plodding on with scripture

I notice sometimes that people are trying to help others by coming up with something novel, maybe even new. That reminds me of how ancient philosophers used to gather regularly around Mars Hill in Athens, doing nothing more than listening to the latest new idea, or thoughts. Maybe it was in part a search for truth, which actually in itself is good. But it seems that all too often it’s more of a search for notoriety, to become famous, well known, respected. Not to say that saying the old things in a new way isn’t valuable. Or that God might even give some new insight to his church through his word, at least for the times that are faced.

I believe, while it’s perfectly all right, in fact good to read widely to some extent, that we Christians need to major on scripture, and plod along in that. We need the whole of it, along with every part.

It has been well noted by someone that scripture is an education in and of itself. A big one. But it won’t make people on different spectrums prevalent today altogether happy. Unfortunately we read into it our own thoughts, and force it into our grids. Instead, insofar as possible, we need to work at letting it speak, and God speak through it to us. We do need the church, and what the Spirit is and has been saying to the church at large through God’s word. And we need to remain in scripture in the midst of all of that. We need to let God’s word critique us, our lives, and our world. And through that, find God’s good will, and salvation, in and through Jesus.

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prayer for relief

A psalm of David.

Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
like those long dead.
So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.

Psalm 143

I hesitated in sharing the entire psalm. But all of the word is important, even those parts which might not be directly relevant today. Not that relevancy as we see it is the test for whether or not we need something. All is important for us in some way though, a part of the whole.

David as in the Old Testament engaged in a warfare which while physical, was spiritual at the same time. For us today, as Paul tells us, our warfare is spiritual (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). It was apostolic, and in terms of the gospel, but by extension has application to all of us as followers of Christ.

That has its place within the main point of this post: the prayer for relief in the midst of trouble. We need the sense that everything is going to be okay in the end, that God will work all the difficulties out. In a sense it is true that “all is well that ends well.” But unfortunately there’s more than enough trouble on the way to that, and especially difficult is the heartache over people, and their troubles, especially when they make poor decisions, and fail to entrust their lives to God. Not that we know anyone’s heart, or understand anything fully like God does.

This is a wonderful prayer. Though we won’t mean exactly the same, we can trust that God will answer it according to his will, the Spirit even praying for us (Romans 8) when we are at a loss, and don’t know how to pray, ourselves. And with this psalm in mind, it’s good and even important for us to pray our own prayers.

God wants to give us relief from our troubles. As his people, we need to keep coming to him for the help that we will always need in this life. In and through Jesus.

what is needed: an enlarged heart and mind

I can enjoy all kinds of music. I suppose classical music reminds me the most of scripture as a whole. There is much variation and beauty in it. But you have to be willing to go through the entire piece, not just favorite parts of it.

And you’ll find all kinds of in and outs, and whatever musicians might call them in a given piece. The same is certainly true for scripture. A certain theme is likely in play, but how it is woven and emerges is missed when it is not appreciated in its entirety. That includes the parts either not understood, or seemingly unnecessary, maybe even offensive at least on the surface. We need to listen to all of it to learn to see and appreciate the whole.

One wouldn’t have to be stuck with classical music as the one analogy to compare with the need to be thoroughly acquainted with, and more than that, in interplay with all of scripture, to understand the whole, indeed God’s story given to us, and made complete in Jesus. Other comparisons would do, perhaps good books or films. I think classical music might be especially apt since it seems that genre has fallen on hard times, at least in the United States. It has its devoted, loyal following, but only a small percentage (I read 3%) listen to it in the US. And the Bible itself seems to have fallen on the same hard times. While a lot of people have some sort of respect and maybe even reverence for the Bible, few have read it from cover to cover themselves, or read it at all in the course of a week. Nowadays you can listen to it easily enough, as well as read it.

What is needed is a Biblical mindset, and heart that is expanded accordingly. That certainly has challenges all their own. But what will be found is a remarkable, beautiful, even if mysterious world. Where all the parts have their place within the whole.

So if you try classical music, use only most popular or listened to works maybe as just an introduction. Play through an entire musical piece from start to finish, even when parts of it are not understood or even liked. Just play it through. And the same goes for scripture. One way or another, get in all of it. Whole books, and in the end, the entire Book. Meant to shape us individually and together as God’s people, in and through Jesus.

not crossing certain lines

…train yourself to be godly.

1 Timothy 4:7

I think one of the most important things even we older Christians can do today is to train ourselves to be godly. What godliness means might to some extent be up for grabs, since different theological schools will emphasize different things. Really godliness is beyond us, both in really understanding it, and certainly in applying it. We have the Spirit along with scripture, the word, and the church, particularly those who are examples to us in this. Only God can give us light in both helping us see, and be changed, as we are enabled to walk, or live in the light in Jesus as found in scripture.

Here in the United States, we live in a precarious time. Much division and even some hate seems to more and more embed itself and even mark our culture. And we Christians are not above being taken into it and yes, becoming a part of it. It is hard, because there are certain issues that we feel strongly about. Abortion, and then depending on our views, other matters as well. We need to apply scripture and the gospel to critique our views. There are some matters that people will end up disagreeing on, including Christians with each other.

What we need today is the discipline to stay on track, and not get off onto rabbit trails which end up not helping anyone at all. Addressing certain matters such as injustice, and being “pro-life,” along with other contentious issues like environmental stewardship, even government, the church and state, etc. We also need to determine that there are certain lines we simply won’t cross, along with the discernment to know what those lines are.

More often than not the best wisdom is simply to remain silent (Proverbs 17:28). To listen, to gather our own thoughts, and above all, to seek God’s wisdom with others. And to keep doing that. To learn to be reticent to speak. Then God can help us to know better just when we should and must speak out. But our emphasis must always be on Christ and the gospel and never on anything less.

scripture’s centrality for life

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Evangelical Christians emphasize both the centrality of Christ, and the centrality of scripture. Scripture is given an authoritative status to which the church is to submit. I grew up a part of that tradition, remained in it after conversion, and have been in it ever since, even if I have had a closeness to the Great Tradition (specifically the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox their cousin, when we were part of an evangelical Anglican church) at one point. Even when we were a part of a charismatic (Vineyard) church, though I did lighten up on the word at that point, while I was trying to get more attuned to the Spirit, I think I was considered a word person by others in that church, even at that point. But this post, and I hope blog is not about me. I only try to share my own testimony, and experience both to help myself, and hopefully someone who might read this.

My consistent testimony has been that it’s the word we need to be in day and night, that it’s there where we can find the real presence of Christ, and God’s help day to day. Not to minimalize the sacraments, especially in churches where a more traditional view is taught from scripture. I have much respect for that. Special place should be given to water baptism and the Lord’s Table, no doubt. We don’t do well by scripture to treat them as merely helpful add-ons.

But my point in this post is that we need to be those who are in the word, in scripture, meaning the Bible, in every way possible. We shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the prospect. but should take it both in large and small pieces. Listen to scripture being read, and go through the entire Bible again and again. Read portions or paragraphs along the way, and let the words sink in.

For me all of this is helpful, because more often than not, I feel quite uninspired in and of myself. Life has been challenging, and there is no let up for the most part. So I feel the great need to be in the word on a regular basis, and at best most all the time. And with that, in response– prayers.

Notice in the scripture passage above, what the person of God, transliterated anthrōpos, which in the context of this letter is aptly translated “servant of God” by the NIV, but literally is either “person” or “man” of God, but notice what scripture is meant to do for them, and by extension, through their lives and ministry for others, and by secondary application, to all who follow their example. It is meant to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness, so that the person might be ready to do good in serving others. It is not for mere head knowledge, but all about life, and all of life (Psalm 119:105). In and through Jesus.

 

do we have the right ear?

Recently I went through the book of 1 John. And what jumped off the page for me was the encouraging words at the end, particularly 5:14-15. But throughout the book there are words and concepts that are largely foreign to our ears, not hardly ever mentioned or even thought about in our circles. It certainly involves problems within the time the book was written, people infiltrating the church who really did not hold to the teaching of and about Christ, and were therefore, in John’s words, the antichrist.

There are other thoughts which we do regularly refer to: our need to confess our sins, God’s complete forgiveness for us in Jesus, and truth and love are a large theme in John’s writings. While we are definitely under that influence as Christians, we do well to listen to the entire song so to speak, to read and take in the whole letter, and the two short letters which follow (1, 2 and 3 John). As we do, we’ll surely appreciate what we’re more familiar with and more regularly turn to, all the more.

a new calling; a new discipline

A new calling is a bit of a stretch for this post, even a new discipline as well, but there’s some truth in it for me.

I am a Bible person. I always have been, and surely always will be. I have bought plenty of NIV‘s over the years, the kind you carry in your pocket. I’ve listened to the Bible many times over the years. That is what seems to awaken faith in me, and stretch and challenge me in my faith.

What I will be about, is what I more or less have been doing for quite some time. Except there will be hopefully an added twist. I want to apply faith more intentionally, and make it more personal between God and I, as well. That has always been more or less present, except, being a mind person like me, I can too easily just get caught up in thinking, like in an academic way, which may have little bearing on life. Though I really want no part of what really doesn’t in some way or another ultimately contribute to faith.

For me this is vital in the midst of all the other things I have to do. As I get older, it seems like on some levels life is more challenging. There are always plenty of things to do. And my job is that way, as well. I need the word in the midst of it all.

But I also need the word in the midst of rest or play. There’s not a time when we’re not to meditate on God’s word, as the psalmist says, “day and night.” That has been a weakness in my life, and a new calling, and especially discipline, might especially apply to that. Although I think it is okay to have periods of simple rest or enjoyment, and doing nothing more. But one should not stay away from the word for long. We certainly must not neglect the word.

To read it, and let it soak in. I like to read or listen to both large chunks, maybe whole books, as well as plod through the text slowly. Both. The Bible is rich in all kinds of ways, no end to the education you can get by simply being in it over time. And letting it activate your faith, since it’s God’s word. Along with the change that comes with that over time, in and through Jesus.