Friday, December 28, 2012

Reading the Bible is hard, B

Continuing on with the series of blogs on ideas that have helped me in my Bible reading. 

1. I am currently putting together a lesson plan for youth group.  The plan is to read through the book of Mark.  The goal is not simply to learn what Mark says, but also to learn how to read the Bible.  How I plan to go about that with the youth is to ask a set of questions about each passage we read.  I may have heard some of these questions from one of my professors, but I don't remember who it was.  Here are the questions.

1. What can I learn about God from this passage?
2. What can I learn about me (or humanity) from this passage?
3. What questions do I have about this passage?

This simple approach can be applied to any book or passage.  Though these questions may seem obvious, the fact is we often neglect to ask them when we read the Bible.  By asking these questions, we can start moving in the right direction in understanding the Bible. 

Obviously, this approach most likely still leaves us with lots of questions about the passage.  But actually considering specific questions we have about particular texts is a great start to getting understanding.  Sometimes, if we don't actually articulate our questions, they can add up in our heads to the point where we feel overwhelmed.  There are so many things we don't understand, and we're not even sure what those things are, so it seems pointless to start down the path.  The best thing to do is to formulate specific questions, write them down, and pick one or two to begin studying more in depth. 

For example, I wrote down these questions for Mark 1:1-8:

What does "gospel" mean?  How is Jesus the Son of God? Who's Isaiah?  What is a prophet?  Who is John?  What does baptize mean?  How did John know Jesus was coming after him?  What does it mean to baptize with the Holy Spirit?  What is the Holy Spirit? 

Many of these questions seem simple and I probably could give a decent answer to them without studying further.  But if I really want to gain understanding, and if I want to be able to teach this passage to the youth, I need to look a little deeper.  What is the definition of a prophet?  What exactly do prophets do?  What does baptize really mean.  I know what baptize looks like, but what does it mean?

Hope that helps.  More to come...

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Reading the Bible is hard!

Reading the Bible can be frustrating.  I have certainly felt this way at times in my life.  Some parts are just hard to understand.  Some parts can seem to have no meaning or relevance to my life (How's a genealogy supposed to strengthen my faith?).  Some parts (honestly) can just seem really boring (Again, genealogies?).  Combine all of this with our western mindset of quick-fixes, 3-step programs, and instant gratification, sitting down to read the Bible can be one of the most frustrating things. 

From talking to other people, I know that I am not the only one to feel like this.  So I thought I'd write a series of blogs on things I've learned that have helped my reading of the Bible.  Here's number 1:

1.  Even when it's frustrating, keep reading.  I know that this may be a discouraging first tip, but it's important.  I had a 3-4 year period of my life when reading the Bible was the most frustrating thing I could do.  For several reasons that I won't go into here, I was unable to really receive and believe anything I read.  It was like I would read the words, but they didn't settle anywhere in my brain.  They were empty.  And because they were empty, it left me frustrated because I knew deep down that they were important words and I desperately needed them to teach and speak to me.  But my pride kept me from receiving anything from them.  Or so I thought.  Looking back on that time, I am so thankful that I didn't give up on reading the Bible.  God was teaching me and speaking to me even though I wasn't aware of it at the time.  Though the words seemed empty and lifeless then, they still settled somewhere in my mind and had an effect on me.  Even the sort of growth that is merely head knowledge of what the Bible says has some benefits.  I am thankful that God continued to teach me through His word even when I thought nothing was happening and it seemed pointless.  Keep reading!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Growth

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3-4).  
 
Those who follow God will live differently.  Obedience to God’s commands is confirmation of fellowship with God.  John even goes so far as to say, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (2:6).  God’s commands are not made less important because forgiveness is possible.  We are still called to “be perfect as he is perfect.”  Yet John also stresses that we must never presume that we are without sin (1:10).  We must obey God, yet we must never offer God our obedience as payment for our sins.  “...the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (1:7).  Salvation through perfect obedience was never God’s way.  His way was, and is, always mercy and grace.  He provides a way despite our sin and shortfallsEven in the OT, God made provisions for the sin of the people.  God gets all the glory for salvation.  There is no room for boasting, only worshiping.  

Yet this does not mean we can make light of the call for obedience and godliness.  While our identity, worth, and salvation are not based on our performance (Jesus died for us while we were still sinners), we must "work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling."  As John says, if we claim to know Him but live unchanged lives, we are, at best, deceived.  Salvation results in changed lives.  We are not simply saved to go to heaven.  We are saved to live for God's glory here and now; to get wrapped up in HIS story and let go of writing our own independent story.  He is the hero, not us.  This does not mean we will all grow in godliness at the same speed.  This does not mean that we won't still struggle with sin.  This does not mean that we won't fail miserably.  It just means that there must be growth over time.  As Dallas Willard says, “Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.  Earning is an attitude.  Effort is an action.”
 

Friday, December 21, 2012

God's work and our work

I am currently preparing a sermon on 2 Peter 1:1-12.  The big idea is that God's work of salvation leads to our obedience.  

The relationship between God's work of salvation and our obedience and right living can be a confusing one.  Most Christians recognize that we don’t EARN our salvation.  Most realize that salvation comes by grace.

But the Bible is full of passages about how we ought to live.  The Bible is full of commands to do what is good and refrain from what is evil. 

How do these commands and calls for moral obedience relate to the fact that our salvation is by grace through Jesus’ death in our place?  And if our salvation really does come because of what Jesus did, not what we do, then is it really all that important to live rightly?
 
 My understanding of this has been aided by an analogy I heard from my professor Justin Holcomb.  It goes something like this:

Sometimes we can think that our part in salvation is like paddling a canoe.  We must do all the work or we'll get nowhere.  "God helps those who help themselves."  This is moralism.  We think salvation is dependent on our work.
 
Other times, we can think that our part in salvation is more like drifting down a river in an innertube.  We have no responsibility except to just sit there.  We can be disengaged and passive.  "It's all by grace anyways, so why work?"  The theological term for this is antinomianism.
 
The correct view, according to 2 Peter 1 and the rest of the Bible, is this: We are like a water skiier and God is the motor and boat.  He supplies all the power and ability.  Apart from Him, we could do nothing (John 15).  Our attempts to water ski apart from the pull of the boat would be useless.  However, as God empowers us, we have a responsibility.  We must hold on.  We can't be passive.  We must put forth "every effort" (2 Peter 1:5).  If we don't hold on we will fall.  But our ability to do anything good or right is dependent on His strength working in us.  We can work good and obey because we are not working by our own strength. 



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Prayer of godly productivity

I happened on to a series of blog posts by C.J. Mahaney on the topic of time management.  It got me thinking and I ended up writing this prayer that I use to start out most of my days at work. 

Prayer of godly productivity-God, accomplish your purposes in and through me today.  Apart from you, I can do nothing of any worth.  By the power of your Spirit, cause godly growth and fruit to come from my work.  Let my thinking, my conversations and interactions with others, and the work of my hands bring glory to you and bring about your good purposes.  Let this day be more than just a passing of the time or of enduring till tomorrow, but let every minute be used to fulfill the purposes for which you have brought me to this specific place at this specific time. 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

"For His name's sake."

 "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake."  1 John 2:12 (ESV)

John says that sins are forgiven “for his name’s sake.”  The fact that God forgives sin adds to his glory and honor.  God is glorious and worthy to be worshiped even if he didn’t forgive sins.  His power and wisdom and goodness and justness alone make his “name” worthy of worship.  But God adds mercy, love and forgiveness to his power and justness.  All this is for “his name’s sake.”  It is not primarily for our sake.  He is for OUR good because he is for HIS glory.  His pursuit of his own glory leads him to love us.  There is no higher end, no worthier cause in all the universe than God’s glory.  His purpose is that we would see him to be completely worthy of worship and would live our lives for “his name’s sake” and not for ours.  Our lives have purpose when we live for His sake, His kingdom, His glory, and not for our own.  Because of this, the greatest prayer that we can pray is the prayer Moses prayed: “Show me your glory.”  Oh, that our heart’s desire would be to see God for who He is.  Oh, how our lives would be changed if we really “saw” his glory.  We would never be the same.  May this be our prayer and pursuit.