In Love with the Bible

Learning to love God's Word

Past Posts

A Couple of Thoughts from Mark 8:38

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Mark 8:38 reads, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” The term “adulterous and sinful generation” describes every generation. No matter when we live, there will be people who mock Christ’s followers. The question for me is: Will I be ashamed of the world’s adulterous and sinful ways or will I be ashamed of Jesus?

Looking at this verse brought to mind Jeremiah 8:9, “The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?” While there are many things that can be learned from people who reject God’s word, I should expect to find some errors in their thinking—they are missing the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Those who reject God’s word are living from a faulty worldview. I think this is one reason I can afford to let the world laugh at me. By choosing Jesus, I’m choosing true wisdom.

Ramblings that began with Mark 5:1-20

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Mark 5 begins with the story of an untamable demoniac. He breaks the chains people have used to try and restrain him. He lives his life among the tombs, where he screams and cuts himself with stones. (The Greek word indicates these cuts were not little nicks. Mangle is one of the synonyms my dictionary gave.) When Jesus casts the many demons out of the man, they tell Jesus to give them permission to go into a herd of pigs. Jesus lets them, and what do they do? They drive the pigs off a cliff and into the water below. Hosting demons is not a symbiotic relationship!

I have never believed that Satan has the welfare of people in mind, but reading the story this week left me thinking about how much he loves to destroy people. Currently I’m reading a book written by a man who, with his family, ministered to drug addicts and prostitutes—people who in looking for a little pleasure or some freedom from old restraints found something quite different. Because of where they lived, the author’s children “had a very real appreciation of just what sin does to people. They see beyond the thin, glamorous veil to the pain and hurt beneath…Our children have a healthy understanding of the true nature of sin and its effects.”

I find myself wondering if I have a healthy understanding of the true nature of my sin and its effects. My sins allow me to go through life looking fairly normal, without the obvious self-destruction of drugs and prostitution. Do I really understand the hurtful nature of a “little” selfishness, an unkind thought, or looking for the easiest path? Do I really understand how small my love is and the harm that brings? Do I understand that when God calls me to be willing to take risks for him it is dangerous to want to stay in my comfort zone? Do I understand that choosing my own path does not lead to where I truly want to go?

The value of a path is in its ability to take us to the desired destination. Satan offers a path that promises pleasure and ease, but ends in destruction. God offers a path that promises challenges beyond our own ability to cope, but it ends in a life worth living and an eternity of enjoying his company.

A Look at 1 Chronicles 29:14

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I am currently reading through the Bible, and just recently finished reading 1 Chronicles. Chapter 29:14 is a verse I’m familiar with—in fact I know a song based on it—but it spoke to me in a new way. Here’s the verse: “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this. For all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee” (NASB). David is in the process of collecting materials for Solomon to build a temple for God. He is not proud of the generosity of the people, he is awed by God’s goodness that made the generosity possible. And that is the truth that really struck me this time. “We give Thee but Thine own,” says the hymn, and for me it has been an intellectual understanding that we give back to God what he has first given us. But this time the phrase, “and from Thy hand we have given to Thee,” was more than a concept, and it applies to more than my finances.

There is nothing I can do and nothing that I can give without God first giving to me—gifts, skills, and resources are all things that come from him. I take from his hand to serve him and to serve those around me. When what I do blesses or benefits another, it is appropriate to be pleased. It is, however, a pleasure that should be expressed as gratitude toward God. My own natural tendency is to feel pride, which easily leads to me taking more credit than is due to me. I want to rejoice in being a blessing to others, but I need to know I am not the source of the blessing. God is the true giver. I want my joy to be in him and what he has been able to do in and through me. I want a joy-filled gratitude, not a joy-filled pride.

A Look at 2 Peter 2:13b-14

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The second chapter of 2 Peter centers on false prophets and teachers. Peter describes them as sensual, greedy, using people to gain their own ends, and having no esteem for authority (including God’s). He warns of the dangers that come from such people. Here’s how Peter describes them in verses 13b-14: “They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!” (ESV) In studying this book there were two things that particularly struck me in these two verses.

The first is in the phrase, “They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime.” The word “revel” implies indulgent pleasure, softness, luxuriousness. What intrigued me was that my dictionary said the root of the word means to break up, or to enfeeble—especially the mind and the body through indulgence. I know my own tendency to want the soft, easy choices in life—one that is supported by a message from the world that I deserve to be indulged. But at the cost of enfeebling my own mind and body? Seems a bit pricey—it makes indulgence seem less attractive.

The second thing I noticed was that these people have trained their hearts in greed. Whether or not any of them initially set out to deceive and exploit others (verse 3), they made choices along the way that did train their hearts in greed—even if unintentionally. If I do not wish to be like them, I need to train my heart differently. I choose to think of the goal as training my heart in righteousness, which opposes both self-indulgent pleasures and greed.

I find practical application is easy to find for these verses. Opportunities for indulgence abound, which in turn gives many opportunities to train my heart in righteousness. Here’s a couple of examples. I took a quiz to see how susceptible I was to food addiction—I scored a 9 out of 10—and I’m changing the way I eat. Also, when it’s too hot/cold to take a walk, I’m learning to walk anyway. These are not matters of righteousness, but they do train me to make choices based on something besides my desires. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul said, “I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” All my choices, not just the “spiritual” ones, can serve to train me in greed or in righteousness. The apparent freedom of self-indulgence is not freedom at all, it is slavery. In 2 Peter 2:19 it says, “They promise them [the people they are seeking to deceive] freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” Remembering the cost of indulgence can help remind me to seek God’s help when the right choice is hard.

A Look at 2 Peter 1:5-8

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2 Peter begins by telling us some of the things God has done for us to equip us to live for him. Then verses 5-8 tell us the response we should have to God’s work: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (ESV)

There are three things I see about these qualities that Peter says we should be growing in. First, faith is clearly foundational—these qualities supplement our faith. Secondly, continual growth in these attributes is the goal, not perfection. Thirdly, if they can keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful, it is clear that we can have a knowledge of Jesus that is ineffective and unfruitful. I do not want my knowledge of Jesus to merely mean I am not a pagan. I want to be a part of building his kingdom and helping others to see, know, and love him.

Here are some things I’ve learned about these qualities:

  • Virtue—valor, that which gives a person his/her worth, excellency, courage, fortitude, and resolution. There’s a sense of the heroic in this—helping justice triumph.
  • Knowledge—this word implies an insight and understanding of a subject that influences the one who has the knowledge. It is more than just knowing facts. When I think about this quality I see two kinds of knowledge I need: the knowledge of what God calls good (because it isn’t always the same as what people call good) and the knowledge of his grace to equip me to do the good he desires me to do.
  • Self-control—it is hard for me to see a way I could excel in virtue, steadfastness, or godliness if I’m lacking this one.
  • Steadfastness—this refers to the ability to face difficult things or circumstances without losing hope.
  • Godliness—this word comes from “good” and “worship/reverence.” It is the good behavior that flows from a right relationship with God. I have come to think of this as a life that finds joy in who God is and that reflects his character to the world.
  • Brotherly affection (phileo)—this word denotes the kind of feelings we have for friends.
  • Love (agape)—this is the kind of love that seeks the welfare of others—whether or not there are any feelings of affection

Side Note: I’ve encountered an opinion that agape is more important than phileo. God says we need both. Probably all of us have had the experience of being quite irritated by people we genuinely care for—what is best for them is not always our primary concern at those times. But I would also say that there are relationships where agape cannot stand alone either. If my husband ever tells me his love for me is fully agape because he is now free of all feelings of affection, I will not be pleased! Affection should be a core part of some relationships.

This scripture encourages me to pursue two areas of meditation. One is to meditate on the qualities themselves. What do they mean? What connections do I see between them? How might they work together? What does my life look like if these qualities are being lived out in me? The other is to meditate on how to be continually growing in them. Two of these qualities, self-control and love, are listed in the fruit of the Spirit, which certainly indicates this list is not just some sort of self-improvement project. We are, however, told these qualities should be increasing. To me that indicates the need to develop some patterns that help promote ongoing growth in these areas. What’s my part? What’s God’s part? I’m still pondering that.

Lessons from Galatians and Titus

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I recently finished studying the books of Galatians and Titus. Both are books written by Paul, but each has a completely different focus. I would not call them polar opposites, but studying Titus after Galatians gave me pause. The Galatians had bought into the concept that being a good Christian meant keeping the law. Paul wonders what happened to their sense of blessing and why they think they can finish by their own efforts what was begun in the Spirit. Titus was dealing with Christians who seem to think it’s okay to do whatever they want. He is told to make certain the Cretans devote themselves to good works. (Using two different words for good—what is beneficial and what is innately good.) On one hand, it’s pretty easy to see that the messages were different because the audience was different. But I am one person. The question for me was how to apply both books to my life.

When I finished Galatians I found myself particularly drawn to Galatians 2:19b-20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me.” What does my everyday life look like if, in faith, I am living life both as crucified and with Christ living in me? I was still pondering this when I began studying Titus.

When I finished Titus my take away was a prayer that God would give me wisdom to accurately evaluate the benefit or value of the way I use my time. I was still regularly reflecting on the question from Galatians: how to live the reality that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” In considering both the call in Titus to good works and the call in Galatians to live in faith I had these thoughts:

  • Part of living in faith is trusting that God will lead me to the particular good works he desires me to do.
  • The good works are not to be a work of human effort, but God’s work through me.
  • God alone can correctly evaluate the benefit and value of any work—it’s good to pray about any undertaking I’m considering.

To me, this lessened the contrast between the messages in Galatians and in Titus. But I was still asking God what it looks like to live the life Paul referred to in Galatians.

One day, as I was thinking about Galatians, I found my mind wandering to a book, Resilience, which is based on letters a Navy Seal sent to a fellow Seal who was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The Seal with PTSD had become an alcoholic and the author asked him, “What kind of alcoholic do you want to be?” I thought that was an excellent question. Being an alcoholic means you have a problem with alcohol, but it doesn’t say anything about the response to it. And then I sensed God saying to me, “So, what kind of sinner do you want to be?” I think my difficulty with Galatians was that I know I am a sinner. And while I would like to say that Jesus has full control of my life, I know it is not the truth. I have a sin problem—just like an alcoholic has an alcohol problem. The question is, “What am I going to do about it?”

I want to be the kind of sinner who is repentant, who makes restitution, and who looks to Jesus when faced with temptation. I want to be the kind of sinner who does not have confidence in myself, but in Christ and his completed work on the cross. I want to be the kind of sinner who relies on God’s grace to love and serve. I want to be the kind of sinner who loves Jesus and welcomes him into my life—inviting him to reign whenever I recognize that I’ve been living for myself again. I want to be the kind of sinner who walks humbly with God; the kind of sinner God can use.

Considering the question, “What kind of sinner do you want to be?” enabled me to change my focus. It is true that I sin—sometimes by choice—but things happen when Jesus is at work in the life of a sinner. Christ does live in me. It makes a difference.

One take away about meditation from this experience is that it is not always a negative thing when one’s mind wanders while meditating on scripture. Instead of just trying to focus back on scripture, in the future I’d like to remember to first ask God if there is something he wants me to learn from my wandering mind. It just might be the Holy Spirit.