Bible Reading

We need to read our Bibles. The Bible is God’s message to us, and we need to know what it says to know about Him and how to follow Him (2 Timothy 3:16,17; John 17:17; Colossians 3:16). There is no better way to become familiar with its content than reading it (or listening to it being read if this is more practical). And Scripture is the standard by which everything which claims to speak for God must be measured (Galatians 1:8,9; Isaiah 8:20; Jude 3). So why is it we do not read  it? Sometimes we see it as an explanation  of things we need  to do rather than a record of God’s great love for us (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 4:9,10). But the Bible does say that if we know about God’s love, we will love and serve Him in return (Romans 12:1,2; 1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15). So maybe we are afraid that if we really know and love God, it will upset our nice, safe life. This may not be a bad thing (Galatians 2:20; Matthew 16:25; Romans 6:12-14).

Now this can result in turning Scripture reading into one more duty we have to perform. There is a certain amount of discipline involved in regularly reading God’s Word. But if we regard it as nothing but a duty, we are setting  ourselves up for failure. Now one of the biggest objections to regular Bible reading is that we have no time for it. There is no doubt that we in modern times live a hectic lifestyle. Yet in spite of that, we seem to find time for things we truly consider important. But not for just one more duty.

Also,  I would like to make some practical suggestions. Get a Bible translation you can understand. If you are used to and understand the King James Version, use it. But the Bible was not written in Elizabethan English, and knowing this should not be a requirement to read it. You should be aware that a more paraphrastic  translation has a little bit more of the translator’s interpretation in it, but it is not necessarily bad for reading if you check out anything that looks questionable. An audio recording of the Bible may be a good thing if you are not much of a reader or do not have your hands free. While it is good to challenge yourself, pick a section  of reasonable length. Remember that the one chapter you do read is better than the four chapters you never get to. And if you have never done it before, start in one of the easier books to understand (like John or Romans) and work to the harder books. But most of all, do not give up. If you miss times, start over again. If you bog down, say in Leviticus, start somewhere else and come back to it. Remember, you are trying to learn about the God who loves you and what He has to say to you, not fulfill a duty.

A Touch of Humor - Taxing Issue

Is it possible to misinterpret ancient writings by interpreting them based on our time? How can we avoid this?

Old Erich Proverb - Own Person

We are not our own person; we are created by and belong to God.

A Voice from the Past - Gregory of Nazianzen

God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will be are fragments of our time and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being. And this is the Name He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount.

Gregory of Nazianzen, 330-390 AD, Oration XXXVIII, On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ, VII, (translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, T & T Clarke and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996, Second Series, Vol VII, p.346).

What does it mean that God is eternal and outside time? What implications does this have for our everyday life?

Reinventing Himself

Robin Samson stared across his desk at his assistant James Johnson. And he was shaking his head because Johnson was telling him he should not do what he wanted to do. Samson was not at all pleased. As heir of the Samson fortune, he was the president of Innovation Unlimited and had large sums of money to do what he wished. But he was a rather ordinary man who owed what he had to his father's efforts. However, he planned to change all that. And Johnson was trying to talk him out of it.

"You cannot somehow define yourself based on a machine," stated Johnson. "You cannot define yourself at all. You need to understand yourself based on something objective, like God."

"Nonsense." replied Samson, "The machine will remake my body and mental processes into who I want to be. All I have to do is choose."

The next day Samson entered the machine and chose to become the shrewd business man. He found his mind bubbling with things he could do with his money. He invested it and traded it and came out with much more than he had originally. And he ended up wondering why he was bothering. He had had plenty of money to begin with with. Plus he had the feeling that money was beginning to run him rather than the other way around. He needed a different option.

Next he tried the party-going ladies' man. For a while it was a blast. Several failed relationships and hangovers later, he looked back on his experiences. They seemed to be all empty thrills and nothing permanent. After all, he was not really looking for anything permanent.  Also, he found he needed more and bigger experiences to give him the same stimulation. And he was beginning to wonder where he would end up. In an alley somewhere with a overdose of heroin? Also, he felt like he was neglecting all the rest of his life. Back to the machine again.

He chose the adventurous he-man for the next round. He drove fast cars and went hang-gliding.  He drove ATVs over rough country and learned to parachute. He went lion hunting in Africa and surfing in Hawaii. But he found once more that he needed more and more dangerous experiences to give himself the same thrill. And he was worried that he would end up trying something that would leave him dead or seriously injured. He had some very close calls motorbiking up narrow mountain roads. Also, not only was he neglecting to rest of his life, but he was spending money so fast that if he did not quit, he would have to become the shrewd businessman again to avoid going broke.

He decided on the social crusader for the next round. He recycled, gave to charity, and worked for political causes. But as time went on, he begin to question how much good he was doing. Were the charities and politicians really helping? Was the world really improving or gradually growing worse? There seemed to be contrary opinions to every cause he was advocating. Who was really right? And even if he was right, could he find any way to accomplish anything in spite of the opposition?

Samson sat down, himself again, and asked the hard questions. Which of these options should he choose, or should he try something else? How should he try to define himself? What should he base it on? How could he make a decision if he was choosing in some sort of a vacuum? Maybe he needed to talk to Johnson.

Led Into Difficulty

One of the things that stands out in the account of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee is that the disciples were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do (Mark4:35-41). This was not like the case of Jonah, where God told him to go one way and Jonah ran the other (see the book of Jonah). In that case, we are not surprised when God sends a storm to put Jonah back on track. But the disciples could ask the question, “Why did God send a storm when we were doing what Jesus said to do?” We are not explicitly given the answer to this question, but we can see in the context that this storm became an opportunity for the disciples to know more about Jesus and who He was. Perhaps this is a large part of what it means when it says God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

It is often in the difficult times that we learn more about God and who He is. I don’t know what your reaction to this is, but there is a petty, selfish part of me that wants to rise up and say, “Why can’t God leave me alone? Do I have to be super-spiritual? Can’t I just slide through life and be satisfied with knowing God reasonably well?” This whole approach is, of course, predicated on the idea that life is about what I want, not what God wants. But it is also firmly rooted in fear. “What am I going to have to go through to be what God wants me to be?” But God isn’t willing to let us settle for that. He has no intention of letting us settle for anything less than being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Should we settle for anything less either? The end result of the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Is this not worth passing through a few storms?

Being a Servant

What does it mean to be a servant? Scripture makes it clear that the chief in the kingdom will be the servant of all (Mark 10:42-45; Luke 22:24-30; John 13:3-17). It should be noted that we are not called to serve an organization but to serve people. This is important because it is easy to focus on keeping the organization running. Now the organization is important because it enables us to help people. But sometimes we can see people as the cogs in the machinery to make our organization work. This is to get the whole thing backwards. Also, we can see serving as being involved in certain obvious positions, such as preacher or worship team leader. But God calls us to serve people in our own way and according to the way He has gifted us (1 Peter 4:10,11; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-21). This means that the people who do things in the background can be as important as those who are prominent (1 Corinthians 12:22-25). That the people who encourage others behind the scenes or make repairs on the building or teach children or count the offering money or run the sound system are all important. This is what it means to be a servant: to take the work God has given you and to do it well.  

What, then, is involved in being a servant? It means putting others before ourselves (Philippians 2:3-11; Romans 12:10; Galatians 5:13). This involves not being concerned about our own things but being willing to put other’s things first . Now it does not help if we have convinced ourselves that the thing we are fighting for is our ministry. We can feel that by defending this thing that belongs to us we are serving God; we can be concerned for our thing over the things of others and feel justified in doing so. We are also told that love will cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4:1-6; Colossians 3:12-14). Now if the main thing we are interested in are our personal things, then we will be tempted to correct people for every fault when it interferes with our agenda. But while Scripture does tell us to correct sin (Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15-17; Hebrews 12:12,13), if we are acting as servants we will do this in the right way and only when it is needed. And most of all, if we are true servants we will give God the glory (1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 4:11). For if we are looking for our own glory, we will receive nothing from God (Matthew 6:1-18). But it is always easy to fall into that mindset, that the important thing is whether we are praised or appreciated. Rather, we should focus on who we are serving, knowing it is from Him we will receive our reward (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).