Disciplined Freedom

From time to time I read Valley of Vision (VV) in my Quiet Time.  Typically, I will read an entry and then daily go back through it thought by thought.  It has been interesting to see how often what I have read in VV has aligned or is supported by what I read in the Word that day.

For example, some months back I read in the section entitled “Requests”,

O God, May I never be a blot or a blank in life, or make my liberty and occasion to the flesh. (p 274)

That Day I read Galatians 5:13 (here @ BibleGateway), which lead me to 2 Peter 2:18 (here @ BibleGateway).  The clear message of the word and the quote from VV is that while we are free in Him, we cannot allow our freedom to hurt others.  

In 1 Corinthians 8 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul, while affirming the freedom of the Corinthian believers to eat meat sacrificed to idols, because, in fact, they are false, at the same time reminds them that if a fellow believer struggles with that freedom, they should not exercise their freedom for the sake of their “weaker” brother.  He tells them to limit their freedom in order not to cause their brother to stumble.

Paul repeats this exhortation in Romans 14:15 (here @ BibleGateway).  In fact, this was the first passage that I applied to my life as a new believer.  I was in Pilot Training in the Air Force.  The Officer’s Club was the place to be after the flight line.  Drinking beer was part of that scene as was playing foosball.  One Sunday night at First Baptist, I was attending “training union” with some other young adults.  We were going through Romans 14 (here @ BibleGateway).  The topic came up that we probably shouldn’t be drinking because it might damage our testimony to those who were not believers.  I pointed out that verse 14 (here @ BibleGateway) clearly stated nothing wrong with anything.  The leader emphasized the last part of the verse.  That part is nearly identical to the argument in 1 Corinthians 8.

If someone thinks that believers should not drink and they saw me drinking, it could be that I either damaged their faith or else hindered them from coming to the Lord.  I pondered that for some time.  As a matter of fact, I stayed behind after the meeting and worked through it alone.  I decided then that I would no longer drink beer or other alcoholic beverages in order not to cause others to stumble.

I learned through that experience both the impact of application and the importance of voluntarily limiting my freedom to better serve those with whom I wanted to sustain ministry.

Grace in the Morning

Ever feel like this world is against you?  Read Psalm 90 (here @ BibleGateway).  Focus for a second on verses 14 – 15 (here @ BibleGateway).  It looks like it pretty much is against us.  Now consider Genesis 3:16 – 19 (here @ BibleGateway) and compare that to Genesis 1:28 – 31 (here @ BibleGateway).

Notice that the curses in 3 are in direct contrast with assignments Adam and Eve are given in 1.  They were to fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over it.  Instead, because of their disobedience, Adam now had to deal with a cursed ground that would now resist his efforts to live to say nothing of the assignment to subdue.  

Eve was to be a helper and the mother of all living.  Rather than be a helper she now would want to dominate Adam.  Further, the fruitful and multiply assignment was going to be accompanied by greatly multiplied pain.

So the deck was now stacked against them, and by extension us.  Life moved from a lush garden to a harsh cursed and fallen world into which we have arrived.

Moses reminds us in his prayer that to navigate this cursed world we must cling to the grace of God each morning.  That would seem like a strong recommendation to start each day in His Word and asking for the grace we need to make it through that day.

Naïve no More

Full disclosure – This post is the tip of the iceberg on this topic.  I need to spend more time on this but it is too good to let slide.

In October I made a note in my journal on Proverbs 14:15 (here @ BibleGateway).  This week I was reading through Siddartha Mukherjee’s book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (I would highly recommend this book, for a number of reasons.  If nothing else to understand more fully how scientific method, which is derivative of theological method, is applied to real problems.  By extension, the book gives insight on how observations lead to breakthroughs in knowledge and at the same time outlines how observation is obscured and it’s results resisted and thwarted), and ran across this sentence:

To a naive observer, the scenario might produce a strange effect. (Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (p. 230). Scribner. Kindle Edition.)

Obviously the context here is important, but beyond what I want to explore.  My first reaction to this was what makes a person a naïve observer?  Then I remembered Proverbs 14:15 (here @ BibleGateway).  

The next question then is how does one move from being a naïve observer to one whose observations are not naïve.  

This is where a full-fledged study of two of the key words in the text of 14:15, “naïve” and “consider” would be of significant help.  However enticing that sounds, and to me it sounds and looks like a sumptuous feast, I don’t have time or energy tonight to dive in.  You might consider looking up both words in your concordance and looking how they are used in other passages.

The intriguing thing for me is how does one move beyond naïve observations in their Bible study.  I think the answer is in the text of the Bible.  Again there is more here, but a good starting point would be Psalm 119:18 (here @ BibleGateway), pray and ask the Lord to help you see.  As I have mentioned, in 119 the psalmist asks for help to understand His Word, 56 times.

Second, Psalm 119:130 (here @ BibleGateway), tells us that the Word gives understanding to the simple.  The interesting thing here is that these are the same two Hebrew words that are in Proverbs 14:15.  Perhaps abiding in, studying the Word of God is the answer to move from being naïve in one’s observations.

Psalm 119:98 – 100 (here @ BibleGateway) seem to bear this out.

Promotion

There is a cause and effect relationship that I have seen play out in several passages of scripture.

Cause	Effect	Note
Proverbs 11:2 (here at Bible Gateway)
When pride comes	then comes dishonor	Note the contrast
But With the humble	is wisdom
1 Peter 5:5 – 6 (here at Bible Gateway)
Pride	God is opposed	Again contrast
Humble	God gives Grace
Humble yourself	God will exalt you at the proper time
James 4:7-8, 10 (here at Bible Gateway)
Submit to God, Resist the devil	The devil will flee
Draw near to God	He will draw near to you
Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord	He will exalt you
Matthew 23:12  (here at Bible Gateway) also (Luke 14:11; 18:12  (here at Bible Gateway))
Whoever exalts himself	Will be humbled	Note the contrast "and" essentially is functioning here as "but"
He who humbles himself	Will be exaulted
Philippians 2:8 - 11 (here at Bible Gateway)
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.	For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
1 Corinthians 11:1 (here at Bible Gateway)
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.		Paul exhorts us to imitate Christ by humbling ourselves...

There are more passages that deal with this.  Psalm 75:6 – 7 (here at Bible Gateway) and Hebrews 5:4 (here at Bible Gateway) are two you may want to consult.  The issue is we are to avoid exalting ourselves, self-promotion.  I continually ask the Lord to deliver me from this.

Responding to the Call

Most mornings the first thing I do is open my Bible program Logos.  A while back I did and when the program opened, Deuteronomy 32:18 (here at Bible Gateway) was in the middle of the screen and caught my eye.  It is a powerful passage.  Even more so, when you read the context.  

Tonight, I went with my brother to his church in Houston.  A pastor I had shadowed while taking a leadership course in seminary was leading a class on John 15 (here at Bible Gateway).  It was interesting to see how what he said in the 90 minutes that we spent together aligned with what I saw when Logos opened to 32:18.  One of the points he made was that Jesus gives us three callings:

• Come to Me
• Come after Me
• Abide in Me

He pointed out the density of the repletion of the word abide (Greek, μένω) in John 15.  Then he pointed out that John uses the word even more densely in 1 John (here at Bible Gateway).  I just checked, abide shows up 24 times between 1 John 2:6 and 4:16 (here at Bible Gateway).  The speaker’s point was that more people respond to the first two calls than those who respond to the third.

That mirrored my response to Deuteronomy 32:18.  In my journal I wrote, “People who do not choose to abide in His Word are those who have forgotten Him and neglected Him.  Lord, show me how I have neglected you?”

This morning I was talking to a pastor at our church.  I was sharing some quotes from the book, These Words upon thy Heart, I had shared with him that I searched for this book on the recommendation of Prof for 40 years.  It was  worth the search.  Here is one of the quotes we discussed:

“…we truly inherit nothing except what we also discern.  Nothing is ever really ours, however it may be presented to us except we discover its truth and except it prove itself again in our experience…mere acceptance of the conclusions of others… is not the way which we…lay broad and deep foundations.  With eyes bandaged in formulas we see only the aspect of life the formula allows…they grow accustomed to the half light…and with all the colors of it toned down to suit the somber hues of a twilight soul.” (Kuist, Howard Tillman. These Words upon thy Heart.  Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1947, P 56.)

The point is, we must respond to Christ’s third call.  To not do so is to lead a anemic, muted, colorless, Christian life. 

Healing?

Have you ever read anything in the Bible and thought, “I wish He would do that for me”?  I have.  

Look at Psalm 103:3 – 5 (here at Bible Gateway), He:

1. Pardons all my iniquities, 
2. Heals all my diseases; 
3. Redeems my life from the pit, 
4. Crowns me with lovingkindness and compassion; 
5. Satisfies my years with good things, So that my youth is renewed like the eagle. 

Last time I read that, I was recovering from Covid, was facing the last two maintenance rounds of chemo.  One of my pastors said you have four things that have a side effect of fatigue, cancer, chemo, covid, and Cunningham…  He thought that was really funny…

When I read this, my response is, “Lord can you do this for me?  Will you?”  It is without question that He can.  

However, I have reacted to the way “healers” demand healing that has made me think or has given me a mindset that makes me hesitant to ask Him or believe that He would heal me.

The cancer I have is incurable, but He can cure it.  Will He?  He can cure all of the ailments I have.  He can cure all of the ailments that my love ones have either faced or are dealing with now.  He can, but, will He?

The pull is to look for the right words or behavior that will get His attention.  But that overlooks Psalm 139 (here at Bible Gateway) and Ephesians 2:10 (here at Bible Gateway), does it not?

So, how does one approach this?  Is it not to trust Him with whatever He choses to do?  Knowing and trusting that what He chooses is best.  Isn’t that what Paul does in 2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10 (here at Bible Gateway)?

We Do It Our Way

We tend to be independent.  We tend to want to do things our way.  It seems that we are born that way.  I have 10 grandchildren divided equally between the binary genders.  In each case they are all independent.  They all go through the stage where “no” is the most common word out of their mouth followed closely by “mine.”  They are not alone.  I would wager that if you have children or grandchildren you have experienced the same phenomenon.

It is genetic.  Not – well yes, it is from me.  But it is really a function of being human.  There is an example of how this plays out negatively in 1 Kings 12:25 – 33 (here @ BibleGateway).  Jeroboam, wanted to reunite the kingdom, so he did it his way.  He built a couple of golden calves (where have we seen that before?) and set them up in a couple of places so Israel could worship “god” without going to Jerusalem.

There were several problems with this approach.  Not the least of which was the fact that God had centered worship at the temple in Jerusalem.  But Jeroboam had a problem that he needed to solve so he figured that it would be more efficient if there were a couple of places that the people could go to worship, it was a much better setup than having everyone trek to Jerusalem to worship.  Great idea, other than the fact it was a direct violation of the second commandment and the directions God gave about where to worship.

It is a good thing that we do not do this anymore.  We don’t come up with better alternatives for obedience to God.  

When Jesus says that if we are to be His disciples in John 8:31 – 32 (here @ BibleGateway), that we are to abide in His Word.  It would be just as good, actually, more efficient if we would read books about His Word.  That way we don’t have to do the work of study ourselves.  We can just read about the work others did.  Nothing wrong with that.  Much easier.  I can even listen to those books in my car on the way to work.  

Also, there are great teachers in my church and the pastor has a seminary degree.  I can learn from them.  That way I don’t have to think I can just soak up their knowledge.

Right.

Making Things Clear

Yesterday I referred to a study in 1 Corinthians.  We are in 15 (here @ BibleGateway) this week.  14 (here @ BibleGateway) Last week.  12 – 14 is a difficult passage.  This time through I saw something that was tangential to the typical discussion that is usually started when one engages with 14.  

Before we get into that, lets think about one of, if not the major, theme of 1 Corinthians.  In each chapter Paul seems to deal with an issue that is causing division in the Corinthian church.  For instance:

Chapter	Divisive Issue
1	Competition of whose mentor is best
2	Lack of growth
3	Arrogance of conversion
4	Pride or Arrogance toward leaders
5	Misplaced tolerance
6	Mishandling of legal issues
7	male female relationships
8	Liberty misused
9	Rights demanded
10	Forgetting all in the same situation, choosing what one likes without regard for the choice’s impact on others
11	Misbehavior at the Lord’s table, differences about head coverings
12	Spiritual gifts
13	Lack of love

Which brings us to 14.  Most would probably suggest that it is a rehearsal or expansion of chapter 12, and at some level that is correct.  But, I believe there is more going on under the surface of the arguments Paul is making.  There are hints of this all through the chapter but 14:10 - 11 (here @ BibleGateway) is perhaps the clearest example.  Paul remarks that there are many languages and if two people are not speaking the same language one will think the other is a barbarian, they are not communicating.  

As I thought through the chapter, it began to dawn that that issues of not communicating was underlying all of what Paul is saying in this chapter.  Whether it is tongues, either in the charismatic sense, or prophecy, if those hearing do not understand what is being said, there is no edification in the church.

Shortly after thinking this through, I was in several meetings that included both staff at churches and men in Bible studies, I observed miscommunication happening in each meeting.  One person would say something and the person listening would hear something else and respond to what they thought they heard rather than what was said.

That happens between generations as well.  I am a baby boomer.  I have a different language, for the most part, than millennials.  I must work to both understand what they are saying, and work to communicate what I am thinking to them in language that they understand.

This past weekend we had a speaker that used the DISC personality inventory to help those in our church understand the different ways that different personalities communicate and hear what is communicated to them.  It was again a validation of what I saw in 14.

When I read articles on current events, I sometimes wonder from what planet the person writing the article recently arrived.  They are viewing what I see through a completely different lens.  

Interestingly When you consider Paul’s prayer request in Colossians 4:3– 4 (here @ BibleGateway), the main thing he is asking for is to be able to speak clearly, to make the mystery of the gospel clear to those to whom he speaks.  Communication.  James in 3:1 – 12 (here @ BibleGateway), you know the passage, the word translated tongue is the same word that is used in 1 Corinthians that is similarly translated tongue or tongues.  Lastly, in Genesis 11:6 (here @ BibleGateway), the Lord looking at what the people were building in the plain in Shinar, acknowledged that they all spoke the same language, thus they could do anything they chose to do.

If we communicate, across generations, across theological differences, across cultural differences, as believers, think of what we can do in pursuing first the Kingdom, Matthew 6:33 (here @ BibleGateway).

Slow Learner

Since last September some men I have known for about 40 years, and I have been studying 1 Corinthians.  We meet each week online and compare notes.  It is a good time.  There is no pretense.  In the early part of last October, during my quiet time I was reflecting on part of 1 Corinthians 13.  Specifically, verses 5 and 7 (here @ BibleGateway).

The notion that love, “does not seek it’s own,” caught my attention.  It made me think of Philippians 2:3 (here @ BibleGateway).  The idea that we are to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than” ourselves, seemed to echo Paul’s thought in 1 Corinthians.  

That thought – the “nothing” – took me to Philippians 4:6 – 7 (here @ BibleGateway), we are to “be anxious for nothing”.

As I pondered these three passages, I concluded that these instructions are impossible for me to do.  I am not sure I have ever had an unselfish thought, if so, it was probably by mistake, in a moment of weakness.  The truth is that in my own strength I can’t.  Without Christ in me, without His strength, without His enabling grace, and without the leading and transformation of the Holy Spirit – there is no way.

I am grateful that He is patient with the process of moving me in these directions.

Self-Perpetuating Command

One of the things that is interesting about the great commission, Matthew 28:18 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway), is that it is self-perpetuating.  As you probably know, the only imperative in the sentence, 19 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway), is the verb make disciples.  The rest of the verbal forms, go, baptize, and teach are participles which derive their force or mood from the main verb.  So, each of those inherit the imperative.

There are some other interesting things about those participles but those are beyond the scope of this post.

What is meant by self-perpetuating is the force of the last participle, teach.  What are the 11 to teach?  “To observe all that I commanded you...” this would include 19 – 20.  So the 11 are to lead people to Christ and teach them all that He commanded them, which would include them doing the same as the 11.

Paul figured that out.  In 2 Timothy 2:2 (here @ BibleGateway) we see echoes of the Great Commission.  But Paul also figured out it was an ongoing charge.  Look at the following passages: 

• 2 Timothy 2:10 (here @ BibleGateway)
• 1 Corinthians 9:23 (here @ BibleGateway)
• 2 Corinthians 11:28 – 29 (here @ BibleGateway)

Paul after his road trip, focused on sharing the gospel.  The three verses above seem to describe his singular focus.  Would it be reasonable to suggest that if we are believers, if we are disciples, apprentices of Christ, that like Paul we should have a similar focus?  After all isn’t that the idea behind teaching inheriting the imperative from make disciples.

Vindication of His Name?

In the past year or so I have there have been several passages that have made me wonder about the way we approach our Father.  Here is a partial list:

• Psalm 79:1,12 (here @ BibleGateway)
• 2 Kings 19:14 – 19 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Ezekiel 36:22 – 32 (here @ BibleGateway)

The common thing in these is that the Lord’s name has been challenged or diminished by the actions of either those who are not His people or His people.  Is this a ground of approach to Him?  Do we come to Him on the basis of the fact that others have blasphemed Him and ask Him to redeem the greatness of His name?

In 1 Peter 2:4 – 12 (here @ BibleGateway) and Ephesians 2:19 – 22 (here @ BibleGateway) we are told that as believers we are being fitted together as a holy temple.  It is the case that we are to represent Him in this world.  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:14 – 21 (here @ BibleGateway).  

How are we doing?  Should we come to Him in prayer and ask Him to act because by failing we are doing the same thing that Israel did in Ezekiel 36?  Should we ask Him to vindicate the holiness of His great name?

I find I am being pulled in that direction.

Facing the End?

Two days ago I wrote about the email from the LLS that told me that the chemo I was taking rendered the C19 vaccines useless for me.  I mentioned at the end of the post that 8 days later both my wife and I got the virus.  The day we found out we were exposed, My journal had a rather long entry.  Beyond what was in my reading, the Lord took me to the following passages:

• James 4:14 – 15 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Job 7:7a (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 39:5 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 144:4 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Philippians 1:21 (here @ BibleGateway)
• 2 Corinthians 12:5b, 9 – 10 (here @ BibleGateway)

Note that they are all dealing with the brevity of life here.  I will let you work through how you respond to those passages.  I would encourage you to write your responses down somewhere you can remember and easily retrieve.  If you are up to it, share with me what the Lord showed you through those passages.

All that we had heard about the virus indicated that I was in the high-risk category.  The combination of cancer and chemo, with the result of a significantly compromised immune system, suggested that if I got the virus the outcome would not be that great.  “Coincidentally” I had intravenous immunoglobulin g the day before my wife tested positive.  That infusion takes about 5 – 6 hours and its purpose is to boost my immune system, to give me some resistance to bacteria and viruses.  After we tested positive, both of us got the monoclonal antibody infusion the next day.  

It was overwhelming how the Lord took care of us.  I only had one day where I felt really bad.  The day I go the monoclonal infusion.  They warned me that might be the case.  

Our Lord is gracious and good.

Covering them with Shame

Most of us have a really high view of David.  Many of us haven’t studied 1 & 2 Samuel.  Those of us who have may have a slightly or even radically different view of David.  Yes, he was a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14 (here @ BibleGateway)), but he was not exemplary in his behavior.

In 2 Samuel 18:33 – 19:7 (here @ BibleGateway) we read about David’s reaction to the death of his rebellious, betraying son, Absalom.  In 19:5 – 6 (here @ BibleGateway) we Joab rebukes David, saying, 

Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 

As a leader David, diminished what his people did for him by not showing gratitude for their risking their lives to protect him, restore him to the throne, and punish one who not only rebelled but cruelly shamed him before Israel.

One of the lessons we can learn from this is that our reaction to people who are doing things for us is important.  Those who are close to us, our wives, children, grandchildren will do things for us and we need to be effusive in our gratefulness.  If we are  not we are ignoring their demonstration of love and effectively pushing them away from us.  It is not quite covering them with shame but at some level it has as similar impact.

Up From Low Points

On the morning of September 22, I got an email from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).  I have watched educational programs on line with LLS and with the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) to learn more about WM which is the Lymphoma I have.

My wife and I got the C19 vaccine as soon as we could, in January and February of 2021, Modera.  I got the booster in August.  The email told me that because I had been getting Rituxan as part of my chemo since May of 2020 that the vaccines would have zero effect on me.  The Rituxan kept my immune system from creating antibodies.  That was the first time I was really down about having the cancer.  It was frustrating.  I knew my immune system was trashed, that was one of the “benefits” of the cancer and the chemo.  But, we were told to get the vaccinations if perhaps they would give some protection.  Now, I had news that it didn’t.  

Another “benefit” of both WM and the treatment was fatigue.  My capacity was greatly diminished.  The Wednesday morning I got the email I had gone to bed about 11:30 Tuesday night and had overslept and woke up at 11:37 that morning.  In my journal I noted that I had only had 4 meetings Tuesday, 5 counting a doctor’s appointment.  Two were zoom, two Bible studies back-to-back, a face-to-face meeting with one of the pastors at our church, and a coffee with one of the small group leaders I serve.  That little bit of effort wiped me out.  

I had been asking for prayer from anyone who asked based on 2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10 that I would be well content and that His power would be perfected in my weakness.  So far…  I began to catalog all that I had lost, grieving, if you will:

• Strength
• Capacity
• Ability to work out
• Being around people
• Travel to help pastors in:
• Togo
• Morocco
• Cameron 
• Ethiopia 
• There was more…

Then I turned to the Word. Psalm 73:25 – 28 (here @ BibleGateway) was on my reading list for the day.  As He has time and time again He brought what I needed before my eyes just when I needed it.  You can read what I read.  What I wrote in my journal was, 

“The thing here is that as my flesh and strength fail, as they are, God is the, literal, rock of my heart.  The LXX (the Greek OT) has ‘The God of my heart’.  The sense would be that He is all I need, the foundation.  The implications of this seem to be that it is He that keeps me going.  He is the foundation – also that prayer becomes that more important.  I can’t travel, I can’t meet, but the Spirit is engaged.”

If and when you are down.  Turn to Him and His Word.

Epilog: Eight days later both my wife and I had Covid.

Growth by Praying for Others

I often ask others how I can be praying for them.  There is also another question I ask; I wrote about that here.  

A few weeks back, I asked a man for whom I have a lot of respect, how I could be praying for him.  He replied that he was anxious.  Later as I pondered his request – I want to be clear he had reason to be anxious – it occurred to me that when we are anxious, it is evidence of, possibly several deficiencies in our understanding and/or our relationship with Him.

We all may have Philippians 4:6 – 7 (here @ BibleGateway) memorized, but that doesn’t mean that we find it easy to live that out.  We still get anxious about “nothing.”  Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) reminds us that God has scrutinized our path*.  That word means that He has examined our path beyond how a civil engineer examines the aggregate used to mix the concrete in our roads.  So in a real sense when we are anxious we are not trusting Him.

Nothing comes our way without Him knowing.  Nothing comes our way without intention.  Personally, I need to be continually reminded of that truth.  By asking my friend how I could pray for him, I was reminded and challenged in my own trust of God’s scrutiny of my own life’s path.  

Yet another example of the genius of the Lord’s commands to us.  We are to love one another, and pray for one another in so doing we are exhorted, challenged, and built up not only in our relationships with one another but also in our walk with Him.

*I have written a lot on this Psalm in this blog, there are several posts if you would like to see them type Psalm 139 in the “Search This Blog” tool at the top of the column next to this post.  Then I would suggest sort by date.

Joy and Perseverance

You know the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11 – 12:15 (here @ BibleGateway)).  There is no need to rehash the particulars here.  Among other things that resulted from this incident was David’s response to Nathan’s rebuke, Psalm 51 (here @ BibleGateway).

I want to focus on Psalm 51:12, 17 (here @ BibleGateway).  It is apparent based on 2 Samuel that David truly repented of his actions.  Is response to Nathan was immediate and complete.  One of the things that David had to face was the death of the child that was a result of his and Bathsheba’s affair.  David humbled himself before the Lord on the child’s behalf.  However, the Lord took the child as He promised David that He would.

David was dealing with real and deep sorrow.  He had sinned against His Lord and he had lost a child that he loved, that loss also would have pained his now wife, Bathsheba, greatly.  He was not in a joyful place in his life and relationship with God.  He could have become bitter and angry with what had transpired, many in his circumstances do.  But he did not.

There was nothing that he could do to restore the joy he had with the Lord.  Look at his request in 51:12 (here @ BibleGateway), “restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me wit a willing spirit…”  David knew that the joy of his salvation, his relationship with God, was not something which he could manufacture, it was a gift, grace if you will.  He knew that he was completely dependent on the Lord for the joy that he knew in their relationship.  Thus, his prayer.  Further, and this raises an interesting question, David then prays to be sustained with a willing spirit.  The question is did he learn that he needed that sustaining because of this failure?

Regardless, what was true for David is for us as well.  We are dependent on Him, completely dependent on Him, both for the joy we have in our relationship with Him as well as our perseverance in a willing spirit to follow Him. 

Perhaps, like David, that reality should inform our prayer.

Staying on the Path

As I have said earlier, I do not accept what I read about the Bible in books by Christian authors or scholars uncritically.  That said, again, I am helped and inspired by some of the things I read.  As I have mentioned before, sometimes during my quiet time, I read through parts of the Valley of Vision.  Some months back I read:

When faith sleeps, my heart becomes an unclean thing, the fount of every loathsome desire, the cage of unclean lust all fluttering to escape, the noxious tree of deadly fruit, the open wayside of earthly tares. Lord, awake faith to put forth its strength until all heaven fills my soul and all impurity is cast out. (VOV, Faith, 288 – 289) 

This prayer recalls Proverbs 4:26 – 27 (here @ BibleGateway), Psalm 119:105 (here @ BibleGateway), and John 15:5 (here @ BibleGateway). 

For me to continue to walk with Him I am both dependent on Him and His Word. Without consistent time with Him in His Word there is no chance that I will be able to stay on the path. It may be obvious, but listening to what others have found in the Word, or reading books about the Word or some aspect of the Christian life, while possibly helpful, does not, is not the same as spending time directly engaged with the text.  It is not what Jesus tells us to do in John 8:31 - 32 (here @ BibleGateway).

It’s Broken

This is a difficult time.  Not just in the US but in several places overseas.  I just read a Facebook post from an acquaintance that shared an article from an independent organization named after a major denomination.  It was a one-sided piece that was presented as a reasoned examination of pastors losing their ministries because of politics.  To suggest that the country is divided, would be an epic understatement, polarized may be more accurate.

I meet weekly with Christian leaders in Morocco, Cameroon, and Ethiopia – more accurately I am scheduled to do so.  In Morocco, while weekly I hear of new believers, the underground churches are meeting, knowing that they could be arrested for doing so.  In Cameroon, a country that has the potential to be both an economic and spiritual gateway to both the French speaking and English-speaking countries in the area since the country is bilingual, one language group is attempting to overrun the other, thus destroying one of their greatest advantages.  In Ethiopia the government controls access to the internet shutting it down to keep people from communicating.  Thus, my comment about being scheduled to meet with a leader there.

It seems that regardless of one’s political leaning today, everyone is either frustrated or angry.  Larry Crabb always said that frustration was the result of a blocked goal, and that anger was the result of a continually blocked goal.  The corollary was that Biblical goals could not be blocked.  As I have pondered that over the years and rubbed his thought against the Scriptural data I believe he is correct.

So, what do we do with all of this?  There are several passages that come to mind that may be of help, consider:

• Psalm 46:2 – 3 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Hebrews 13:8 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 118:8 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Jeremiah 17:7 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Matthew 6:33 (here @ BibleGateway)

Regardless of what is happening in the country or the world, the Lord does not change.  The Lord can be trusted.  The world cannot be trusted.  It is broken.  All its systems are as well.  Our charge is to cleave to Him and invite others to do so as well.

Kindness and Truth

In Proverbs 3:3 (here @ BibleGateway) we are told about the importance of kindness and truth.  The combination of truth with kindness is a tough balance.  One is charged to be truthful while at the same time being kind in the process.

Looking at the verse more closely, the word translated “do not let” is imperfect, which suggests the action is still continuing or in process of accomplishment.  In this context it would seem that Solomon is suggesting an ongoing action.  So that we are continually to prevent kindness and truth from leaving us.

How we are to prevent that is described in the next two clauses.  The verb translated “bind” is imperative.  It is a command.  Both are to be bound around our necks.  Similarly, “write” is also an imperative.  Kindness and truth are to be both on our neck and heart.

“Neck” (Hebrew גַּרְגֶּרֶת) only appears 4 times in our Bibles, all in Proverbs 1:9 (here @ BibleGateway), 3:3 (here @ BibleGateway), 22 (here @ BibleGateway), 6:21 (here @ BibleGateway).  One of the lexicons in its definition of גַּרְגֶּרֶת states, “there may be an associative meaning of the throat being close to the center or the inner being or self¹.”   Another, referencing all four of the usages states, “the part of a human or animal that connects the head to the rest of the body².”   Yet another presents ַּגַּרְגֶּרֶת as a synonym for  רֹאשׁ head, נֶפֶשׁ soul, and לֵב heart³. 

“heart” (Hebrew לֵב) in contrast is in our Bibles 593 times.  All the lexicons have some form of defining heart as inner man, mind, will, and heart⁴.  

The parallel use of these terms can be taken as a Hebrew parallelism this emphasizing the need for kindness and truth to persist in the character of the people of God.  And, or, considering the second definition of neck above the connection of the head to the rest of the body; that kindness and truth will inform not only the way we think, our rational selves, but also the core of our being and beliefs, our heart.

I like both.

If one studies 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus as a unit, we notice that Paul immediately calls both men into conflict with false teachers.  However, in 1 Timothy 1:12 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul shares a bit of his testimony.  He shares that though he was a false teacher, in that he not only denied Christ as the Messiah but also as the Son of God.  He also persecuted the church.  He was one of the people with which he is calling Timothy and Titus into conflict.

Then in 2 Timothy 2:24 – 25 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul echoes Proverbs 3:3 in that we are to approach those who are false teachers, teaching truth, without quarreling, with patience and gentleness.

Think about that, in approaching people that way, the Lord may grant repentance to one who will have an impact like Paul.

  ¹James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

  ²The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

  ³David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press; Sheffield Phoenix Press, 1993–2011), 374.

  ⁴Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 524.

Purposeful Affliction

Consider 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 18 (here @ BibleGateway).  What do you see there as the purpose for affliction?  Now consider Psalm 119:71 (here @ BibleGateway).  Note the connection, affliction.  On the one hand to draw us to glory, on the other to help us learn His Word.

All that we go through regardless of whether it is illness or persecution is in our lives intentionally.  It is for the purpose of drawing us near to Him.  

In 2 Corinthians 4, the context is that, as weak men, we are given the ministry of reconciliation.  Weak and afflicted, so that people are drawn to Him, not us.

Self Hardening?

During my time with the Lord, I start in the Word with the days reading from M’Cheyne’s Calendar for Daily Bible Reading.  In the past several months I have added the proverb of the day.  There are days that it doesn’t end there.  It seems like the Lord leads me on a journey through a topic or an idea.

One time, a few months ago, that started with Psalm 38:15a (here @ BibleGateway), “For, I hope in You, O Lord…”  The thought I wrote in my journal was, “I should not hope in anything else but You.  No salary, no person, no project, only you.”  Then there are a series of passages that follow:

• Psalm 39:4 15, 7 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 78:39 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 144:4 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Job 14:2 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 62:9 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Ecclesiastes 6:12 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Proverbs 1:28 – 33 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Hebrews 12:7 – 11 (here @ BibleGateway)

At the time I was in contact with an acquaintance that was also dealing with cancer.  They had just told me that their cancer was in remission.  I wrote: “I will never, as things stand now, hear those words this side of heaven.  Lord, I have no idea how much longer you have ordained for me to be here.  On the one hand, Philippians 1:21 (here @ BibleGateway), on the other hand, ten grandchildren with whom I wish to fully engage, Lord, please make me content with you and with what you have given me.”

Focusing on the last two passages it occurred to me that all the previous passages were context for those last two.  There are those in the body that refuse to engage, to listen to His Word, refuse to abide in His Word.  It is if they neglect or ignore the exhortation to abide, they neglect His counsel, do not want His reproof, hate knowledge, do not fear God.  It is as if they are choosing the passing pleasures of sin over following God.  That brought another passage to mind, James 4:17 (here @ BibleGateway).

To not accept His counsel, to spurn His reproof, would seem to have the effect that they eat the fruit of their own way.  Is this, could this be, the same as hardening one’s own heart?

With Us

You probably have Matthew 28:18 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway) memorized.  There is much in there to consider; but focus for a moment on the last part of 20 (here @ BibleGateway), in the NASB, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  In the Greek literally it says, “and behold I with you I am all the days until the end of the age.”

I especially like the literal because of the emphasis on the day-by-day presence of the Lord.  The “always” is vague and macro.  Whereas “all the days” is each and every day and reinforces His presence continually.  This is not the first and only place that we encounter the personal commitment of the Lord to be with us.  Look at Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 (here @ BibleGateway), Joshua 1:5 (here @ BibleGateway), and Hebrews 13:5 (here @ BibleGateway).

The notion that the Lord is continually with me, day by day, is incredibly encouraging to me.  In the midst of any trial in which we are facing, we are not alone.  He is with us.  It is the same idea we see in Psalm 23:4 (here @ BibleGateway).  In all we experience, think of it, the Lord, the one who emptied Himself, came as a baby, lived, died on a cross, was buried, rose again, ate with the 11, and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He continually intercedes for us, is with us continually.

Intention in Pain

In Psalm 35 (here @ BibleGateway), David lists all many of the ways, if not all, that his enemies are acting against him.

Verse	Action
1	Contend with David
1	Fight against David
3	Pursue him
4	Seek his life
4	Devise evil against him
7	Hid a net for him
7	Dug a pit for his soul
11	Ask of him thing he did not know
12	Repay him evil for the good he did
15	Rejoice at his stumbling
15	Smiters gathered around him
15	Slandered him without ceasing
16	Gnashed at him with their teeth
19	Hate him without cause
20	Do not speak peace
20	Devise deceit against the innocent
21	Open their mouth wide against him
21	Said Aha our eyes have seen it
26	Rejoice at my distress
26	Magnify themselves over him

There are 20 issues or actions David’s enemies take against him on that list.  In 2 Corinthians 6:1 – 10 (here @ BibleGateway), one of Paul’s long sentences, Paul shares a similar list.  Challenges he faced in serving the Lord.  David is called a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14 (here @ BibleGateway), Acts 13:22 (here @ BibleGateway).  Paul was God’s chosen instrument to the Gentiles Acts 9:12 (here @ BibleGateway).  When God stated that about Paul, He told Ananias He would show Paul how much he must suffer for Him.

If it is the case that Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God knows what we are going through.  If it is the case that Ephesians 2:10 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God has a specific work that He wants us to do.  If 1 Corinthians 12 (here @ BibleGateway), Romans 12 (here @ BibleGateway), and Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) are true, God gives gifts intentionally in the body for the purpose of equipping us and building us up in Him.  Additionally, if 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (here @ BibleGateway) and John 16:13 (here @ BibleGateway) are true He has given us His Word in order to equip us for every good work and to know Him.

Whatever we are going through, whether it is hard, painful, difficult, joyful, whatever… it is intentional in our lives.  It is purposeful.  It is shaping us into the tool that will bring Him glory.

Worshipping the Blessing – Part 2

Yesterday we looked at how Gideon and Israel focused on what they gained from God’s help, blessing, in dealing with the Midianites.  However, following the Lord for the wrong reason, or focusing on what He gives rather than Him, is not limited to the Old Testament.  Spend some time reading through John 6 (here @ BibleGateway).

Note that in John 6:26 – 27 (here @ BibleGateway), Jesus rebukes those following Him because they were following for what they could get from Him, namely bread, rather than following Him to know Him.

All of us face this challenge.  The 12 did as well.  Look at John 6:59 – 71 (here @ BibleGateway).  On the one hand all of us want to serve and obey Christ, to labor with and for Him in the harvest.  On the other hand, the main thing is to seek Him and to know Him.  We should not measure our walk with God by the effectiveness of our ministry, but on the quality of our relationship with Him.

Going back, full circle, to Gideon, look at Judges 8:33 – 35 (here @ BibleGateway).  Before Gideon’s body was cool, Israel switched worship from the Ephod to Baal.  It seems that focusing on the blessing that following and depending on God brings, can lead not only to following Him for the wrong reason, but it seemingly sets us up for even further idolatry.  Perhaps it is a slippery slope.

Worshiping the Blessing

You know the story of Gideon.  You know that the Lord called him to judge his people.  You know that Gideon was reluctant and asked for a sign, twice.  You know that Gideon led Israel to a great victory with a limited number of warriors.

At the end of his victories, Israel asked him to rule over the nation.  He refused.  That was good, Judges 8:23 (here @ BibleGateway).  Then Gideon, as an alternative asked them to give him one earring from each of the warriors’ spoil, 8:24 (here @ BibleGateway).  They did and that was 1,700 shekels of gold, which is approximately 42.73 pounds of gold.  At today’s gold price, $1,820.74/oz, that is $1,244,674.95 worth of gold.  So, a nice sum.  

Gideon made an ephod out of the gold.  Essentially a breastplate of gold.  Note what happened next, Judges 8:27 (here @ BibleGateway), “all Israel played the harlot with it…”  The nation worshiped the Ephod.  Further, “it became a snare to Gideon and his household.”  Gideon was caught up in the “harlotry”.

It was God who enabled Gideon to be successful in judging, freeing Israel from the oppression of Midian.  However, rather than giving thanks and worship to Him, the nation and Gideon worshiped the spoil of the victory, the blessing that God had provided.

How often do we do that today?  How often do we seek what God can do, or the result of His grace in our lives rather than seeking Him for Him?  In Psalm 27:8 (here @ BibleGateway), David declares that when the Lord says, “Seek My face,” David’s response is “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

We get excited and share answered prayer, whether it is for healing, or for financial issues, or whatever.  Should not that focus be on He who answered, healed, or granted resources?  We memorialize what He has done.  Shouldn’t we simply come to Him in grateful worship?  A question I have to ask myself, am I grateful that He has called me to Himself, or am I overwhelmed by the reality that He has opened up the way for me to be in His presence, to know Him, and to worship Him.

Praying – “Final” Thoughts – Part 2

Yesterday I gave the context for two things I wanted to further explore in Matthew 6:13 (here @ BibleGateway), the textual issue and the translation of τοῦ πονηροῦ (Literally: the evil).

First the textual issues.  When the textual evidence is considered, the best manuscripts we have do not have the clause, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”  The theory is that a scribe was uncomfortable with ending Christ’s prayer with deliver us from evil and added the clause from either 1 Chronicles 29:11ff (here @ BibleGateway), 2 Chronicles 20:6ff (here @ BibleGateway), or from the Didache, which seems to be the first catechism like document that has been discovered and dated around the end of the first century.  J. I. Packer says of this ending phrase:

The “praise ending” ascribes to God the kingdom (that is, it hails him as God on the throne), the power (that is, it adores him as the God able to do all that we ask), and the glory (that is, it declares “we praise thee, O God” here and now). Though early, the manuscripts make it clear that it is not from Christ’s own lips—but there is no denying that it fits! (emphasis added)
J. I. Packer, Growing in Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994), 160.

While I agree with much of what Packer says about the Lord’s prayer, I do not agree with his position on this.  As stated in the first post in this series, when Christ says, “Pray, then, in this way…”, the verb “pray” is in the imperative mood.  It is a command.  That imperative is the source of my challenge with Packer’s affirmation of the scribal edition.  He is affirming that the command of Christ on how to pray needed a completion by man.  I find that impossible to affirm.  While I understand that people do not wish to end the prayer asking for deliverance from evil, the rest of the New Testament and Jesus’ life affirms that we are in a continual, ongoing pitched battle with an enemy that as Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8 – 9 (here @ BibleGateway), and Paul in Ephesians 6:10 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway), only wishes to destroy us and is firing flaming arrows at us constantly.  

So, it makes sense that the model prayer ends with us asking the Lord to help us stand against the enemy of our souls and our Lord.

The second issue for consideration is the various translations of τοῦ πονηροῦ (Literally: the evil) in our Bibles.  For this one there is no real consensus. The majority of the versions translate it “the evil one,” but in a note acknowledge that it could be simply “evil”.  The challenge is the use of the article τοῦ.  I lean heavily on Dan Wallace’s, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, speaking of this construction he states:

Although the KJV renders this “deliver us from evil,” the presence of the article indicates not evil in general, but the evil one himself. In the context of Matthew’s Gospel, such deliverance from the devil seems to be linked to Jesus’ temptation in 4:1–10: Because the Spirit led him into temptation by the evil one, believers now participate in his victory.
Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 233.

As I said, I have great respect for Wallace.  This the first reference works to which I turn when I have a question about Greek grammar and syntax.  While I understand the issue, the connection to the temptation of Christ seems a bit of a stretch.  There are other words in Greek that could be used here if the intent of the Lord or the Holy Spirit to indicate Satan specifically.  Satan is not omnipresent.  If he is in, say, Washington, DC, attacking some leader, he isn’t in Tulsa attacking me.  His minions may be, but not him.  Jesus’ commands are immensely practical.  The world is fallen.  It is the domain of his enemy.  That was clear in His temptation by the devil – in fact, in Matthew 4 (here @ BibleGateway), the word used is διαβόλου (devil) – it seems practical and logical to me that the Lord is telling us to pray that we are delivered from the general atmosphere of evil that he and his minions are constantly fomenting.  

The reality is I am not going to die on either of these hills.  Great men take different positions on these issues.  The main point of all of this is that we need to wrestle with what the text says.  To really dig in, to pray through what we are seeing.  Secondary sources are just that, secondary.  They are not inspired.  We cannot accept uncritically what they say without validating with our own study their positions.  The notes in our study Bibles are written by fallible men as are commentaries.  Look long enough and you will find someone who supports pretty much whatever you want the text to say.  That does not make it right.  Our responsibility is to abide in His Word, not in books about His Word.

I’m starting to ramble.  So, I better stop.  If you have questions, comments, gripes, exaggerations, that you want to share feel free.

Praying – “Final” Thoughts

This morning early, truth be told I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about this, there are two things I want to share with you for your thought and consideration on the Lord's prayer.  They both have their root in Matthew 6:13 (here @ BibleGateway): "²For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

²This clause not found in early mss [mss, is the abbreviation for manuscripts - JMC] (New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 6:13.)

Because I am somewhat of a stickler for detail when it comes to the Bible, I examined 33 versions, translations, or paraphrases (if you would like to understand the difference between these three types of Bibles, I wrote three posts about this starting here).  Unless you are using one of the three King James Versions or the Young’s Literal Translation, your Bible does something with 13b to indicate that the oldest and best manuscript evidence we have for Matthew do not include this clause.  

What?

What is happening here, the translators or committees are dealing with the results of the discipline of textual criticism.  If you are like me, your reaction to a sentence that contains both the words Bible and criticism calls for a fight.  For me that is a reaction is to something called “Higher Criticism” which in a loose definition is a “scholar” attempting to prove that a book of the Bible was copied from a non-existent source or wasn’t written by whom the book says it was written – again loose definition.  I am not a fan.

On the other hand, textual criticism is the examination of the over 5,000 ancient copies of parts of the New Testament that have been discovered by archaeological projects.  We have portions of the New Testament that date to the first century.  All of these portions are dated and compared.  The purpose of the discipline is to attempt to get a Greek text that is as close to the original autographs as possible.  A full description of the discipline is beyond the scope of this post.  The results of this work is called the Majority Text or the Eclectic Text.  It is published by the United Bible Society and the current version is NA28 (Current, in that, there are often new discoveries or new learnings that are applied from version to version).  Some versions or translations, choose to use the Textus Receptus which is a full Greek text of the New Testament that is later than some of the archaeological finds.  That was either a choice for philosophical reasons or else the Majority was not yet available.

Thus, the different ways the 29 other Bibles noted that there was an issue with 13b.

That is one of the things I wanted to share.

The next one is a translation issue with the Lord’s prayer, also in 13 (here @ BibleGateway), at the end of the first clause is the phrase… “deliver us from…” then your Bible will either say “evil” or “the evil one” or have a footnote with the alternate translation.  The Bibles are more split on this one; 39% go with "evil", 54% with "the evil one".  This is more of a Greek grammar and lexical issue and hangs on the use of "the" in the text.

I was planning to address some possible implications of each of these in this post; which are, I believe significant.  However, I felt it was important to give you a description of the issues before doing so.  That said, my intention is to share those implications in tomorrow’s post.  However, if I get long winded, it may take a couple of days.