Rule of Life and New Year’s Resolutions

I have been thinking about New Year’s resolutions, and I have realized that for me they tend to be reactionary to specific desires and many times what is currently happening. For example, I always want to lose the weight I gained during the holidays and a little bit more. I make a resolution/goal to lose weight and I do usually lose the holiday gain but not more. I found that there is another way that does not need to include resolutions and goals. The Rule of Life is a document of simple statements that create a pattern of life to live by. So a New Year’s resolution concerning weight loss for me would be something like to lose 5 pounds by summer, whereas corresponding life rules would be something like “eat small portions” and “exercise daily”. You can see that resolutions and life rules can go hand-in-hand. The Rule of Life provides an order and a foundation to proceed with the resolution if needed. And if the Rule of Life is working well there is really no need for any resolutions.

So what is the purpose for creating a Rule of Life? For me, it is to better serve God, and that includes keeping myself healthy, having healthy relationships, being available for the opportunities God gives me, and making use of some of the spiritual disciplines. I have not formally set down and created a list of life rules, but informally I have some rules I follow. Some rules, like daily scripture reading, prayer many times a day, and weekly worship with other Christians, I have faithfully followed for most of my life. I do not like the term ‘rules’, I would rather call them habits or guides. Keeping these habits or guides have made my life better, and better prepared me to serve my God. Doing them does not save me or make me better than others, because God has done all the saving. At my church Immanuel we have the “Marks of Discipleship” (scroll down in the link to the marks), which are a somewhat similar concept to the Rule of Life.

About 15 years ago, three words came to me over a period of a year. I believe the Holy Spirit gave me those words. The first word that came to me was “Intentional”. I need to be intentional in what I do. The second word was “Discipline”. It takes discipline to be intentional. And the third word was “Relationships”. “People are important”, said my college pastor to me way back then, but it has taken over 40 years for that to fully sink in. Those three words have helped me in my life to better serve God. Those three words can be made into life rules.

Be intentional in my actions.
Be disciplined with my intentions.
Make my relationships a priority.
Always recognize that “people are important” (to add a fourth one, quoting my college pastor).

Am I going to make some rules or habits for life? I am thinking about it. Looking at the above two paragraphs you can see I already have several unofficial habits of life that help guide me and make my life more intentional. I see this as a way to counteract some of the bad cultural forces in the world today. I need to be intentional instead of reactive to today’s culture. The goal is to keep my life centered on God. He is my foundation. Note, a Rule of Life is not something one can whip up in an hour or two, rather one should spend some time to prayerfully consider how God has gifted you, what opportunities there are, and how to best grow to become more like Jesus. Take some time to do it right. I am thinking of doing that. Some categories I have decided to look at are

Spiritual, Relationship with God
(Other) Relationships
Healthy Living
Service Opportunities

This list of categories for me is a starting point. Your Rule of Life does not have to be long with many details (e.g. the Rule of St. Benedict), but it can be short and creative (e.g. this and this). I suspect mine will be a page or two.

I think a Rule of Life document should define how you interact with people and what activities you will always engage in. It is a little late to get this done by January 1 because it should take some thought and deliberation, but it is something to consider doing and not something to put it off.

PS I pray during this Christmas season, you remember (and have remembered) that Jesus came to earth and was born so that he could bring us back into relationship with God. Christmas is primarily about Jesus and not about gifts and family though those are nice too.

Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas

In today’s culture, Santa Claus is the main icon of Christmas. Christmas today is a secular holiday whose religious origins are forgotten or ignored by many people. (Even atheist Richard Dawkins celebrates Christmas.) So who is this Santa Claus? Did a bunch of stores create him so that they could sell more toys? Today’s Christmas is definitely very commercialized and the stores do make use of Santa Claus to sell their goods at this time of the year, but no, there is a lot of history and tradition behind Santa Claus. Behind the modern version of Santa Claus are the traditions of the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, the English Father Christmas, and the Dutch Sinterklaas.

Saint Nicholas of Myra was the Christian bishop of Myra (present day Demre, Turkey). He was born on March 15, 270 and died on December 6 in 343. Saint Nicholas was known for his generosity. The most famous Saint Nicholas story is the story where St. Nicholas for three nights dropped a small bag of gold coins each night in an open window so that the three daughters of the house would have a dowry and would not remain single and be forced to become prostitutes. He was known to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. He was also imprisoned during Diocletian’s persecution. And he was likely at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, where some say he slapped (or punched) Arius, the heretic. Though he does not have any writings existing, he has been a very popular saint down through the centuries.

Saint Nicholas Day is December 6. In some parts of the world, people wake up on the morning of December 6 to find sweets in their shoes or in their hanging socks. Folklore has had a large part in determining who the giver of gifts is in the various parts of Europe and from Europe to the rest of the world with Santa Claus being the main figure. The dates when the gifts are given vary from December 6 to January 6, depending on who the giver is. In America, the 1823 poem “Twas the Night before Christmas” influenced how we see the Santa Claus legend, and other 19th century authors and illustrators also influenced our view of Santa Claus.

Though not all that much is known for certain about Saint Nicholas of Myra (there is a tomb and bones that date back to the right time period), I did find one quote, only one quote, attributed to him. And this quote fits the theme of giving.

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” (Saint Nicholas of Myra)

So let us give, by God’s grace through faith, remembering God who gave his Son that we might have a full life in him. “Every good gift and every perfect gift” is from God (James 1:17).

For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Gratitude

We recently celebrated the Thanksgiving Holiday. Did you have an attitude of gratitude? For many people Thanksgiving is a holiday of family, food, and football with shopping also on their minds. And sometimes there may be some talk about what they are thankful for, but it seems that seldom God enters in the conversation. There is nothing wrong with that, but Thanksgiving was about giving thanks to God in the original 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. The proclamation by George Washington at the urging of Congress was to set aside “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” in response to the many blessings poured out on America by Almighty God, in particular acknowledging God’s hand in the nation’s independence and the peaceful transition to a national government. That gratitude perspective seems to be lacking today.

I am guilty of treating Thanksgiving only as a time for food and fellowship, and not acknowledging God’s “kind care and protection”, and asking God “to bless them with good government, peace, and concord”, and also asking God to “to pardon our national and other Transgressions” as found in the 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. Fortunately, I am in the habit of going to a Thanksgiving church service that covers those things. It is important to me to reset my mind on the goodness and providence of God. Our Heavenly Father is gracious and merciful, providing for all our needs. We need to be reminded that everything is God’s, and we own nothing.

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. (Deuteronomy 10:14)

It is all God’s, and even our abilities come from God.

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18a)

In America, we live a luxurious life, and as Americans we want to be self-reliant. God reminds us that reality is different. It is all God’s and we are just managing what we have been given. God asks us to use what he has given us to his glory. We seldom have that stewardship perspective. We are focused on ourselves, and we do not realize that everything we have is really God’s. From the air we breathe to the car we drive, it is all God’s. The good news for us Christians is God has control, and he is working things out for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore we can

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

If you are going through tough times and are not feeling very thankful because things are not going as desired, turn to God and tell him how you feel, and then look back and remember all God has done and thank him for that. Because knowing all God has done for us, we can look forward with hope. It lifts our spirits and stops our grumbling.

Do you have an attitude of gratitude? It has been shown to be good for your health and your relationships to have that gratitude perspective. By thanking God, you take the focus off yourself, and put it on God and how he has provided for you. Like our Founding Fathers, let us thank God for his gracious provision. It is good to do so.

It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty Everlasting God

The Trinity (Part 2)

In the last post, it was pointed out that the Bible teaches there is only one God, and yet there are three persons in that one God. This post will look at each person of the Trinity, and will take a look at some alternative views and provide some scripture against those views.

God the Father

Jesus referred to the God of the Old Testament as his Father. He had a good reason since he was the Son of God. He also encourages us to call him Father too. (There are also passages in the Old Testament, where God is referred to as Father.) God the Father is considered to be the Creator of the world, but the Son and Holy Spirit also have roles in the creation of the world. It is the Father that sent Jesus to be born as a human. And from the Father (and the Son) proceeds the Holy Spirit. If the word ‘God’ is mentioned, my first assumption is to assume that the passage is referring to God the Father (e.g. 2 Corinthians 13:14). I believe that most of the time that assumption is correct.

Jesus Not Created

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and yet the Bible makes it clear that he existed from eternity. Some claim that Jesus was God’s first creation. They use Colossians 1:15b, “the firstborn of all creation”, as proof of God’s first created being. The word firstborn does not have to refer to being born first. The firstborn son had special privileges and so the word firstborn can also refer to one with the special privileges of a firstborn son without being firstborn. Moses was told to tell Pharaoh that “Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22b). That verse as well as the Colossians verse the word ‘firstborn’ can not be taken literally especially if you take the phrase in context. Here is the Colossians passage in context with the paragraph:

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For byhim all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

In context you can see that the paragraph is about the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In verses 15a and 19b, imply that Jesus is God, not a creature. In verse 18 firstborn is used again in “firstborn from the dead”. I see the word firstborn in this case as Jesus being the source and leader to those who will rise from the dead, and I see it as the same for “firstborn of all creation”. He is the head of all creation. And in verse 16 it says that “byhim all things were created”. If he had a hand in creating “all things” then he could not be created.

Jesus Equal to the Father

Is Jesus equal to the Father? Jesus said “ the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). He said that because during his time here on earth Jesus “for a little while was made lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus is equal to the Father. He put aside that equality to become human so that he could save us on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

Holy Spirit is a Person

The Holy Spirit is the least known of the three persons of the Trinity. Many people consider the Spirit to be a force and not a person. I think they say that because the Holy Spirit empowers us. Jesus clearly refers to the Holy Spirit as a person in John 14-16. Here is a sample

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” (John 15:26)

The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is a person. He gives witness to Jesus in the above passage. He teaches (John 14:26) and speaks (Acts 8:29). He also can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), lied to (Acts 5:3-4) and become outraged (Hebrews 10:29). That sounds like a person, not a force.

Roles in the Trinity

There also tends to be some confusion over what the roles of each person of the Trinity. We want to assign specific roles, like the Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. Doing so is not wrong, but these roles are not exclusive either. We find out that the Father created the world through the Son, and the Spirit had a role too. And it is the same with the Son and the Spirit. The Bible points out that all persons of the Trinity are at work in all external actions that affect us. Note this does not make the three persons of the Trinity uniform. Each person of the Trinity has his own personality, so the actions of each person might not be the same. Norman Geisler describes the “roles” of each person of the Trinity this way:

In brief, the Father is the Planner, the Son is the Accomplisher, and the Holy Spirit is the Applier of salvation to believers. The Father is the Source, the Son is the Means, and the Holy Spirit is the Effector of salvation—it is He who convicts, convinces, and converts.

Again I do not want to make the “roles” exclusive. The Trinity is a mystery that we can not fully comprehend. Let us look at a couple cases.

Creation: Father (1 Corinthians 8:6), Son (Hebrews 1:2), and Spirit (Genesis 1:2)
Salvation: Father (John 3:16), Son (Romans 3:24), and Spirit (Romans 8:9)
Resurrection: Father (Galatians 1:1), Son (John 10:18), and Spirit (Romans 8:11)

Though some people have differing views on the Trinity, this doctrine of the Trinity is of critical importance. There is a reason that this doctrine has been central to church teaching for over 1500 years. It is important to know who God is. There is only one God and yet there are three persons to that one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. On that belief the Christian faith stands.

[T]he God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (Ephesians 1:17)

The Trinity (Part 1)

Today, it seems many Christians do not understand the Trinity, that is the Triune God. It is something that the Christian Church has believed and taught for centuries, and I believe from the beginning. The Trinity is not directly mentioned in the Bible, but it is something that is strongly implied in the Bible. When you put together all the Bible passages on God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, you find that everything makes sense with the concept of the Trinity. The Athanasian Creed lays out the doctrine of the Trinity with an emphasis on Jesus Christ in the latter half.

The Christian faith teaches that there is only one God with three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to that one God. There are not three Gods under a Godhead council but only one God with one undivided essence/substance. Jesus is not a third of God but he is fully God, just as the Father and the Spirit are fully God. Each person of the Trinity is equal to one another. There are many analogies for the Trinity, but they all fall short in some way or another. It is a mystery that does not completely make sense to our limited minds, but the doctrine is derived from the Bible.

An example from nature of something that does not make sense is the facts about light. Light is a particle (a photon), and light is an electromagnetic wave. It should be one or the other. We have instruments that measure light as a particle and other instruments that measure light as a wave. The Trinity is like that. We know it to be true but it does not make complete sense.

There are a couple of interesting passages that suggest the Trinity. The Great Commision says

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

Note that “name” is singular, but it points to three names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And from the Old Testament the Great Shema which starts with

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The word “God” in Hebrew is Elohim and it is actually plural, not singular as the passage or the corresponding verb would indicate. These two passages suggest that there may be something to this Trinity idea. (Note I may be stretching the context too much for Elohim to be a reference to the Trinity. The word, Elohim, occurs more than 2500 times in the Old Testament, mostly in reference to the one true God. The plural is also there to emphasize the awesome majesty of God, and maybe that is the only purpose of the plural.)

There are many passages (e.g. Isaiah 46:9, Romans 3:30a) that state that there is only one God. This meant the many New Testament passages that claim that Jesus is also God (e.g. John 1:1,14, Titus 2:13) had to be resolved with the doctrine of the Trinity. Similarly for the Holy Spirit there are passages that equate the Holy Spirit with God (e.g. Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18) that need to be resolved. Scripture also records that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have the same attributes as God the Father. This makes the doctrine of the Trinity necessary and true.

Another concept that makes the Trinity necessary is the fact that one of the major defining attributes of God is love. God needs someone to love. Because our one God consists of 3 persons he can have that attribute of love. He did not wait to create us to learn about love, rather love was known because each person of the Trinity is fully loved by the other persons of the Trinity.

Part 2 will take a look at each person of the Trinity, and will take a look at some alternative views and proofs against those views.

Casual Christian?

Who are you? Are you a Christian in name only? Or are you a casual Christian? Or are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? What determines your Christian identity?

A Christian in name only tends to know very little of the Christian faith. They most likely will say they are a ‘good person’ and that makes them Christian. Unfortunately for them, they are wrong. Heaven is not for ‘good’ people. Heaven is for those who recognize they are bad, sinners in need of a savior. Christians have received forgiveness and salvation because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He died for each one of us and rose again that we might have life in him. A Christian has this relationship with the Triune God that was given to them.

A casual Christian is one who does ‘Christian things’ now and then or even weekly. They most likely have that relationship with God, but they are casual about their faith. They are Christian infants that still need milk instead of advancing to solid food (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). They have not grown in their faith because they are casual about it. They seem to be missing the desire or the discipline to grow in their faith.

In response to one’s salvation, a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ should have that desire to follow Jesus, to love him, and to learn of him. A disciple wants to become like Jesus, to imitate him (Ephesians 5:1-2). There are many Bible passages that can help us. I will bring up only the one that has been recently on my mind. In the Gospel of John Jesus says four times, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15,21,23,24). That is a hard saying and he says it four times in just a few verses. The commandments can be summed up with ‘love God and love people’ (Matthew 22:36-40). And that love is defined as acting out of the commitment to put the other person’s best interests ahead of your own. Many times, I have trouble loving. Many times, judgemental thoughts pop into my head, or I do not want to deal with these strange and different people. Those times I am being self-centered. And yet Jesus calls us to reach out to them and to love them, not just some of them but all of them. Jesus has given us the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). That means we get to walk with them in life, love them, and share the good news of God’s love for them.

Fortunately, God does not leave us alone to become a disciple and to love. The Holy Spirit comes to be our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, and Councillor. In that very same passage, where Jesus tells his disciples four times to “keep my commandments”, he also promises the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-27). The Holy Spirit is there to assist and empower our Christian life. We are not alone in our journey. Moreover, Jesus helps us understand our dependence on him. Jesus describes himself as the vine and we are the branches. That power to love flows from him to us, and by abiding in him we bear that fruit of love (John 15:1-17). Without Jesus, we wither and die. With God’s help, we are able to succeed. But God provides even more help for us.

We also have the help of local Christians who walk alongside us to help enable us to love God and love people more. God did not plan for any ‘Lone Ranger Christians’, rather throughout the Bible you find God’s people always gather together in community. It is through Christian community that spiritual growth happens (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is in the body of Christ that discipleship happens, and I have found that happens more in small group settings than not, so connect up with a small group at your local church and learn of Jesus. Our local congregations should be where we teach, learn and put into action the love of Jesus.

This post was inspired by a short book by Mike Falkenstine called “Being and Making Disciples in the Western Church”. Here are his five focus areas for local church leaders on making disciples.

A High View of Scripture
A Steely-Eyed Commitment to Making Disciples that Make Disciples
A Determination to Equip All Your People
A Confident Expectation in the Power of the Gospel
An Awareness that Spiritual Growth Happens Primarily through Community

So are we being too casual, individually and/or corporately, with our Christian Faith?

God Awareness

As I go about my daily tasks do I remember that God is right there with me and in me? Or do I do my daily tasks and leave God to help me with the big problems? Am I more secular than Christian? I do not want that to be me. I want a close intimate relationship with my God, and he desires it too. So how do I work on improving that relationship? What tools can I use?

The first step is to daily read the Bible. Think of reading the Bible as God talking to you in the context of him sharing timeless truths about himself from years ago. The entire Bible points to Jesus, so look for him. Remember the Bible is a library of “books” so one does not have to read straight through. Start with one of the four Gospels. Learn of Jesus. (If you are inexperienced in Bible reading, then get a study Bible with comments. It helped me.) And take time to stop and ponder what God is trying to tell you in the scripture passage.

Along with reading the Bible take time to pray. Prayer is simply talking to God. Praise him for being a great and wonderful God. Thank him for the little and big things in your life. And share with him the things that are on your heart. Since God is always with you, he is always there to listen to you. You can talk to him anytime and all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing”. God wants our continual prayers. He wants that intimate relationship.

Way back in the 1600’s, Nicholas Herman became a monk. He became known as Brother Lawrence and he worked in the kitchen at the monastery. So why do we know of him? Because he strove to walk in the presence of God in all his tasks, big and small. In order to do that he nurtured the practice of being in a continual conversation with God. Word got around what he was doing and many letters were written. After he died, 15 of his letters and 4 conversations were compiled into a small book, called “The Practice of the Presence of God”.

This is something I am trying to work on. I am taking small steps toward a continual conversation with God and to recognize that God is always with me. That awareness that God is always with me is a good feeling. When a person pops into my mind, I try to say a short prayer for them, right then and there. Also in the small daily things that happen in my life, I thank God for them. Why, because God is here to hear me and to help me build that intimate relationship.

There is an ancient short prayer, called the Jesus Prayer, that people use to nurture that connection with God. The prayer is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. People for centuries have said this prayer over and over again during the day. It is a good prayer to remind us who we are. I have two short prayers that I say many times during the day. One is “Thank you Jesus”, which may be thanking him for something that just happened, or it may be thanking him for dying on the cross to save me. My other short prayer is “I am yours”, in which I acknowledge God is my master and I am his. It is a happy surrender.

Another way that I have seeked to grow closer to God was, when I was still working I would right after my devotion time hop in the car and head to work. I would first spend time praying, imagining Jesus was right in front of me on the hood of my car. (Imagining Jesus sitting next to me took my eyes off the road too much.) I would talk to him and share my concerns on the way to work. I would then pop in a Christian tape (it was an old car) and sing praises to God the rest of the way to work. The point I want to make is you can transform some of these mundane activities, like driving to work, to ways that connect you with God.

Sometimes it is good to set an “reminder”. I have a 1:00 PM appointment every Monday to pray for my local church. My cell phone reminds me every Monday to pray for Immanuel. That way when my cell phone “beeps” at me at 1:00 PM on Monday, I know it is time to stop what I am doing and to take a minute to pray for my church.

Why do this? I believe it builds good habits, it strengthens that God relationship, and it is one way to rewire your brain to be more focused on God. One needs to be intentional and it does take discipline. I have failed many times in my attempts. But I have learned to not think of the failure as a test that you have failed, but rather remind yourself that you are in training while God is doing that brain rewiring. Your failing is motivation to improve and do better next time. Remember God is at work, changing you to be more like him.

PS This post was inspired by chapter 5 in Ken Boa’s book, “Life in the Presence of God”.

Self Destruction

I believe we are all engaged in self destruction, everyone of us, though most of us would deny it. We all are doing and thinking in ways that harm ourselves, and there are deadly consequences to our thoughts and actions. I am talking about sin, that is the wrongdoing and wrong-thinking that we do. We are all guilty of doing it, and it is not healthy.

I know that it is not popular to talk about this today. Sin is a countercultural topic. People for 50+ years have been saying “I’m okay and you’re okay”. Most would say that they are, by and large, good people. And they would say that of others too so as to at least not damage their self esteem. (It is easier to see the faults of others than to see faults in ourselves.) Reality is we are all damaged goods. We are not okay. We are broken and not good at all. Problems in the world are not just out there. The problems in the world start inside each one of us. It is ultimately an internal problem, our own sin.

What does sin look like? The list of the “Seven Deadly Sins” is a good way to categorize various sins. They are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Pride is considered to be the original and most serious of the sins. It is where ego and self are directly opposed to God. It is where you say “I can do better than God”, or “I know better than God”. It is you being self centered. According to a Vatican study, the sin that men were most likely to confess was lust, while for women it was pride. What is the sin category you struggle most with?

How does one fall into sin? Father Maximos of Mount Athos says the “holy elders” have described five stages of temptation to sin as:

Assault: The tempting or evil thought first attacks a person’s mind.
Interaction: A person opens up a dialogue with the tempting thought.
Consent: A person consents to what the tempting thought urges them to do.
Captivity: A person becomes a hostage to the tempting thought, finding it more difficult to resist each time one falls.
Passion or obsession: The tempting thought becomes an entrenched reality within the person’s mind.

Sin is habit forming. What can you do with that sinful habit of yours? It is not easy to deal with, but with the Holy Spirit’s help you can nip the tempting thought in the bud. At stage one, you ignore the tempting thought and put it out of your mind. That is easier said than done, but it is possible. It is especially difficult if you have fallen many times to that same temptation. The sin can become second nature to you. To help, there are a variety of 12 step recovery groups around to help and support you in your struggle. Celebrate Recovery is a Christian 12 step recovery program that covers all you may be struggling with. It does not matter what your addiction or sinful habit is, whether it be drugs, porn, or gossip. Celebrate Recovery can help. They are nationwide with groups all over the USA.

The reality of sin is depressing and very self esteem crushing, but there is good news. Each and every one of us is fully loved by God, despite our sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to deal with sin and to restore us to God. Because of him we can have an abundant life in him and ultimately will become free from our sin. In Christ, we can face the brokenness of the world and of ourselves. Also because of him we have become forgiven children of God. Our sins will no longer define us. God will restore us from our self destruction and we will be made whole.

Forgiveness versus Justice?

Is forgiveness a bad thing? Does it hinder justice? Some activists would say, “yes, forgiveness is a bad thing”. My Christian faith would say the opposite. I read a very interesting essay by Timothy Keller on the current state of forgiveness in America. In today’s individualistic culture, where Critical Race Theory and the Cancel Culture are major influences, there is very little room for forgiveness.

Back in 2015, racist Dylann Roof entered a Charleston church and shot and killed nine African-Americans. (Three others survived.) Soon after the relatives forgave Dylann Roof for the killing. Some activists opposed the forgiveness, because “The supposed moral obligation of forgiveness was seen as an instrument by which those in power maintained their position.” They consider forgiveness as giving support to the enemy. In this case, the enemy was white racism. “They argued that forgiveness is a form of ‘self-renunciation,’ giving up your perfect right to pay back to the person what they did to you.” That is true but without forgiveness there is little, if any, hope of healing and reconciliation. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power of love. . . .We can never say, ‘I will forgive you, but I won’t have anything further to do with you.’ Forgiveness means reconciliation, and coming together again.”

That is what the Christian Faith is all about. God forgave us so that we might be reconciled to him. It did not mean that justice was not served. Jesus paid the price for our sin. There was a cost. Justice was not forgotten. We need to forgive in a way that honors justice.

‘Since God forgives us yet in a way that honours justice, so we should also forgive in a way that honours justice. As Don Carson once wrote, “Christians are called to abandon bitterness, to be forbearing, to have a forgiving stance even where the repentance of the offending party is conspicuous by its absence; on the other hand, their God-centered passion for justice, their concern for God’s glory, ensure that the awful odium of sin is not glossed over.”’

An example of this on the national scale is the nation of Germany. After World War I, justice was served and Germany suffered the cost of making war reparations. I believe because of the heavy cost of justice Hitler rose to power and World War II happened. After World War II, Germany was a part of the Marshall Plan and received assistance in recovering from the war. That was forgiveness in action. There was a cost borne by the USA, but that is a part of the forgiveness, and today Germany is reconciled to the allies. But note there was still justice. Its leaders were tried and prosecuted for the horrible things done, and still today German school children learn of the wrongs their nation did. Forgiveness with justice happened. (Marshall Plan motivation was not about Christian love, but I believe it is still a good example of forgiveness on a national scale.)

Another example of forgiveness on a national scale happened in South Africa, where Desmond Tutu set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which offered amnesty and forgiveness to any person guilty of violence who came forward and publicly confessed what they had done. This allowed for reconciliation between the former white oppressors and the black majority. Civil war was avoided.

Today forgiveness is countercultural. Today’s individualistic culture “stresses looking inward to forge one’s own identity based on our desires, and then moving outward to demand that society honour our individual identity and interests.” That does not allow for the cost of “self-renunciation”, only the exaltation of oneself. The starting point of the Christian Faith is that we all are broken sinners. No one is exalted above another. No one is superior. At the same time, as Christians our identity is secure. We are children of God, and no matter what happens that is who we are. This is what makes forgiveness possible.

There are three aspects to forgiveness. We, first, need to embrace the free forgiveness that God has given us. We can forgive because we have been forgiven due to the costly sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Then we can give up the desire to get even. We forgive them inwardly, so that we do not dwell on it. It does cost us to give up what is due us. And thirdly, we seek repentance and reconciliation from the offender. The goal is to reconcile with each other.

Through the years, Christianity has changed the world for the better. Forgiveness has played a big part in that change and it will again in the future.

PS All quotes (in italics) were from the essay. The essay is insightful and is worth a read.

Is the Bible Wicked?

I have become aware that many people consider the Bible to be an evil or wicked book. There are more than just a few with that opinion. I like to believe that is because there is a lot of ignorance of the Bible behind many of those opinions, and maybe it is also in part due to our Postmodern culture where you choose what you want to believe. Part of the issue is there are some Bible passages that can sound horrible if we do not put those passages in proper context. The Bible is not a wicked book.

My awareness peaked this last January when a commenter said this on Joe Biden’s inauguration:

“Out of all the books your choose, the bible must be one of the worst examples of a text on which you swear an oauth. Can anyone think of another collection of stories that demonstrates worse morals, ethics and which lacks any basis for system of right and wrong that could be used by a just society?” (slashdot)

Because there is so much wrong with that comment, I am not going to discuss it since it would require me to spend the entire blog post on that comment. (Okay, the most obvious rebuttal is “the Ten Commandments are from the Bible”.) But that comment started quite the discussion between a variety of people, and I learned that a lot of people believe that the Bible promotes horrible morals.. I also learned that there is a website called www.evilbible.com, which uses Bible passages to show how evil God is. The website takes some misunderstood or hard to understand passages as well as some completely misinterpreted passages and puts the worst possible spin on God. This website expresses the horrible morals of God. Fortunately for us, the website has it all wrong.

Note you can put the same spin on the movie “Mary Poppins”. You think “Mary Poppins” is a sweet family friendly movie. Well with the right clips from the movie you end up with “Scary Mary”. So instead of the family friendly movie, you have a horror short. I think that is what the evil Bible website is doing.

Providentially, also in January, my adult Sunday school class started going through the book “How (Not) to Read the Bible’‘ by Dan Kimball, in which the book addresses many of these misunderstood passages and gives four helpful facts for reading the Bible. You have to admit there are some passages in the Bible that from today’s viewpoint suggest that the Bible is anti-women, anti-science, pro-violence, and pro-slavery, as well as being intolerant. These are the hard to understand passages. I will focus on the four helpful facts that will allow you to navigate these tough Scripture passages.

The Bible is a library not a book. The Bible was written over about 1500 years by many authors in three languages. There are 66 books in two volumes, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These books have several different literary styles. The Bible consists of letters, history, poetry, law, apocalyptic literature, and prophecy. So you must take those differences into account. You do not read a chapter in 1 Kings the same way you would read a Psalm.

The Bible was written for us, but not to us. Each book of the Bible was written to a particular people in a particular situation. This truth can be clearly seen in Paul’s letters. Most of the time he dealt with real problems the local Christians were having at that time, in that culture, and at that location. Things today have changed. The culture is different, and yet God’s truths are still found in those letters. We need to take into account those cultural differences to understand what is being conveyed. Many times the meaning is clear, but with some of those harder to understand passages you need to look at what the passage meant to those in that time and place and culture. Ask yourself what is the purpose of the passage? Is it dealing with a problem? Is there a cultural issue? What is the principle that the passage is trying to convey? Does your interpretation agree with the rest of Scripture? It is important to note that God works within the culture, so for an example the Old Testament laws concerning slavery does not mean God approved of slavery, rather the laws were there to lessen the bad effects of slavery and to provide some protection to those enslaved.

Never read only a Bible verse. Read the verse in context. Look at the Bible verse in context with the surrounding verses. Zoom out some more and ask yourself what is the verse in context to the Bible book. And then look at the verse in context of the overarching story of the entire Bible. Your interpretation of the verse should fit in each one of those contexts. If it does not then you are missing something. To help you with getting the context, the Bible Project has great overviews of each book of the Bible.

All the Bible points to Jesus. When we read the Bible we should always keep Jesus in mind, because Jesus is at the center of that overarching story of the Bible. His story is what is really important. There are six acts to the big story.

God created the universe and was in relationship with Adam and Eve. (Genesis 1-2)
Adam and Eve rebelled and due to disobedience the relationship was broken. (Genesis 3-11)
Redemption was initiated. (Genesis 12 – Malachi)
1. God chose Abraham/Israel to bless the nations.
2. Israel failed.
3. Israel was exiled and then restored. Hope remains.
Redemption has been provided through Jesus. (Matthew – John)
We are sent to all nations. (Acts – Revelation 21)
Restoration will be completed. (Revelation 22)

Jesus also believed that his teaching of love and forgiveness was consistent with the stories and teaching of the Old Testament. If he believed that, then one should be able to reconcile those hard to understand passages. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. He is not a mean evil god, rather he is loving and good as Jesus shows us. That should be our starting point when encountering these hard to understand passages.

To summarize, context is very important. For a Bible passage one needs to consider the literary context, the historical context, the cultural context, and the Biblical context with a focus on Jesus. Doing so will help you gain some understanding of these tough passages.

There are many resources available to counter the evil Bible meme and the misrepresentation of the hard to understand Bible passages. I will suggest a few resources. The book I read, “How (Not) to Read the Bible’‘ by Dan Kimball, is one good resource. The book “Is God a Moral Monster?” by Paul Copan is a more complete resource that is widely recommended. On the web, you need to be careful of the resources you use. They can and do vary a lot in quality. However, www.gotquestions.org seems to be a good resource. Another good resource is the “What Would You Say?” video series from the Colson Center. (An example from that series is “Is the Bible Sexist?”. Note the importance of context in the video.) Unfortunately you may find on the web several different answers for these hard to understand passages. So you will have to evaluate the answers, but remember it is ultimately about Jesus and what he did for us.