and societies. There is scant if any word of what God was doing in those peoples. But God does make it clear through his words to Moses that God intended for Israel to have a role to play when it came to the peoples of the world.

For Israel to be a kingdom of priests, it implies that they were to be mediators between God and all the peoples and tribes of Earth. As a holy nation, they were set apart, unlike the other nations, called for a special duty and task. Recall God's word to Abraham: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make you a blessing, and through you I will bless the whole world. It was this kind of vision that God had for the Israel that he delivered from slavery in Egypt.

The stories we read in this section are fascinating - snippets of what life was like on the way to the Promised Land. This part of the journey includes episodes of their travel to Mt. Sinai where the covenant will be made between God and Israel. Along the way the people complain bitterly about lack of food and water. They are attacked by the Amalekites. Moses is overwhelmed by his role as judge for this mass of sojourners. There are good nuggets in here for reflection on leadership and faith.

As Christians, we understand ourselves to be children of Abraham - those who put their faith in Christ. With our allegiance to Jesus as Messiah and King of Israel, we belong to the New Israel that God has brought up in the world to be his special treasure for blessing the world. Christians are the next kingdom of priests, mediators between God and the people of the world. We are the holy nation, unlike everyone else in order that we might serve them and bless them and connect them with God.

To think of ourselves as special does not give us permission to become proud and haughty towards others. We've been chosen to follow in the steps of Jesus, the way of love and sacrifice, service and compassion, wisdom and healing. Just as Israel failed to uphold the covenant, so have Christians. And yet just as God worked through Israel, so he can work through us. Jesus is the one redeeming factor of both Israel and Christians - it is he to whom we should always point. And follow.

Why Do You Stay Hidden and Silent?

2011-10-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

Job 13-14

When you carefully and thoughtfully observe the world around you, does it ever prompt some difficult and yearning questions for God? Does your own experience with suffering, pain, fear, and oppression cause you to wonder what God is up to and why does he seem absent? It did for Job, for me, and likely for you.

This long and winding poem called Job articulates artfully the probing questions we humans have for our Creator. Does he not notice what life is like for the majority of people on planet Earth?

More than half the population lives on a few dollars a day. The wealthiest of Earthlings are dying of obesity and loneliness. It's pathetic, disgusting, revolting and unacceptable. Is God proud of how miserable humanity has become? And what is he going to do about it?

Job presses God with some pointed and painful questions. And it makes Job's religious friends nervous. They aren't comfortable with God getting accused for stuff. But Job presses them: how big is your God?

Can't he handle the frustration and venting? Job is very direct with God, to the point, boldly upfront about his observations of what is going on - not only in his confusion and wretchedness, but that of so much of humanity.

We're all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles.

We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of the cloud.

Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court?

There's nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything?

Job goes on to reflect on the seeming pointlessness of life, the brevity and turmoil of human existence - especially in comparison to nature, to the trees that seem to endure well past our own death.

For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance -
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.

Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.

But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that's it.

Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals like down and never get up,
never wake up again - never.

Job doesn't want to die. He wants to live! But his suffering, and that of so much of humanity, it makes death look attractive. The prospect of wanting death is abhorrent - but that's how bad life has become. Job is stuck - he doesn't want to die, to have life be over forever.

But he doesn't want this pain. So it leads him to this question for God: if you won't take away the pain now, will you grant me death - but only if you promise for resurrection, for life again, a better life then what we have now?

Here's how Job writes it:

Why don't you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until the anger cools?

But don't leave me there!
Set a date when you'll see me again.

If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change - for resurrection!

Our life and suffering can resonate with that of Job's. He, however, wrote with no knowledge of Jesus. We do. And where as Job longed for resurrection but with no promises that it would be a possibility for him, it is for us.

If we, like Job, gain wisdom through our sufferings, compassion for humanity wracked by sins and pain, insistence on knowing truth and reality, resurrection can become our hope.

Jesus' story has many similarities to Job's. They both longed for resurrection - for themselves and others. And through Jesus it becomes a possibility for humanity. Longing for it, looking for it, in accordance with what Jesus has to say about God and life and humanity and the future - this changes us. It changes our perspective, our attitude, our hopes.

Much like Job, we wonder why God seems to stay hidden and silent. Yet for Job, his pining for resolution led to hopes of resurrection. If it does for you too, then what Jesus has to promise you will be good news indeed!

How To Pray: Why We Pray

2011-10-28T09:59:00.001-04:00

How to Pray: Review
Week 1 - How Prayer Works
Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

This Week - Why we pray

Week 3) What To Pray For

Week 4) What To Say To God
**********

Why We Pray
* To get what we want? To get God’s help? To get God to fix my problems?

* To get God to heal a sickness, to be with me, to keep me safe, to bless our food?

OR...

* To focus on God

* To learn what we need

* To be with our Father in heaven

* To join God in his work to set the world right

* To remember our reliance upon God for everything we need to live and love

* To express gratitude

* To express concern, worry, fears, anxieties, terrors, tensions, problems, etc.

* To get help accepting forgiveness and giving it to others

* To get intervention from God in deflecting self-harm and the sin of others

* To remember and reflect on God’s greatness and goodness.

* To join God in doing what is best for the world

Our tendency is to pray for stuff. When we are in need, we ask God to intervene. But outside of our own personal suffering or concern for the welfare of others, we don't usually pray. Maybe an occasional attitude of gratitude towards God, and some complaining about how unfair life is. Too often that is the extent of our praying, and it leaves us frustrated and empty.

If we pray to pretty much only get stuff from God, we'll give up after awhile, since it seems that God rarely answers our prayers.

The solution, then, isn't to figure out how to pray so that we can get God to give us what we want. It's not as if God is folding his arms, resisting our requests because we didn't ask the proper way.

The remedy for unanswered prayers is to reflect on the purpose of prayer, to better understand why we pray.

And Jesus ought to be the first place to go on knowing why we pray.

The list above is my reflection upon the Lord's Prayer on why we pray. Below is the teaching that Jesus gives us on why we pray. Read it and then write down in your own words what Jesus teaches you about why to pray. It will help us imagine fresh and renewing ways of praying that add to our life with God and others.

Lord, Teach Us To Pray:
Here is what Jesus had to say on why we pray -

"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.  
Set the world right;  
Do what's best— as above, so below.  
Keep us alive with three square meals.  
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.  
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.  
You're in charge!  You can do anything you want!  
You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.

Based on this teaching of Jesus on why to pray, what conclusions could you draw?

*

*

*

*

*

What else do you want to know about how to pray?

Do You Finally Believe?

2011-10-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

John 16-18

For whatever reason, the disciples were having a difficult time understanding Jesus. His explanations about his life, his work, his upcoming death - well it just made everything more confusing. It was difficult to grasp back then, and so it still is today.

Patiently Jesus answers their questions about his identity, his mission, his future. Jesus explains to them about the coming Holy Spirit, the upcoming crucifixion, and God's will for everything. Finally, the disciples cry out that they get it, the grasp what Jesus is saying. Jesus shocks them with this question: Do you finally believe?

At this point Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how they will abandon him. But then Jesus prays for them. And so it is with us today - we struggle to understand who Jesus is and what he has done and is doing in the world. When we get close to grasping it, we still get challenged by Jesus himself: do you finally believe?

Jesus challenges us like he did his disciples then - reminding us that we can't believe in Him apart from His Spirit. We need Jesus to pray for us, to help us keep believing - and obeying. And that's what Jesus' prayer is all about - spelling out the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Son and the Disciples, the Disciple and Disciples, and the Disciples and the Father. Love. Unity. Mission.

It was one thing for the disciples to declare their faith and trust in Jesus while praying in the Garden. It was severely tested there in Gethsemane when the soldiers and priests showed up with clubs and swords. The light had seemed to dawn for the disciples earlier, only to have it chased away in the dark of night. And so it goes for us still - we have moments where we finally get it... and then it's overwhelmed by the forces at work in the world.

The religious leaders did not believe Jesus. Some did, and more would after the resurrection. The Roman bureaucrats and soldiers did not believe Jesus. A few did, but not enough to intervene and stop the condemnation to torture. Crowds of people had been fed by Jesus, healed by Jesus, loved by Jesus, taught by Jesus - but they did not believe Jesus. They were willing to let him be silenced.

Where are you at with Jesus? Do you struggle to hear and obey his words? Do you have a hard time making sense of his life and teachings? Is it difficult for you to believe? Can you see in your own life where you've denied or even betrayed Jesus? When we come to Jesus and let him know that we finally believe, he's probably going to push back a bit. Not to be mean, but but because he wants to give us the truth in love.

Jesus wants us to believe him. He prays for the Spirit to help us believe him. But we should be aware that our declarations of belief may get challenged by Jesus himself. That's his gift to us. Belief shouldn't be easy. Which is why faith is a gift of God to us. And we must rely on Jesus' Spirit to help us keep trusting him. We don't have to do it all by ourselves.

Do you finally believe?

But We Don't See It Yet

2011-10-26T08:23:00.000-04:00

Hebrews 1-2

We want to see what is right prevail. What want to see good overcome evil. We want there to be a connection between justice and mercy. More than karma, we want grace to have the last word on our lives.

For Christians, our story includes the command of God to have dominion over the Earth, to steward it for his glory and our joy. Unfortunately, in the past few hundred years, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we've increased our pollution of the land and famines for the poorest of the world. Christians are struggling with how to exert power and authority such that everyone on earth gets enough to eat and drink. We strive for a solution, but we don't see it yet.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews was a witness to the life and way of Jesus. For him, in the midst of the mighty Roman Empire, he still didn't see yet the blessed dominion of man over the earth. Instead, he saw crucifixion beams and besieged, bloodied cities. But he did see Jesus. And he was compelled to come to terms with the words and works of Jesus. How to make sense of them - either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

We want Jesus to return soon, to make things right on the earth. We want Jesus to lead us so that the righteous prosper and the wicked are disciplined. We want Jesus to bring healing and restoration to broken peoples and polluted lands. But we don't see it yet. Not completed, at least. But the work has begun, if you have eyes to see it.

Where does wickedness come from? Where does the desire to hurt people and desecrate the land come from? The religious term for it is sin. Evil. And if only someone could break the corruptible power of sin, it's expressions of lust and greed, pride and envy.

Ah - but there is someone who claimed to overcome the reign of evil. It's what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. And the rewards of that sacrifice are available to us. To those that believe it is possible. Even if we don't see it completed yet.

Unlike the author of Hebrews, we did not witness the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. We did not hear his words, did not watch him at work. But the influence of Jesus is still here. Jesus is still at work, breaking the power of sin in our lives, subverting the power of evil in society.

He knows what it is like to be one of us, to be crushed by opposition, to be hated for being right and truth-full. Jesus is our example for how to live in this darkened world. But he is also our Savior - the one who rescued us from the power of darkness and grants us light to see and love and follow Him.

Why Are We Doing This?

2011-10-25T07:16:00.000-04:00

Exodus 11-15

If you were God, and about three thousand years ago you wanted to free some two million people from a powerful empire, how would you do it? Let's call that empire Egypt, and the enslaved people Israel. Egypt is militarily powerful, the Israelites weakened from decades of forced labor. Everyone is religious, believing in dozens of gods and goddesses. And God has not talked to anyone in over four-hundred years.

God has decided to work in and through people. He works through Pharaoh - who has been raised to believe in his own divinity, exceedingly cruel and violent. He works through Moses who is an Israelite, raised as an Egyptian prince, exiled to the desert, existed as a scraggly shepherd, and now returns with a stutter. If the Israelites are released to the desert, the economy grinds to a halt for a few days. Or, as the Pharaoh fears, forever. God of Israel or Pharaoh-god of Egypt - who's will shall prevail?

All of this apparently got confusing for the children. When God gives the instructions to Moses on how to be prepared to be rescued, it assumes that the kids will have questions. God has words for the parents on what to say when asked: why are we doing this?

As the wheels of freedom began to grind, the noise of wailing from the Egyptians and scared bleating of the sheep and goats rang throughout the night. It would have been scary for a child to sit through the turmoil of the Passover.

When God brought about the final plague, the Death of the Firstborn, instructions were given on how to survive the night. Those that believed God through Moses obeyed. They took a lamb, slaughtered it, spread the blood over the doorposts of their home, and then roasted the meat over a flickering fire.

The family was to eat in haste, sandals on, staff in hand, belongings packed up. This was a meal unlike any other - it even had a name: the Pass-over meal. Of course the children are going to wonder: why are we doing this?

Screams of terrified mothers and rage-full fathers tore through the darkness when they discovered their firstborn son breathless. Trembling Israelite parents clung to their kids, thankful for life, ready for the morning to arrive.

When notice was given to flee the land, they found their grieving Egyptian neighbors flinging gold and jewelry and other valuables out the window at them - a departing gift. The confusion prompted the kids to whisper: why are we doing this?

When the Israelites arrived at the shore of the Red Sea, the fresh breeze was a blessing. But when they heard the thundering approach of Pharaoh's deadly chariots, they felt cursed and betrayed.

Suddenly the crowd starts moving, you get swept up in the shuffle forward, and amidst the roars of fear and the wild neighing of war-horses you find yourself in water. Well, not in the water, but on dry ground with walls of water to your left and right. What child wouldn't ask: why are we doing this?

God wanted the Israelites to be able to tell the story of their deliverance. God wanted the children of Israel to know who they are, where they came from, and why they feast and worship as they do. God understood the inquisitive nature of children, the mystery of worship, and the complexity of historical remembrance.

When we observe Passover, the Lord's Supper, fasting, praying, giving alms, caring for the least of these - they prompt questions: why are we doing this? What would you tell your kids?

Parents fail their children when there are shallow answers to normal questions. Especially when it comes to our faith and life with God. If parents don't know what they are doing - why do we go to church, etc - or if they don't give a good answer, they'll lose the interest of their kids.

Thoughtlessness and lack of appreciation from parents will get passed on to their kids. But so will reflection, intentionality, understanding, patient explanation in response to curiosity.

Israel would fail in future generations - like within two or three - because parents didn't give good enough answers when the kids asked: why are we doing this? It's been the curse of Israel and Christianity - parents often fail to pass on faith in God to their kids.

Why? Because the parents often fail to invest enough honest reflection into their own life to answer their own questions: why are we doing this? Many times the question of a child is God's prompt for you to do some contemplation.

Why are we doing this?

Have It Your Way

2011-10-24T12:07:00.000-04:00

Exodus 6-10

Why do we get so stubborn? What makes us dig in our heels at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons? How do you get through to someone who is unable to break free from their enslaving desires?

Moses pleads with Pharaoh to let the Israelites venture into the desert for a few days to worship YHWH. Pharaoh's denial of their request prompts plagues from God. Each plague prompts Pharaoh to relent - but then as the calamity subsides, the stubbornness returns in force. The increasing destructiveness of the curses increases the tension of the story - how can Pharaoh keep changing his mind and allow another day of disaster to come upon himself and his people?

Pharaoh's empire-economy was expanding in glory and might on the back of Israelite slaves. To let the men and their families enjoy a few days off would bring the "shovel-ready" projects to a halt. Worse, it would give the enslaved people a few days rest to talk amongst themselves and possibly plot insurrection. The idea that they would find respite in the desert to worship a "foreign" god was also an unwelcome thought to the Pharaoh. It's not just that Pharaoh is stubborn, he's also afraid of what will happen.

There is often a link between our stubbornness and our fears. We get into a situation that is harming others, even ourselves - and when the opportunity is given us to change, we get stubborn and afraid. We're afraid of the future, afraid of uncertainty, afraid of being shamed, afraid of losing what we have - even if it is rotten and filthy. Stubbornness is less about wisdom then it is about power and control, familiarity and advantage. Pharaoh faces a great disadvantage in letting the Israelites go worship in the desert. What's in it for him?

What Pharaoh didn't fully comprehend was that his slave-labor would be leaving him soon no matter what. He was given the opportunity to act honorably and in obedience to YHWH. After any one of the plagues, Pharaoh could have had a change of heart, fully repented and granted freedom to Israel. But he didn't, and he wouldn't. And thus he lost his honor and his empire. And his life.

God will come to us at times, giving us an opportunity to change, to break away from addictions, from bondage to ideas and beliefs, to be freed from dangerous relationships and circumstances. He comes to help us change, that we might cease from harming others.

And when God comes to initiate those changes, we can know that the change will come - either with our cooperation and honorable participation, or without it. If we stubbornly resist God's work, we will experience ongoing disaster and destruction. God doesn't get involved in trifle matters - what he does is of grand importance.

When we are given the opportunity to change, God will speak to us through a myriad of people. We may not always recognize God in it, but we will hear the word of change that is being presented to us.

We can have it our way, or we can do it God's way. God was going to free Israel with or without Pharaoh's participation. And God will free others under your influence that you are harming, with or without your participation.

You can have it your way,
and face a series of curses and separation from God.
Or you can have it God's way,
where you face loss, but also a new beginning.

Does This Look Like Rescue To You?

2011-10-22T09:09:00.000-04:00

Exodus 1-5

This is the story of God and Moses and the rescue of Israel from Egypt. God is the main character, Moses is his supporting actor, and Pharaoh is the antagonist. Exodus is the primary story of Israel - its the story that Genesis was pointing to, preparing for. And in the story of Exodus is the clash of God and gods, Deliverance and Empire, Freedom and Slavery, Worship and Work.

Moses was born during a ban, he was to be immediately executed for being a boy. His mother defied the Pharaoh. Ironically, the Pharaoh's daughter discovers the baby Moses floating in the Nile and takes him home! We learn that Moses grows up in a royal household, the best of education and opportunity. One thing, however, that persisted was a speech impediment. Despite forty years of Egyptian privilege, Moses still stuttered.

As Moses discovers his true heritage, he flails in executing justice. His flight to the wilderness, however, becomes preparation for survival. He has been trained in royal leadership, now he's being trained in desert shepherding. God will meet up with Moses for the first time at just the right time. Almost eighty years of preparation, of no interaction with God, of only living one day at a time on his own. God works on his own timetable, in his own way.

When God begins to reveal his plans to Moses, things get worse for almost everyone. Jethro loses his daughter and best shepherd, and grandkids. On the way there, Zipporah saves Moses from being killed by God! Upon arrival in Egypt, the request from Aaron and Moses to Pharaoh results in more violent oppression, beatings, and cruel injustice. Moses cries out to God: Does this look like rescue to you?

What do we think rescue ought to look like in our world? When God moves us toward some kind of intervention, service, sacrifice, mission - should everything turn out roses immediately? Should we be able to see how every hardship and downturn contributes to the future victory? For Moses, it didn't. And for us, it often doesn't. We often cannot see how God's plan is going to work out. Sometimes God's involvement makes things worse.

God is fine with Moses' questions. He is fine with your bewilderment. Will we be fine with what God wants us to do next?
Or will we give up?

Moses: "Does this look like rescue?"
God: "No, actually it doesn't. But it is."

Scorn on the Strugglers

2011-10-21T19:53:00.000-04:00

Job 9-12

The tension continues to rise in this poem between Job and his grieving companions. Job unrelentingly insists on his innocence, on the disconnect between his behavior and these consequences. Any wrongdoing Job may have done still didn't deserve this kind of punishment, this kind of hardship, this kind of disaster.

Those who observe and hear Job, though, continue to push-back. They cast doubt on Job's assertions. The more that Job lays out his lack of wrongdoing and contrasts it with God's extreme dosage of suffering - the tension only increases. His friends side with God and insist that Job is in the wrong. Ironically, much of what they have to say lacks knowledge of the true situation, and it lacks compassion.

We ought to avoid saying too much to those that struggle. If we find ourselves scorning those who are suffering, we need to look around at our own situation. Are we scorning from a position of health, security, advantage, blessing?

Are we fully informed as to why the others are struggling? Is the best we can do marked by scorn and putting people in their place? Is there value in listening - really listening? Is their value in letting their struggle stir up uncertainty and introspection in your own life?

Beware those who scorn the strugglers.

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Five - The Letters

2011-10-21T07:32:00.000-04:00

How To Read the Bible – And Get Something Out of It

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading - Understanding What You Are Reading

Lesson Two – First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John)

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters

The Letters of Paul to the Church in: Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica; to Timothy, Titus, Philemon

The Letters of Peter to: God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia

The Letter of James: To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations

[see also the Letter to the Hebrews - an anonymous epistle]

The Letter of Jude: To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

The Letters of John: To the lady chosen by God and to her children // To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth // To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Originally there were no chapters and verses in the Scriptures.

Some letters were written while the author was imprisoned.

The audiences are varied – geographically, culturally, religiously, maturity.

Understanding What You Are Reading

The Flow of the Story: The Letters and the Acts of the Apostles

…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. [Acts 1:8]

The Story of God as told through Five Sections of the Bible

Torah: God Will Bless the World Through Israel

Prophets: God’s Call To Israel to Repent That

He Might Bless The World Through Them

Writings: God’s Involvement With Israel and the World

As He Works To Bless The World Through Them

Gospels: God Through Jesus Calling Israel to Repent

That He Might Bless The World Through Them

Letters: God’s Involvement With Israel & the Church

In the World As He Works To Bless The World

Through Them in Jesus’ Name

* Jesus comes as God to initiate a New Exodus God with Israel to save them from slavery and destruction, making a new covenant with them for blessing the world through him. (He reinterprets Torah for them as a Prophet)

* Whoever would believe and follow Jesus – whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, civilized or barbarian – would become part of the New Israel, or the Ekklesia (assembly or church) of Jesus.

* This New Israel/Church would be God’s instrument for blessing the world in the name of Jesus.

* The Letters of the Apostles and Disciples are selected writings of the expansion of the New Israel/church through the proclamation of the Gospels from Jerusalem to the end of the earth within the Roman Empire.

* The Letters inform of us of how the early church blossomed in its culture in as it entered into the Story of God through the proclamation of the Gospel.

* The Letters give us insights into how our church can blossom in our culture as part of God’s ongoing story through the proclamation of the Gospel.

How To Pray: How Prayer Works

2011-10-20T23:05:00.001-04:00

How To Pray

This Week - How prayer works

Week 2 - Why We Pray

Week 3 - What To Pray For

Week 4 - What To Say To God
***********

How Prayer Works
According to Jesus' Teaching on Prayer:

Prayer is always initiated by God.

Prayer is communication between God and you.

Prayer is more than just words:
attitude, actions, ideas,
thoughts, feelings,
body language,
choices,
lifestyle

What is your understanding of what is prayer and how it works?

Prayer is influenced by our image of God as Father – and our relationship with him (and our father) at the time of our praying...

Prayers are always heard by God.

Prayers are not needed in order for God to know what you need.

Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

Prayer works in connection to the work you put into helping answer your own prayers.

Prayer is as much hearing from God as it is talking to Him.

We tend to think of prayer as either thanking God or making requests to God. We need to think about prayer as communication within a relationship to God.

Prayer is way more than just words, way more than just asking God to do stuff for us or others.

Prayer works - not according to whether our eyes are open or closed, whether we are on our knees or in a pew - but in accordance to our heart and God's will.

Prayer becomes less about getting what we want from God and more about learning what God wants for us.

When the disciples asked Jesus how prayer works, here is what he taught them:

Lord, Teach Us To Pray
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!  You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."

Based on this teaching of Jesus on how to pray, what conclusions could you draw?

*

*

*

*

What else do you want to know about how prayer works?

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Four - The Gospels

2011-10-20T22:31:00.000-04:00

How To Read the Bible – And Get Something Out of It

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading - Understanding What You Are Reading

Lesson Two – First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Who were the Gospels originally written to? Knowing who the audience was helps aid in our understanding of what is in the Gospels. The four Gospels all had different authors and different audiences.

Matthew: written to a Jewish community

Mark: written to a Roman community

Luke & Acts: written to Theophilus

John: written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke – many similarities: stories & teachings

Possible use of a common source – “Q”

You'll notice as you read the four gospels that the first four have a lot of similarities. Hence the name: Synoptic Gospels (synoptic meaning similar). Lots of studies and theories try to explain it all. The most common understanding is that there was a common source called "Q" that Mark used to write his Gospel. Then it is thought that Matthew and Luke each separately used Q and Mark to write their Gospels to their respective audiences.

The Passion of Jesus

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – about 1/3 of each book is spent on the Passion week of Jesus. Each author sets up the events of Jesus’ life leading up to the Passion in a unique way. And each author has their own accounting of what happens after the Passion.

What Are You Reading?

Genre of literatures in the Bible:

Myth Poetry Biography

Narratives Genealogy Letters

Lawcodes Wisdom Apocalyptic

Songs Prophecy History

Understanding What You Are Reading

So what is the Gospel? It's a unique kind of literature - it has some similarities to other ancient writings, but it sets its own agenda and form.

Gospel as History: recounting of events that led up to the Passion of Jesus

We think of history in very modern terms. To the ancients, however, recounting history was always in the context of political, religious, or cultural realities. We must understand how history was used back then to make sense of it now. It is important to note that while there is historical information in the Gospels, they were not written to be a pure history of Jesus.

Gospel as Biography: retelling of the life of Jesus

Whatever we think a biography ought to be, the Gospels fall short. While we can read the Gospels to learn something about the origins, childhood and adult life of Jesus, it is only bits and pieces. It is very difficult to reconstruct the life of Jesus of Nazareth from the Gospels. There are biographical elements in the Gospels, but the purpose of them lie elsewhere.

Gospel as Narrative: reconstructed story of Jesus in the light of the story of Israel as part of God’s Story.

All the Gospel writers are telling the story of Jesus as a retelling of the story of Israel. They understand Jesus to be the King of Israel, the Messiah who will deliver them from evil. To understand the story being told about Jesus, it is crucial to understand the story that had been told about Israel and their relationship with God. To get something out of the Gospels of Jesus for our life today, it will be helpful to understand what the Gospels met to those Israelites who lived then.

As you read the Gospels, here are some key chapters and stories you'll want to be familiar with and appreciate.

Matthew: King Jesus & Kingdom of Heaven

Birth Story (Chapters 1-2)

Sermon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7)

Healings & Miracles (Chapters 8 & 9, 14 & 15)

Parables & Wisdom Teachings (Chapters 13, 18-20)

The Passion (Chapters 21-28)

Mark: Jesus Christ is Son of God & Kingdom of God is Gospel

Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

Immediately…

Healings & Miracles

Parables & Wisdom Teachings

The Passion (Chapters 11-16)

Luke & Acts: Jesus as King of Israel & the Kingdom Coming Through an Ekklesia of Believers

Introductions (Luke 1:1-4 & Acts 1:1-5)

Origins of Jesus (Luke 1-4)

Origins of Disciples & Apostles (Luke 5 & 6, 9 & 10)

Jesus & the Pharisees (Luke 11-18)

Jesus & Jerusalem (13, 19, 21)

Passion of Jesus (Luke 19-24)

Passion of Paul (Acts 21-28)

The Beginning of the Church (Acts 1-5)

The Gentiles Entering the Church (Acts 6-8)

Introduction to Paul (8-9)

The Leadership of Peter (9-12)

The Ministry of Paul (13—20)

John: Jesus is the Logos, Life Unto the Ages

Introductions to Jesus (Chapter 1)

The Eight Signs (2:11, 4:54, 5:15, 6:14, 6:20, 9:7, 11:41-42, 20:9)

The Passion (12-20)

The Conclusions (20:30-31, 21:24-25)

Love One Another

2011-10-20T06:54:00.000-04:00

John 13-15

The story that's being retold in the Gospel of John has shifted its focus - it's moving toward the betrayal and arrest, the crucifixion of the main character: Jesus. This section begins with the Passover Meal - an event rich in stories, theology, culture and history. Jesus takes this event and adds even richer significance to it - he will be come the lamb that is slain by his own people, atoning for their sins and delivering them from death. It will come through betrayal. And yet Jesus will insist that the disciples love one another.

To demonstrate Jesus' love for his disciples, he washes their smelly, dirty, crusty feet before dinner. And then Jesus insists that they must do this for others. It's one of the ways that the disciples as leaders can express love to their community and family.

I wonder: what would be the equivalent of washing feet today? What would be something that pastors and leaders could do that equates with the humility and gentleness, the tenderness and love of washing the feet of others?

Following dinner Jesus talks for awhile - making sure his disciples understand what is going on. To underscore his main message, he goes over the basics again: love one another. The command is: love one another. Obeying the commands that Jesus gives us reveals our love for Jesus.

How do we know if we love Jesus? When we are working to love one another. How do we love one another? In the same ways that Jesus loved us. This will require meditation on the way of Jesus. And it will require courage when it comes to those in our life who are difficult to love. Even when you have a Judas in your life. Or a Peter.

It's a daunting challenge that Jesus gives his disciples. Maybe he can see the shock in their eyes. To comfort them he promises that the Holy Spirit will always be with them to help them. Where will the power and insight come from to love others as Jesus loved us?

It will come from the Spirit of God in us. Our love for God opens us up to His Spirit, which empowers us to love others. He can't make us choose to love, but he can influence us in that direction - and once we make the choice, he gives us the capability.

So often we find that our hearts are too small or too tired for all the love that seems to be required of us. We will always need the help of God to love others like Jesus loved us. And the more we yield to the influence of God, the more people he will bring in our path to love.

This is the challenge,
but this is also a gift
- to love and be loved,
this is the greatest thing
in all the world!

Bring Judgment Against Them

2011-10-19T07:21:00.000-04:00

Jude & Obadiah

Jude is a brother both to James the Bishop of Jerusalem and Jesus the King of Israel. We're not sure what his role was in the early church. By the letter he wrote it would seem that maybe he was an overseer of some churches.

He also seemed to be a busy man, but when he heard about what was going on in some of the congregations, he felt compelled to write a emotional and vivid letter. It's a real short one - compact, full of Old Testament stories and allusions - very impactful to that first audience.

It seems that this group of believers were known for their love of God, exuding the grace of Jesus, praying in the Spirit. But for whatever reason there were people joining their group who were more interested in challenging the norms, insisting on self-serving practices, and bringing in filthy attitudes and actions. Rather then being people who wanted to change and grow in the faith, they were wanting the benefit of the church while staying rooted in the ways of the world.

Jude insists that God will bring judgment against them. Not because God is a big mean old man up in the sky waiting to smite sinners. Evil is like cancer, sin is like a virus, selfishness and greed spread and infect and wreck and distract and ruin and taint and suck the life out of a community.

Judgment is God's gift to a community - to point out the obvious, the truth, the reality of the situation and intervene. God will let things go for awhile, giving the people opportunities to repent and change their ways. But if it goes on for too long, then God will bring an end to it.

This is what we find in the prophecy from Obadiah in the Old Testament. He is writing to the Edomites, descendants of Esau who was the twin brother of Jacob (also known as Israel, the father of the Twelve Tribes). Esau and Jacob had a difficult, competitive, edgy relationship - and so did their descendants.

There would be much tension and many skirmishes between them in the centuries to follow. When the Northern Tribes and Southern Tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, Edom gloated and harrassed. And God was not happy about it.

There is so much in the world that is not right - between tribes and nations, empires and superpowers. God lets so much go on and on and on. Finally, after one too many times, God spoke a word of judgment to Edom through Obadiah. You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. God promised to bring justice to Edom for their sins against their brother Israel, for mocking and abandoning him.

But at the very end of Obadiah's letter, he notes that someday Israel will return and bring justice to Edom. Another way to look at it: Israel will break the cycle of violence and revenge and hatred. When God brings Israel back, they will be part of God's plan to bring shalom - even to their enemies.

It's this same attitude that Jude wants Christians to take towards those that are infecting their community with sin: "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven." God is the one who brings judgment on sinners. And he is also the one who initiates grace. We do no favors when we overlook sin, but we also ought not to overlook sinners.

Just as God brought justice to Edom, so God will bring it to each sinner. But God also promised a new life on the other side of judgment. Judgment is a gift - it brings an end to wickedness, abuse, hate.

Judgment is often hard and harsh - since it often comes at the hands of other humans, and it is often the real consequences from the long culmination of our choices and desires. If we are willing to see our fall as a gift from God, we'll be ready for Him when he picks us up and stands us on our feet.

And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, to the end of all time. Yes.

Don't You See?

2011-10-17T07:15:00.000-04:00

Genesis 46-50

A shocking ending to a story! Joseph, who was once a slave, and is now the second in command of Egypt, reduces the whole nation to slavery! Reuben the first born of Jacob is cast down as the firstborn for his wickedness against his father's maidservant. Jacob brings down curses on his oldest three sons, but praises Judah with promises of royalty. And then Joseph sees God at work in all the evil that was planned against him, how good was brought out of it.

Can we see how complicated our lives are? How complicated our world is? Do we see the complicated mess God inserts himself into? We see bits and parts, small threads of the story, chunks that make sense, but then pieces that confuse. But can we see where the complicated story is headed?

Depending on how you look at it, God enmeshes himself in evil human systems of slavery, family abuse, and corrupt Pharaoh power to keep the story of Israel going forward. Is God complicit for the wickedness that happens? Or can we see the miracle of good coming out of the despicable actions that humanity insists on repeating?

Joseph's brothers were afraid that following the death of their father, Joseph would exact revenge upon them for their evil thoughts and actions. But Joseph responded in grace: "Don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now - life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I'll take care of you and your children."

For you who have endured trauma and abuse and suffering: look for how God can bring good out of the evil that others perpetrated against you. The ways that others have wrecked your life bring sorrow - but God is capable of using those pains to bring good and life to others through you.

Rage and revenge will not undo the past. Looking to see how God has been at work to help others through your pain will bring healing to you and hope to others. In this complicated world of suffering and injustice, we must persistently choose to see where God is at work for good.

To You Arrogant Rich

2011-10-12T06:58:00.000-04:00

James 5

If you're going to write a short letter, and instruct about only the most important issues, what would those be? For the Christians reading the letter of their Bishop James the Just, they get a clear message about the abuse of wealth. Back then, and now, the abuse of wealth is still a cancer on our society.

Whether it is a bartering system, agricultural system, an empire economy, a socialist society, a communist dictatorship, or a free-market system - wealthy people will emerge, and too many of them will add to the corruption of the system for their own gain. And it will be at the expense of the workers. And the Earth.

It is evident that wealth is NOT a sign of God's blessing. God's blessing comes from what you do with your money - whether much or meager. God will be harsher on the wealthy who exploit people and places, who loot and live it up, who destroy lives and livelihoods.

"All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger." Whether it is America or Malaysia, China or Mexico, whatever the economic system, God is against those who build wealth for themselves.

So James has a few words for the workers though: life is hard - be patient for the return of Jesus without complaining about your neighbor or your life. Don't let oppression provide an excuse for you to dishonor God with your words and ways.

Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God even in the midst of gross inequality, corporate injustices, and financial mismanagement. If you're going to help make things right, do not become like the ones who made it wrong.

For the hard life of the workers, continue to pray for one another, and for justice. When you get sinned against: forgive. When you sin against others: confess and work for reconciliation and healing. Don't let the hard times that have been inflicted on you result in drifting away from God and community.

When your friends fall away from God - go after them! Don't let the corporate empires and billionaire tyrants corrupt your church community. Resist the evil. Rescue the wandering. Restore the broken. Reach out and care for those who have been left behind or trampled.

God Was Behind It

2011-10-10T07:15:00.000-04:00

Genesis 41-45

What can one person accomplish? A lot, actually. God sets Joseph up for the deliverance of Egypt and the surrounding nations from a terrible and prolonged famine. Pharaoh of Egypt appoints Joseph to oversee the collection of crops in the seven years of plenty so that there will be enough sustenance in the seven years of blight. God prepared Joseph over many years, through many difficulties. God was behind what Joseph accomplished.

We are reading about Israel's story, of how they ended up in Egypt. The Exodus story defines their identity - so the backstory is compelling and crucial. Joseph is the reason the tribe of Israel came to live in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. A famine forced Jacob and his family to trek out of southern Canaan to set up tents in the northeastern Nile region. Even though Canaan was the promised land, God had already told Abraham that his people would be in Egypt for a few hundred years. The promise would come true, but there were lots of preparations that God had to work on yet.

If we were in Joseph's shoes, wouldn't we have given up a lot sooner in the journey? Would we have despaired when thrown in the pit? Would we have sulked when sold to Potiphar? Would we have become embittered when thrown in jail? Would we have seeped hatred when we were forgotten in that dungeon? Would we have railed against the unfairness of God? Would we have perceived that God was behind it? And would we have raged against him?

When it comes to God working in our world, he is bound by time and us. In order for God to work in us and through us, as brilliant and capable as he is, there are still the limitations that come with humanity. But oh the possibilities? We wonder why God doesn't accomplish more in the world? Maybe he is trying, but all the men and women he chooses to prepare (without their consent and without indication that it is for a really really big problem in the future) keep bailing on him. Maybe God is at work, but he takes hundreds of years to get things where they need to be, so the person he has prepared is ready.

Maybe we can't always tell whether God is behind what is going on in our life? How will we know if he was? The best evidence is when we keep on trusting, continue to do the next right thing in his eyes, and focus on overcoming. Joseph just didn't give up. And once he found himself prepared to help solve a really big problem, then he realized that God was behind it all. And that maybe when we realize it too.

Bitter, But Honest

2011-10-07T08:08:00.000-04:00

Job 5-8

The tension in the story continues to increase. We, the reader, know the backstory between God and Satan. Job, the one "covered with maggots and scabs" continues rage and question God. His friends are appalled. They ask: "Does God mess up?" Implying that Job is getting what he deserves. But that's not the case. And without them knowing why this is happening, we get to read their struggle with a new reality.

Not only is Job bitter towards God, he's bitter towards his friends. Not only does it seem that God has abandoned him, his friends have as well. Though they sit with him in his misery, they accuse him and attack him. Rather then believe Job in his protest of innocence, they question him. "How can you keep on talking like this? You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that." But Job had already said: "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them."

We learn from Job that there are times when you or your friends may give up on God. Your words to him may be bitter, but honest. And in those dark nights of the soul, you'll want friends who will sit and listen.

God doesn't need you to defend him or speak for him. But he does want you to be loyal to your friends while they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. To be honest with God in bitterness is better then protect God's reputation out of fear.

And God does know what is going on, and his next move might make us miserable. And he'll understand if we don't like it.

Now Jesus Wept

2011-10-06T06:36:00.000-04:00

John 10-12

When a good friend dies, you cry. That's what we do, and that's what Jesus did. It's an interesting story about him and Lazarus and his sisters. He has been working to convince his fellow Israelites to believe him and to believe in him. He's been performing miracles, teaching wisdom with authority, and pouring out compassion on the poor and outcasts.

Jesus is working to save Israel from coming destruction at the hands of Rome. He's got a few people who are understanding him and trusting him. But not enough of the leaders are willing to have faith in him and his words.

When it comes to the Lazarus story, Jesus delays coming to his friends side. By waiting, he lets his friend die. Mary and Martha know that Jesus took longer then is normal to come when they requested. They know that had he come earlier, Lazarus would still be alive. But they don't expect Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. That is what Jesus is planning on doing, but nobody is hoping for it.

So why does Jesus cry? If he knows that he can raise Lazarus from the dead, why the emotional outburst? Is it because Jesus is against death just as much as us? Is it the sobbing of his friends that gets to him? Is it connected to his coming execution?

Mary and Martha come across as brilliantly observant, tender-hearted, trusting, and wise. They believe Jesus, they believe in him, and they love him. Yet they are really frustrated with him. Jesus is patient with them, for he knows more about what is going on then they do. And so it is with us. We get frustrated with Jesus. But he's working his plan, which is bigger then us - but includes us.

Jesus wanted another sign for Israel about who he is, what God is doing, and what they need to do. Lazarus' death and resurrection became a catalyst for salvation. People chose to put their faith in Jesus, to listen to his words of warning and instruction.

Just as Jesus was facing the threat of death from the Pharisees, so Lazarus became a target of their hate. But Jesus wouldn't back down from his work, and Lazarus bravely went a long in support. In the midst of the strife and controversy, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, hailed as its king. This raised the tension in the air up - not only religiously, but politically, economically, and militarily.

Jesus is provoking the ones with power, goading them to try to kill him. He knows that if he speaks the truth, calls Israel to love their neighbor and enemy, and insists on wisdom and integrity from its leaders, he'll get crucified. His call to righteousness was too provocative, too dangerous, too revolutionary. But rejection of Jesus and his teachings would result in destruction from Rome. Within a generation, Jerusalem was ravaged.

Jesus wept for Lazarus. Jesus wept for Mary and Martha. Jesus wept for his own death. Jesus wept for all the men, women and children who have died. Jesus wept for those that rebel against their Father in Heaven. Jesus wept for those that oppress and crush humanity. Jesus wept for those with lonely, broken homes and hearts.

Jesus wept for sinners. Jesus wept for his followers. Jesus wept for the dying and sick. Jesus wept for the powerful and wealthy. Jesus wept for those who don't know what they are doing. Jesus wept out of compassion.

Now Jesus wept out of loving-kindness.

Quit Dabbling In Sin

2011-10-05T06:49:00.000-04:00

James 4

It's your desires within you that get you into trouble. Desires are dangerous, they are always there, and they are central to what it means to be human. Desires are powerful, yet neutral. It's what you desire that gets you in trouble.

You desire to get your own way at the expense of someone else's welfare. You desire pleasure despite the pain it will cause another. You desire recognition or reward unaware of others contributions. "Where do you think these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves."

The desires cannot be suppressed and they won't go away. Evil desires will stay with you. But you can desire what is good. You can desire to love others as God has loved you. You can love out of humility instead of lust out of pride. You can desire mercy. You can desire courage. You can desire sacrifice. You can desire joy.

Desire can be used for good, if you desire to enter into that struggle. "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud NO to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet YES to God and he'll be there in no time. Quite dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field."

We tend to think that acting out according to our desires is living out of our true selves, it is being authentic, it is just being us. But the you who God wants you to be isn't someone who effortlessly lives according to your desires. You must master your desires.

God gives you commands that you must obey, even if you don't desire it. In doing what is right out of obedience, the rewards will become desirable. Someday you will do what is right because you desire it, but for a long time you must do what is right even if you don't desire it. As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil.

God Was With Him

2011-10-04T06:26:00.000-04:00

Genesis 36-40

The book of Genesis is the account of Israel's origins. It gives the account of Adam, of Noah, of Abraham, of Ishmael, of Isaac, of Esau, of Jacob, and Joseph. For Esau we get a brief genealogy of chieftains that descended from him in the land of Seir. I suppose if we were archaeologists or anthropologists who specialized in Middle Eastern kingdoms four-thousand years ago, we'd find this list fascinating. As it is, it becomes just a long list of hard to pronounce names.

But the story of Judah and Joseph and Jacob's other sons - now that is some fascinating stuff! Joseph must have been a real cocky jerk. And the favoritism that Jacob lavished on him must have been sickening. The eleven other brothers wanted to kill Joseph, they detested him so much. Isn't it interesting how favoritism is still a problem today? And sibling rivalry is still a very modern experience. One has to wonder why Jacob sent Joseph to go report on his brothers? Was Jacob blind to the rage and hatred he was fueling by how he parented?

Click here for more info about cisterns - which is where the Eleven threw Joseph as their alternative to killing him.

The story of Judah is odd and revolting. But it tells us a lot about Judah's character - and the backstory of his firstborn sons, twins. Judah's geneaology matters because from his lineage comes King David, and Jesus. Genesis records the dirty secrets of Israel's forefathers. We also find that the sins of the fathers are passed down through the sons and daughters for many generations. We find this to still be true today.

With Joseph we find that success somehow leads to failure which leads to a new kind of success which leads to a different kind of failure which somehow winds up leading to a new kind of success. Sometimes we might feel that is how our life goes - up and down, up and down. We love the ups and detest the downs. Yet it is the downs that reveal who we really are, and where we are at with God. What little Joseph knew of God was enough for him to trust the God of Jacob and ride out the bizarre twists and turns of his life.

When we adopt a similar attitude, we will be able to ride out the storm as well. Even if if the downs seem to last longer then we think we are capable of enduring. Sometimes we just got to keep on swimming. God was with Jacob, even as he wrestled and flailed. God was with Joseph, even as he strutted and stumbled. And God was with you, and is, and will be, even when you stray and fail.

Go Back Home

2011-10-03T07:33:00.001-04:00

Genesis 21-35

God never asked Jacob to deceive his father and brother. His mother is the one that suggested it, and aided him in his sins. Yet God continues to work with Jacob, even as he runs away. While away, Jacob is deceived himself, sinned against. In all this, Jacob acquires two wives, twelve sons, lots of servants and animals, a lot of wealth. And then God tells Jacob to go back home. To which then Jacob deceives his father-in-law in order to escape.

What will happen to Jacob when he goes back home? Will his father-in-law Laban try to stop him? Will Laban threaten to destroy him for leaving? Will Esau his brother who he tricked kill him? Will Isaac his father who he shamed disown him? What will happen to his wives and children and wealth? God assured Jacob that all would go well, so Jacob began the trek home. Yet when news arrives that Esau is headed towards his brother, along with four-hundred armed men, Jacob begins to tremble. And it is here that God wrestles with Jacob, changing his name to Israel - which means God-wrestler.

God had promised Jacob that everything would be okay. Jacob thought that this meant there would be no threat of harm. God meant to test Jacob the deceiver. And Jacob was quite a match for God. Their struggle would epitomize the relationship of the nation to come with their God. In the end, God prevails, but it is not the kind of victory that one cheers about. Israel carries with it a limp, and God must continue to wrestle. And so there will be many more tests from God towards Israel in the centuries to come.

To go back home is to re-engage the tribes of Canaan. Israel goes back home and his daughter gets raped. How does this fit in with God's plan? Israel's sons Levi and Simeon seek revenge upon the rapist and his city. And God must continue to wrestle with a people who hold on to idols, slaughter their enemies, and violate and deceive one another. Go back home, God said. "There you must trust me and follow me, amongst neighbors and tribes which do not. They will threaten you, harm you, and you will fear them. But I will be with you." It seemed that Jacob wasn't doing a very good job of helping his sons listen to God. And that will be the continuing problem for Israel in the centuries to come as well.

Go Back Home

2011-10-03T07:32:00.000-04:00

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Three - the Prophets

2011-09-29T10:07:00.001-04:00

LESSON THREE – FIRST TESTAMENT
How to Read the Writings & Prophets

History Poetry Prophets
Joshua Job Isaiah Amos
Judges Psalms Jeremiah Joel
Ruth Proverbs Ezekiel Hosea
Samuel Song Daniel Micah
Kings Ecclesiastes Haggai Zephaniah
Chronicles Lamentations Zechariah Habakkuk
Ezra Malachi Obadiah
Nehemiah Jonah
Esther Nahum

In our Protestant Bibles our Old Testament Books are gathered together in three main categories: History, Poetry, and Prophets. But the Hebrew Scriptures are clustered together under different headings: Torah, Prophets, Writings (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) known as Tanakh). It's important to note that the core element of the Tanakh is the Torah. Everything that the prophets speak and write are connected to the life of Israel and Torah. And all the writings are Israel's story of themselves in relation to God and Torah and themselves.

What Are You Reading?
Genre of literatures in the Bible:
Myth Poetry Biography
Narratives Genealogy Letters
Lawcodes Wisdom Apocalyptic
Songs Prophecy History

Again, it is helpful to be able to identify what kind of literature you are reading when you open up to a book in the Bible. Becoming familiar with the different styles of writing and genres will help you better understand what you are reading.

Chronology
1400BC 1100BC 1000BC 701BC 586BC 516BC 479BC 466BC 450BC
Joshua Judges/Ruth Samuel Kings Chronicles Esther EZRA NEHEMIAH
Job Psalms Proverbs Songs Ecclesiastes Lamentations
Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel
Amos Joel Hosea Micah Zephaniah Habakkuk
Obadiah Jonah Nahum
HAGGAI ZECHARIAH Malachi

A chronology can be helpful in piecing together the flow of the story. With all the names and places that are stuffed into each book, it can become overwhelming. But to see the history laid out through the ordering of the books can help you get a sense of who comes where in the story. Moses comes before David. David comes after Abraham. Noah comes before Daniel.

Above you can see the history books laid out in order of chronology. Below that you can see where the poetry books fit in. Psalms were primarily written by King David. Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes were written by King Solomon. The next three lines show where the prophets fit into the chronology. Isaiah and Jeremiah worked during the history recorded in Kings and Chronicles. Same for some of the other minor prophets.

Understanding What You Are Reading
History: Ideology & Theology
It is important to remember that the history recorded here is about kings, thus political in nature. But it is also about God's involvement in their nation, thus it is theological. The writers of Israel's ancient history have a particular slant they mean to convey about themselves, their kings, and God. We may read a history book as a boring collection of facts and figures. But the ancients did not record history in the same way as us. We want to ask: did it really happen this way? They want to ask: how to make sense of what has happened to us? We read the history books in order to get an accurate accounting of what really happened. But we ought to read the history books of the Bible as a way to understand their perspective on God, their political situations, and themselves.

Poetry: Parallelism or Binary Repetition
For us, a good English or American poem will rhyme, and have a beat or metre to it. By now you probably know that good Hebrew poetry is very different. It consists in its most basic form of two lines, or two ideas. The first and second line have a interdependent connection - they parallel each other in specific ways. This can become a very complex, high form of art. But once we get the hang of how the Hebrews do poetry, we then need to ask: how to understand Hebrew poetry. Part of it is practice - just read lots of it. But the other part delves into the heart of poetry - why use poetry at all to express yourself? And what were the metaphors, ideas, and issues that were important to the ancient Hebrews?

Prophecy: the words of a Prophet - from God or to God – about righteousness, justice/judgment, shalom
We tend to think of prophecy as about predicting future events. This is not a helpful way to think of Biblical prophecy. At its most basic form, Biblical prophecy is a word for God or mostly from God to people through a prophet of God. Mostly it's about calling people to repentance from their unobservance of Torah. Some of it is promise of restoration following the punishment that will come for their unrighteousness, injustice, disobedience. A little bit is about what will happen in the future.

History
From the Exodus to the Kings
-Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel

During the Reign of the Kings
- Kings, Chronicles

From the Kings to the Exile
-Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

These are the three main elements of understanding Biblical history for ancient Israel. The books fall into one of these three categories. You can see the development of the plot, the flow of the characters, the coming tragedy.

Poetry
There are three basic kinds of poems:
1) Line A and Line B repeat similar idea using key words/ideas
- Examples: Psalm 22:1, Proverb 27:2, Isaiah 55:1

2) Line A is extended in thought by Line B
- Examples: Psalm 23:1, Proverb 28:3, Isaiah 56:1

3) Line A is contrasted in thought by Line B
- Examples: Proverb 28:1, Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah 57:16-21

Prophecy
Here are examples - often expressed in poetry - of God speaking to Israel through his prophets.
From God to the unrighteous: Micah 1
From God to the righteous: Zechariah 9-10

From the righteous to God: Habakkuk 1

From God to Israel: Jeremiah 2
From God to Egypt, Edom, Assyria, Babylon, etc.: Amos 1, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum

Expose The Evil Behind The Pretensions

2011-09-29T06:39:00.000-04:00

John 7-9

Why did Jesus get killed? He was a nice guy. Taught people to love. Always told the truth. Healed people. Fed the hungry. Welcomed the lonely and alienated. A friend to all. What's to hate about a man like that?

Jesus intentionally provoked the religious and political leaders by exposing the evil behind their pretensions. What was behind the Pharisees objections to healing on the Sabbath? Why did they hate Jesus for being a Sabbath-breaker? Why did they protest his dining with tax-collectors and prostitutes? Was it truly a concern for purity? When Jesus taught Torah in the Temple, what got the other teachers of the law all riled up?

Jesus came to save Israel. This is a very political statement. He came to save them from Rome, much like Isaiah came to save Israel from Assyria. The reason that Assyria and Rome were brutalizing Israel was connected to failure to keep Torah - as outlined in the punishment sections of Deuteronomy. If Israel would repent and seek forgiveness of their sins, then God would hear their prayers and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. He would heal their wounds and make shalom prevail.

Jesus came with this message, from God, as the Son of God. And part of his work to save Israel was to expose the evil behind the pretensions. Just as Jeremiah was unable to convince the kings of Israel to repent and save their nation, so Jesus failed with the High Priest and Sanhedrin.

If Jesus were to come to America today, he would do similar work of exposing the evil behind the pretensions. What do you think would happen to Jesus if he always told the truth about people and situations in the USA? About our military? About our economy? About our culture? About our churches? About our faith?

In Jesus' work of revealing the Father to people, of healing them, and forgiving sins - he would undermine the authority of those with power and prestige. The more Jesus taught from Torah and expounded on the Great Commandments to Love God and Love Neighbor - the more enemies he would make. Jesus would destroy our illusions about how well we love. He would blow up our cover ups and deceptions with his truth-full observations. His gentle yet unyielding holiness would reveal our filthiness - and for those that prided themselves on purity, they will be enraged.

Jesus, if he showed up today, would only be able to get a few followers. Who are the tax-collectors of our day? Who are the prostitutes of our day? Who are the blind, lame, diseased, dying of our day? Who are the outcasts and judged ones of our day? They would get most of Jesus' attention, and give the most affection. How well would you tolerate Jesus' intense presence of love? How well would you receive Jesus' focused word of truth? Would he humble you or harden you?

It Only Takes A Spark

2011-09-28T06:58:00.000-04:00

James 3

When it comes to being a teacher, an instructor, a mentor, a life-coach, a trainer, a preacher, a parent - there comes a moment when you have to open your mouth and say something. Whatever comes out has the capacity to build up or cause wreckage. Beware opening your mouth! "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that."

James was the Bishop of Jerusalem, overseeing the thousands of Christians that lived in the city and the surrounding region. He worked with hundreds of pastors and teachers who led small house churches in the area. One of his primary works as a bishop was to help develop pastors and teachers so that they could more fruitfully care for and guide their congregations. Being a good Jew, James boils it all down to wisdom.

For those that aspired to be a teacher or preacher, James warned them against it. Wisdom was so essential to being a good teacher and pastor - and not enough men and women showed it with their life to qualify. The evidence was in the brackish words that flowed out of their mouths, the mean-spirited ambition that dripped off their words.

But it's not just teachers and pastors, nor candidates for that kind of ministry, that need to beware what comes out of their mouth. Anyone who is a follower of Jesus must reign in their tongue. "By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the world world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell."

Our words matter - they are a form of action. James goes on to point out, though, that our actions without words matter more. On this point he lifts up again the value of wisdom: "Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts."

It boggles the mind how a mouth can sing praises to God on Sunday morning and then be mumbling curses by the afternoon. How can a Christian encourage a friend at church but then bad-mouth a relative later in the day? We all do it, though. "Cursings and blessings out of the same mouth? My friends, this can't go on!"

If God is convicting you over the mean or self-serving words that have been coming out of your mouth, then listen to your conscience and make the change. Your words are sparks that are setting off forest fires. God is always prompting you towards wisdom - in your home, your church, your work, your school, your neighborhood, with family and friends. Wisdom can set off it's own sparks, though - the kind of fire that warms and attracts, not destroys.

Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.

You can develop healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and respect.

What He Promised

2011-09-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

Genesis 21-30

When ancient Israelites shared their story of where they came from, what stories did they tell around the campfires? They focused on the story of Abraham, on Isaac, and Jacob. In the years to come, God would identify himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God would make promises to each of them - and what we get is the stories of what happened. To know their stories is to better understand God and the heritage of Israel.

In these chapters we get provocative stories of very human people from a very ancient culture. These characters are not what we would call good role models. But then these stories are not in the Bible in order to help you be a better person - they are here because they are the story of Israel's origins, the story of God and his promises at work in our world. If God can use them for good in the world, then the good news is, he can use you too!

The temptation may be to read these stories and focus on what you don't understand, or to observe how it is so foreign and different to how we do things. Maybe you'll protest at how God works to keep his promises. But another approach to the Scriptures here is to let them teach you about the culture back then. The characters are fully immersed in their ancient Mediterranean culture. They are wealthy, they have many slaves, and often multiple wives. God worked within the culture that existed. And he was pretty good at it. And still is.

Note in chapter 23 an exceptional example of bartering. Note the formal language, how the two sides come to an agreement of purchasing the burial plot. The back and forth, the phrasing, the exchange is classic Middle-eastern bartering. In chapter 24 is an interesting example of how a wealthy man might seek to arrange a marriage for his oldest son. Other issues that emerge in the following chapters include that of favoritism, the privileges and rights of the firstborn son, the deceit and trickery of tribal leaders, and the powerful desire among wives to have sons.

Let these stories teach you about an ancient culture - and how God worked to keep his promises in that culture. But humanity hasn't really changed all these years later - can you see any of yourself in any of these characters? Take courage - God is still clever and brilliant and capable. If he can use Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, then he can use you to keep his promise to bless the world.

What's The Point Of Life?

2011-09-23T08:03:00.000-04:00

Job 3-4

It is a gift to put words to the churning emotions within. It is the core essence of humanity to express in eloquence what is violently swirling in our souls. Life has a way of upending our days, of wrecking our homes, of battering our hearts. The unexpected. The unacceptable.

The ancient poem of the Hebrew Scriptures that we call Job is a fount of eloquent wisdom on experiencing devastating suffering. Chapters one and two give the context, provide the background story, create the initial tension in the story. Chapter three is Job's first major utterance following the days of mourning. Chapter four is the initial response by one of Job's friends.

And this will be the pattern in this book - Job makes a speech, one of his friends rebukes him. Job maintains his innocence and protests mightily against God for allowing this suffering. Job's friends maintain that Job is not innocent and that God is just for punishing him.

Job whispers:

Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
why bother keeping bitter people alive,
Those who want in the worst way to die, can can't,
who can't imagine anything better than death,
Who count the day of their death and burial
the happiest day of their life?
What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense,
when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

And friend Eliphaz responds:

Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?
Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?
It's my observation that those who plow evil
and sow trouble reap evil and trouble.
One breath from God and they fall apart,
one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.

Can you identify with Job's despair? Do you agree with Eliphaz's point of veiw?
Maybe you need to read Job to help put into words what you have been feeling in your heart.

How To Read the Bible: Lesson Two - Torah

2011-09-22T07:25:00.001-04:00

LESSON TWO – FIRST TESTAMENT
Get To Know Your Torah

Also known as: Pentateuch, Books of Moses, the Law

Torah means: instruction, to teach, law

Made of five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Grounding of Jewish identity – both ethnic and religious.

Read it as ancient Israel’s history of where they came from, who they are, and why they exist.

Read it also as ancient Israel’s account of God, their relationship with him, their big stories of him, of God’s work in the world through them.

Remember: what you are reading is ancient literature - it is born out of an ancient culture, ancient traditions, ancient way of life. It all made logical, reasonable sense then for how they understood the universe, the workings of society, the purpose and meaning of existence. We benefit when we try to read their literature from their point of view. This is hard, but very rewarding.

What Are You Reading?
Genre of literatures in the Bible:
Myth, Poetry, Narratives, Genealogy, Lawcodes, Wisdom, Songs, Prophecy, Apocalyptic, History, Biography, Letters

Remember: when reading through Torah, you want to be able to distinguish what genre a certain paragraph, a certain story, a certain section is. It will help you ascertain the purpose of that piece, as well as how to understand it and why it is significant to the book. For practice, pick Genesis 1-11 and see how many genres are used? Or Numbers 14-21.

Understanding What You Are Reading
The Bible is like a library and each “book” stands by itself, and yet some are connected. Each “book” needs to be understood on its own merits, including what genres are included in it. But then each “book” needs to be understood with the other “books” that it is connected with in that section, as well as to the history and the story.

Remember: a helpful way to read a book in the Bible is to first skim it. Each modern translation usually has an italicized heading at the beginning of each chapter, or of a long paragraph in the middle of a chapter. By skimming over these headings, you can get a sense of what is in the book, of it's layout. Unfortunately, none of the books in the Bible have a table of contents, nor is their a summary paragraph on the front page. Get a study Bible, you will have some of this information, and it will be very helpful to you. But it is also very helpful to do the overview yourself.

Below is a brief summary of major sections in each book, or I've highlighted especially important chapters in those book as it relates to the life and teachings of Jesus. You can create your own summary and breakdowns of each book in the Torah - it will help you grasp the amount of content in it, the arrangement of the material, and will increase your familiarity with the text. And you'll more quickly find the most interesting stories! There are some real gems hidden in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers.

One final note: one of the primary reasons I dig into Torah is to better understand Jesus. He teaches from Torah, quoting it, preaching from it, reinterpreting it. As I read and seek to understand Jesus, I am driven to the texts he read and preached from. Love God? That comes from Deuteronomy 6. Love your neighbor? That comes from Leviticus 19. Jesus as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world? That comes from the Passover story and laws in Exodus and Leviticus. The judgment of God upon Israel? It comes from Deuteronomy. Let your curiosity about Jesus lead you into studying Torah.

Genesis
1-11 Stories of Beginnings
Creation/Fall
Flood
Babel

12-50 Stories of Fathers/Ancestors
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph

Exodus
1-19 Stories of Beginnings Again
20-31 Commands, Laws, Instructions
32-40 Stories of Rebellion, More Instructions

Leviticus
1-18 Instructions on Worship, Offerings, Priestly & National Purity
19 Love Your Neighbor
23 Festival Days
25 Sabbath Year
26 Reward for Obedience
27 Redeeming What Is the LORD’s

Numbers
1-10 Instructions and Stories of Worship Management and Ritual Purity
11-14 Israel Refuses to Enter the Promised Land
15-21 More Instructions for Rituals, More Rebellion Stories
22-24 Balaam
25-36 Stories of Failure, Justice, and More Ritual Instructions

Deuteronomy
5 Ten Commandments
6 Love the Lord Your God
7 Drive Out The Nations
8-11 Remember – Rewards and Punishments
12-30 Remember the Commands
31-34 Final Words Of Moses, and His Death

Heads In Your Bibles

2011-09-22T06:54:00.000-04:00

John 4-6

This gospel is unique - it has long, extended sermons by Jesus. Lengthy, interactive teachings with individuals and crowds. Each section is preluded by a very interesting event: The Woman at the Well, The Sickman At Bethesda Pool, Feeding of the Five Thousand. And it's three different audiences: first it is the disciples and some citizens of Samaria, then it is religious leaders in Jerusalem, and then it is disciples and crowds in Galilee.

Included in there is the second sign - the healing of the official's sign. There will be seven signs altogether in this gospel - look for them! Actually there is eight - can you figure out the significance?

A big point that is weaved into these events and stories is the centrality of Jesus to God's work in Israel and the world. Jesus continues to point everything back to himself. He does it without being arrogant or cocky. He wants people to live, to love, to be free from their sins - this is why he has come, if only they will believe him, follow him.

It's really interesting, at one point in his confrontation with the religious leaders, he acknowledges that they constantly have their heads in their Bibles. Jesus points out that they are looking for the key to eternal life - but when Jesus shows up, offering eternal life, they miss the point. Jesus goes out of his way to reiterate: the Scriptures are about me!

So, as you get your head in your Bible, let each major section of Scripture - Torah, the Writings and Prophets, the Gospels, the Letters - teach you more about Jesus. Whether it's the background and history of Jesus' nationality and religion, whether it's the political and economic realities, whether it's the laws and commands, all the Bible helps us understand Jesus.

And Jesus is the one we want to get into our heads, into our hearts. We don't read the Bible just for knowledge of Jesus though, we read it as a way to help us follow Jesus. We follow Jesus by believing him when he says to love God and love our neighbor, to forgive those who sin against us. If reading the Bible doesn't help us love in the way of Jesus, we have missed the forest for the trees.

Kind Mercy Wins

2011-09-21T06:52:00.000-04:00

James 2

The brother of Jesus, who is also bishop of Jerusalem, writes with urgency and intensity. This letter of his, it's chock full of wisdom, ethics, some theology, and lots of love. It's an open letter, not addressed to any one person. It's been sent, multiple copies of it, to Jews who are Christians, scattered all over the Roman Empire. Hence the wide-ranging topics covered - not every community of believers - faces the same struggles. And same for you as you work your way slowly through the epistle.

Whereas in reading through Torah you get a mixture of stories and ritual law, here in the letter from James we get a sermon, a dense listing out of exhortations to keep the faith, how to live out the faith, how to love others, how to deal with adversity. For obvious reasons, this is still a popular letter to read. The chapter divisions were added to it hundreds of years later. When you read it, don't feel obligated to stick to the chapter - focus on paragraphs, or verses, that which encourages, convicts, reveals.

Each chapter is worth reading through several times, slowly. Find the section that seems to speak to you, listen for what the Spirit wants to prick in your heart. And then chew on that verse, that paragraph. Ask God what he wants you to do with what you read. Often times you already know, but you need to spend time talking to Him about it.

In this chapter James is addressing the problem among Christians to look up to the rich and look down on the poor. When it comes to favoritism, those with power and prestige get more attention while those with problems and flaws get looked over. James points out that Jesus came to the down-and-out first - and they replied best to the Gospel.

And so for us, kind mercy ought to win over judgment. Our faith and our works ought to be seamless when it comes to loving those different from us. You may not be rich, you may not be poor - do not favor the one over the other. However, most people don't have a problem of valuing the poor over the rich.

If you say you love God, then you will love rich people as God does - which means being unimpressed with their wealth and accomplishments. And if you say you love God, then you will love poor people - which means withholding disdain for their situation and predicaments. And if you say you love God, then kind mercy wins through how you deal with each person in your life.

The number of people in America who live at or below the poverty line has drastically increased to 15%. It is estimated that over 20% of the working population is without full-time employment. More people then ever are relying on government subsidies and handouts to get by. Large chunks of the middle-class are becoming part of the ever-swelling working class. Medical bills account for the descent of many. Click here for an interesting article on current poverty in America. It is sad.

Yes, You Laughed

2011-09-20T06:41:00.000-04:00

Genesis 16-20

What's the string that runs through all these stories and ties them together? Remember: think genealogy - think stories of people that help explain who they are, where their friendly neighbors come from and their sworn enemies. Where did the Ishmaelites come from? They come from Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah. Because Sarah disbelieved God, because she laughed at his promise to her that she would give birth to a son, she had Abraham sleep with Hagar. This did not work out as planned. There are several layers of meaning to the stories - it's rich in human personality, character flaws, and God's involvement in real life.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah becomes the background story for where the Moabites and Ammonites come from. Along with the Ishmaelites, these three tribes will be perennial enemies to Israel for centuries and centuries to come. According to the Israelites, these three tribes have shameful beginnings - but, ironically, they all have similar ancestors!

The thread to the story, though, is about the covenant that God makes with Abram and Sarai - and he changes their name to Abraham and Sarah. Why? In the Hebrew language of this story, God inserts the equivalent of the letter H in their name. H came to represent the name of God - he put his name in their name. God inserted himself into Abraham and Sarah's life, chose to bless them, decided to work through them to bless the world. It's not easy work dealing with humanity - we have a tendency to drift towards destruction. But God is always at work - and he is always willing to work in us and through us. Even if you laugh.

Abram the Blessed

2011-09-19T06:48:00.000-04:00

Genesis 11-15

It's important to remember when reading Genesis, that it is a collection of stories all hinged upon the revered and famous genealogy of Israel. We don't value genealogies like the ancients did. And we don't tell stories like they did either. Genesis is about the genealogy of Abraham - his sons, their descendants, and the beginning of Israel. The genealogies in the early chapters of Genesis tell us who Abraham descended from, and then the later chapters tell us the story of those that descended from him.

In these initial chapters about Abraham, we learn a few things: first, his original name is Abram and he is the oldest of a set of triplets. We learn that he is from Ur, a major city near Babel. Abram's father is a sojourner, traveling the traditional route west - heading north in order to not cut through the desert and follow the Fertile Crescent to Canaan. Terah, Abram's father settles in the northern city of Haran - which is where God introduces himself to Abram for the first time.

The significance of these initial chapters swirl around what we learn about God and what we learn about Abraham. We learn about God as he deals with Abram, and we learn about Abram as he reacts to God. Do you ever wonder what it was like to be Abram and meet God for the very first time? What was it like to receive the promise of blessing? The command to sojourn to Canaan and start a new life there? To begin to trust a God you'd never heard of, know nothing about, and has no image you can point to and bow down and worship?

We learn about the important people in Abram's life: his barren wife Sarai, his greedy nephew Lot, his faithful servant Eliezer he picked up in Damascus. We also learn about his nervous character while in Egypt and his conniving nature. When Lot gets captured along with the evil citizens of Sodom, Abram, we learn, has enough servants he can arm to defeat a regional military power. He has become a very powerful, wealthy, feared, and influential man in the promised land.

But: he has no heir, no son, no one to carry on his family seed and fulfill what God had promised. And that is the tension in the story. Blessed but barren. How will God keep his promise with these two old people? Trust and faith and belief become everything. They still are.

God Gives, God Takes

2011-09-16T07:17:00.001-04:00

Job 1-2

Why do the righteous suffer so? Why do the evil prosper like they do? Why is their uncontrollable calamity in the world? How do you make sense of it? Where is God in it? What do we do with it? And God?

It's these kind of ancient and modern issues that the book of Job wrestles with. But it is important to note that what we're reading is how the ancient Israelites wrestled with God and evil and suffering and righteousness. It's not very helpful to discuss whether Job was a real person or a fictional character. The point of the story and the poems is the wrestling with the ideas, the realities we as humans deal with. Ultimately, the book of Job is a carefully crafted wisdom book - authentic instructions and honest ideas on how to deal righteously with suffering.

The story possibly dates before Moses, but after Abraham. There is no mention of Torah, but there is acknowledgment of God. There is no mention of Abraham, but Job kind of sounds like Abraham (eventually he had lots of kids!). Some of the Hebrew is so old that scholars aren't sure how to translate confusing passages.

The book begins and ends with a narrative piece - it sets up the story and wraps it up. But the real meat of the book is in the poetry, the artful and passionate dialogue between Job and his friends. It's important to note that as you track through all that Job has to say, he gets it right most of the time. His friends, as you follow their logic and reactions to Job - well they don't always get it right. This is one of those books where you have to be careful to discern who you are reading - they may be saying something that isn't true of God or humanity!

Again, the classic questions are relevant here: what does this story and poem teach me about God? About humanity? About suffering? About injustice? About evil? About righteousness? About wisdom? About life? About me? Ask lots of questions as you read. Ask what you would do if you were Job? Consider what you would do if you had friends like Job? What would be your attitude towards God if he seemed to be unjust?

Read The Bible In A Year Schedule: Sept - Dec

2011-09-16T06:54:00.002-04:00

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This Is The One!

2011-09-15T07:03:00.003-04:00

John 1-3

This Gospel or "Good News" of Jesus is unlike the other three. There are some similar stories - baptism, miracles, teachings, crucifixion and resurrection. But John includes perspectives and angles and insights into these events from a different point of view. Not only that, but he has a lot of original material. The purpose of this gospel, as John states it is this: "...so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it."

You can see this purpose at work in the first chapters. Chapter 1 includes the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Chapter 2 includes the first sign - turning water to wine at a wedding. Chapter 3 includes an invitation to believe and the promise of eternal life. As you read through John, you'll be looking to see how the case is built for why Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, and why he is worth trusting, worth believing in.

It was quite the controversial claim to make that Jesus was the Messiah. Israel was awaiting their "anointed one" to come and save them from the Empires. They wanted their Deliverer to free them from political and economic oppression so that they could be back on top again, like in King David's day. They wanted vengeance for all the terrible atrocities that had been committed against them. They wanted vindication - if we really are the people of God, then when will this benefit us? As you can imagine, there were big expectations for Jesus.

But more than that, it was outrageous that the disciples of Jesus were proclaiming him as the Son of God. This was blasphemy! This was religiously unacceptable. It was also a political claim. The Caesars had been claiming the title of Saviour, of Son of God, of Prince of Peace. John was putting onto Jesus the title of the Emperors. This was a sure way to attract the spear-point of Rome. And it was a guaranteed way to fuel the wrath of the religious leaders.

We're so used to hearing Jesus referred to as the Son of God and as Christ (Greek for "anointed one") or Messiah (Hebrew for "anointed one"). But John lays out a sophisticated, nuanced, layered, dramatic, compelling, intriguing, memorable gospel for how we can believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and the Messiah. We all start in the dark about God. He comes as the light. What will we do with what he hear, with what we see?

Act On What You Hear

2011-09-14T08:07:00.000-04:00

James 1

When you need guidance and direction in life, read this letter from James. Start at chapter one and start reading until he hits a nerve, until he says something startling, until he points out the obvious. There are so many times in life where we're not sure what to do next, not sure what God wants us to do. We then feel the urge to open up our Bible to discover a whiff of God's will for us. The next time this happens, open up to James and read.

Not all books in the Bible offer the same kind of wisdom and guidance. Some come across as more pertinent to our personal lives. James is that kind of letter - it's not a book - it's a heart-felt letter chock full of wisdom written to persuade and convince and instruct and reprimand. Just the kind of letter you need to read. Again. And again. And again.

James is the brother of Jesus. He was once an unbeliever. He was once against Jesus. Even jealous and embarrassed. Can you relate to any of that? James is writing as the Bishop of Jerusalem. The orphans and widows of the city are struggling to survive. Some of the Christians are facing strong opposition to their allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah. There are still Jewish religious leaders and Roman government authorities that are pressuring for conformity to the status quo. James is also a pious and observant Jew. He loves and keeps Torah. He was brother to a prophet - their message he passionately embraced. He whispers the Psalms from memory as he prays, he instructs with the wisdom of the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

It's hard to read a chapter from James - he packs so much intense wisdom and reprimands, so many insights and encouragements. He is a gifted writer with a passion to influence Jewish Christians scattered across the Empire. He writes from a Jewish perspective to Jews who believe that Jesus is Messiah. Jewish Christians under pressure to abandon Jesus, to pursue wealth, to blame God for evil in the world, to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the widows and orphans in their community.

When you read James for direction, you may find you benefit from just a few of the ideas in the chapter. Pick the one or two sentences that stick out to you - that seem to apply to your situation. And then ask yourself what God is wanting you to learn and hear from what James wrote. And then do the very hard work of figuring out what to do next in light of what you hear. For as James makes very clear, it is not enough to just read and hear - we must live and do and act!

This Is The Family Tree Of...

2011-09-13T07:28:00.001-04:00

Genesis 1-10

You'll notice in the first bunch of chapters that there are a lot of names. Why all the genealogies? Remember what the name "Genesis" means? Beginning. Genesis is Israel's account of where they came from, of their beginnings. It's a long string of stories attached to their family tree.

The book of Genesis is laid out in ten sections, ten family trees. I'm using the Message version, but if you are using the NIV, then it will be translated "the account of...", or if you are using the ESV it will be translated "the generations of...". Check out these references to see what I mean: Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 7:1, 9:12, 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1 & 9, 37:2. A genealogy was how you remembered your ancestors - a way to honor them. It was also the root of your identity, and how you understood the other people in your family. A genealogy was a revered set of information - and a source of great stories!

When you're reading through Genesis - especially the first ten chapters - resist the urge to ask: did this really happen? Avoid questioning whether creation or temptation or the flood happened exactly as recorded in Genesis. That line of thinking is a distraction from the purpose of Genesis - stories hinged on the genealogies. It's interesting to note the genealogy in chapter 5 - no mention of Cain or Able. It's also worth noting in the flood story the reason behind Noah's name - and it's connection to God's blessing when the earth is dried. How does that shape our understanding of this terrible, devastating, ugly story?

One last thing: the genealogies about Shem, Ham, and Japheth reveal a lot about how Israel viewed their neighbors and enemies. Ham was the father of their enemies (Canaan, Egpyt, Babel, etc), while Japheth was the father of their good neighbors. When you're sitting around the campfire, and your little boys ask about where the marauding caravans come from, you go back through the genealogy, explain how you are connected to them, but how they are cursed. Makes for dramatic storytelling at midnight!

Remember to ask: what do these stories teach me about Israel, their beginnings, and about how they understood God.

God Saw That It Was Good

2011-09-12T06:47:00.004-04:00

Genesis 1-3

How did ancient Israel understand where they came from? What were the stories they told about where the world came from? How did they explain the origins of humanity? Why was the world the way it was? How to account for good and evil in the world? And where does their God fit in to life as they know it?

The book of Genesis is about beginnings (that's what the name means). "In the beginning, God...." Genesis begins with a poem - a very startling poem when compared to the myths of other ancient cultures. Typically creation stories are full of chaos, fantastic heros and gigantic monsters, there are swords and battles, destruction and mayhem, conquering and upheaval. Israel's story is much more... orderly, designed, lovingly crafted. Consider that the story of where you come from shapes your sense of who you are and your destiny in the world. What does the Creation Poem reveal to you about how ancient Israel understood their God, their world, their place in it?

The poem is followed by two stories - the first is the classic, "Dad, where did I come from?" The second story is the necessary accounting for why terrible things happen. It's how ancient Israel explained the core realities of their life. They carefully crafted these stories to communicate powerful ideas that would shape their identity, their work in the world, and their relationship with surrounding tribes. Again, it helps to compare these two stories with that of other ancient civilizations. The contrast would be apparent - there is purpose and direction in Israel's stories. It reveals the involvement of the One God, not the petty squabbling and bloodthirsty ravages of many gods and goddesses.

As you reflect on these first three chapters, it's vital to ask: what does this poem and two stories reveal about God and humanity? What is God like? How are we still like the humans in this story? The debates often rage about whether these stories are true. It's more helpful to consider how these stories are still true for us: it's a good world, cursed; men and women still strive and struggle, still procreate and provide for each other; God gives and takes away, judges and disciplines, loves and blesses.

God Charts The Road You Take

2011-09-11T23:03:00.000-04:00

Psalm 1

When you read the psalms, remember they are prayers that are sung. You know when you read the lyrics to a song, and then you hear the song - big difference! So it is with the psalms - the ancient hymns of Israel. If you are musically inclined, you can put your own tune to each psalm.

When you read the psalm, try praying the psalm. Don't read it to "get something out of it." Read it as a prayer - as your prayer. This can be a odd exercise - usually you use your own words when whispering out your prayers. But then most people I know have a hard time knowing what to say when they do pray. And this is why the psalms are so helpful to us - they give us new words, new ideas, new patterns, new depths for our praying to God. It's a way for God to chart the road you are taking.

Make the psalm personal. Let it shape you and how you think about God. Let it probe you and disturb you. Mull over why the psalter wrote out this prayer - consider what his circumstances may have been. If the word "king" shows up in the song, you'll know that it's probably a royal psalm, connected to politics, national issues, and the monarchy. Israel believed that God would bless their king and nation when he and the people kept Torah with all their heart. The psalms often flow out of this hope - and failure.

When you are praying the psalms, you will find God charting the road you take. So many turns and forks in the road each day - may God be the one to prompt you left, nudge you right, keep you straight. May you invest much time into God's Word, and may it bring forth in you a fruitfulness and vibrancy that adds life to those around you.

As you learn how to pray the psalter, may you take the road God charts for you.

How To Read the Bible: Lesson One

2011-09-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

How To Read the Bible

– And Get Something Out of It!

A Five-Week Series – 8:30-9:30pm, Anchor Community Church

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading?
Understanding What You Are Reading.

An introduction to how the Bible is put together, the details that make for significant impact in how to understand what you are reading. We'll do an overview of how it is layed out, what that means, and how to use that knowledge to your advantage. We'll spend the next two weeks examining the Old/First Testament - the genres used, the flow of history and the story, and then we'll do the same in the final two weeks with the New Testament. We'll learn the major differences between the two testaments, between the five sections, the many genres of literature, as well as how they are all connected. It will help you put into perspective what you are reading. It will help inform you of how you can use the Bible to teach yourself, encourage yourself, and challenge yourself.

Lesson Two – First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude)

***************************

Lesson One –

Get To Know YourBible

It's a complicated book that ought to be approached with respect and care. To disregard it's depths is to cheapen what it has to contribute. To be overwhelmed by its complexity is to avoid the hard work of gaining understanding. By coming to terms with the broad scope of what is the Bible, you can begin to appreciate why it is hard to read and make sense of and apply to daily life. Beware reading the Bible! It will change your life.

Howmany “books” in the Bible? 66 [39 + 27]

Thebooks are divided into two sections called: testaments or covenants

Testament/covenant are both legal terms and relational terms.

Thefirst section has three parts: Torah, Prophets, Writings

Torah is first five books, Prophets are the final 17 books, and the writings are the other 17 books.

Thesecond section has two parts: Gospels, Letters

Gospels make up the first five books, the Letters make up the final 22.

Whoare some of the authors of these books?

Moses, David, Solomon,Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude.

When/Wherewere these books written?

Oral origins/ Scrolls –2000BC thru 100AD; Israel, Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Asia Minor

Whoput them all together?

Rabbi’s collated OT byaround 70AD

Patriarchs collated NTaround 200AD

The decision making process about what to include and exclude was a very messy process. We believe that God's Spirit was intricately involved - but it was also a very human project. Kinda like Jesus.

Whyso many different translations?

Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek;manuscripts

There is no one document in Hebrew or one in Greek that we translate into English. Thousands of manuscripts are pieced together to create the Bible. Thousands of scholars from around the world have worked for hundreds of years - a whole science is built around piecing these manuscripts together. This shouldn't prompt you to question the validity of the Scriptures, but rather to reveal what a labor of love it is to put together the Bible.

What Are You Reading?

Whatkind of “books” make up the Bible?

Or:What are you reading if they are not “books?”

We think of "book" in a very modern sense. But Genesis is not a typical book. Neither is Leviticus. Or Job. Or Matthew. Or Romans. Their style of writing, their purpose of writing, their authors, their audience, their content don't always match our expectations for modern media. It's important to read a Bible "book" for what it is, not what we want it to be.

Genreof literatures in the Bible:

Myth

Poetry

Narratives

Genealogy

Lawcodes

Wisdom

Songs

Prophecy

Apocalyptic

History

Biography

Letters

Here's an example of why it's important to understand the type/genre of literature you are reading when you study your Bible: In Genesis 1-6, you have myth, poetry, narrative, genealogy, song, prophecy, history, and biography. Being able to intelligently sort out how the author is using the genre's will greatly increase your ability to understand what you are reading. Reading a long list of names is boring, unless you understand the purpose of a genealogy. Do you enjoy reading poetry in English? If not, you might struggle with what to do with Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Can you appreciate a really good story? Do you know how to draw insights from a carefully crafted narrative? What is the purpose of a myth, and how does it get used to transmit truth?

Another example would be the first four chapters of Luke: history, biography, narrative, songs, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, apocalyptic, lawcode. Whew! That's a lot to pack into such a brief amount of content. Can you see how Luke weaves his words and ideas and styles together to capture the readers attention and communicate truth? Also, are you able to pick out where Luke uses ideas and quotes from the Old Testament in his writings? Can you point out the significance of where he pulls his ideas and quotes from in the Old Testament? See - there is so much more to learn about the Bible, there is so much more to understand! Don't see it as daunting, though - let your curiosity drive you. We understand God's word to be to us, for us, and even sometimes about us - and he intentionally uses a myriad of styles of literature to make his point. Appreciate it. Respect it. Engage it.

Understanding WhatYou Are Reading

TheBible is like a library and each “book” stands by itself, and yet some areconnected. Each “book” needs to be understood on its own merits – what genresare included in it. But then each “book” needs to be understood with the other “books”that it is connected with in that section, as well as to the history and thestory.

* Understandingthe two testaments – how are they connected?
The New Testament builds on the First Testament.

* Understandingthe five sections – how are they connected?
Everything flows from the Torah. The Writings? All written by and to people of Torah. Wisdom is from living life under Torah. Poetry is about the power of Torah. The Prophets are all preaching about obedience to Torah. Jesus in the Gospels came to fulfill Torah. Paul writes about how to live by Torah as understood through Jesus.

* Understanding the genres - and how are they used?

Why is most of the Bible written in poetry? Why doesn't God give us bullet points about what he wants from us?

* Understandingthe flow of history – how are the people and events connected?
Who are the main characters we read about - how do their events and experiences flow together? What else happened in history that sheds light on the Bible?

* Understandthe point of the story – and how are we connected to it?
Why have these stories about God and Israel and Jesus and the disciples? Where is this story going? Where do we fit into it?

Cell Phone Safety & New Indiana Law

2011-06-30T17:55:00.001-04:00

First of all I just want to say "Hello" to all the fellow Anchorites out there. It is a very busy summer and sometimes it feels like we are scattered here and there, and sort of lose track. I for one am very grateful for Anchor, and the ministries it provides. I would also like to thank the Worship Team for the long hours they spend practicing and showing up on those Sundays when the crowd is sort of slim. They still carry on, and I appreciate that very much.

As some of you may have already heard there is new legislation out there that will become effective on July 1, 2011. If possibly you have lost track of time like I do, that is this Friday. According to this new law, it will now be officially illegal to text message on your cell phone while driving. As I mentioned on my Facebook note I am unaware of the penalty which will be imposed. If someone knows what it might be please feel free to get in touch with me and let me know.

I for one am guilty of the practice of texting and driving. In this day and age it seems everyone needs to know any detail imaginable as it actually happens in another person’s life. I think the advent of Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and all the other social network mediums have only added to this sense of urgency we all feel to know everything we can in real time.

I for one understand these feelings. It is important that we retrain our thoughts, and minds that most things can wait at the very least until we can pull over or stop in a safe place. I fear as I make these next few statements I may be thought of as overly opinionated, or maybe even stern. But I feel I must say these things: When you text and drive you are basically putting yourself in the same precarious position as someone who is DRINKING AND DRIVING.

You are basically showing the same disregard for the safety of others, and yourself, as someone who is under the influence of ALCOHOL, AND DRUGS. You are distracted. You are not watching the actions of other drivers. You are drastically slowing down your response time to changing traffic conditions. Your reflexes are drastically slowed down. You may be having emotional reactions to the information you are getting in the text message. This can render you extremely dangerous to be on the road. You have almost the same risk of hurting yourself, or others, as someone who is DUI.

With all this being said, along with not texting and driving, you need to let your friends and relatives know that you will not respond to text messaging while you are driving. This will increase your safety on the road, and prevent hurt feelings from those who do not receive a quick response to their texts.

You need to be an advocate, a spokesperson if you will. Encourage your friends and relatives to heed the new law. Nothing could be sweeter than a life being saved because you encouraged a friend or relative not to text and drive.

Now, a word about Bluetooth devices. Many people are rushing out to buy Bluetooth ear sets, thinking that this will allow them to safely talk on cell phones while driving. Well, I am afraid I have some bad news. Studies have shown that these devices do not increase safety margins when being used on the road. When you are talking to someone you can still be distracted, and caught up in a conversation. You still have the ability to become emotionally upset on the road especially if you are engaged in an argument. I would say that at least you can still have two hands on the steering wheel which is the big reason folks are buying these sets. But this still does not remove the risks involved. Your reaction time to changing road conditions remains compromised.

None of what I am saying here is rocket science. This issue has been ongoing for years. I just wanted to help spread the word that texting and driving will be illegal as of Friday. I know that some may decide to ignore this law. Admittedly, it appears it may be difficult to enforce. In Michigan the fine is $500 for texting and driving. In Minnesota you cannot even text at a stoplight or stop sign. All this to say, ”the train has left station” on the issue of texting in Indiana.

As a Registered Nurse, I have taken care of many folks whose lives have been ruined by unsafe driving habits. It is my hope and prayer that Anchorites will “take the high road” on this issue and also encourage others to do the same. I pray the Lord’s blessing on us all as we travel here and there this summer.

God Bless,

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN

More About Bed Bugs

2011-05-16T21:00:00.000-04:00

Bed Bugs 101 continued...

As I started to do the research on how to get rid of bedbugs I came across a website called Wikihow.com, the article is titled: How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs.

This is a very good resource point to aid in helping with bedbugs. In all honesty I could not think of a way to document the material in a better way myself.

One of the cool things about this website is that you can personally edit the material. This makes it most valuable to send as an email or even to document on Facebook. All in all a very user friendly site….especially if you might be helping someone else with this issue.

Please be in prayer for those who are ill and those facing difficult situations. Whenever possible, be the one who delivers the answer to those prayers as well.

God Bless,

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN

Crucifixion

2011-04-23T21:14:00.000-04:00

We believe
Jesus of Nazareth
was crucified.

Crucifixion is the
ultimate obscenity.
Crucifixion is the
ultimate deterrent.

Crucifixion involves stripping the victim in order to humilate.
Crucifixion means a body would be picked apart by birds of prey.

Crucifixion sates the sadistic desires of the strong.
Crucifixion is reserved for vile criminals.

Crucifixion is synonymous with shame.
Crucifixion is synonymous with suffocation.

Crucifixion gives a lasting commentary on a person's life.

Crucifixion means a person is cursed by God.

~Scot McKnight, One.Life p186

Parish Nurse Notes: Bedbugs

2011-04-13T07:14:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of controversy lately over the rise of incidents of bedbugs.

This has caused a significant amount of anxiety, especially among those who stay in hotels. If you are going to travel, there is a website called the Bedbug Registry. At this site you can check hotels and apartments across the U.S. to see if any complaints have been made about bedbugs.

As with most issues, one way to decrease anxiety is to learn more about it. Once you have information about what concerns you it becomes easier to deal with the issue, and decreases anxiety.

Here is a small overview of bedbug knowledge: Bedbugs 101

* Bedbugs are small, oval, brownish insects that feed on the blood of animals, and humans. Fully mature bedbugs have flat bodies about the side of an apple seed. After a feeding of blood they turn a rather reddish color.

* Bedbugs do not have the ability to fly. They are speedy little critters that can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Females lay hundreds of eggs over the course of their life. Baby bedbugs, called nymphs, are about the size of a speck of dust. Nymphs can develop fully in as little as a month and can produce three or more generations in a year.

* Bedbugs are sneaky little critters that enter the home through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches, and other items. In the summer time it is common to buy used furniture such as at garage sales. That couch or bed may be a great deal, but proceed with caution. My own recommendation is not to buy bedding from someone you don’t know. You don’t want to risk the possibility of bringing an unwanted bonus home to your house.

* Bedbugs do not live in nests but tend to stay hiding in groups. Over time they can spread through the bedroom to any place that is protected such as a crevice in a wall. They will spread through a home or apartment given time. They mainly like the mattress or other parts of the bed where there is access for biting in the night.

Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later they turn into itchy welts. Fleas usually like to bite around the ankles but bedbugs will bite anywhere they can find a spot. Many times people think that bedbug bites are actually mosquito bites. In order to be certain of what is happening you must search and find the bugs visually.

If you notice that you are waking up with bites that you did not have at bedtime you likely have bedbugs especially if it is around the time you got a used bed or other piece of furniture. Some signs of infestation include: bloodstains on the sheets and pillowcases, dark rusty spots on the sheets or walls which are an indication of bedbug excrement, signs of fecal material, egg shells, or shed skin in areas where bedbugs like to hide. There can also be a musty odor present from the bugs scent glands.

If you are concerned that you may have a bed bug infestation the first thing to remember is to stay calm. If you have young children you do not want to get upset and panic, as this may cause sleeping problems such as nightmares.

Remember: be VERY cautious about bringing used furniture into your home, especially from a garage sale or second hand store. If you decide you are going to buy a used piece of furniture please be sure to inspect it thoroughly for any sign of bugs, eggs, shed skin, etc.

Next week I will give an overview on what to do if you do find that you have the critters in your home. I pray for all the Lord’s best for the people of Anchor. If you have any questions or comments about what I have written, please feel free to contact me.

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN

The Servant-Leader

2011-04-12T07:05:00.000-04:00

There seems to be a lack of great leaders in our society. It's easy to be the person in charge, it's easy to be named head-honcho, but it's a totally other thing to have the skill and knowledge to do the next right thing as a leader. In politics, where are the great leaders? In business, where are the great leaders? In culture, where are the great leaders? In religion, where are the great leaders?

Yes, there are people calling the shots, but where are the people with the courage, the integrity, the wisdom to call to make the right decisions? The temptation is to not consider yourself a leader, to avoid the responsibilities of leading those in need around you. Maybe there is a lack of great leaders because too many give in to the temptation to stay quiet, to not get too involved, to not care so much.

For all Christians who serve and care and get involved in the messiness of other people's lives, we must learn to be great leaders. Not just great leaders, but servant-leaders like Jesus. Henri Nouwen reflects on this:

After having asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" Jesus says, "Feed my lambs, look after my sheep, feed my sheep." Having been assured of Peter's love, Jesus gives him the task of ministry. In the context of our culture we might hear this in a very individualistic way as if Peter now was being sent on a heroic mission.

But when Jesus speaks about shepherding, he does not want us to think about a brave, lonely shepherd who takes care of a large flock of obedient sheep. In many ways, he makes it clear that ministry is communal and mutual experience.

First of all, Jesus sends the twelve out in pairs. We keep forgetting that we are being sent out two by two. We cannot bring good news on our own. We are called to proclaim the Gospel together, in community.

I need my brothers and sisters to pray with me, to speak with me about the spiritual task at hand, and to challenge me to stay pure in mind, heart, and body. But far more importantly, it is Jesus who heals, not I; Jesus who speaks words of truth, not I; Jesus who is Lord, not I. This is very clearly made visible when we proclaim the redeeming power of God together.

Ministry is not only a communal experience, it is also a mutual experience. Jesus, speaking about his own shepherding ministry, says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep." As Jesus ministers, so he wants us to minister.

He wants Peter to feed his sheep and care for them, not as "professionals" who know their clients' problems and take care of them, but as vulnerable brothers and sisters who know and are known, who care and are cared for, who forgive and are being forgiven, who love and are being loved. Somehow we have come to believe that good leadership requires a safe distance from those we are called to lead.

But how can anyone lay down his life for those with whom he is not even allowed to enter into a deep relationship? Laying down your life means making your own faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of life.

We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for. The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.

Therefore true ministry must be mutual. When the members of a community of faith cannot truly know and love their shepherd, shepherding quickly becomes a subtle way of exercising power over others and begins to show authoritarian and dictatorial traits. The world in which we live - a world of efficiency and control - has no models to offer to show who wants to be shepherds in the way Jesus was a shepherd.

The leadership about which Jesus speaks is of a radically different kind from the leadership offered by the world. It is a servant leadership in which the leader is a vulnerable servant who needs the people as much as they need him or her.

From this it is clear that a whole new type of leadership is asked for in the Church of tomorrow, a leadership which is not modeled on the power games of the world, but on the servant-leader, Jesus, who came to give his life for the salvation of many.
~In the Name of Jesus, pg39-45

Who Can Do It All Alone

2011-04-05T08:05:00.000-04:00

Life was not meant to be lived alone. You ought to live such that you have at least one good friend. To have a friend, be a friend. And when it comes to ministry, no one ought to serve and care for others all alone. Christian ministry flows out of a community. While everyone may have different skills and knowledge to contribute, we need each other.

But in our culture, within the church and throughout our society, there is a special place in our hearts for those people that can thrive and achieve something great all by themselves. We have a special admiration for those gifted and talented women and men who can do so much seemingly all alone.
It is a mirage.

The downside of this mirage is that we become disappointed in ourselves when we need someone. We hold it against ourselves if we must lean on another in order to succeed. Thus even our achievements are cheapened because we couldn't do it all alone. We become miserable in our loneliness, as well as in our companionship. Ack!

What is the Christian to do - the one who wants to serve and lift up and listen and heal and be good news? Be in community. Let others into your life. Don't seek to go it alone. Cooperation and collaboration reflect your desire for community and accomplishment. Jesus may have gotten a lot more done all by himself, but he was fully human, and he chose twelve men to spend some years with him. And that was a better way.

Here are some reflections by Henri Nouwen on the temptation to do it all alone - life and ministry:

The second temptation to which Jesus was exposed was precisely the temptation to do something spectacular, something that could win him great applause. "Throw yourself from the parapet of the temple and let the angels catch you and carry you in their arms." But Jesus refused to be a stunt man. He did not come to prove himself.

When you look at today's Church, it is easy to see the prevalence of individualism among ministers and priests. Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that, if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo.

You could say that many of us feel like failed tightrope walkers who discovered that we did not have the power to draw thousands of people, that we could not make many conversions, that we did not have the talents to create beautiful liturgies, that we were not as popular with the youth, the young adults, or the elderly as we had hoped, and that we were not able to respond to the needs of our people as we had expected.

But most of us still feel that, ideally, we should have been able to do it all and do it successfully.

Stardom and individual heroism, which are such obvious aspects of our competitive society, are not at all alien to the Church. There too the dominant image is that of the self-made man or woman who can do it all alone.
~In the Name of Jesus, pg39-39

Parish Nurse Notes: Cyber-Bullying

2011-04-04T13:15:00.000-04:00

My previous blog dealt with the subject of bullying, its various forms and the signs that it is taking place. In this blog I would like to talk about one of the more insidious forms of bullying, cyberbullying.

As we all know, we live in a world full of technology. Computers, cell phones and so forth are evolving every day as more and more technology boosts our ability to communicate, do business, and have fun. But there is also a very sinister side to all this technology. As always sin crouches at every opportunity to use whatever means possible to do evil.

This year I have been doing some guest teaching at various schools, and grades in the Fort Wayne area. I have been amazed at the technology that kids bring in their pockets every day. One day I inquired at the office of a moderately large school. My question was what to do when I am teaching a class, and I find kids actively using various forms of technology, ie. cell phones and iPods. To my amazement the answer given was “Well if the student using the device isn’t bothering anybody we usually don’t do anything.” I was amazed at the number of kids who were ignoring the lesson at hand, in order to use these devices on a regular basis.

Bullies have also seized upon technology to aid in their misdeeds. Cyber-bullying is a form of bullying does not require the bully to be face to face with his/her victim. This form of bullying has been shown to peak around the end of middle school, and the beginning of high school.

Examples of cyberbullying include but are not limited to:
-sending rude, threatening, and abusive messages via cell phone or computer.
-the use of “social networks” to spread lies, rumors, or other false information.
-using websites to post videos or other social media with the goal of humiliating, and embarrassing others.

This form of bullying is insidious because it can take place at any time of the day or night. It can be spread to many different audiences, and can be spread anonymously.

This problem has major social consequences for its victims. Some problems include skipping school, poor grades, low self esteem, and various physical and mental issues. Students who are victimized have higher rates of alcohol and drug use and are more likely to have face to face interaction with the bully.

One of the best tools we have to help stem this bullying is to listen to our kids. Be proactive and question them if there is any problem either face to face, or through technology.

In conclusion: Cyberbullying is on the rise every day. Its victims may be hesitant to reveal the issue due to embarrassment or fear of retribution.

Visit this website - it has a lot of helpful information: stopbullying.gov

Keep watching your kids. We cannot depend on school systems, and organizations for kids to keep watch, and deal effectively with this issue. Parents and other family members have the advantage to be the ones who help stem the tide of this growing issue.

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN

Connecting to the Community: with Wallace Butts and Carla Castro

2011-04-03T23:05:00.001-04:00

For our final 2011 Lenten Gathering, the 46808 Neighborhood Churches met at Anchor Community Church. We had a great array of piping hot, homemade soups and chili! We also had the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition join us, represented by the Coalition Coordinator, Wallace Butts. Carla Castro also shared a bit she is Anchor's Community Connections Director, as well as the coordinator of programs for FWFC hosted by Anchor. She is also the marketing director for FWFC - that's a lot of hats! She wears them well.

Wallace started off our time together with this great video that highlights the joy and dedication of some great dad!

This was followed up by some sad and sobering statistics on what a family can become without a good dad involved in the home. Here's a few to consider:
* 63% of teen suicides come from homes with uninvolved fathers.
5 times the national average.
* 90% of all runaways and homeless children are from homes with uninvolved fathers.
32 times the national average.
* 85% of children with behavioral problems come from homes with uninvolved fathers.
20 times the national average.

What can neighborhood churches do when they realize that dads in their congregation - and in their community - need help? Help to become a better dad, to become a more involved dad, to be a more confident and caring dad? The Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition consists of churches and non-profit organizations committed to providing helpful services to dads. We also connect with other dad-oriented organizations for the sake of collaboration and improved services for the dads we are helping. When dads want to get help, we want to be there for them. And with them.

For more information, check out the FWFC website. You'll see the organizations that consist of the coalition, as well as more details about the services we provide.

It's worth noting where the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition came from. Last year, our 46808 Neighborhood Churches met with Judge Charles Pratt and Kate Rusher to learn more about the court system. We had discovered that many, many families in our neighborhood had some member caught up in the system. How could a church become helpful to a family involved in the court system? That's what we wanted to find out. Find out what we learned!

It was fun meeting with Judge Pratt to prepare for that series. In the weeks leading up to our Lenten series, Judge Pratt approached our churches, along with other congregations and non-profits in the community to pitch the idea of a fatherhood coalition. Indiana Youth Institute had an opportunity for a fatherhood initiative if there were interested organizations. The interest was definitely there! IYI provided great support, some great leaders emerged, and within a few months a coalition had been created.

Almost two-hundred dads were served last year through our coalition. The knowledge that was shared, the skills imparted, the relationships formed, and the homes impacted - its a great reward for the families and the coalition. We owe a debt of gratitude to Judge Pratt for introducing us to the idea, and to Indiana Youth Institute for making the opportunity a reality.

It's amazing what can happen in a year - for dads, for FWFC, for our congregations, for our city.

Prayer That Keeps You Rooted

2011-03-31T07:19:00.000-04:00

What's prayer all about for you? Is it about getting stuff from God? Is it a divine 911 call-line? Is it just one more thing to feel guilty about not doing? Is it a source of skepticism and disappointment?

As a Christian who wants to make a difference for God and for good, you kinda hafta be a praying person. How could you be a Christian leader, a minister of Jesus, a priest who mediates between God and humanity if you don't do much meditation? If you're not talking to God much, how can you help others become rooted in him? If you're not doing much listening to Him, why should anyone do any listening to you?

I get it: you're stuck between the desire to help - you have a caring heart, BUT you're also busy and don't have a lot of time to give to praying, you have a lot on your mind, and you're often tempted to disbelieve that praying makes a big difference. Am I close? Is this you? It's sometimes me.

These words from Henri Nouwen about contemplative prayer and Christian leaders - it's what I needed to hear today:

Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance.

Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christians leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them. Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness, because before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject.

But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.
~ In the Name of Jesus, pg31-32

Most of us are one step away from contemplative prayer. We already worry. We obsess. We go over stuff in our head. We lay awake at night mulling things over, trying to figure out what is going on and what to do next. Contemplative prayer includes God in on what you've got going inside your mind already. You're thinking about something with your kids. Include God in on it. Your marriage is causing confusion. Include God in on it. Work or school is a source of anxiety. Include God in on your swirling thoughts.

Contemplative prayer keeps you rooted in what God is doing already - in you, through you, in others. Direct your deep and constant concerns towards God. He listens to you, and then you...listen...to...him.... To know God is to trust him, to be rooted in him. To lead and love in the name of Jesus is to listen to Him.

To Know and To Love

2011-03-29T22:59:00.002-04:00

What do you look for in a Christian leader?

As Christianity continues to decline in the West, what ought to be the priority for Christian leaders?

We live in the wealthiest nation EVER! Wealth of information, wealth of opportunity, wealth of stuff. And yet we are one of the most obese, medicated, lonely peoples ever. Within our swirling culture, what is the best contribution a Christian leader can make? As a priest - a mediator between God and humanity - what is our task in these confusing and turbulent days?

Henri Nouwen has this to say about the Christian leader of the future:

The Christian leader of the future is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh, "a heart of flesh," in Jesus.

Knowing God's heart means consistently, radically, and very concretely to announce and reveal that God is love and only love, and that every time fear, isolation, or despair begin to invade the human soul this is not something that comes from God.

Knowing the heart of Jesus and loving him are the same thing. The knowledge of Jesus' heart is a knowledge of the heart. And when we live in the world with that knowledge, we cannot do other than bring healing, reconciliation, new life and hope wherever we go.

The desire to be relevant and successful will gradually disappear, and our only desire will be to say with our whole being to our brothers and sisters of the human race, "You are loved. There is no reason to be afraid."
~In the Name of Jesus, pg 25, 27

If you want to make a difference in your own home, if you want to expand your heart, you are invited to know Jesus. You must step forward and lead your self, your family, your friends into a new place of hope and healing. You must become a leader by actually leading - taking initiative, planning ahead, bringing others along with you, implementing change. Your home needs you to be a leader. Your church needs it. Your work needs it. Your school needs it. You need it.

To know Jesus - his words, his works, his way - is to know his loyalty to you, his faithfulness, his devotion and sacrifice and trustworthiness. He is to us what he wants us to be to others. To let him lead you is how you are able to lead others. This may be a new definition of leadership for you. In light of how things are going, I'd say we probably need a new kind of leader for the future. A different kind of Christian for tomorrow. One through whom others know and love Jesus.

In Our World of Loneliness and Despair

2011-03-29T06:34:00.000-04:00

As Christians who care, we work to bring hope and help to a situation. We minister as priests, mediators between God and humanity - for God is the one who fuels hope and sustains real help. When we bring hope and help to our neighbor, we let it come from Him through us. As little Christ's, we follow in the way of Jesus, meeting others in their hard times with a heart of love, a heart that knows God.

Henri Nouwen writes at length about Jesus and our hearts and hope:

Look at Jesus. The world did not pay any attention to him. He was crucified and put away. His message of love was rejected by a world in search of power, efficiency, and control.

But there he was, appearing with wounds in his glorified body to a few friends who had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand. This rejected, unknown, wounded Jesus simply asked, "Do you love me, do you really love me?" He whose only concern had been to announce the unconditional love of God had only one question to ask, "Do you love me?"

The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus? Perhaps another way of putting the question would be: Do you know the incarnate God?

In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response.

It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope.

Are you in need of hope?

Are you in need of help?

When you reach out to God, he responds in love - he can identify with your loneliness and despair. He meets you where you are at. The greatest difficulty in asking God for help is that you must trust Him, trust His way of helping. If He prompts you to forgive, you must trust Him to forgive. If He moves you to stay loyal, you must trust Him and do so. If He brings someone into your life that offers wisdom and companionship for the long journey, you'll need to trust Him on it and go along.

God will answer your prayers for hope and help by bringing someone alongside you with a heart that knows the heart of God and can be a conduit for his healing love. You must be be willing to receive the answer to your prayers.

And for you, Christian, that cares: are you willing to be part of God's answer to those who whisper "Help..."

Connecting to the Community: with Jocelyn Smith

2011-03-27T22:25:00.001-04:00

For our third Lenten gathering, the 46808 Neighborhood Churches met at Trinity United Methodist Church with Jocelyn Smith of Rising Stars, a ministry of Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Jocelyn is the Community Connector for our neighborhood, and works with four local elementary schools: Washington, Nebraska, Bloomingdale, and Franke Park. Jocelyn was joined by the Rising Stars Director, Sarah Adams.

Together the two of them presented to the gathered churches the origins of Rising Stars, the difference it is currently making in the community, and what is next. It was great to have Grace Presbyterian, First Mennonite, Anchor Community, United Faith Presbyterian, and members from Trinity United Methodist come together to strengthen our partnership with Rising Stars and as members of the Associated Churches.

Rising Stars is doing great work in our local elementary schools - and providing a great opportunity for collaboration with neighborhood churches. Community Connectors like Jocelyn Smith build relationships with schools and churches, becoming a link for support and fulfilling needs. Schools always needs supplies for their students, and sometimes they need help with clothing and other essentials. But the biggest need that has surfaced is support for the parents - training opportunities that improve parenting skills, strengthen families, and nurture a better performing school.

Recently, in partnership with Youth Services Bureau and the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition, Rising Stars was able to start parenting classes in a number of local elementary schools, including Nebraska Elementary School, which is ten blocks south of Anchor. These STEP classes are taught by facilitators trained through YSB and funded by Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition. Rising Stars then works with local churches like Anchor and Trinity, to help pay for food costs, provide volunteers and help with incentives. Parents are getting help, the Aha! moments are happening - this is neighborhood collaboration at its best!

Sarah Adams shared some compelling stories:
*A Bloomingdale student came to school irregularly - she had to share her wintercoat with a sibling. When news reached the school, Rising Stars stepped in to provide a coat so that both students could go to school everyday wearing their own warm winter coats.
*At a different school, a family had split up - and then all their possessions were destroyed in a fire. Through the school, Rising Stars was able to provide gift cards to help them recover. The family got the help they needed, they have come back together, are in a different home, part of a local church, and have started a new life together.
*A principal shared that different teachers said they could feel the presence of God in their classrooms. The love and support they get from Rising Stars is like a big huge hug!

Churches can do more together. God does some of his best work through congregations that collaborate in their city to serve and love in the name of Jesus. To learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference for good, check out these links below:

Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County

Rising Stars Ministry

Nebraska Elementary School

Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition

Youth Services Bureau

Trinity United Methodist Church

Grace Presbyterian Church

Anchor Community Church

Also: NeighborLink Fort Wayne

Irrelevant and Truly Self-Confident

2011-03-23T21:40:00.000-04:00

What's at the heart of Christian ministry? If you are a Christian, and you do any kind of serving, caring, helping, praying, etc, you are doing ministry. That makes you a Christian minister. A little Christ ministering in the way of Jesus. What is central to ministering in the name of Christ?

Henri Nouwen puts it like this:

Before Jesus commissioned Peter to be a shepherd he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" He asked him again, "Do you love me?" And a third time he asked, "Do you love me?"

We have to hear that question as being central to all of our Christian ministry because it is the question that can allow us to be, at the same time, irrelevant and truly self-confident.
~In the Name of Jesus, p23

To be irrelevant is to be free. Free from unrealistic expectations. Free from legalistic burdens. To be irrelevant is to be free to be led by the Spirit of God. And to be self-confident - most of us can only dream of becoming such. To be self-confident in our serving, in our caring, in our helping, in our listening, in our correcting, in our mentoring, in our loving...such is the way of Jesus.

Let Jesus ask you the question he put to Peter. Listen to the probing interrogation. He is looking into your eyes - that strong, steady, gentle, intense gaze: Do. You. Love. Me?

A Deep Current of Despair

2011-03-22T23:05:00.001-04:00

When you are out in public, do you ever people-watch? You may already know that body-language makes up about 80% of personal communication. You can tell a lot about a person by how they walk, how they stand and lean and slouch and shuffle. Not everything, but a lot. Behind the make-up, behind the clothes, behind the attitude, what do you see?

As someone who cares, as a Christian who ministers, as a priest who mediates between God and humanity, what do you do with what is really going on inside others? Do you realize what is churning inside of so many of us?

Henri Nouwen has these penetrating insights into the reality of those who minister and those we see:

In this climate of secularization, Christian leaders feel less and less relevant and more and more marginal. Many begin to wonder why they should stay in the ministry. Often they leave, develop a new competency, and join their contemporaries in their attempts to make relevant contributions to a better world.

But there is a completely different story to tell. Beneath all the great accomplishments of our time there is a deep current of despair. While efficiency and control are the great aspirations of our society, the loneliness, isolation, lack of friendship and intimacy, broken relationships, boredom, feelings of emptiness and depression, and a deep sense of uselessness fill the hearts of millions of people in our success-oriented world.

And the cry that arises...is: Is there anybody who loves me; is there anybody who really cares? Is there anybody who wants to stay home for me? Is there anybody who wants to be with me when I am not in control, when I feel like crying? Is there anybody who can hold me and give me a sense of belonging?

Feeling irrelevant is a much more general experience than we might think when we look at our seemingly self-confident society. Medical technology and the tragic increase in abortions may radically diminish the number of mentally handicapped people in our society, but it is already becoming apparent that more and more people are suffering from profound moral and spiritual handicaps without having any idea of where to look for healing.

It is here that the need for a new Christian leadership becomes clear. The leader of the future will be the one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.
~In the Name of Jesus, p20-23

Does that resonate with you?

The new Christian leader will enter into deep solidarity with those caught up in the deep current of despair - and bring the light of Jesus there.

To the despairing: may enough Christians hear your cry and see your eyes and enter into solidarity with you, bringing the light of Jesus to you.

Parish Nurse Notes: Bullying

2011-03-21T22:32:00.003-04:00

Anchor Community has been collaborating with 46808 Neighborhood Churches with the purpose of helping build a stronger, responsible, and healthier neighborhood. There are many subjects and issues that can be addressed. Among those issues are raising great teens who will grow up one day to be responsible citizens in our own neighborhoods and towns.

One issue has come to the forefront for almost all teens in one way or another: bullying. In recent research 43,321 teens were surveyed. The age range was 15-18 in 78 different public schools, and 22 private schools. Amazingly, a full 24% reported that they feared going to school, and found school to be an unhappy, and unsafe place to be. It was also found that 37% of boys and 19% of girls felt violence in schools was okay.

In other research, it has been found that as many as 100,000 students have gone to school while carrying firearms. 77% of students in one research group admitted to being bullied at some point. It is estimated that as many as half the incidents of bullying are never reported…..even considering that as many as 14% of students have had severe negative events related to bullying.

One big problem with bullying in 2011 is that it is no longer limited to just verbal threats and physical violence. Bullying has many faces including:
-relational...ie. withdrawing emotional, social, and friendship benefits to punish a victim
-racial...indirect racial slurs, graffiti, exclusion from various social settings and activities, and harassment
-sexual...sexual remarks, inappropriate touching,
-cyberbullying...threats and harassment over various internet social sites such as Facebook etc.

Very serious problems can result for bullied teens including physical harm as well as depression and social isolation. In the next couple of blogs I will discuss more in depth the problems related to bullying….and some of the steps we can take both in the Church, and in the community to help stem the epidemic which is overtaking so many of our teens.

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN

Reference: USA Live Headlines.Com

They Are Very Busy

2011-03-21T22:10:00.001-04:00

We've been making the contention that every Christian is a priest. Our role of mediation between God and humanity takes the form of ministry. Through our actions, our works, our deeds we reveal the mercy and will of God in the world, we become the answers to the prayers of the people. In our everyday life at work and home and school and church, while shopping and dining and playing and strolling, with the people we come across in our day - this is also where we mediate and minister.

Do you ever wonder if you are ever really making a difference? Are there moments that make you think that all your help and ministering is for naught? Whether you get paid to be a minister or you volunteer - you've probably faced those moments of self-doubt: does my ministry matter? Should I continue?

Henri Nouwen has been in that place, and here's what he writes about it:

One of the main sufferings experienced in the ministry is that of low self-esteem. Many priests and ministers today increasingly perceive themselves as having very little impact. They are very busy, but they do not see much change.

It seems that their efforts are fruitless. They face an ongoing decrease in church attendance and discover that psychologists, psychotherapists, marriage counselors, and doctors are often more trusted than they. Meanwhile, there is little praise and much criticism in the Church today, and who can live for long in such a climate without slipping into some type of depression?

The secular world around us is saying in a loud voice, "We can take care of ourselves. We do not need God, the Church, or a priest. We are in control. And if we are not, then we have to work harder to get in control. The problem is not lack of faith, but lack of competence."
~In the Name of Jesus, p19-20

It's ironic: the people who need help, well part of their problem is that they are very busy; and the people who want to help, well they are very busy helping. We are all very busy! Who is the man, who is the woman who will step out in faith and refuse to be busy? It would take great imagination to conceive of a life that is not dominated by being busy - and it would require you to not be busy. What to do?

If you want to really help someone, you must trust God to guide your steps - He will not cause you to be too busy. If you want help - if you really want God's help - you must trust him to slow down your steps so that you are not so busy.
You can't do reflection and repentance on the run.
You can't change your heart if you're too busy to cook a meal at home with your family.

Reading the Gospels, one never gets the sense that Jesus was busy. He worked hard, he suffered, he applied himself diligently, but he wasn't busy. To serve in the name of Jesus does not require you to be busy.

To receive the help of Jesus will require you to slow down - this sometimes looks like the wheels falling off of your life. Consider it a blessing. Incompetence is not necessarily your problem, rather it's your unwillingness to trust God's way. Your way makes you too busy and impotent. You can find a new way.

Connecting to the Community: with Megan Kelly

2011-03-20T22:45:00.002-04:00

Tonight we met at Grace Presbyterian Church with Megan Kelly of Great KIDS make Great COMMUNITIES. Megan presented an overview of the 40 Developmental Assets, particularly those that congregations can build into kids and youth. It was a lot of good information, a very empowering session. Our 46808 Neighborhood Churches want to make our neighborhood a better place to live - and building assets into children and teens is a key investment.

Here's some highlights from the evening:
* the average American kid has about 19 assets in their life
* kids and youth who are involved in their local church have on average about 21 assets in their life
* kids and youth who are not involved in a local church have on average about 15 assets in their life
* while the ideal goal is for each child and teen to have all forty developmental assets in their life, having at least 30 will make a big difference in their life
* churches can make a key difference in the life of a child and teen directly, and indirectly through supporting parents and other local agencies.

The 40 Developmental Assets are a result of research done by the Search Institute. You can read about all the assets by clicking here. Search Institute has identified these building blocks of healthy development - known as Developmental Assets - that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. The research shows that the more positive experiences children have in their lives, the greater the likelihood that they will succeed developmentally.

What are the developmental assets that congregations can naturally build into young people?
*provide support through other adult relationships: young people need to receive support from three or more nonparent adults
*empowerment through fostering a place of safety: young people need to feel safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood
*availability of adult role models: young people need parents and other adults to model positive, responsible behavior

*nurture a constructive use of time through involvement in a religious community: young people ought to spend at least one or more hours per week in activities with a religious institution
*demonstrate positive values like caring and helping others, equality and justice for others in need, integrity with convictions, honesty when it's not easy, accepting responsibility, and showing restraint towards unhealthy behaviors
* foster a sense of purpose: young people need to feel like their life has a meaningful purpose

For a great list of specific activities of what congregations can do to build into kids and youth, click here.

In what ways has Anchor been building assets into the life of our children and teens over the past bunch of years? Here's some observations. What would you add to the list?
* serve on the worship team as singers, Scripture readers, and instrumentalists
* serve as candlelighters, ushers, and communion servers
* serve on community service projects in the neighborhood

* raise their own funds for youth trips and projects
* raise funds for people in need - in our community and around the world
* participate in small groups led by caring, fun, responsible adults
* enjoy a safe place to spend their morning singing, learning, and praying
* worship and serve alongside adults ranging from young to old

Temptation To Be Relevant

2011-03-16T22:36:00.001-04:00

So you find yourself caring. You care about the people in your life. You care about your community. You care about the burning issues of your day. You care about victims of earthquakes and political revolutions. Like Jesus, you care.

Henri Nouwen thinks that Jesus' first temptation was to be relevant. It's a temptation that almost every pastor faces, every Christian who cares about their church and family members and neighbor faces. Here's what Nouwen writes:

Are we not called to do something that makes people realize that we do make a difference in their lives? Aren't we called to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and alleviate the suffering of the poor?

Jesus was faced with these same questions, but when he was asked to prove his power as the Son of God by the relevant behavior of changing stones to bread, he clung to his mission to proclaim the word and said, "Human beings live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes form the mouth of God."
~In the Name of Jesus, p18-19

It's worth reflecting on why Jesus refused the devil's offer. Maybe it's a simple answer: always reject what the devil offers! But the opposite would be: always accept what God offers. Which is exactly what Jesus ends up saying. It sounds so easy! But the devil knows how to offer an alternative way that comes across as very appealing. Very appealing. And convenient. And helpful. Relevant.

Why do you want to help people? When it comes to caring for people, how much of it is about you? When you reach out to someone, do you ever let God prompt you forward? Does the way of Jesus determine your course of action, or do you let yourself get driven by your own desires for compassion?

There is no substitute for knowing God's word to his people. If you are a Christian, and you don't ever let God's word direct your steps of help and compassion, you may find yourself merely turning stones to bread. You maybe be popular and helpful, but you aren't connecting people to the God who saves and rescues and heals. The temptation to be relevant is powerful, it is hard to resist.

Called To Be Completely Irrelevant

2011-03-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

What makes for a good Christian leader? What are the qualities you look for?

How would you know if you were a good Christian leader?

Here's what Henri Nouwen has to say about it:

...I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love.

The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God's word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of human life.

How do these thoughts alter your perspective of what makes for a good Christian leader?

Too often we feel like we must choose between an effective leader and a loving leader. A leader needs to be effective, but a Christian leader must also be one who loves in the name of Jesus. Without love, that leader is like a annoying, clanging cymbal.

Your willingness to offer your vulnerable self to God and your neighbor, in the name of Jesus, positions you for Christian leadership. Your ability to express the way God loves you - not in superspiritual lingo, not with big Christianese phrases - enables you to minister to others. This is Christian leadership at its core - leading people and organizations and communities into a way of life of loving your neighbor as God loves you.

The temptation is to skimp on love. The temptation is to continually think of yourself as a loving person. The temptation is to believe in the power of love without being a conduit for the power of love. As a Christian you have nothing to offer but your own vulnerable self, loved by God.

To some this is the way of irrelevance. But it is the way of Jesus.

Does Becoming Older Bring Me Closer to Jesus?

2011-03-14T22:30:00.001-04:00

Becoming older can merely make us cynical or stiff-necked. But it can also make us wiser and sweeter. When it comes to knowing Jesus, the experiences that come from getting older can draw us closer to him, or push us further away. That temptation never ceases.

For Henri Nouwen, he puts it like this:

Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus? After twenty-five years in the priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside me was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger.

I began to ask myself whether my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, and my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed. It was very hard for me to see clearly, and though I never spoke about hell or only jokingly so, I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and that the term "burnout" was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death.

In the midst of this, I kept praying, "Lord, show me where you want me to go and I will follow you, but please be clear and unambiguous about it!" Well God was.

As a Christian, you may not think of yourself as a priest, but you are. If you are trying to help your friends or family get to know God better, you are doing the work of a priest. If you care about the faith of others, you have the heart of a priest. And every Christian who cares and takes initiative and gets involved at some point faces burnout. We suppress the Spirit. This also is a temptation that never ceases.

Does your current way of life make contemplative prayer unrealistic? Are you surrounded by people, yet still feeling disconnected and lonely? Do you find yourself caring about burning issues in the lives of people around you, yet you find yourself filled with low-grade despair about people and their possibility of changing? Is getting older as a Christian resulting in you becoming closer to Jesus?

So what is it about becoming older as a Christian that helps me become close to Jesus? The temptation is to dismiss the question. Or to answer it too quickly, too hastily. The following blogposts will address these issues, using Scripture texts from Jesus in the Wilderness, and Jesus' to Peter to become a Shepherd.

Connecting to the Community: With Judge Pratt

2011-03-13T22:32:00.001-04:00

Churches in the 46808 Neighborhood gathered together tonight at First Mennonite Church to meet with Judge Charles Pratt. He was joined by his assistant Kate Rusher, the Assistant Chief Juvenile Probation Officer at Allen Superior Court.

Here's an overview of some of the material Judge Pratt shared with us in regard to reporting child abuse and neglect:
First: is the child under the age of 18?
Second: which of these in the "general neglect category" apply -
* Food
* Clothing
* Shelter
* Supervision
* Medical Care
* Education

Third: Does the neglect have a corresponding serious harm to the child?
Fourth: Has your congregation's offer to help or help from other agencies been ignored or refused?
Fifth: Has there been an act - or a failure to act - that resulted in injury (an injury that is not typical given the age, the place of the injury, and the extent of it)?
Sixth: Has there been injuries from an act of domestic violence (or has the child been exposed to domestic violence)?

When reporting, be sure to:
* Give specific conditions of the home if you deem it to be unsafe
* Articulate clearly the circumstances that you deem to of serious harm (untreated medical care, failure to provide food, inadequate shelter, children left alone, etc.)
* Call the child abuse and neglect hotline as soon as you have compiled your information: 1-800-800-5556. If you think the child is in immediate danger, call your local police.

Possible victims of sex offenses:
If the child provides you with facts that he or she has been sexually victimized, then do the following:
* Make notes for your later recollection about the child's comments.
* Do not ask the child questions. There is protocol for interviewing the children that requires an expert to complete
* Contact the police and the hotline.
* Assure the child that you are acting to protect him or her.
* Remember that the child - regardless of his or her participation in the abuse - is a victim.

As our churches become more involved in the neighborhood, and as we come alongside more families, we are seeing more children in dire circumstances. The question arises: what's the best way to serve the children and their families? And: how can we best partner with the court system to better serve those involved in abuse and neglect cases? This is how we subvert the powers of injustice.

Jesus commanded his disciples to go preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. This is motivation for us to meet with Judge Pratt and collaborate with him in better caring for our neighbors. We are a community of churches that want to make our neighborhood a better place to live, in the name of Jesus.

We met with Judge Pratt and Kate Rusher last year - over a period of four weeks they introduced us to the court system from the perspective of children, youth, and adults. They also helped us connect with available resources like Great Communities Make Great Kids, the YWCA: Domestic Violence Services, CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, and others.

This year we wanted to follow up with Judge Pratt and Kate Rusher and learn more about CHINS (Children In Need of Services). Next week we will meet with Megan Kelly who directs Great Communities Make Great Kids - and will do a presentation on the 40 Developmental Assets that church communities can best offer to kids and youth. The following week we'll meet with Jocelyn Smith of Rising Stars, and then the final week we'll meet with Wallace Butts of the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition.

God is a God of the Present

2011-03-12T10:54:00.000-05:00

You are a Christian. You are a priest. You are a leader. You face temptations.

Henri Nouwen was in this category as well, and he was asked to speak about Christian leadership in the twenty-first century. He writes this:

But after having said "Yes" to the invitation, I realized that it was far from easy to come up with a sane perspective on Christian leadership in the coming century.

I wondered how it would be possible to look ahead of me, when I considered that nobody in the fifties could have forseen the situation of most priests [and Christian leaders] today.

I came to see that I should not worry about tomorrow, next week, next year, or the next century. The more willing I was to look honestly at what I was thinking and saying and doing now, the more easily I would come in touch with the movement of God's Spirit in me, leading me to the future.

God is a God of the present and reveals to those who are willing to listen carefully to the moment in which they live the steps they are to take toward the future. "Do not worry about tomorrow," Jesus says, "tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34).

You may not feel like you are a priest, or a leader, or a very good Christian, but you are quite aware of your temptations. Your way out of your temptations will be how you blossom as a Christian, become a helpful leader, and a caring priest. You may just want delivered from your temptations without all the leadership and priest stuff. I'm not sure that's the way it works.

God is still God in your present circumstances - no matter how confusing or disappointing or fulfilling. No matter how you perceive your situation, there is still the desperate need to listen carefully to Him about your next steps into the future. Your temptations can be an ongoing burden to you, or, when you get in touch with God's Spirit, they can be the gateway to a new day. Welcome to the way of becoming a Christian priest and leader.

Your Temptations & Tomorrow

2011-03-11T10:15:00.000-05:00

If you are a Christian, you are a priest.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. [1Peter 2v9-10]

You may not ever think of yourself as a priest, you may not be able to point out actions in your life that reveal you to be a priest, but that doesn't make the identity less true.

As a priest, you face temptations. One of those temptations is too see yourself as disqualified for priesthood, or deny that you are in fact part of a royal priesthood. The temptation may be to see yourself as unusable, as part of a useless community.

A priest is one who mediates between your neighbor and God. When you pray for someone, you are doing the work of a priest. When you listen to someone talk about God, you are being a priest to them. When you help someone forgive, when you help someone understand the Scriptures, when you guide people into truth and grace as taught us by Jesus, you are being a priest. When you love your neighbor as a way to love God, you are being a priest. To be a Christian is to be a priest.

Priests face deadly temptations. Peter the Apostle writes with this reality in mind:

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. [1Peter 2v11-12]

Not only is a priest a mediator between God and man, and not only does a priest face deadly temptations, but a priest is also a leader. This is a self-evident point, but it is too often overlooked. A priest who wrote true and helpful words about priesthood and leadership, Henri Nouwen, has some keen observations on Christian leadership in our century.

By reading his writings for Lent, my hope is that you will more fully embrace your identity as a priest, that you will find courage and wisdom to overcome temptations, and a vision for what your life as a leader can look like for others.

Anchor needs you to be a priest who embraces the task of leadership. Tomorrow needs you to accept your tasks today. Your friends need this, your family needs this, you need to do this. Temptations will never cease, and thus there is always the need for priests to help others overcome and recover. You need a priest to help you, and others need you to be the priest to help them. To be the Anchor is to be the priest to your neighbor.

You may find all this talk about being a priest rather odd, uncomfortable, or heretical.

May you not be so turned off or tuned out that you miss an opportunity to stretch your understanding of your life in Christ. It could be that your view of the world is too small. Your Jesus may be too small. Your perspective of who you are in Christ may be too small. The temptation may be to avoid obedience tomorrow by keeping your faith small today.