Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105
I'm the obsessive/compulsive type. If I had my way, God would have already given me a road map of my life. I would be able to chart all the major events, how and when they happen, and what plans need to be made. An optional added feature would be a "you are here" arrow that would show me my exact status.
I've always wanted to know God's long-term will, and I've wanted Him to be specific. Unfortunately for me, God does not work that way. He usually deals with us on the short term, and His will is made known generally instead of specifically.
I used to say it like this: "God's will is directional, not terminal." He leads us in the short term because He has planned many turns and twists in the fascinating life he has planned for each of us.
And then there's that "general/specific" thing. Basically, most of us are looking for the specific will of God: "Should I buy this? Should I change jobs? Should I get married? What should my major be?" On the other hand, God's revealed word tells us the generalities: character, conduct, preparation. If we are willing to accept the principles and standards of His general will as revealed in His word, we will be equipped to make those specific decisions when they arise. I have heard people say, "If only the Bible would tell me "do this/don't do that..." For those who have asked that, I have great news. The book of Proverbs is a treasury of practical living that comes across in the simplest form. For my own purposes, I likie to call it "Wisdom for Dummies."
It is interesting to see how God's word guides us. The verse I used to begin this meditation says that His word is a lamp and a light. The direction is what is most important to me. The lamp is for the feet and the light for the path. God's revelation shines on the next step we are to take, and lights the path just enough to take that step.
On the highway, I like my high beams. I want to be able to see as far ahead in the darkness as I can. If it were possible, I would want a clear view for the next five miles ahead of me -- now that would be "high beams."
But God's intent is the "low" beam -- pointed at the path. He gives us our daily bread and calls on us to trust Him for the moment and not to worry about tomorrow.
The best advice I can give anyone for finding God's will and way is to look to the low beams and allow Him to reveal the path in His own time and purpose. There is a time for high beams, and God knows what it is. We do best when we let Him control the lights.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Could Jesus Be Your Travel Agent?
Let's suppose, just for a moment, that in addition to being King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Wonderful Counselor, Creator, and Savior, that Jesus had come to this world as a Travel Agent!
Now let us suppose that He offered us a nice Caribbean cruise for a modest price, and that the mini-cruise would last three days and three nights. We excitedly get to our departure point, and find out that the cruise will leave Friday night at sundown. Then, we are surprised to find that it will return on Sunday before sunrise.
I think we would all want our money back. Well, first of all, Jesus is all-trustworthy. He would never offer something He did not mean. My first suspicion would be that a self-appointed representative had misrepresented himself.
For at least a thousand years, they have done this. How does someone believe that Jesus, who said He would be in the grave three days and three nights, enter the tomb on Friday night and leave it before Sunday morning? I guess my main problem with this is that I am old enough to remember when they taught simple arithmetic in grammar school, and the story we have been fed does not fit the equation.
It is an easy fix. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went to the empty tomb early in the morning "after the sabbaths." No, your translation, none of them, use the plural there, but any first year Greek student can tell you that the word "sabbath" is used as a plural there. Simply, this week that many call "holy week" had an extra holiday in it, in much the same way that happens to us when July 4 falls on a weekday.
The whole "Friday" idea comes from a misunderstanding of why they had to take the bodies down from their crosses "before the sabbath." The sabbath mentioned there was obviously the Passover, which in God's timing was when He offered His Son as the once-for-all Passover Lamb. Sometimes, the Passover coincided with Saturday, but six times out of seven it did not.
On the week of Christ's crucifixion, it is easy to see that the Passover was on a Thursday. If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, His body would have been put in a tomb on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning to the Jews). The calendar would look something like this:
Nights in the tomb: Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night; days in the tomb were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. He would haved left the tomb during the early evening hours after sunset on Saturday night. Three days and three nights.
This wouldn't be such an issue for me, except that Jesus, who meant what He said and said what He meant, specifically said "three days and three nights." One time, a very respected and famous Bible teacher tried to "explain" the dilemma to me using the IRS tax code. He noted that if a child were born on December 31, he could be claimed as a dependent for the entire year; if a child, sadly, died on January 1, he could still be claimed as a dependent for that entire year. So since Jesus was in the tomb part of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the whole 24 hours of each counted.
It was a well-researched explanation, but let me tell you: If a travel agent tried that with anyone, he would be in court the next week with a stack of lawsuits facing him.
Yes, Jesus could be my travel agent; in fact, He already is. I have a wonderful tour booked, including all lodging, accommodations, and amenities. It will be an eternal trip, and there is still available space for anyone who wants to join me.
But these people who claim to "represent" Him, who can't do the math -- I will be avoiding their places of business. I don't do "Good Friday" because I don't think the Bible does "Good Friday." Today I will enjoy an amazingly ironic secular holiday from work; I will miss the mail run and the bank that are closed. But outside of that, it is just another day.
The Big One is coming Sunday.
Now let us suppose that He offered us a nice Caribbean cruise for a modest price, and that the mini-cruise would last three days and three nights. We excitedly get to our departure point, and find out that the cruise will leave Friday night at sundown. Then, we are surprised to find that it will return on Sunday before sunrise.
I think we would all want our money back. Well, first of all, Jesus is all-trustworthy. He would never offer something He did not mean. My first suspicion would be that a self-appointed representative had misrepresented himself.
For at least a thousand years, they have done this. How does someone believe that Jesus, who said He would be in the grave three days and three nights, enter the tomb on Friday night and leave it before Sunday morning? I guess my main problem with this is that I am old enough to remember when they taught simple arithmetic in grammar school, and the story we have been fed does not fit the equation.
It is an easy fix. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went to the empty tomb early in the morning "after the sabbaths." No, your translation, none of them, use the plural there, but any first year Greek student can tell you that the word "sabbath" is used as a plural there. Simply, this week that many call "holy week" had an extra holiday in it, in much the same way that happens to us when July 4 falls on a weekday.
The whole "Friday" idea comes from a misunderstanding of why they had to take the bodies down from their crosses "before the sabbath." The sabbath mentioned there was obviously the Passover, which in God's timing was when He offered His Son as the once-for-all Passover Lamb. Sometimes, the Passover coincided with Saturday, but six times out of seven it did not.
On the week of Christ's crucifixion, it is easy to see that the Passover was on a Thursday. If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, His body would have been put in a tomb on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning to the Jews). The calendar would look something like this:
Nights in the tomb: Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night; days in the tomb were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. He would haved left the tomb during the early evening hours after sunset on Saturday night. Three days and three nights.
This wouldn't be such an issue for me, except that Jesus, who meant what He said and said what He meant, specifically said "three days and three nights." One time, a very respected and famous Bible teacher tried to "explain" the dilemma to me using the IRS tax code. He noted that if a child were born on December 31, he could be claimed as a dependent for the entire year; if a child, sadly, died on January 1, he could still be claimed as a dependent for that entire year. So since Jesus was in the tomb part of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the whole 24 hours of each counted.
It was a well-researched explanation, but let me tell you: If a travel agent tried that with anyone, he would be in court the next week with a stack of lawsuits facing him.
Yes, Jesus could be my travel agent; in fact, He already is. I have a wonderful tour booked, including all lodging, accommodations, and amenities. It will be an eternal trip, and there is still available space for anyone who wants to join me.
But these people who claim to "represent" Him, who can't do the math -- I will be avoiding their places of business. I don't do "Good Friday" because I don't think the Bible does "Good Friday." Today I will enjoy an amazingly ironic secular holiday from work; I will miss the mail run and the bank that are closed. But outside of that, it is just another day.
The Big One is coming Sunday.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Shadow of Death
Psalm 23 is one part of the Bible that everyone seems to know, even those who do not attend church. I've heard it read at funerals, in hospitals, and at other formal gatherings. Though there are many things that can be said about the psalm -- in fact, it's taking me several months to go through it on Sunday mornings right now -- the pivotal verse of the whole psalm would have to be verse 4a, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.
Not everyone in David's time thought of death as a shadow. Most of them saw it as people see it today, a brick wall, a deep pit, a thing of horrible fear and destruction. But David saw it as a shadow. Years ago, I was crossing a parking lot in the Metroplex when the shadow of a 747 passed over me, angling in for a landing at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. While startling when not expected, the shadow did me no harm. A 747 could have done so, but the shadow was just a short moment of surprise. I jumped, but did nothing else.
For those of us who believe, death passes over us like a shadow. The Lord took the hit from the 747 when He paid the once-for-all price for our sin. Jesus took on the terror of death so we would not have to. One more thing about shadows: they are proof that light is on the other side of the object. The Shadow of Death tells me that there is more light on the other side of death than there is here.
Interestingly, Psalm 23 begins in the third person. The Lord is "He," this and "He," that. But after the valley of the shadow of death, He becomes "You." There is no coincidence in this transition from third person to first. When we face our death, and know we "fear no evil," God's continuing presence takes over. We have stopped knowing "about" God, and started knowing Him personally.
Finally, I like what the verse really says about fearing no evil. Most English translations say something like "Because You are with me." A Hebrew scholar can tell you that the actual phrase is thou art with my hand. I've never understood why that didn't get included with the translation. I remember the security of holding my father's hand in a dangerous time, and I have since been a father and experienced the security I could give a child by just holding a hand. I have felt my son's hand tighten on mine as I entered a dark room. It is nice to know that, when I finally have to face that valley of the shadow of death, I will have a Hand to hold, a Hand of Someone who has already made multiple crossings of that valley, and knows the path.
Not everyone in David's time thought of death as a shadow. Most of them saw it as people see it today, a brick wall, a deep pit, a thing of horrible fear and destruction. But David saw it as a shadow. Years ago, I was crossing a parking lot in the Metroplex when the shadow of a 747 passed over me, angling in for a landing at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. While startling when not expected, the shadow did me no harm. A 747 could have done so, but the shadow was just a short moment of surprise. I jumped, but did nothing else.
For those of us who believe, death passes over us like a shadow. The Lord took the hit from the 747 when He paid the once-for-all price for our sin. Jesus took on the terror of death so we would not have to. One more thing about shadows: they are proof that light is on the other side of the object. The Shadow of Death tells me that there is more light on the other side of death than there is here.
Interestingly, Psalm 23 begins in the third person. The Lord is "He," this and "He," that. But after the valley of the shadow of death, He becomes "You." There is no coincidence in this transition from third person to first. When we face our death, and know we "fear no evil," God's continuing presence takes over. We have stopped knowing "about" God, and started knowing Him personally.
Finally, I like what the verse really says about fearing no evil. Most English translations say something like "Because You are with me." A Hebrew scholar can tell you that the actual phrase is thou art with my hand. I've never understood why that didn't get included with the translation. I remember the security of holding my father's hand in a dangerous time, and I have since been a father and experienced the security I could give a child by just holding a hand. I have felt my son's hand tighten on mine as I entered a dark room. It is nice to know that, when I finally have to face that valley of the shadow of death, I will have a Hand to hold, a Hand of Someone who has already made multiple crossings of that valley, and knows the path.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Christian in a Post-Christian World?
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
-- Matthew 5:13
The mark of Christian maturity in any body of believers is the ability to distinguish between relevance and compromise. We are not to become like the world, but we have an obligation to be interesting to the world. The worst sin of the modern day church is making the Gospel -- the most exciting news in history -- boring. We have succeeded.
Jesus compared us to salt. He didn't tell us we ought to be salt, or that one day we would be salt; He said that we already are salt. The problem is, we are in danger of being salt without flavor. No one wastes their time "salting" salt. If it doesn't do the job, it is thrown out.
When we imitate the world; when we lower our standards so we can "identify with" the world, we lose the most important part of our effectiveness. Salt adds a "zing" to an otherwise boring meal. We are not interesting to the world "in spite of" our differences from them; we are interesting because of those differences. So much compromise has been allowed in the name of so-called "witnessing," but the truth is, when we dress like the world, when we sound like the world, when we use the same terminology as the world, we become a somewhat less exciting version of the very people we are trying to reach.
Those who do not know Christ are thirsty for something genuine, for something that is truly different, that comes from another world. We have that in Christ: standards and a lifestyle that throughout history have been so drastically different that the world around us has resisted, has fought, has investigated, and then has embraced the Gospel that Christ paid so dearly to give us.
So how is the world treating your faith? Are they embracing it or trampling it? Keep your flavor! It's what makes you valuable above all else!
-- Matthew 5:13
The mark of Christian maturity in any body of believers is the ability to distinguish between relevance and compromise. We are not to become like the world, but we have an obligation to be interesting to the world. The worst sin of the modern day church is making the Gospel -- the most exciting news in history -- boring. We have succeeded.
Jesus compared us to salt. He didn't tell us we ought to be salt, or that one day we would be salt; He said that we already are salt. The problem is, we are in danger of being salt without flavor. No one wastes their time "salting" salt. If it doesn't do the job, it is thrown out.
When we imitate the world; when we lower our standards so we can "identify with" the world, we lose the most important part of our effectiveness. Salt adds a "zing" to an otherwise boring meal. We are not interesting to the world "in spite of" our differences from them; we are interesting because of those differences. So much compromise has been allowed in the name of so-called "witnessing," but the truth is, when we dress like the world, when we sound like the world, when we use the same terminology as the world, we become a somewhat less exciting version of the very people we are trying to reach.
Those who do not know Christ are thirsty for something genuine, for something that is truly different, that comes from another world. We have that in Christ: standards and a lifestyle that throughout history have been so drastically different that the world around us has resisted, has fought, has investigated, and then has embraced the Gospel that Christ paid so dearly to give us.
So how is the world treating your faith? Are they embracing it or trampling it? Keep your flavor! It's what makes you valuable above all else!
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