2-D or 3-D?

“What we are looking for in reading the Bible is the ability to turn the two-dimensional words on paper into a three-dimensional encounter with God, so that the text takes on life and meaning and depth and perspective and gives us direction for what to do today.” ― Scot McKnight[1]

We have all heard debates that pivot on the idea that ask the questions, “Do we follow the Bible or do we follow Jesus?” “Are Christians lovers of the book or lovers of the Lord?” These can be challenging questions for many of us. Perhaps McKnight gets closest to the answer by reminding us that the words we read in our Bible are a simplified (2-D) representation of a complex life (3-D). Whether we are reading about Jesus or Noah, the words on the page will never fully represent the intricacies of a life lived with temptations, triumph, and tears. May our hearts reverently approach the word of God with awe and humility, seeking always the truth behind text on a page.

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[1] The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, Zondervan, 2016.

Stop and Think

Part of my morning routine is to read my Bible. This morning I read Job 4, Psalm 20, and 2 Corinthians 5. There is a natural progression to the words I found this morning.

“Stop and think! Do the innocent die?
    When have the upright been destroyed?”

- The words of Eliphaz to Job (Job 4:7, NLT)

“Will you discredit my justice
    and condemn me just to prove you are right?
Are you as strong as God?
    Can you thunder with a voice like his?
All right, put on your glory and splendor,
    your honor and majesty.
Give vent to your anger.
    Let it overflow against the proud.
Humiliate the proud with a glance;
    walk on the wicked where they stand.
Bury them in the dust.
    Imprison them in the world of the dead.
Then even I would praise you,
    for your own strength would save you.”

- The words of God to Job, Eliphaz, and all who will listen (Job 40:8-14, NLT)

“For the king trusts in the Lord.
    The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.

You will capture all your enemies.
    Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.
You will throw them in a flaming furnace
    when you appear.
The Lord will consume them in his anger;
    fire will devour them.”

- The words of God to all who would trust in Him (Psalm 20:7-9 NLT)

“I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.

 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.”

- The words of Job to God (Job 42:2, 3, NLT)

“So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

- The words of God to all (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, NLT)

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

- The words of God to all who would follow Him (2 Corinthians 5:20, 21)

In Job 4, Eliphaz is saying that Job is missing a point because “God never allows the innocent to die or the upright to be destroyed.” God’s words to Job and Eliphaz, in Job 40, make it clear that God is a God of justice. God will always be on the side of the innocent and upright; but this does not mean that the innocent and upright will not suffer or die. In Psalm 20, God makes it clear that, one day, all will be made right and the enemies of the innocent and the enemies of the upright will be judged. In Job 42, Job recognizes that his understanding is limited and that no one can know the complete mind of God. God’s mysteries, still hidden from humans, are like the mysteries of the depths of the ocean and the far reaches of the universe.

The New Testament passages remind us that even when the innocent die, they are only trading their earthly bodies for eternal bodies. We can trust that all will receive justice and those who have trusted in the sinless Son of God will be made right in Him. That is good news worthy of telling a hurting and broken world. Praise be to God.

La La Land

Spoiler Alert:
This blog will give you some general knowledge of the basic plot line of the movie La La Land.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:12-17

My wife, Maureen, and I recently went to see the movie La La Land and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. They had me from the first scene where they were singing on the freeway. I love musicals. But, the message of the movie is a message that is very much opposed to that of John 15.  At one point in the movie, Mia (the leading lady) says to Sebastian (the leading man), “I’m always gonna love you” and Sebastian responds with “I’m always gonna love you too.” But by the end of the movie, each of them has pursued their own dream; and the dreams they have pursued have left no room for the person they claim to love. Did I just give you a bit of a spoiler? I doubt it. When we think about it, isn’t that one of the main messages of many of our movies and television series? You probably could have guessed the plot of this story.

Television and movies tell you that the most important thing in life is to follow your own dream. Jesus tells you in John 15 that we are to love one another and create space for others in our lives.

Jesus calls us friends and sets the example for us of how we are to treat one another as spiritual friends. We are to love each other with a selfless love that puts aside our own lives, or maybe our own ambitions, for the sake of helping others.

You see, if it weren’t for these words of Jesus found here in John 15 (and several other places), we could live our lives in isolation, seeking to read our Bible daily and develop our relationship with God. But Jesus is saying something else. He is saying, the only way that we truly enter into friendship with God is by the grace of community. We must have, and we must be, spiritual friends.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another ... Hebrews 10:24, 25.

The key is finding ways to connect with one another, motivate one another, and encourage one another. The goal is acts of love and good works. 

Warriors of Ephraim or Living Water

In Genesis, we read that Ephraim was the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob. The descendants of Ephraim were considered one of the tribes of Israel and came to be associated with the northern tribes such that the tribe name, Ephraim, often stood in for the whole of the northern tribes after the Kingdom of Israel was divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (which included the tribes of Benjamin and Judah). In the time of Jesus, the northern kingdom was known as Samaria and those who lived there were known as Samaritans. The account of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well explains how the Jews (Southern Kingdom) insisted on worshiping in Jerusalem while the Samaritans (Northern Kingdom, Ephraim, Ten Northern Tribes) had set up an alternative system of worship at Mount Gerizim (John 4:19).

The two people groups had grown apart and developed separate doctrines of life and worship which persists to this day in the country of Israel and beyond. They are like two sister denominations whose differences are exaggerated despite their common history.

Even before the separation of the two kingdoms, Ephraim was known as a rebellious tribe that had a tendency to do things by their own strength rather than waiting upon the power of God. In Psalm 78:9-12, we read of one such incidence. There we read of the “Warriors of Ephraim” who, “though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. . . . did not keep God’s covenant . . . [and] forgot . . . the great wonders he had shown them.”

The incident to which this Psalm is referring is lost in antiquity. Some suggest it refers to an incident in 1 Chronicles 7:21 and 22; but this is far from generally accepted. Some experts in Jewish history believe that it has a much earlier setting in Egypt at a time when the sons of Ephraim raised up a group of warriors to seek to free the people of Israel from their captivity (before the time of Moses’ exodus). There is evidence that some “Warriors of Ephraim” led a revolt and convinced some of the Israelites to follow them out into the desert. They successfully overcame their captors in Egypt but soon ran out of food in the desert and turned to the Philistines, seeking to purchase food. When the Philistines refused to sell them food, the Warriors of Ephraim stole cattle and became enemies of the Philistines in Gath. In this understanding of history, it is this battle with the people of Gath that is recounted in Psalm 78. This was when the Warriors of Ephraim turned their backs to the battle and escaped back to Egypt.

What do we learn from all of this? One message connected to the words of Psalm 78 is a message that is recounted throughout the Bible: trust in God’s power not your own. It is clear that the Warriors of Ephraim trusted in their own efforts over those of God. They did not wait upon God’s salvation and tried to manufacture their own victory over their enemies.

We are often tempted to do this. We cannot clearly see how God will redeem a situation and so, like the Warriors of Ephraim (or see also Saul in 1 Samuel 13:1-14), we seek to work hard and find a solution for the predicament in which we find ourselves. Yet, God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are greater than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8, 9). He will provide the way of escape and victory. He reminds us that we are to come to him when we are thirsty and he will freely supply us with satisfying drinks (Isaiah 55:1-5 and John 7:37, 38). All who are thirsty, come and drink from the well of living water.

A Tale of Florin

Sometimes when I read passages of the Bible that I have read many times, they lose their horror for me. I am not shocked by them anymore. I suspect that this is true for many of us. That is the way I feel about 2 Samuel 11. It has lost its power to shake up my world. The actions of King David of Israel should really cause me to ask questions about this “man after God’s own heart.” But I have heard the story told since I was a child. So allow me to introduce a thought experiment. Imagine for a moment that I am reading a news item that tells the following story about an imaginary country in Europe know as Florin. (You may notice that I have borrowed a few names from well-known movies and a television series.) I feel like I need to say, “The places and names are fictional and any resemblance to King David is intentional.”

Sources close to the Prime Minister of Florin have begun to reveal a shocking tale of lust, adultery, betrayal, murder, and cover up. The tiny European republic of Florin is nestled between Guilder and Genovia, and the head of state is Prime Minister John Archer. Archer, a former general in the military of Florin, has had an outstanding career and was highly decorated for his acts of bravery and military prowess before becoming the country’s leading politician. But his image has been tarnished and he is at risk of criminal charges after it was revealed that he may have been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship. The concern relates to the former wife of a platoon leader engaged in Florin’s military action against the country’s rival republic of Guilder.

It is alleged that while Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Wesley Roberts, was away from home at the eastern frontlines of battle, Mr. Archer invited Lt. Roberts’ wife, Cecilia Roberts, over to his home. We do know that a few weeks later Lt. Roberts was killed in battle under mysterious circumstances. Roberts somehow ended up cut off from the rest of his platoon deep in enemy territory and was cut down by enemy sniper fire and died in battle. Prime Minister Archer ordered a full military funeral and sent condolences to the widow. A few weeks later, Cecilia Roberts and Mr. Archer entered into a romantic relationship that culminated with their marriage late last year.

In early 2016, Cecilia Archer announced that she was pregnant and the world embraced the storybook romance as two lonely people who found love. But, there were soon a few whispered questions about the timing of the pregnancy and who the true father of this baby might be. Then, even more disturbing rumors began to surface. It was alleged that the Prime Minister used his secret service agents to deliver a message to one of his Generals at the front lines of battle the day before Lt. Roberts was killed. It is thought that the message had something to do with military strategy.

It has been suggested that John Archer arranged for an “accidental” military death to cover up the fact that he had gotten Lt. Roberts’ wife pregnant. Neither the police nor the office of the Chief Magistrate would comment on this story saying that an investigation is underway and it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. Many in Florin are asking if the country is being led by someone who has committed murder. We await the outcome of further investigations.

Isn’t that the true nature of David’s crimes? If a world leader did such things today, we would charge them with murder, abuse of power, unlawful influence, and a number of other charges. Yet this is exactly what King David of Israel did around 900 BC. The 2 Samuel 11 story goes on and finds redemption in the 12^th chapter, and we find further evidence of David’s penitence in Psalm 51. David’s story is one of the best at explaining what true repentance can look like. Yet, before we can understand his contrition, we must first understand the true horror of his actions. Perhaps framing it in this contemporary setting will help to set the stage for such a transformation.

This blog is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at Bow Valley Christian Church on August 7, 2016. The full sermon can be heard on the BVCC website.

The Garments of God

I read the Gospel of John 19:23-25 recently. It is about the crucifixion of Jesus and various things associated with his death. It speaks of the Roman soldiers dividing his clothes among themselves and then it says, “now the tunic (khiton, the garment worn next to the skin) was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘They divided my outer garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots.’”

This got me thinking, “Who ended up with this tunic?” “Did one of the soldiers wear it?” Imagine wearing the underwear of the Christ! We know from other passages of the Bible that Jesus’ outer garments could be touched and they would mediate healing. In Luke 8:43-48 we read of a woman who suffered from continual bleeding for 12 years who touched Jesus’ cloak while he walked through the streets. She was instantly healed of her disorder. What of this tunic that was worn close to his skin? Did it have residual energy from Jesus? Was the soldier that wore it healed of anything? Or instead, was he cursed by wearing something so holy without appropriate reverence? I guess we will never know. Or maybe it is one of those questions we will want to ask Jesus when we get to heaven.

I do think that in these things there is a lesson for us to learn. Reverence for God and for the things of God is an important concept. What healings and blessings might we be missing because of an inappropriate reverence for the garments of God; for his creation, for his word as revealed in the Bible? Let those who have ears, hear these things. Let those who have clear minds, think upon these things. Selah!