Approaching the Bible

One of the things that we hate to hear is that we will understand things better when we are older. I want to know things now, not after an undesignated time has passed. I like to speed things up, not sit and wait for answers to come to me. However, I have perhaps reached the age where this concept makes sense. As I have experienced different life stages, I can see how my perspective has changed over the years. I remember sensing that life was fundamentally different after marrying Jenn. Suddenly I had to look out for someone else, and what I did directly affected another person. I had the same feeling when Isabel was born. It was as if I knew that I would now see the world in a very different light. News stories became heavier when dealing with children. There was a new layer of decision-making when it came to buying things for myself. Now with two kids, a job in the ministry, and the age of 30 coming soon, I again find myself looking at the world differently.

It is not just news programs or finances that are framed in a new light. I notice that I read the Bible differently as well. I approach stories from a different personal context. I wonder what the dads thought about the events. I see the struggles of the early church, and they make more sense. In many ways the people seem more complex because my understanding of the world has become more complex. What was it like for Hannah to let the son she had prayed so hard for live with Eli instead of with her? What was it like for Jacob to believe his son Joseph to have been killed? How did he feel when he found Joseph to be alive?

I like to talk about layers, and I think the concept of layers is perhaps the best way to explain what happens to the way we approach the Bible as we get older. Over the years we add layers of experience, and this experience shapes how we see the world. As we approach the Bible we use this perspective that has been shaped by our experiences to interpret and experience what we read in the Bible. The beauty of this is that the Bible becomes something that speaks to us throughout our life. It is not a novel we read and then put down. It is something that we have a relationship with, something that we interact with. This is the way that God has designed it. He speaks to us through the Bible regardless of where we are in life. While the truths of the Bible stay the same, our understanding and appreciation of these truths grows and changes as the layers are added to our lives.

Superman

I love superheroes. I like that these are people who are bigger than life, and they can do anything they want. I like that they have the ability to help people, and yet many of them are quite flawed. I think that another reason that stories about superheroes resonates with us is that we feel so helpless. We can't stop a speeding train or divert a hurricane. Some of us can't even do laundry much less fix the world's problems. Or can we?

When we read stories of Moses or Paul, we see God doing miraculous things that changed the world. Moses parts seas and commands plagues. Paul heals the sick and miraculously escapes from prison. When we read these things, it is honestly hard not to think of some of these people as superheroes. They can become characters with powers that could just as well have come from radioactivity as from God. We have the tendency to approach these stories as if Moses or Paul was relying on a mysterious power that few can ever attain. The problem is that this is simply not true. The power that they used is the same power that we have access to--God.

People who did miraculous things in the Bible are often said to have been filled with the spirit. As Christians, we are told that we are filled with the spirit. Same power. So where is the disconnect for us? Did these individuals have more faith? Moses tried to back out all of the time. The disciples who performed miracles hardly understood what they were a part of while Jesus was still walking with them. Has God put his power on the shelf for now? Maybe God chooses other ways to manifest his power.

I don't know the answer. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I walked over and put my hand on a sick person and told them to be healed, but honestly I don't see myself ever doing that. It is certainly true that we live in an age of skepticism, but that seems over the top. I am not sure why though. I still pray for the person to be healed, but I have a hard time accepting that telling a person to be healed would heal them. However, I believe that God used people in the Bible to do just that. In the end it could be a faith issue. It could be that God uses other means.

The thing to remember is that while we may not have the power to heal, we are given some other amazing powers. We are given the power of discernment, the power of forgiveness, and the power of love. The Holy Spirit genuinely gives us these powers. On top of that, we are given certain gifts whether that be teaching, counseling, or a whole host of other callings. I think as Christians we perhaps downplay these gifts and powers because we think that we should have had them before we became Christians. We also think that we were capable of them before knowing God and we simply failed to utilize them. The truth is that all of it is a gift from God, not just so that we can be happy, but so that we can use these gifts to bring others to Him. How will you use your powers?

What is a church?

While I have attended church pretty much my entire life, I am not sure that I had ever spent a significant time trying to define what church is. Of course there were the divinity school definitions and the traditional understandings, but without experiencing working in the church, I just never thought to think about it. It was just church.

And therein lies the problem. One incorrect definition of the church is that it is an activity. Treating church as an activity means that you don't really have to have a connection to the church. It is something that you do, and probably feel guilty if you don't do. It is another thing on the calendar rather than the place where you long to be all week. I think many of the people who see the church as an activity do so because they were trained to see it as an obligation. You went to church just like you went to school or worked for the PTO. What happens here is that activities are harder to prioritize. If church is equal to another thing we are involved in, it's 50/50 on what we will choose to participate in. Plus, the church is ongoing, there is always next week or next month.

Another incorrect definition of the church is that it is a club. I like belonging to things that give me identity. When I was in a fraternity in college, it felt good to wear the shirts or sit at the special tables in the cafeteria. But if you were to ask me what the point was of being in the fraternity, I don't think I would have an answer. There was no goal or purpose, it was just a place to belong and spend time with friends. That can't be what church is about. If it lacks purpose or a goal, why go? If there is a sense that we exist for ourselves so that we can belong, then it might be a great club, but not a church. If it annoys us that new people get in, then we are in trouble. The church is meant for a purpose. It is a means to an end, whereas so many times we have approached it as the end. The church is a tool designed by God to save the world, not to give us a place to hang out.

So what is a church? After spending almost a year working in one, I have come to the conclusion that it is a community of change agents. In the world of social activism people often speak of change agents. These are the people who encourage towns to help with the problem of homelessness or the people who design recycling programs. Change agents see a problem and seek to change it. Christians are called to be change agents, and the church is the community in which we find support, guidance, and fellowship. The community part may be as important as the change agent part. The truth is that sometimes it takes all of the change agents working together to accomplish a goal. When I see Christians who have no community, it pains me because they have missed half of their calling. It is so common to see people who pour their lives in to creating change or ministry, but fall apart because they don't have a community to support them or they feel like they are doing it all by themselves. I believe that the churches who create the biggest changes are the churches who embrace community as well. Not only do they use cooperation to change the world, but these types of churches also pull people to them because they have two primary things that people want: a place to belong and a place to have purpose.

Hero?

Like many Bible passages that contain elements that are good for kid stories, the story of Samson is one that is grossly misunderstood if you fail to look at it deeply. While we would love to celebrate Samson as a strong man who God used to do amazing things, most of the things that he accomplished were done in defiance of God. Samson was less heroic Hercules and more of an evil Incredible Hulk. Many of his great accomplishments were done out of pride and rage. It was not his intention to honor his God, he was usually just vengeful. Not to mention his weakness for women.

Samson was a child born of blessing and made a life-long Nazirite vow. He could not cut his hair, drink wine, or touch dead things. So eating honey from a dead lion and picking up a jaw bone were not only unsanitary, these were in violation of a vow made to God. Samson even complained to God about his thirst right after violating his vow. Samson would also attend feasts where he presumably drank wine. And yet God continued to forgive Samson for these things as evidenced by Samson retaining his strength until the end. Samson also offended God's commands by marrying women who were not Israelites. With both wives he would be convinced to tell an important secret.

Samson was not so much a hero as a cautionary tale. He no doubt revered God, but he simply could not stay on the right path for his life. He had substantial promise, and he was gifted beyond belief not only in strength, but poetry as well. Samson was given a great responsibility, but he could not handle it. While God was patient with him, God would eventually cause Samson to lose his strength after Samson had broken every single promise made to God. Once his hair was cut, Samson had proven that he believed his own desires to be more important than God.

Samson was a flawed man, just as each of us is flawed. We all have times in our lives where we seek our own pleasure rather than doing what God has called us to do. We have also been given gifts that God wants us to use for His glory. So we are given the choice, use what we have or lose what we have. I hope that we use it.

Deliverance and Shamgur

I mentioned earlier that the book of Judges is presented in such a way that we see the nation of Israel deteriorating before our eyes. With each judge (which is what the unofficial leader of the nation was called), the people turned further from God and suffered more extreme consequences. This means that they also needed more extreme deliverance.

The phrase that we see time and time again is "when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer from the people of Israel who saved them." While we know the names of Abraham, Moses, or Joshua, you probably have never heard of judges Othniel, Ehud, or Shamgar. Some of the judges who God used to deliver the nation are only given one verse. However, these people were used by God to save His people.

So we are given a good reminder. Some people may be Moses, but others may be Shamgar. Each were equally important. A character in a new TV show said "fame is the only thing that matters today," and I am not so sure that she is wrong. In today's reality TV culture, some people are famous simply because someone said that they are famous. I would guess that most people want to be known. We celebrate celebrities and big names. This happens in churches as much as it happens in movies.

It is also important to remember that Moses and Shamgar were both used by God, and it was quite an honor. Sometimes we need to realize how God is using us rather than asking us how God can use us in bigger ways. It is also important to ask ourselves why we would want to be Moses rather than Shamgar.

If that is not enough, we also should remember that God has an amazing amount of patience. God continually delivered the people simply because they called out for help only when things got really out of hand. God also exhibits his patience because he uses people in the first place. He uses people, and anytime people are involved, things get messy. He know this, and He still chooses people like you and me to change lives and change the world.

Courage

On Wednesday nights we are going through the 7 virtues. This week we are talking about courage. Courage seems to be one of those things that we celebrate, but rarely do we make it a key part of our lives. Many people know that Joshua is told to be "strong and courageous." But was does that mean?

Is courage taking risks? I'm not so sure it is. Is courage feeling the freedom to always say what you think is right? This seems to lack some love. Is courage never having doubts? Again, I don't think so. So what is courage?

Aristotle described courage as the willingness to face that which is painful. This seems to be right because doing something even though we know it will cause pain, whether that pain is physical or emotional, seems courageous. We see many examples of this courage in the Bible. We see it in Joshua while leading the people on military conquests. We see it in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as they are sentenced to the fiery furnace. We see it in Paul as he endures pain to share the faith with a lost world.

We see this kind of courage today as well. We see it in the person who shares his or her faith with a person who may react negatively. We see it in people who accept the call to the mission field. We see it when we do something that we know is right but is equally unpopular. We see it when people sign up for the nursery (just kidding).

Courage is a virtue because it is the action that should follow after we decide upon the right thing. We should not pat ourselves on the back for knowing the right thing to do unless we also actually do it. In a society where image is so important, it is difficult to stand out in a crowd. While we celebrate courage on many levels, we also are wary of others who display courage. When people challenge the staus quo regardless of the costs, we can react in a very hostile way.

So the challenge is this: demonstrate courage by not letting the pain deter you from your mission and demonstrate love by recognizing courage in others. Good luck.

Leaving Some Canaanites

While we celebrate the leadership of Joshua in his conquests of the promised land, the truth is that he left a great deal undone. There were still a number of Canaanite tribes living in the land that God had given them. In the second half of the book of Joshua (the part that most people skip because it is about land allotment to the tribes of Israel) we learn that there is still a strong Canaanite presence in and around the land that has been assigned to the tribes. It won't take long for this to become a problem.

In Joshua 24 we read of the renewing of the covenant between Israel and the Lord. Shortly thereafter, we read that the Lord is unhappy with their efforts to remove the Canaanites (Judges 2). For the rest of the book of Judges we see why this was such a problem. By not removing the existing inhabitants, the Israelites created a situation in which they were susceptible to the practice of worshiping other gods. The temptation became too great, and the people began to forsake God and worship the gods of the peoples around them. This leads to the ruin of the people and their relationship with the Lord who brought them to the land in the first place. The book of Judges is written in such a way that things go from back to worse. By the time of the last Judge, things have become almost irreparable.

So where are the Canaanites in our lives? What are the things that we have failed to remove as we seek to live the life God wants for us? Maybe it is a particular sin, but maybe it is something else less threatening. Maybe it is a tendency to become materialistic or an inablility to accept forgiveness for an action long ago. Maybe it is a behavior that puts us in a situation where we face temptation. Maybe it is the false belief that we are fixed simply because we became a Christian. Regardless of what you still need to remove, the reality is this: if it is not removed, your faith will never be what it is meant to be.

The Myth of the Little Sin

While it is not always pleasant to think about, it is hard to go through a day without sinning. Even if you managed it, there would be the danger of becoming proud of what you accomplished, despite the fact that it is not that extraordinary. When people talk about having a sin nature, it simply means that we are prone to sin. Perhaps not prone to murder, but we are prone to making decisions or performing actions that simply do not always glorify God or demonstrate our faith.

We know about big sins: murder, adultery, grand-theft auto. We also know about little sins: gossip, white lies, illegal downloads. But, is this really the way it works? Intellectually we know that this is not the way that God sees sin. This is the way that the Legal System sees crime, but we know that sin is sin. There are degrees to the consequences, but there are no degrees of sin.

The story of Achan in the Bible is a great example of how something little was actually much bigger. As the people of Israel entered the promised land, God had commanded that they not take certain things as plunder. Things like gold and silver were to be put in the treasury, and the rest was to be burned. Part of this was to allow God to provide and a bigger part was that the things that could be plundered often had a religious significance in the other religions. This makes sense, but can you imagine how hard it would be to walk out of a city in which they had just won a tremendous victory and not pick up a necklace or some new pants?

This temptation proved too much for Achan who decided to take a few souveniers for himself. It probably seemed like a little thing. He just wanted a new robe and some spending money, though it is telling that he buries his ill-gotten goods under his tent. The effect of his sin is that the people of Israel lose a battle they should have won and a significant amount of momentum in their efforts to realize what God has in store for them.

And that might be the biggest problem with "little" sins. We lose momentum. We're plugging along in our faith journey and suddenly we choose take a step back. Maybe it is a little step back, but it is still keeping us from getting to where we want to go. I think that the key is to remember that a life of "little" sins is still a life that, without Jesus' death, would have kept us from God. It is also important to remember that if we become comfortable with the "little" sins, bigger ones may not be too far off. Achan was stoned by the whole nation as an example that the "little" sins can throw the whole plan off. Maybe we need to really reconsider if categorizing sins is really as valid as we would like for it to be.

Faith in an Age of Skepticism

I love to read stories. I confess that I don't particularly enjoy classic novels. I am more of a best-seller reader. If the book is about spies or international intrigue, I will knock it out in a couple of days. I love the way that you can become engrossed in the book, experiencing the world from the pages. I love how the characters become real to you. A good novel does that, it makes the people and situations seem real.

I think that this is why it is so hard for many people to read the Bible. What happens is that we forget that, unlike our favorite novel, these people are in fact real. The Bible is not based on a true story--it is a true story. Sure, there are several genres of literature, such as poetry or parable, but the stories happened and the people were there.

Sometimes I like to think about the people who were behind the scenes. While we know a lot about Moses, Aaron, or pharoah, what was life like for the little guy. What was life like for an Israelite father who was trying to raise his two kids? What was life like for someone whose name we don't know, but lived through the things that we now recognize as the Exodus?

My guess is that they were fairly skeptical about all that was going on. We see quite a bit of grumbling from the people, and it makes sense when you consider their less than secure circumstances. I would assume that the group was fairly mixed. Some people were devout, others may have even left the camp at night to go back to Egypt.

Sometimes I wonder if the Exodus would work today. I'll be honest, it took a lot of faith to leave Egypt--faith in Moses, in God, and in the whole idea of a Promised Land. That kind of faith is harder to find today, and my generation is a big part of that. Recently I was talking with someone about how people a couple generations ago often just took things on faith. They were slow to question it, and they were generally more trusting. I don't see that happening much today.

My generation questions everything. I mean everything. We question commercials, preachers, news clips, scientific findings, content labels, philosophies, nutritional labels, and lessons about the Bible. We put everything to the test because too many things are simply untrue. We know this because there is so much information. There are entire websites dedicated to disproving things or setting the record straight. It takes about 20 seconds to look up something to see if it is true or not. We have a lot of information at hand. I read somewhere that one newspaper has more information about the world than a typical person in the nineteenth century would have had in their entire life.

So how do you speak truth to people who test everything? First, be honest. If it is complicated, say it is complicated. If there are multiple views, respect that there are multiple views. Second, speak about experience, your experience. Facts are not nearly as convincing as hearing what you have gone through or how you experienced something. Third, be patient. I will not be convinced without time to think it out. Teaching people truths about God or about life can be challenging, but again we are faced with being part of a process. We have to let others come to the conclusions.

Part of the Process

I don't want to be part of the solution, I want to have the answer. I don't want to fix my part, I want to fix the whole thing. I don't want to work on something to a point and then hand it off for the next step, but that is the way that life works. We are called to be a part of the process, and very rarely are we the total solution.

Can you imagine the disappointment that Moses had when he was standing on the peak looking down into the land that he would never be able to enter? After all that he had been a part of, the plagues, the sea, the commandments, Moses still was not allowed to be a part of the next step. Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land in the same way that we often don't get to see the end of the story.

A few months ago I came across an old picture of our church's youth ministry. It was definitely from the early 80s, and it reminded me that I am just one of many ministers who will have an impact at my church. People were here before, and people will be here again. The key is to embrace the present and do your best with the part that you have been asked to play.

This is not easy to do in most cases. Just ask the sons or daughters who cannot convince their parent to come to faith. Just ask the friend who has no idea what to do when someone they love is experiencing emotional pain. Just ask the minister who sees a kid messing up her life and cannot figure out what she should do to help.

We live in a quick fix world now, and solutions are supposed to be fast. There are entire corporations whose sole purpose is to provide solutions to problems. If I need an answer to something, all that I need to do is Google it from my phone and I have it. That is not how life works, though. Solutions do not come easy, and people cannot be fixed when someone finds the perfect answer. Isn't that essentially what Job's friends did? They came with quick answers trying to fix a situation that was simply immune to a quick fix.

So what do we do? We change our perspective. If we approach these things with a win or lose mentality, we have already lost. If you beat yourself up because things are not better even though you tried your best, you will always feel like a failure. Like I said before, the answer is to understand that you are part of the process, but not necessarily the solution to the problem. Imagine putting it on yourself to save the soul of your friend. You try and try, but you are not succeeding. Then suddenly they call you and say that they have become a Christian because they heard a song that made them think about things in a completely different way. See, you were part of the process and so were the people who made the song, and so were the people who put it on the radio. Embrace your part, do it well, but do not become defeated.

I doubt Moses felt like he had been defeated, disappointed yes, but not defeated. Moses allowed himself to be used by God and had a huge part in the process of saving the world. Whatever issues you face, remember that you are a part of the process, but also remember that you have a God who is control of the whole.

Ministry

How many times have you heard that every Christian is a minister? I heard it often growing up, and I guess it made sense some of the time. However, in my culture, paid ministers were very different from the "member ministers." Pastors wore suits, even when it seemed extremely uncomfortable to do so like when attending a prayer breakfast or doing lawn work. Pastors had great hair too, while the other church members just tried their best. Pastors also spoke with a hint of King James as if they had been born in 16th century England but moved here when they were 3 or 4. Then there is the movement that led many pastors to believe that they were actually CEOs so they needed to present themselves as corporate giants. Even today these things are true about many pastors. But why?

I am sure that part of it is a cultural expectation. Pastors should be the best dressed because they represent God, and God loves our best. Included in this is the idea that the first thing you should notice about a pastor is his or her piety which I supposed means that he must always be serious as if one wrong step will send someone to hell. This culture may come out of the fact that our pastors should be better than us because we know ourselves and we need to be able to aim higher.

Another part of our views on pastoral piety is found in history. In church history priests and clergy were often powerful economically and politically. We also have in the back of our mind the picture of monks walking somberly around a gray backdrop praying silently to themselves. The historical pictures and influences perhaps frames some elements of expectations for what clergy should look like.

Sometimes I forget that I am a minister. I suppose that I am still getting used to it. I am still trying to figure out what it means to be act like a minister in non-ministry times, or if there is even such a thing as a non-ministry time. How does a minister act at Walmart? How does a minister treat his or her waitress? Is the behavior required of the minister any different than it would be from another Christian? The answer is probably not, but there is this feeling that my "ministerness" should be evident wherever I go. In Leviticus the priests were definitely set apart. Their guidelines for living were stricter, and their responsibilities much more serious. As we use the phrase 'every member a minister' I think that it is important to invesigate why these feelings exist and how they impact the people in the pew.

You are not God

Here is something that we all need to hear: we, you, are not God. You are not, in fact, even close to being God or acting like God. God is a wholly holy other. Even though we know this logically, are there still times when we wonder why we cannot do things like God does? Are there times when we think that God is just a somewhat improved version of who we are?

The book of Leviticus is a tough read, let's be honest. There are cubits and strange woods that would probably make great hardwood floors. So what is the point of reading the blueprint for the tabernacle or how the priests should dress? Here it is: it is to remind us just as it reminded the Israelites that God has high demands. For a people who depended on ceremony to have access to God, there could hardly be enough instruction. God demanded that the people live holy lives so that He, being holy, could approach them. He also wanted them to be different so that He could be glorified.

Sometimes we wander into dangerous territory when we assume that God is just like our buddy who sits on the couch with us. While we should celebrate that Jesus' death allowed us to have ongoing fellowship with God, free from all the ceremony and sacrifice, we should also keep in mind that God remains a holy other. It is difficult to balance the holiness of God with the idea that God wants to know us intimately. I don't know the answer to that, but it bothers me when people begin prayers with "hey big guy." It also bothers me when others begin with "Oh holiest God who maketh the raineth." There is a place for conversation with God and a place for reverence. I think the key is getting our hearts right. If your heartsong is to approach God with a little more reverence then do it out of honest feeling but not out of obligation. If you want to just hang with God, do it out of thanksgiving and truth, not because it sounds trendy.

God is different, but He is also our Creator and our Father. What He seeks is a real relationship with all the honesty that you can muster.

This again?

I need change in my life. I don't necessarily want my life to change, but I need to experience new things and not feel that I am in a rut. Admittedly, working with students provides me a great deal of this and sometimes I need relaxation, but I still love change. I think that it is a generational thing. I recently watched a video that described how rapidly our society is changing. We are flooded with information and something new comes along seemingly everyday. People refer to the rate of change that we experience as exponential, which for you who have erased all math knowledge, means things change at a pace that is hard to keep up with.

We live in a world that where we become complacent with things that did not even exist 15, 10, or 5 years ago. How can we live without cell phones? How did we connect before Facebook (MySpace does not count--it was terrible)? How did we know answers to meaningless questions before Google? We take these things for granted, and sometimes get bored with them. In its brief existence, Facebook has changed formats several times because we wanted it to be better or at least different.

It is not just technology that creates change. People my age will average 3 to 4 careers in different fields. On a less positive note, people also have a good chance of changing mates. Change is a part of our society, for better or worse. But what about those times when we cannot sense the change? What about times in our lives when all we pray for is change and yet we don't see it?

In Exodus we read the story of the Israelites journey through the wilderness in search of the Promised Land. While they are on their way, God provides a miraculous food source everyday so they do not starve. But, the people get tired of it and begin to grumble against God. They want some meat in their diet so God sends them quail, lots of quail.

Let's be honest, even when God has provided for us in miraculous ways whether that is financially, through relationships, or through other concrete ways, we get tired of what we have or of where we are in life. I am not saying that is wrong to want to make your life better or desire to have things like security or advancement, but if we spend all of our time thinking about what we do not have, we will easily begin to grumble against God for what we do have. Even if the grass is greener on the other side, it is still just grass, and what can you really do with grass?

Moses

Few people in history have suffered from as much frustration as Moses must have suffered. Here was a guy who was called by God, spoke with God, performed miracles for God, and yet people still challenged his leadership. People say that a vision casting talk only lasts 21 days before the people have to be reminded. Apparently that is also about how long it takes for a miracle to become irrelevant to people. Moses took people out of slavery, took care of them in the desert, and guided them to a land where every need would be met, but the people constantly complained and rebelled.

Leading people can be really hard whether you are a minister, a teacher, or even just an influential friend. The problem is that even if you are trying to take others to the promised land, going back to Egypt is always easier. Change is hard, and progress can be an uphill battle. When we experience the kind of frustration that Moses encountered, it is helpful to focus on the goal rather than people's responses. Imagine Moses having yet another meeting about going back to Egypt while the pillar of fire that God provided the people was burning in the background. People probably asked if Moses was positive that this is what God wanted them to do even as they passed through the Red Sea. Had Moses not maintained his communication with God, he may have been tempted to drop the staff while some of the people were still walking through the parted sea.

The thing is people are people. We all have our tendencies to be antagonistic, especially when we experience change or growth. While there are times when we want to just throw our hands up and leave people in the desert, God calls us to impact lives even when it is hard.

Abraham

I am connected. I am connected to having a Walmart two miles away. I am connected to having about 40 restaurants within a five mile radius. I am connected to the great city where I live, with all of the services and conveniences that I could ask for. There isn't even any real traffic. I am connected to the comfortable.

What would happen if God asked me to sever these connections? What if I was asked to leave it all behind? What if God asked me to connect to the uncomfortable, or worse yet, come unconnected to everything? Most likely I would say "what about my kids" or "people here need God too." I would think about my financial situation and my mortgage. I would think about how much a move costs and how I like for things to be organized and planned.

It amazes me that I encounter so many people who have followed God's call to be uncomfortable. Whether it is a missionary who goes overseas or a family man who quits his job to attend seminary, there are people who have heard God say go, and they went. Like Abraham, they listened to God, even when there were no concrete answers. There was no strategic plan, just a promise. And, while it should not be surprising for us to believe that someone trusted God's promises, it really isn't that easy to do, not when we are already connected.

Abraham left his land where he was rich and respected, and he traveled to a place that was occupied by hostile and foreign people. He left land that was his to live on land that was others, all the while believing that both were actually God's. However, by leaving the comfortable, he was used by God in ways that he never could have imagined.

Is the problem that we are not supposed to get comfortable? I think it may just be human nature to settle in, especially once we have children. I suppose the key is to remember that we are following a plan that is not our own, or at least not of our design. When we think that we are calling all of the shots, it can be really painful to interrupt our plans. When we simply enjoy the journey, we realize that God wants us to make the most out of each opportunity because we never know when the next one will start.

Joseph

I don't know how many times I have looked to the story of Joseph to explain the world around me. We all encounter times when nothing around us is going right. Our jobs, our relationships, our finances, each of these can seem out of control sometimes. Worse yet, it can seem like there is no end in sight nor a way out, despite our best efforts. For more than two years I found myself in a job where all I found was pain and discouragement. I prayed frequently that God would give me a new option or change the situation. And for more than two and a half years, God did not.

In those situations we feel that God is not listening. Or maybe we are not living up to his standards and so we cannot be rewarded. Maybe we simply need to take a leap of faith and take care of things ourselves. Maybe we just need to suck it up and deal. And yet, God tells us that He wants us to have an abundant life. How does that work?

Here is the thing: having an abundant life does not come easy. We have to invest to reap the reward. And sometimes that process is long and confusing. It certainly was for Joseph who as far as anyone can tell was a good guy. He was a good guy who found himself beaten by his brothers, sold as a slave, unjustly imprisoned, and forgotten. Joseph had to wonder at times if God was with him, and yet he remained faithful and trusting.

How powerful is it when Joseph tells his brothers that they meant their actions for evil but God meant them for good? What a great perspective. Joseph is saying that he understands that God was using him to save his family. In effect, God was using Joseph to secure the line of promise that would ultimately lead to Jesus Christ. The truth is that God was always with Joseph, and He is always with us. We may not understand all that is going on in our lives, but we can trust that God is working, guiding, and present.

Genesis Part One

After almost a year I am returning to the world of blogging. As this is the first Bible Study Devotion, it seems fitting to discuss the beginning as we find it in Genesis. The book of Genesis is perhaps my favorite book of the Bible if you are allowed to have such things. It contains so many rich stories and theological truths. From the story of creation to the story of Joseph, there is so much to be gleaned from the book. Today I want to focus on the story of creation.

For most people who think theologically, which is just about every Christian, they hold certain elements of theology to be their central theme. For many this is the story of the crucifixion whereas they focus on Jesus dying for their sins and thus live better lives because of it. For others it is the book of Revelation where the focus is on what will happen in the future. Still others emphasize the covenants that God made to His people. For me, the central story of my theology is the story of Creation and the Fall.

Here is why: this story demonstrates that God is a God of order and purpose. The creation narrative reminds me of 2 things: 1. that God designed the world and is in control of it, and 2. that God is the one who sought fellowship with human beings. Remembering that God created the world down to the tiniest detail is a source of comfort when I feel that the world is a tough place.

While the creation narrative is important to me, it is perhaps the Fall that informs me more about God than any other passage. The central thought is this: despite the fact that people literally turned their back on God, he simply initiates a plan to bring them back to himself, even if it takes thousands of years. When Adam and Eve sin and are cast out, he already has a plan for Jesus to come and to save the world. We see this in Genesis 3:15. It is a story of forgiveness, mercy, and love. It is also a story of consequences, promises, and hope. It is my story and your story. Thank God.

Format Change

In the past this has been a blog for reflection and thoughts on ministry. It is now transitioning to become a blog for Bible study and devotional thoughts. This is an effort to give me a deeper devotional opportunity, and it will allow readers to have a deeper appreciation for Scripture and the message that God has for them.