Process – Part 4a

Note: I was out of it for several days when I got back from M D Anderson.  Not sure what was going on, but that is why this is late.

Equipping is similar, if not the same as training.  From that perspective let’s consider what is required to equip or train.  

Some context, I have been trained in aviation, both civilian and military.  I have been trained in mountaineering, backpacking, rappelling, and rock climbing.  I have been trained in theology and bible study.  Further, except for civilian flight, I have trained others in each of those disciplines.

One of my mentors was the director of the Navigator (ministry not flight) training center at Michigan State University and subsequently at The University of Tennessee.  We spent many hours talking about equipping, training people for ministry, from the perspective of what was required to do so and do it well.  As I listened to him and thought through the previous experiences that I had up to that point in my journey, all that he shared was validated by all of the training that I had received up to that point and all that I had after that also fit into his paradigm.

This will require more than one post to cover.  For these comments, I am using equipping and training interchangeably.

At a minimum training requires three things, instruction, observation, and critique.  I am going through Everyday Evangelism training at our church currently, and that training includes these three elements.

Instruction
The one being equipped must know both the subject matter and the processes that are used to apply the subject matter before they are able to attempt the task for which they are being equipped.  The information can be presented through lecture, reading material, recordings, pictures, or physical demonstration.  

If the equipping is well thought out all three learning styles, visual, aural, and kinesthetic (there are publications that claim more than three learning styles, in skimming these it seems to me that the other learning styles are either combinations of the three primary styles, or else subsets of one or more) will be represented in the equipping.  

For example, if one is giving information about how to tie a figure eight knot, one can explain the knot, while showing a picture of how to tie a figure eight, while demonstrating the method, and giving those learning a rope to attempt to follow the instruction.

Which is a great segue to the second part of equipping, observation, which we will examine in the next post.

Process – Part 4

Note: I am still at MD Anderson, so, there will not be a picture today either.  I will get caught up with the illustration when I get back to my home office

The next word in the process is “Equip”.  This is stated as the purpose of the leadership of the Body in Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway).  Note the structural marker in the English, “for”, that word indicates purpose as well as the Greek word, “προς”, from which it is translated(1).  The implication is that the purpose of the leadership, those gifted to lead a community of faith, is not to do the work of service rather it is to equip those in the community to do the work of service.

Equipping is not the same as preaching, or lecturing.  I know that there are many who may rankle at this statement.  However, in what other part of life are you considered to have understood and been equipped with information because you heard a message on a topic?

In classes in primary, secondary, graduate, and post graduate studies, one is not considered to understand the information unless one passes the test.  In trade schools, one does not pass unless their work is examined and deemed to be acceptable.

It is only in the church that one is considered equipped without measurement.

There are exceptions to this but that has been my experience over the past 50 years.

Prove me wrong.

(1) Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 380.

Process – Part 3a

Note: I am traveling; in Houston for my six-month checkup at MD Anderson.  One of the primary markers for Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) is IgM (Immunoglobulin M); the normal range of IgM is 35 - 242 mg/dL.  When I was first diagnosed with WM, the IgM level was 1220, or 5 times higher than the high end of normal.  I got the results of blood work drawn this morning, and the IgM level was 233.  The first time since they have been measuring that it has been in the normal range.  That does not mean a cure, this is a chronic condition, at least for now, but something I never expected to see.  So, for those of you who have been praying, thank you, and praise to the Lord for gifting doctors and researchers, many of which do not believe in Him, to develop treatments that are effective in dealing with the emperor of all maladies, cancer.  Also, since I am away from my desktop there will not be a picture.

Last post I shared data for a word study I did on the words that were translated Establish.  Looking through the different usages of the words it seems best to understand Establish as laying a strong foundation for a believer’s relationship with our Lord.

In Part 2 I outlined what I shared with the leaders in another country, as the basic elements to which we need to expose new believers.  While these were developed in the midst of a collegiate ministry in the US, in my experience in several countries and in reading through the Bible, they seem to be basic not just for collegiate ministry but for believers in any culture.  We are exhorted in many places in the New Testament to abide in the Word of God.  Jesus, specifically says that if we abide in His Word, we are His disciples John 8:31 – 32 (here at Bible Gateway).  Three of the eight disciplines, Quiet Time, Bible Study, and Scripture Memory, help one abide in the Word.

Jesus when asked by the disciples, taught them how to pray, Matthew 6:9 – 13 (here at Bible Gateway) (I have written about this here as well).  Further if we examine the prayers of Paul, we will find that he follows the outline that Jesus prescribed.  Further, in Philippians 4:6 -7 (here at Bible Gateway), we are exhorted by Paul to not be anxious but to pray, that again is not limited to the college campus.  

Nor is sharing one’s faith, making the most of the Christian meetings we attend, or the reality and impact of the Lordship of Christ on the life of a believer, something that is unique to any culture.  As a matter of truth, the Bible is counter to all cultures, the USA, college campuses, and whatever other culture you would like to suggest.

The point is – well let me emphasize it with something that happened this morning.  

When I come to MDA I typically fly and catch an Uber to the hotel that is connected to the hospital.  Each time I endeavor to engage the driver, many of which are immigrants, in a conversation that I pray to steer toward the gospel.  This morning my driver was from Benin, which is east of Togo, one of the countries the Lord as allowed me to serve.  In fact there were pastors from Benin in the Togo seminar.  

During the conversation the driver, Sam (not his name), indicated that he was a believer.  I asked what he was doing to be in the Word.  He pointed to his phone and told me how he used You Version to focus on one verse a day.  We talked about the importance of doing that and I asked him why he thought that many in churches do not do what he does.  He immediately responded that the leaders of the churches are not telling people to do so and not telling them how.

I am 100% certain that he has not been reading this blog.  Here is a believer from another culture who has come to the conclusion that many leaders of churches are not exposing or establishing those in their care to that which will create a strong foundation in their walks with God.

This stuff is important.  This stuff applies across cultures.  We need to be doing this

Process – Part 3

The purpose of Exposing and Engaging people into the disciplines that were outlined in the previous posts is to Establish them in the faith.  Before someone jumps on this, I am aware that the Lord is the one who establishes us in faith.  However, based on the passage on which we are focusing, Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway), He uses the people in the Body to build us up, or establish us.  

I had a mentor that habitually said that the word translated “establish” meant to stand on their own.  Thus, establishing was to help one stand on their own.  Since I was with that mentor, I have studied Greek at two different schools.  I haven’t been able to validate his take on that word.  I want to.  I like the illustration.  But I am committed to what the Word says, not what I want it to say.

I did a quick word study on Establish in the New Testament.  I am going to walk you through what I did so you can follow and then I will make some comments.  There are several documents that will be hyperlinked for you to use.

• The first is all the places Greek words are translated establish in the NASB.  You will note that the context of each of those precludes them from establishing a believer in their faith except for 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (here at Bible Gateway) and 1 Peter 5:10 (here at Bible Gateway).  Nevertheless, I looked at all of the Greek words that are translated “establish” to get a sense of how the terms were used.  You will see that each of these words have a broad semantic range.
  
  
• This word is translated “establish” in Romans 3:31 (here at Bible Gateway), Romans 10:3 (here at Bible Gateway), and Hebrews 10:9 (here at Bible Gateway).
  
  
• This word is translated “establish” in Romans 16:25 (here at Bible Gateway) and 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (here at Bible Gateway).  It is also translated "confirm" in 1 Peter 5:10 (here at Bible Gateway).
  
  
• This word is translated “establish” in 1 Peter 5:10 (here at Bible Gateway), note that I also looked at the words translated “perfect” and “strengthen”.  The reason was to get a fuller notion of what Peter was saying using these four words, and because of the word translated "confirm" in the point above.

The process for the study is to look at the data and consider the other uses in context.  How does that help you understand the meaning of the word?

So, look if you wish, I will tell you what I saw in the next post.  We can compare notes.

Process – Part 2a

Sorry for the delay on the posts, I was recovering from an IVIG and in hand-to-hand combat with Quicken and Citibank trying to get some tax data ready for my CPA.  Sometimes, like one of my mentors said, it takes a lot of time to live.

Last post we looked at some topics that a new believer or one who has recently taken responsibility for their walk with God might need to understand.  There is much more that can be said about this.  However, we will focus on just a few.  

One of the biggest obstacles to engaging believers in this way is the way pastors are trained in seminary.  Full disclosure, I have a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS).  I graduated with honors, was the outstanding pastoral ministries student, and recipient of a merit scholarship in my 4th year.  I attended the seminary after serving almost 10 years in a parachurch campus ministry.  So, I both understand what seminary education is, and viewed it differently than most of those in my classes.  In some classes I was furiously taking notes while others were sleeping, because I would have killed to have had that information when I was involved in leading a summer training program for college students.

For the most part Seminary education is pulpit focused.  There are exceptions, but for the most part the focus is on preparing one to speak and or teach.  To validate this, under the logo for DTS are the words “κήρυξον τὸν λόγον” from 2 Timothy 4:2 (here at Bible Gateway), there and in your Bible that is probably translated “preach the Word”, I would translate it differently, but that is for another time.  The point is, the focus is the pulpit or the lectern.  Graduates leave with the notion either implicit or explicit that their preaching or teaching is the only thing that will cause people to grow in the Lord.  All of the students in my first preaching class, but me, expressed that conviction verbally before the class.

So, it is a paradigm shift for a pastor to focus on having those in their care personally engaging in their personal walks and to work to do that.  There is a sense that the people cannot do what the pastor can do as well as the pastor can.  Therefore, the pastor may be reticent to let them try.  Pastors have told me this.  

Do not construe what is written here as I am against pastors or think that what they do is of little use.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The pastor is the primary vision caster for the body.  What he emphasizes sets the tone and direction for that local body.  

How he handles the Word of God is both important and can encourage personal engagement if he shares how he got what he says out of the Word of God.  Lifting the hood, referred to in a previous post.

I feel like I am rambling a bit, so I am going to shut this down and pick up the next part of the process in the next post.

Process – Part 2

 

After a non-believer is exposed to the gospel or a believer is exposed to the reality of their personal responsibility for their walk with God, assuming the non-believer choses to trust Christ and the believer accepts the responsibility for their relationship with Christ what does one do in the process of equipping them in the work of service?

Note, in Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway), it says “He gave some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, FOR (this is a structural marker telling us the purpose for which “He gave” those leaders – emphasis added) the equipping of the saints FOR the work of service, TO (another structural marker that also indicates purpose, you could read it “in order to”) the building up of the body of Christ.”  This is so important.  Think about that for a moment.  In a lot of cases we expect the leaders of the church to do the work of service, after all by tradition, training, and job description, that is what we expect.  But, if we take this passage seriously, if they are not equipping the members of the church to do the work of service, the ministry, they are not doing what the Lord expects.  Ponder that.  How does that inform or alter your view of your leadership or what you expect out of your membership in your church?

The next word in the process is “Engage”.  How do we engage a new believer or a believer who has embraced their responsibility for their relationship with Christ?  What do they need to know?  I asked this question of a group of leaders in another country, I asked what one coming to Christ out of their culture would need to know to begin a strong relationship with Christ.  Here are the topics that they felt were important:

Who is Christ	The Attitude of a Believer	Testimony
What is Sin	Marriage	Prayer
How to Grow in Faith	Parenting	Spiritual Gifts
Love	Believers and the World	Word of God
Grace	Different Religions	Devotional/Quiet Time
The Trinity	Gospel	Baptism
Spiritual Warfare	Church	Work in the Church
The Second Coming	Bible Study	Renew One’s Mind
	Prayer for Him

There are a LOT of good things on that list, emphasis on LOT.  Without going into detail about the culture, I suggested that we focus on a shorter list which included some of their ideas, while explaining why these were important basics, they eagerly agreed to this:

How to Pray	How to Share Your Testimony
How to Have a Devotion or Quiet Time	Scripture Memory
How to do Basic Bible Study	The Lordship of Christ
How to Get the Most out of Christian Meetings	Assurance of Salvation

We spent the rest of our time together working on packages that would motivate a person in each of these areas, get them started in the discipline, keep them going in that discipline, and help us determine when it was theirs.

The point of this story is that leaders need to give guidance on what is important in what order.  In what is critical to engage a new or newly responsible believer.  The original list has important topics.  However, the pared down list are good first steps, prerequisites needed in order to tackle the longer list.

Need to press pause.  We will expand this a bit in the next post.  Let me know your thoughts.

Process – Part 1a

As I was thinking through this post, it occurred to me that there are two groups of people that need to be exposed to the truth.  Yesterday we talked about the reality that as believers we need to expose those who do not know Jesus to the truth of the gospel.  However, there is another group that needs that truth.  Those who already know Jesus and have not yet taken responsibility for their own relationship with Jesus.

These are the ones (borrowing the language of Mark 4:3 – 20 (here at Bible Gateway)) who have trusted Christ but have not yet engaged in consistent spiritual disciplines to enable them to grow in their relationship and knowledge of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  

There can be several reasons for this.  No one has ever told them that should.  That can be the result of leaders in their community of faith that feel like they are the only ones who can reliably understand the Word and thus, making it their responsibility to feed those in their charge.

Or, they have been told that they should take responsibility for their walk with God, but no one has told them how.  For example, many people have been told to have a devotional, a quiet time, but many have never been told or shown how.  Same with Bible study, many have been told to be in personal Bible study, but no one shows them how.  I call these types of things unfunded mandates.  We expect people to figure it out for themselves.  I will share an example of why that does not work well, in a later post.

Thinking about “equipping the saints for the work of service” the first step in that is to expose people to the disciplines.  That can be a simple as the pastor on Sunday taking a minute to lift the hood and explain how he got what he is saying from the Bible.  Does not take long.  Or just mention a simple way to start a quiet time.  This is much better done in a small group, and even more effectively one on one.  But the idea is to take equipping seriously and began to intentionally think of ways to expose those you have a privilege to lead to that process.

Note that nowhere in your experience of education or training for your job did the transfer of information look like what we typically do in a church.  That is someone lecturing for 20-90 minutes on Sunday morning, with no measurement of what you have understood and that is intended to prepare you for your degree or certification in your trade.  Didn’t happen.  If it did I do not want you to work in your area of expertise on anything.

Process – Part 1

There is a lot in Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway).  The illustration I lead with yesterday was one simple attempt to summarize the application of this passage in the Body.  I have used the illustration more times than I can count over the past 16 plus years. 

The idea is that we engage believers in the Word, we establish them so they can stand on their own (which, by the way is the meaning behind the Greek word we translate establish), then we equip them to engage others.  It is simple.  As I have thought through it over the past few years, I came to realize that it was too simple.  Thus, the revised, unpopulated illustration above.

The biggest challenge with the original version is it was focused on believers.  The assumption behind the illustration is that the starting point was a group of believers that wanted or needed to grow in their walk with God or their understanding and application of the Bible.  While that is still an important challenge, it leaves out one of our primary tasks as believers, sharing the great news of salvation by grace through the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and ongoing intercession for us of Jesus Christ.

So, the first change is to start with the word “Expose” as one of the starting points of the illustration.  

As believers, followers of Christ, we are to embrace and carry out the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18 – 20 (here at Bible Gateway).  The imperative in that passage is “make disciples,” or another way to think about it is to make learners, people who would become those who give their lives to learn about and follow Jesus.  

Note that it is the job of the leadership of the Church, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints, each individual in the Body to do the work of service.  That work of service includes and starts with exposing people to both the gospel and the Body of Christ.

We share the gospel, but we also share ourselves and our community.  Why, because of John 13:34 – 35 (here at Bible Gateway).  There is much more to say about this in Ephesians 4, that we will deal with in a later post, but at this point the message is that the love expressed in the body for one another, is validation of the truth of the gospel to which we expose people.

I am struggling not to share more here, but I need to stop.  We will cover this all in more detail as we progress.  If any of this raises questions for you, please let me know in the comments, and I will either answer them there or make sure we cover it in subsequent posts.

Process Introduction

Bobby Clinton is a professor of leadership at Fuller Seminary.  I met him for breakfast in Pasadena when Jenny and I were transitioning (read I got fired – long story there) out of the Navigators.  He has several good books, one of which is Having a Ministry that Lasts: By Becoming a Bible Centered Leader.  In that work Professor Clinton says that while you cannot master the Bible, you need to be familiar with all the books, and you need to focus, master, the books and passages that are central to your ministry.  I have found that advice rock solid.

One of the passages that draws me in time and time again is Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway).  I have studied the passage multiple times and have used it in working with pastors and individuals in ministry, most recently as I served as interim pastor in our church with some of the staff.

This passage has informed much of what I do to equip fathers to lead their families and the pastors I have had the opportunity to serve overseas to lead their churches.  

I was preparing to work with an individual in India this morning and was looking for one of the illustrations that I have developed in part through interacting with this passage.  I leafed through my last 4 journals and did not find it and then remembered that I had expanded the illustration during my last study in Ephesians.  

As I reviewed this, I felt the need to share that here.  It will take at least five posts and possibly more to share what I want to share on this.  The diagram above is the starting point.  I will explain and expand it in the next several posts.

Spend some time thinking through that diagram and working through Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway), and share with me what you think and see.  I would very much like this to be a dialog.

No Retirement

Typically, in prepping for an entry here I will review what the Lord has shown me in past journals.  I was reviewing my journal from the first few months of 2021 and shifted gears.  The purpose of this blog is to encourage men as they engage in the task of building into the lives of their sons and daughters.  

For any of us to be successful in that endeavor, we must intentionally abide in the Word of God.  Equipping our children for life is a ministry.  We are not able to minister to anyone if we are not consistently in the Word of God.

Typically, we think of getting our children successfully out of the house and off the payroll.  That is about 18 years old, when they are both considered adults and, or possibly off to college, or working in a trade.  At our church when children are dedicated, the parents are given a jar that holds the number of marbles corresponding to the number of months they have with their child until their 18th birthday.  Only challenge?  We are still their dads and moms after they are 18.

My children are considerably older than 18, - 42, 40, 38, and 35.  We now have ten grandchildren ages 13 – 2.  The job, rather than getting easier, has expanded significantly.  We cannot be as directive as we may have been in the past.  But we are still responsible for Deuteronomy 6:5 – 6, 10 (here at Bible Gateway).  We are still responsible to model the Christian life for our family.

That means that my wife and I must still be intentionally in the Word.  Intentionally pushing ourselves to grow in our knowledge of Him.

There is no retirement from being a parent.

The Means of Success

Nehemiah knew what brought him success.  Look at Nehemiah 2:8, 18, 20:

• ...the good hand of my God on me...
• ...the hand of my God had been favorable to me...
• ...the God of heaven will give us success...therefore we His servants will arise and build...

Nehemiah knew that it was the Lord that both enabled and gave success.  The Lord gave the means to be in the position to rebuild the wall and would also lead to the end of the project.  He is both the means and the end of any and all that we do.

I was going to say that He is both the means and the end of all that we do for Him but the reality is that He is the means and the end of all we do.  

Read John 1:3, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”  

And just to make it clear John repeats this in John 15:5, which you probably have memorized: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

So, what can we do, what success can we have apart from Him?  Zero, zilch, nada.

Trying to do otherwise, may look good for a while, but it will end very badly.

Acknowledgement

In Genesis 12:7, 8; 13:18 (Here at Bible Gateway), note the repetition:

• 7…he built an altar there to the Lord…
• 8…there he built an altar to the Lord…
• 3:18…there he built an altar to the Lord…

All of these were after the Lord had promised the land to Abram.  The last one was after he and Lot had gone their separate ways and the Lord reiterated His promise to Abram that He would give Abram the land.

It is striking to me that after the Lord promised him the land, on the journey toward what the Lord had promised, at each step, Abram built an altar.

It was an acknowledgement of the Lord’s promise, the Lord’s guidance, and Abram’s trust and dependence on the Lord.

There are projects that the Lord has given me that I may start well.  However, this passage reminds me that although the Lord may have assigned me that project, it is incumbent on me to walk in acknowledgement of both the source of the assignment and my dependence on Him to complete it.

Right Weeping

In Nehemiah 1:4 we read: “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

When I read this, my first question was, “Do I weep over what causes the Lord to weep?”  Is what moves me to tears important to Him?  I don’t think He cares much about Hallmark movies.  I rather doubt that He is concerned about the outcome of the football games I watch.

On the other hand, I read that He wants us to abide in His Word.  I read in Jeremiah 23 (Here at Bible Gateway), that when the leadership of Israel did not abide in His Word, He was moved by that – seemed angry – wept?

In Matthew 28:18 – 20 (Here at Bible Gateway), He wants us to make disciples of all the nations, when we are not focused on that, it would seem that He would respond much as He did with the leaders in Jeremiah.

Nehemiah takes it up a notch in 1:6b: "…I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned."  Nehemiah knew that the nation had drifted away from what God wanted them to do.  His response was to pray, confess, not just once, but day and night.  He took it seriously.  

How are we doing as a Church?  Either globally or locally?  Are we abiding in His Word?  Are we obeying His commission?  Are we representing Him well to the lost?  Or are we more interested in pleasing ourselves, making ourselves comfortable in our meetings and events?

Nehemiah ends with this in 8 – 9: “Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them…”  Note that Nehemiah is basing his petition to the Lord on the Word of God, the promise of God.  

It seems that if we are to follow Nehemiah’s example, we will pray not just for ourselves or our needs but for the Church both globally and locally to do what the Lord wants done.  Further, when we see that the Church is not following what the Lord commands, then we will with Him weep.

Intentional Leadership

Ezra was a leader.  He led Israel in the project of re-building the temple amid opposition by the gentiles in the land.  How did he do this in the midst of such resistance and difficulty?  The answer, I think, in Ezra 7:6, 9 – 10 (Here at Bible Gateway).  Here are some of the things we learn about Ezra there:

• He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses
• The hand of the Lord was with him
• He set his heart to study the Law of the Lord
• He set his heart to practice the Law of the Lord
• He set his heart to teach the Law of the Lord in Israel

The structure and the figure of speech used here helps us to observe what is said about Ezra.  The use of the two ands connects "set his heart" to both of the following verbs.  The repetition of and, also is a figure of speech that intends for us to slow down and consider each of the statements carefully.  If the ands are replaced by commas on the other hand, we are to speed through the list to the result.

  

The first two observations above tell us much about Ezra, namely, that he was accomplished in his profession and that the Lord was using him.

The next three observations tell us that even though he was accomplished and had the Lord’s favor, he did not take that for granted but intentionally engaged in studying what he already knew.  He knew that there was more to learn.  Then note that he was committed to practicing, obeying, performing, following through on what he saw in the Law.  Further, he was committed, set, to teach others to do what he was doing.

We saw in 2 Timothy a few days ago that all ministry is the overflow of the Word of God from our lives into the life of others.  Here we see an example of that in action.  As we saw yesterday in Ezra 3:3 (Here at Bible Gateway) and Romans 15:4 (Here at Bible Gateway) we have an example we should both learn from and follow.

Dealing with Terror

A few months back Ezra 3:3 was in my reading project.  There we read, “So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.

Israel was getting resistance to their project of rebuilding the temple.  Those who were in the land that were not Israelites, wee not all that eager to have the temple rebuilt.  Even though they had the support of the king, he was in Babylon, they were in Jerusalem.  The resistance was real.

So, they dealt with it by building an altar and made offerings to the Lord morning and evening.  They wanted the support of the Lord.

Romans 15:4 (Here at Bible Gateway) tells us that the things that were written in earlier times, read that as the Old Testament, were written for our instruction.  What can we learn from this?

We no longer make burnt offerings, so what can we do when our projects for the Lord are challenged?  Consider Revelation 8:3 – 4 (Here at Bible Gateway) and Romans 8:26, 34 (Here at Bible Gateway).  Note that the prayers of the saints are on a golden altar before the throne of God.  Note also that there is an angel who adds incense to our prayer.  It looks like a burnt offering.  Note also that the Spirit takes our prayers and speaks to God on our behalf and at the same time the Son is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

That would make our, my feeble prayers seem to have more impact.  So our response to challenges to what God wants us to do, is both simple and hard.  Simple – pray.  Hard – we have to pray.

Why Affliction?

 

One of my go to passages in Scripture is Psalm 119 (Here at Bible Gateway).  In verse 67 we read, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.”  This passage puzzles me.  You may ask the question I do, “How does affliction move me toward obedience?”

You might answer that that affliction is caused by disobedience, but one of the purposes of Job (Here at Bible Gateway) is to prove that is not the case.

Perhaps it is because of weakness.  John 15:5 (Here at Bible Gateway) reminds us that apart from Him we can do nothing.  Since we are weak, perhaps it is about us learning to trust in Him during weakness.  I cannot deal with weakness unless I trust and abide in Him.

Or perhaps the answer is in 2 Corinthians 1:3 – 11 (Here at Bible Gateway) that we are afflicted too make us more effective in our ministry to others.

At this point in my journey, I lean toward the last option.  Affliction seems to make me lean on Christ more, which allows me to embrace the truth of His Word more, which then comforts me, causing me to understand and apply the Word more effectively in my life.

What do you think?

Navigating Tempests

Have you ever been disoriented?  Confused by your current circumstances?  Perhaps it was a diagnosis that knocked your world off center?  Perhaps it was a betrayal by a close friend?  Perhaps getting removed from a job or career in which you found great joy and satisfaction?  What do we do when that happens?

Acts 1:14 (Here at Bible Gateway) may give us some help and direction.

The followers of Jesus had just experienced all their hopes and dreams evaporate with the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.  Then, three days later, He rose from the grave.  He was with them for a short time and then they watched as he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.  Now what?  What would happen next in this crazy journey?  Note well what they did and notice the structural markers:

• These all (emphatic)
• With (Instrumentation points to the means) one (number – indicates unity ) mind
• Were continually (Temporal)
• Devoting themselves to (Locative – in the sense of what they were focused on)
• Prayer (Instrumentation end – the purpose of the unity)

They did not know what was going to happen next or how it was going to be revealed or how it was going to affect them.  So, their response?  Let us pray.

Perhaps we should too.

Blowing Past the Truth

This may not be a challenge for you, but there are times when I am reading the Bible and I am very familiar with the passage that I find that I have read through the section, and nothing registered.  I was so familiar with the passage that I was looking at the words but thinking about something completely different.

Other times, I know what is coming and I speed up and blow through the passage.  When I realize I have done that, at times, I wish I could say it is all the time, I go back and attempt to slow down and really focus on the text.

That happened in Genesis 1 (Here at Bible Gateway) a while back.  When I went back and started over, I saw some things in 26 – 27 (Here at Bible Gateway) that were interesting.  The use of the pronouns our, them, him, as well as the interplay between the singular and the plural, and the use of the masculine and feminine was intriguing.  

The other interesting thing was the creation of man, singular, then him, singular, followed by male and female He created them, plural.

That raises a bunch of interesting questions for which I have leanings but no certain answers.  For instance, did God create the full image of God in each the male and the female or does the image of God reside in them together, that is the male and female together form the image of God.  I have a leaning that seems to comport with the rest of Scripture, but there are good people that hold to both answers.

The point here is that as we are working on getting a handle on the Word of God, one of the things we need to do is read through the Bible several times.  That does not mean we are studying each section, though at some point we should.  But it does mean we need to allow the details of the text not to completely escape notice.

It is ok, preferable, to slow down and enjoy the scenery.  

I mentioned yesterday that Jenny and I are on a tour of the Canadian Rockies.  Today we traveled from Vancouver to Victoria.  When we got to Victoria, we drove around the city as our tour guide pointed out possible places for us to explore.  We will have a lot of free time tomorrow because we are not going on one of the excursions.  Problem was we were going through the city so quickly it was difficult if not impossible for what he was saying to register.  Further, we had no way to connect what he was saying to where we were going to be staying that night because we had not been there yet.  It wasn’t until Jenny and I got a map at the front desk and spent about 45 minutes locating things he pointed out and determining if and how we could get there and if we wanted to that things began to make sense.  

So, the overview he gave us only began to help as we slowed down and put what he said in the context of where we were staying and where what he pointed out was in relation to our lodging.

So, slow down a bit as you are working through the Bible.  Go fast enough to get the overview, but slow enough that you do not lose the context.

Sharing the Truth

Jenny and I are traveling.  We landed in Vancouver this morning, or afternoon, depending on which time zone one referenced.  We got up a 0345 to catch a 0601 flight.  We are touring the Canadian Rockies.  To get to the first hotel, we were provided with a chauffeur driving an Escalade.  His name was “Joe” and he was from Uganda.

We talked with Joe all the way to the hotel.  He asked me to guess where he was from I guessed Africa but got the wrong country.  He was intrigued with the number of countries I had been to in Africa and asked why.  I told him I worked with pastors equipping them to study the Word.  He noted that he appreciated anyone that worked at helping other humans – an interesting way to put that.

He was also intrigued with Jenny’s Alabama accent.  He thought she would be an effective public speaker – which, in fact, she is.

About 15 minutes into the conversation I asked him where he was in his spiritual journey.  He responded that it was a complicated question.  I agreed.  We then talked about different aspects of his journey and he asked some really good questions, for one of which I did not have a really good answer.

While we had a great time with Joe, I did not get to the issue and ask enough directly if he knew for certain what would happen with him when he died.  Before I could get to that we were at the hotel.  I failed to get to the meat, but perhaps gave him some things to think about.  I should have given him one of my cards so we could contact one another.  I will chalk that oversight up to fatigue, but I should have done better.

The point in sharing this is at least two fold.  

First it isn’t hard to get people talking about themselves.  I have had similar conversations with multiple Uber drivers during my treks to MD Anderson.  They will share something that they are struggling with, and I will ask them how they are dealing with that trauma, looking for a way to steer the conversation to the gospel.  I have found that almost always they are willing to talk about struggles.

Second, I do not always do this right.  I didn’t get to the gospel with Joe, and I haven’t gotten there with many of the Uber drivers.  I got closer with Joe, using the question about his spiritual journey, but I did not get where I was trying to go.

When we begin to talk with someone, it seems to me that there should be a pull to share the gospel with them.  Jude 22–23 (NASB95) says, “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”  Each time we get into a conversation with a stranger, we can apply this passage.  However, it is reality that we may not always get there.  We should be in prayer about doing this before, when, and after.

I am writing this to me as much as I am to you.

Extending Overwhelming Grace

In about 1995, the company I was working with had a blood drive.  I had never given blood, but I decided, with some prodding by my coworkers, to join the blood drive.  Nearly passed out when I gave that first pint.  

Some time later I was contacted by the Red Cross and informed that I was O negative, CMV negative.  That meant absolutely nothing to me.  They then informed me that not only was I a universal donor but because of the CMV negative – by the way CMV is Cytomegalovirus, it is a highly contagious and most people have it, it can cause problems in babies, more on that in a bit – because I did not have CMV they told me that they would use my blood with burn victims and also divide it into four parts and give it to newborns who were in need of a transfusion.  

So, from that point on I was called by the Red Cross every 60 days to give blood.  After 9/11 I called to see if I could give blood.  The person that answered said they had enough in stock.  I told them that I was O negative, CMV negative.  “When can you come in?” was the response.

When I was diagnosed with Lymphoma that ended my blood donor status.  Up to that point I had given 8 gallons of blood.

I have shared before that when I started treatment for cancer I began to ask those who were taking care of me how I could pray for them.  In August of 2021,  I was given the sixth maintenance round of chemo.  They were two days.  On the second day it is about a six-hour infusion.  On the second day I asked my nurse how I could pray for her.  I knew from previous prayer requests that she was pregnant and had delivered her baby.  She told me that she had contracted CMV just as she had become pregnant from her first child.  He got it in day care – day care is one of the more frequent places CMV is passed on.  She had a C-section at 37 weeks.  CMV when passed on congenitally can cause birth defects.  In this case it did.  Her son could not hear or see and has some brain development issues.  I found myself nearly in tears over this.  I shared about giving blood.

The thing that really got me was that my youngest son and his wife had just had their second child 5 weeks earlier.  Their first child, like my nurse's, had been in day care.  The situation was identical, but my grandson had not contracted CMV and given it to his pregnant mother. 

Romans 12.15 came to mind: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  This was one of those times that I felt completely helpless.  I hurt for her, and at the same time rejoiced that my son’s wife had been in an identical situation and was spared, our family was spared, that challenge.

As I review this, I know that at some point I will be back in the cancer center getting chemo again.  I – look forward is not quite right – anticipate seeing this nurse again or at least getting an update from one of the other nurses.  I am interested in how she is dealing with this and how the Lord has supported her and her family.  

As believers we are to engage with people that are hurting.  We are to move toward them.  We are to extend the grace that we have been given and love them.  In some cases, like this one, it may mean we hurt with them, weep with them, pray for them.  In others it may mean that we engage in other ways.  The point is Jesus is our model, He engaged with hurting, broken, sinners.  He healed, encouraged, and wept.

So should we.