Tag: word

The Way of…

Romans 8:1–17; Ephesians 2:11–22

No condemnation. Those are powerful words. We just don’t live them out well. We condemn ourselves for our faults. We condemn others for theirs.

What does it mean to be set free? This is not a small question. We often immediately say, free from sin. While that is correct, it is also utterly weak, thin, and a completely insufficient understanding.

Sin is “merely” an aspect of who we are. It is a big one. It is still only an aspect.

When we read Paul’s flesh versus spirit, we stick to these 2 concepts as if they are what Paul is talking about. We take Classical (or “Greek”) thought of spirit (good) and flesh (evil), setting aside that God created the flesh. Is it corrupt? Yes. Is it evil? No.

Flesh, in and of itself, is not evil. In fact, were we to take that perspective, the rest of Paul’s writings would be pointless. When Paul speaks of flesh, he speaks of the “way of the flesh”. The “way of the flesh” and flesh (our bodies) are not inherently the same. Confusing these two continue to be an issue in the church.

The opposite of the “way of the flesh” is the “way of the Spirit”. That’s readily apparent from Paul’s words, yet still, the concept of the flesh being tied to our body rather than the sinful ways of the world creates its own issues.

There are many body image issues out there. Some of them are weight. Some of them are premature balding. There a myriad of issues. Now we have the rise of gender dysphoria. It would be easy to condemn this as the “way of the flesh”, while it is in truth a cry of the soul.

There was a time where people damaged their bodies (sometimes call flagellants) for the “mortification” of the flesh. This is not a healthy view of the body. Some have taken it (tongue-in-cheek) to the point of saying, “the body is evil; kill it with alcohol.” Even the “world of the flesh” took this view to some degree.

The true danger of this view is that it actually lessens the apparent danger of the “way of the flesh”. If it is “just” our bodies, then our new “spirit” bodies will be fine, the ones we get after we die. This still puts Paul’s words into a place he didn’t intend. What happens after is more a matter of faith and speculation. Paul is referring to the now.

The “way of the flesh” is summed up in not submitting to God’s law. The “way of the spirit” is to submit. This also was the danger of circumcision. This was a different mortification of the flesh, yet it provided the same illusion.

The reality is, as implied in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the way of the spirit is a journey, not a destination. The way of the spirit goes the opposite direction of the way of the flesh. One goes toward God (and submission to God). The other goes away from God (and leads to rebellion to God).

※Prayer※

Jesus, you took on the flesh of Creation and into a new stage of relationship with us. Help us honor your gift, and live lives that bring you honor and glory. Amen.

※Questions※

1) What do you think of when you hear the word “flesh”? What is the difference when you hear “the way of the flesh”?

2) Why might confusing “flesh” and “way of the flesh” an issue? How might it affect our Christian walk?

2020-07-03
Following Followers

Matthew 16:13–20; Acts 11:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:16–30

Peter appears to have been the first one to put it all together. He declared that Jesus was the Messiah.

We often look back at Peter, thinking, “Well, that was obvious!” There were actually a number of people wandering around saying they were the messiah. Jesus wasn’t the only one.

The other (false) messiah’s had followers, a lot of them. Some of the false messiah’s sought to overthrow the Roman government. They and their followers were killed (crucified) as rebels.

The religious leaders weren’t any better than the Roman government, as many of them were in league with them. Also, the religious leaders had certain expectations of the messiah (some Scripture-based, many not) that no one could fulfill (and note that Jesus didn’t fulfill all of theirs).

Peter’s declaration of the Messiah was a big deal. He assembled the “clues” together. Despite the failures and deaths of other messiahs, Peter still declared it. There would be a cost for that.

It doesn’t matter whether one takes Jesus’ statement about “the rock” as literal (i.e., the Roman Catholic church), a figurative based upon Peter’s declaration (most Protestant traditions), or the fact the Peter was the first leader of the church. Peter’s place in Church history as both leader and declarer of the Messiah is undeniable.

Peter is also the one that was first called to reaching the Gentiles (non-Jews) with the saving message of the Gospel. Thus, as most of the Church is now “Gentile”, Peter’s place should be unquestioned.

The second person that was the greatest impact on the Gentiles for the Church was Paul. Paul was almost exclusively a missionary to and a leader of the Gentiles. He, like Peter, was accused of “watering-down” the Word of God by not requiring Jewish practices for the Gentiles.

Paul, more-so than Peter, could make a “Jew-of-Jew” claim. Paul did this so that his Jewishness would not be questioned, and neither would the grace, love, and mercy of God toward the Gentiles.

It is hard to imagine how the message of God’s love through Jesus’ death on the cross would have been shared and spread without these two. Both had significant flaws. In today’s overly sensitive world (in regards to all streams of politics to morality), both men would likely be attacked.

When following Jesus, sometimes our best path is to follow the guidance of those such as these two.

※Prayer※

Father God, you have called many people to follow your Son. Holy Spirit, you have enlightened many to lead people to the Son. Jesus, you have many who are your followers. May we hear and obey the call, and being the light of the world. Amen.

※Questions※

1) What words would you use to describe Peter? How about Paul?

2) Why is it important to recognize not just their place as “doctors” of the Church, but also their humanity?

3) What do they teach you about being a follower of Jesus? What does it mean to follow a follower?

2020-06-29
A Little Prophesying

Deuteronomy 13:1–5; Deuteronomy 18:20–22; Jeremiah 28:1–9

Doomsday prophets are certainly a thing. There are a lot of them, and of varying kinds: epidemiologist (disease), environment, morality, political, sexuality, education, freedom, financial, and so on and on.

Doom sells. Doomsayers may also be helpful to guide us toward some sort of preparation or change. At this point, however, there are so many doomsayers that there are only two logical conclusions: we’re doomed or they’re wrong. That is really the two paths regardless of which or all the “dooms”.

What is interesting about “prophesying” in the Scriptures is that not all prophesying is alike. Some prophesying is more akin to teaching, lecturing, discipling. That generally would fall under church categories as preaching, pastoring, and life groups.

Other prophesying is more like visions, dreams, and euphoric states. This is what we, as a tradition (versus language), understand as foretelling or forewarning that is spiritually driven, and is our default interpretation when reading the word in the Scriptures.

The struggle is discerning whether the prophecy or “prophetic word” is from God, from other spiritual forces, or is it of self appearing to be “spiritual”. Especially (but not exclusively) with the internet, there are plenty of videos, blog posts, web sites all claiming some sort of divine connection.

Sadly, there is no way to tag “fake prophesy”. That takes wisdom, discernment, and positive Christian relationships.

※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, strengthen your discerning gift in us. Father God, help us to look through your word so that we can see when someone is using your word falsely. Jesus, help us to keep in mind that you told us that there would be many false prophets before your return. Amen.

※Questions※

1) Have you had someone deliver a prophecy or “prophetic word” to/about you? How about as part of a public declaration (with or without you being the focus)?

2) What are you actively doing to protect yourself from false prophesy or “prophetic word”?

2020-06-28
Kneel

Matthew 16:21–28; Mark 14:32–42 (read online ⧉)

Peter was concerned about the kingdom here on earth, not the kingdom that Jesus was ushering in. Jesus would have nothing to do with that thinking. Jesus chose the will of God the Father over his earthly will. It’s not as if the human side of Jesus wasn’t tempted. Remember, Jesus was tempted in all ways.

It is not accidental that a few short verses later that Jesus spoke about his disciples (e.g., Peter) having to deny themselves for the cross. By invoking the cross, it isn’t the pretty crosses many of us wear. It was the ugly cross. You died in misery, publicly, naked, and it started with you carrying the very thing upon which you died. It was shameful and for rebels. That was merely the Roman side. For the Jews, a person who died on a tree was cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:22–23).

Therefore, Jesus tying the cross to discipleship must have come as quite a shock. Jesus was all but promising that his “true” followers would have to willingly pick up their own means of execution and shame, and be cursed. The disciples found that encouraging…right?

When we gloss over the cross when we read about losing lives then gaining, we can miss the significance of what it means. It isn’t just about the cross. It isn’t just about the humiliation. It isn’t just about the curse.

It’s about submission.

Submission is a hard word, especially for many Americans who value their individual liberties. Submission, or the lack thereof, may be why we are seeing what we are seeing right now. This is not about the submission of one skin color to another. This is not about the submission of one culture to another (though there is a bit of that). This is certainly not about submission to the government (though there is a Christian response to that).

This is about submission to Jesus Christ and then mutual loving submission to fellow believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.

How this is to be practiced is hard. It’s really hard to figure out, especially with the focus on individuality and individual liberty that the United States (and Western Culture as a whole) is so obsessed with. We often view our submission as if the “other” person wins and we lose. That isn’t Jesus’ way.

When we lose, we win. When we submit in Christian love and mutual Christian submission, we submit to Jesus Christ, who submitted to us, by dying for our sin.

※Prayer※

Jesus, as we look to you as our example, help us to surrender ourselves to your authority. As we submit, help our hearts know that the person we submit to already died for us that we might be whole. Amen.

※Questions※

1) As a Christian, who might you have to submit to in Christian love and humility?

2) Can a “worldly” Christian submit to others?

3) While submitting to Christians should be (relatively) easy, why is it so hard? What about submitting to people of the world?

2020-06-12
Dividing Teaching

Galatians 4:12–20; 2 Peter 1:16–2:3; 1 John 4:1–6 (read online ⧉)

While yesterday’s devotional was about the doctrine (and reality) of the Trinity, this isn’t the only issues that face Christians as they try to discern True teaching versus false. While many divisions in the church have been over interpretation and living out of certain pieces of the Christian life, most (over time) have been discovered to not be heretical. While there are heretical tendencies in some denominations, by-and-large there are core beliefs that we hold in common.

While the Trinity certainly is a crucial one, it is a doctrinal one, meaning that for most people it is not part of the rubber-meets-the-road of their daily life. It is usually the daily life parts that will affect a person’s Christian walk more than other things.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is addressing the constant battle going on with people trying to bring into force the Law of the Jews. This is not a fight against teaching and helpful traditions, but the thought that only proper execution of the Law will result in salvation. In other words, the free and grace-filled gift of Jesus’ death and resurrection was null-and-void. Paul didn’t want the Galatians to fall into that trap.

Except they did. It was so bad that the Galatians who used to honor (or “bless”) Paul now—according to Paul—viewed Paul as an enemy. What a change! A man they honored was now an adversary in their hearts.

Peter knew that this was an issue, and not just with the Galatians. He warned the church that there have always been and will continue to be false teachers. Amazingly and similarly to Paul’s concerns, one of the concerns is that Christians would begin to deny Jesus Christ. As Peter continues, I’m sure many of us have seen things that would seem to fall within his list.

This leads us to John, who urges us to test the spirits. First and foremost, we have God (the Father), Jesus, and the Holy Spirit [all 3 being the Trinity]. Then Jesus died for all on the cross and was resurrected, to free us from sin (including the Law). There is also the spirit of love and unity. Truly, when we are confronted with someone whose path is in opposition to these (and a few others excluded for simplicity and brevity), we are indeed able to discern where the false teachers are.

We are blessed that those that went before us went through the pain and division of false teachers, for we can learn from them. As the church begins to head (very slowly) toward a form of reunification, there will continue to be people that will seek to divide the church further and try to keep it separated. Jesus calls us to be one.

※Prayer※

God, you gifted us the Holy Spirit, so that we would not be led astray. Lord, help us to trust your Word over our desires, that we might finish strong to the end. Amen.

※Questions※

1) Why is unity hard? What is your responsibility in maintain and seeking unity?

2) Why is unity significant in regard to false teachers and prophets?

3) Have you ever met or dealt with people whose teachings divided the Body over either false doctrine or teachings that are not essential for salvation?

2020-06-08
3 is 1 and 1 is 3

Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Matthew 3:13–17; Matthew 28:16–20; 1 Peter 1:1–2 (read online ⧉)

This is one of those odd “Liturgical” Sundays in the Christian year. It set aside to specifically observe the creedal declaration of and faith in the Trinity. We have Sundays set aside for Advent, Lent, Christmas, Easter, Pentecost. These are event-based. It’s not that they don’t have doctrinal pieces in them; their beginning is based upon an event.

There is an additional oddity, especially for people who call the Bible the Word of God…Trinity appears nowhere, at least not as an explicit term. That’s also what makes this Sunday interesting. A foundational theological basis for orthodox Christianity is not found explicitly in the Bible, yet is one of the key doctrines upon which orthodoxy is defined (i.e., Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses being non-Trinitarian believers).

One of the biggest things that the Trinity teaches us by its very example is that not everything can be explained by science or even a sound rationalization of the faith. The Trinity can only be believed (ultimately) by faith. The concept that God (the Father) is God, Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God, while, God (the Father) is neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit, Jesus is neither the Holy Spirit nor God (the Father), and the Holy Spirit is not God (the Father) nor Jesus (An aside: even writing that sentence, which is a simplified excerpt of the Athanasian Creed, hurt my head a bit).

The beauty of the Trinity is that by the above (for example), we are automatically brought into the realm of knowing that we can not fully understand God. Which is good. When we think we fully understand God, we are in deep danger of having made our own god who is not God.

While the Trinity does not expressly as a word in the Scriptures, that does not mean it is not present. We need to start with the beginning, though. God is one. One of the biggest dangers with the Trinity is that the confusion that we are talking about 3 gods, rather than 1 God.

In the Gospels, Matthew has the 2 best almost explicit statements regarding the Trinity. With Jesus’ baptism, Jesus is baptized, “laid upon” by the Holy Spirit, and blessed (and proclaimed) by God (the Father). All 3 persons of the Trinity are present and noted as being present (rather than in other places where they can be assumed to be present).

In many respects, however, it is Jesus’ Commission of the Disciples (now Apostles) to baptize in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that there is an expression of the doctrine and persons of the Trinity (yet, still no word “Trinity”).

While this is so, there is something critically important in Peter’s letter. Peter all but declares the Trinity in his opening. There are several reasons this is important. First, it’s Peter. His place as one of Jesus’ core disciples, and his place as commissioned leader of the church (by Jesus) makes his words critically important to our understanding of the church.

Before the “doctrine” was declared, before the Athanasian Creed was written, before the understood writing of the Gospels, Peter brought the Trinity to the church.

In lieu of prayer or questions, and in honor of the tradition in more “liturgical” churches to speak it on Trinity Sunday, below is the Athanasian Creed.
※Athanasian Creed※

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic[1] Faith. Which Faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this, That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.

The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.

The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal.

As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord.

And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity, to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion, to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten.

The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. Likewise also the Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons, one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other, none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds, and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world; perfect God, and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting; equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead, and inferior to the Father, as touching his Manhood.

Who although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ; one; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God; one altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

2020-06-07
NIMBY

Zechariah 7:8–12; Matthew 4:25–5:13; Luke 10:25–29 (read online ⧉)

Pentecost was only 2 days ago. We should be being filled with the Holy Spirit eager to do God’s will and speak with God’s voice. With what has been happening, however, God’s voice may indeed be being spoken. It is being drowned out with violence, anger, hatred, grief, mourning, apathy.

It is easy for many to cast aside those who are destroying places. There are many among them that are truly those who seek to stir up trouble. On the other hand, there are many among them that feel that the only way they will be listened to is through destruction. While many might decry that, the reality is that destruction is what sells.

The Word that God gave Zechariah, “…make fair decisions…show faithful love…show compassion…” We honestly fail at all of these, perhaps even on a daily basis. Due to cultural conditioning what is fair or faithful or compassion may be drastically different person to person. It wouldn’t seem so, yet it is.

The observation that God delivered to Zechariah is a warning to us all, “[they] turned a stubborn shoulder…closed their ears…hearts like a rock…”

If we read the Beatitudes in the light of Zechariah, they can take on the perspective of blessed are and blessings of. In other words, being blessed is not enough. We must also bless others. As we read the Beatitudes, we cannot just think of ourselves. We must also think of that which we are to do for others.

This is, sadly, why the “expert in the law” asked a simple question, “who is my neighbor?” It is a simple question. It is also a simple answer. The answer isn’t, “my neighbor is…” The answer is, “I am a neighbor by…”

※Moravian prayer※

Savior, with you we know good and evil. Help us do what we know as good and avoid evil, for with you, good will prevail. In your name we pray. Amen.

※Questions※

1) Everyone you see on television and the internet is your neighbor. How will you be their neighbor?

2) Why do we not want to be neighbors to others?

3) What is the difference between being a Christian and being a neighbor?

2020-06-02
Falling Down

Numbers 11:24–30; Joel 2:27–29; Acts 2:1–21 (read online ⧉)

Just in case you didn’t know, today is Pentecost. Some call it the “true” birth of the Church for the Holy Spirit fell upon the people of God, and has not left us yet. It is also called Whitsunday, of which part that is white (for purity) and the other is whit (Old English for wit, or wisdom).

It is not the case that Jesus left us bare. It is the case that Jesus left us with fire. The tongues of flame (whether in Numbers or Acts) were representative of the Holy Spirit and God’s word/speech being active. It is not coincidental that the tongues of flame seen on Pentecost were previously seen in Moses’ time.

Think of Moses’ words to Joshua in response to Joshua’s complaint that 2 elders who dishonored God and Moses spoke via the Holy Spirit, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them!” This also goes hand-in-hand with Joel’s words, “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity.”

In all likelihood, you have not seen some with tongues of fire over their heads. You may have witnessed—or been part of a tradition—where people spoke “in tongues”. Neither is required as evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, and is God. Through the guidance (wisdom) of the Holy Spirit, we see the Scriptures for what they are…the Word of God.

This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was never present before, quite the contrary. What this means is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church is distinctly different than what is and was present outside of the church. Theologians still try to discern the whys and wherefores of the difference.

One of the biggest differences is that while the Holy Spirit was generally present (just as today), the Holy Spirit as expressed through prophets was unique to the calling of the prophets. The Pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit was that all received the Holy Spirit expressly, not generally.

This does not mean that all are gifted with foretelling (often called prophesy) or Truth-telling (also called prophesy, or preaching). The Holy Spirit works in and through each person differently. Your gifting may be quite different than another’s, that does not invalidate either.

※ Prayer ※

Holy Spirit, we thank you for your ongoing gift of yourself to us. Help us to honor you, God the Father, and Jesus the Son, as we are the church, the bride of Christ, to the world. Amen.

※ Questions ※

1)How would you evaluate/discern whether someone was gifted by the Holy Spirit or by the natural talents they had? What is the difference?

2) Why is Moses’ story so important in the context of Pentecost? What about Joshua’s response?

3) Why do you think people thought the disciples of Jesus were drunk? What might their rationale be for how a drunk person would speak as if a native speaker of their own tongue(s)?

2020-05-31
Responsible

Exodus 34:1–7; Numbers 14:26–38; Jeremiah 31:27–34 (read online ⧉)

For those of us whose American individuality is almost hardwired into us, it seems inconceivable that God would punish us for other’s sins, especially for those who sinned before we were born. In fact, in many respects, we struggle with the result of anyone else’s sins being borne by us.

If we are honest with ourselves, our personal and national (and even religious) histories carry a lot of baggage, and a lot of that has to do with actions that others took, for which we had no knowledge, or participation, or approval of. The purposeful and accidental killing of Native Americans by Europeans due to diseases (such as smallpox) is such a thing. It is unlikely any of us would condone such a thing, but the consequences remain even to this day. The clearances of Native Americans to reservations and all that went along with also remains today. Slavery, war, migration, all had and continue to have consequences.

We are not unique in this. Much of the conflict in the Middle East is because of something that happened yesterday, but of something that happened generations and even centuries ago. The same can be said in Asia, as well. This is not unique to America or the United States. What is unique, though becoming less so, is our individualistic response to it.

For the Israelites, a tribal culture, what one’s father did or grandfather did have great import for the current generation. The concept of holding the subsequent generations accountable for one’s own actions was actually quite reasonable for them. The blessing, too, made sense to them.

As harsh as the words in Exodus seem to our modern years, we see the development of it in Numbers. Yes, the children pay the price. On the other hand, those children grew up into a powerful army. This army was needed for the next step. They also developed a rhythm when it came to God. Their food came from God. Their gathering was guided by God (6 days of work; 1 day of rest). Their habits revolved around God and God’s mercies.

Did they receive the result of their parents’ misdeeds? Yes. Were the ultimate results bad? No. This wasn’t the ideal. The ideal would have been obedience and trust by their parents.

This punish/reward pattern would remain for generations until God’s declaration to Jeremiah. The whole grapes quip showed that Israel had forgotten exactly what meant and intended. Now, it became everything (which it still was, but God was about sin, not failures).

We read these verses in Jeremiah and can be immediately be lead to the concept of our individual salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s not that this is invalid, but that it is incomplete.

As Christians, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. That often includes their failures and even their sins. While the ultimate cost (death) is paid, the consequences remain. Those consequences remain for lifetimes and even lifetimes to come.

※ Prayer ※

Heavenly Father, we read you Word and often wonder if we’re missing something, for we cannot understand the entirety of who you are. We thank you for your Son. Jesus, thank you for your time on Earth, allowing us the grace to see God’s face. Holy Spirit, guide our hearts and actions, not just for the now, but also to heal the hurts of the past that are not our fault, but we, as your children, are called to heal. Amen.

※ Questions ※

1) Have you ever been held responsible for someone else’s action over which you had no influence or control? What was that like?

2) What is the difference between consequences and punishment? Which path do you see God following?

3) What if your salvation was dependent upon others? How would you behave differently?

2020-05-29
Handling Truth

Psalm 110; Matthew 22:41–46; John 1:1–18 (read online ⧉)

John calls Jesus the Word. In his phrasing, it wasn’t just any word or words. Jesus was (is) the actual physical embodiment of God’s words. It’s…strange. It’s…incomprehensible. It’s…impossible. It’s…faith.

When Jesus speaks, we’re to listen. That can sometimes be hard. In fact, a lot of people throughout history have had a hard time listening to Jesus.

Today, we hear a lot of people say, “I like Jesus just fine, I just don’t like his followers.” There is some truth in that, as we followers are broken just like everyone else.

However, often that phrase (or a similar one) is used to shut down the conversation. Many Christians will try to stop the conversation there and try to defend themselves (and/or other Christians). Just like that, the conversation has changed.

This is not to say such people are purposely manipulating things for that. It’s just that when we are defending/protecting our deeper selves, we will do things we don’t think of ourselves capable of.

On the contrary, people such as the Pharisees were very methodical in their approach. They didn’t like Jesus’ followers. Of course, it seems their reasoning was either they (His followers) were being deceived, or because they (the Pharisees) weren’t the ones being followed. They went for Jesus to draw his followers away.

In this particular story, Jesus (the Word) was attacking or questioning the Word. Yes, we could say he was questioning the interpretation. In fact, that is a great point. However, there are Christians today who refute questions like Jesus’ because they challenge the Word.

This is not a small thing. People question the Scriptures (the human undertaking of the Word) to this day. In Jesus’ time, it was actually part of the rabbinical school of thought. Not only did they not think it was dishonorable, but the rhetorical questioning and answers were also part of how Jews understood the faith.

If Jesus felt comfortable questioning himself (yes, this is a stretch, but a fun one), then why do we freeze when the Word is questioned? When someone says, “I like Jesus, but…” Let’s agree that we like Jesus, too. Then let’s talk about Jesus. We establish common ground (we like Jesus). Then we can talk about Jesus.

This doesn’t mean, sadly, that the person is about to be saved. Not by a long shot. What it does mean is that we can learn about what they think is great about Jesus, and what they know about Jesus. The conversation may last years. Jesus and the Word can handle it.

※ Prayer ※
God, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Thank you for giving it to me to learn your story and of your desire and love for me. Grant me the wisdom and courage to share your word with others, especially those who do not know you yet. Amen.

※ Questions ※
1) Do you think you have to defend God’s Word? Why or why not?
2) How do/would you defend all the translations that we have of the Bible?
3) What is your understanding of why we (the Church at large) consider the 66 books of the Bible as the True scriptures, and not others?

2020-05-20