Deepening Your Spiritual Life X

An Introductory Note about II Timothy

We know from I Timothy 1:3, that Timothy was located in Ephesus for long term development of that ministry. This second letter is written to Timothy from prison, most likely in Rome (II Timothy 1:17). The tears mentioned in II Timothy 1:3 seem to be related to his meeting at Miletus (Acts 20:17-38) where Paul summons the elders of Ephesus (which would have included Timothy as the lead elder) to bid them a farewell before heading to Jerusalem. Paul is arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27ff), which eventually takes him to Caesarea (Acts 23:23ff ), where he is tried before Governor Felix (resulting in a two year imprisonment (Acts 24:27), and then tried by the new governor Festus and Roman puppet Hasmonean King Herod Agrippa before shipping off to Rome. The point here is that this is a letter sent to Timothy from prison in the twilight of Paul’s life and ministry. The letter continues the encouragement of his son in the faith, albeit with a little more passion.

II Timothy 1-2

If the letter is from Rome, Paul has not seen Timothy in more than three years at this writing. Chapter 1, verses 5-7, give us the chance to pause and thank God for our spiritual heritage and history. Timothy is a third generation Christian who has a very real history of God being active in his life. It is vital for us to return to home base and remember what has brought us this far. I love to sit with pastors and hear them tell their call to ministry stories, because it helps me remember and update my call. I love to hear Christians tell their story of how they came to faith in Christ, because it stirs me to remember my own salvation story. Verse 7 is worthy of our memorization,

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Leander Keck, in his book, The Church Confident, invites the contemporary church to raise questions and even be self-critical but “it must not whimper.” In verses 8-12, we are reminded that our confidence in Christ is not empty, but is rooted in the coming, death, resurrection and second coming. As you read verse 12, some of you might be hearing in your mind the words of the great hymn, “I Know Whom I Have Believed.”

In II Timothy 1:15-2:13, Paul invites Timothy to stay strong, even though he is seeing casualties all around him (people falling from the faith). He uses the illustrations of a good soldier, a winning athlete, and the diligent farmer to encourage ongoing discipline and perseverance. I continue to enjoy Malcom Gladwell’s The Outliers. One of his chapters talks about the southern Chinese and their work in the rice paddies. The average work week (the longest in the world) is more than 60 hours of back-breaking tedious labor. One of the lasting legacies for the southern Chinese as they migrate through the world is that they stay at a task for as long as it takes to complete it or as long as it takes to solve a problem. Gladwell offers this tenacity and perseverance as part of the reason they tend to out-perform their western counterparts. Paul is encouraging that same dimension in our Christian life.

It is important to Paul that Timothy not be discouraged because of Paul’s extended imprisonment. I wonder if Paul hasn’t gotten a letter from Timothy to that effect. Paul serves the risen Christ. He may be in chains, but the gospel is not. God will be faithful, so we can count on him. At the close of the three-day-retreat, “The Walk to Emmaus,” pilgrims say to one another, “I am counting on Christ,” and then the other pilgrim responds, “And Christ is counting on you.” In tough times where there is misunderstanding, persecution, and losses, can Christ count on us?

The last section of II Timothy 2 (vss. 14ff) invites the young leader to keep his focus: to avoid distraction of things that are superfluous or false, to “flee the evil desires of youth,” and to maintain a peaceable and kind attitude with people. One of the key attributes of healthy leadership is the ability to maintain an unanxious presence in difficult times and with contentious people. The times we live in have an abundance of both difficulty and contention, so the chance to develop unanxious presence are all around us. Have a great evening in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Deepening Your Christian Life IX

You may have noticed that I changed the name of the blogs in this section to "Deepening Your Christian Life". Remember that our goal in developing a deeper relationship with God is our total transformation, not just of our spiritual life but in every dimension of life.

I Timothy 5:1-16 (Widows in the Church)

In New Testament times, the plight of any woman not connected to aristocracy or great wealth was very difficult. They had no right to property and there was no means for their care once the husband died. During New Testament times, the average man lived only into middle age, so there were many widows in various stages of life. Paul calls for them to be cared for according to their age and situation. The ones who had the greatest need were widows without family above the age of sixty. If they were of good character and service then they could be put on "the widows list" to be cared for. The church became the older widow's substitute family. Since there were no other means of care available, this was a great responsibility and we can see why Paul would narrow the list this way. Strong instruction is given to families to care for their elderly parents or grandparents. Paul writes that not caring for elderly parents is tantamount to denying the Christian faith. He counsels the young widows to marry again. How does this passage relate to our own day and time? What levels of care can we offer today's widows or widowers?

I Timothy 5:17-25 (Treatment/Payment of Elders and Other Leadership issues)

The position of elder is becoming a little clearer. One of the primary responsibilities of elders was preaching/teaching. He calls for them to have double honor and includes the possibility of financial support in verse 18. You can see from this passage why United Methodists could see the ordained elder fitting here. Accusations against an elder must be with two or more witnesses. We live in a day when betrayal of trust by clergy has become front-page and CNN news. This has made the credibility of those who have not violated public trust objects of extra scrutiny and sometimes false accusations. How might Paul's guidance here help us?

In verse 22, Timothy is not to be hasty about empowering and ordaining people to be elders. They must have a vibrant faith, great character and time of proving to see if they are a fit for such a life. In the United Methodist Church, elders, deacons, and lay pastors all go through a detailed background check, educational course work, and a series of interviews to see if the pastoral ministry is really for them. While God calls people to ministry, the church ordains. For ordination to happen there must be both God's yes and the church's yes.

Verse 23 has Paul's encouragement for Timothy to add some wine to his diet. Many have asked what the position of the United Methodist Church is about drinking alcohol. Honesty requires that we say that the bible does not forbid with alcohol. We are told not to be "filled with wine, but rather be filled with the Spirit." Drunkenness is considered sin in scripture. The long-standing but only somewhat practiced standard concerning drinking alcohol is as follows: recommended abstinence for laity and required abstinence for clergy. Many see this standard as archaic and it does come from very old documents of the Methodist Church. At the level of practice there is encouragement for moderation for laity and recommended abstinence for clergy. I have chosen to follow the standard of required abstinence as part of my commitment to Christ as an elder in the United Methodist Church. When I visit in homes and they have alcohol with their meals, I encourage them to do as they choose and I respectfully ask for a diet coke or iced tea. I do believe that serving alcohol at church gatherings should be discouraged, mainly because we have many members of the church who struggle with alcoholism, either in recovery or in non-recovery. Why should we put such a stumbling block in front of people who struggle with alcohol? Many argue with me saying they should have the right to drink when they wish, even at church gatherings. I am always uneasy when we are talking about Christian community and emphasize individual rights over care for one another. This is an issue where there is intense difference of opinion within the church.

I Timothy 6:1-2 (Is the bible pro-slavery?)

The backdrop of the New Testament is one in which most of the population was considered a slave to Rome. Paul , in some of his letters, calls himself a "bondslave" (Greek doulos) of Christ. Many if not most of the people in the churches would have been slaves of one kind or another. Paul, in all of his writings, encourages slaves to be excellent servants to their masters as a means of being a powerful witness for Christ. If the master is Christian, then the service of the slaves becomes a statement of brotherhood or sisterhood in Christ. Throughout his letters, Paul tends not to take on the social status quo: patriarchy, slavery, absolute parental authority, etc. But he does encourage the subordinate person to approach their position from a point of strength - choosing to serve rather than waiting to be compelled to serve. The interesting thing about Christian history is that wherever the gospel takes hold, movements of liberation and freedom follow.

I Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19 (Money and the faith)

The Bible is not anti-money or anti-wealth, but the Bible is anti-materialistic, anti-selfish, and anti-love-of money. John Wesley's great fear, at the close of the 18th century as he saw the church become more than he had expected, was that we would allow money and upward mobility to separate us from the poor and downtrodden. We have lived to fulfill his fear. His encouragement to Timothy here echoes Philippians 4, namely seeking godliness and contentment (which is true great gain). It also reflects Matthew 6:25-34 in the teachings of Jesus about seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This is most difficult to follow. The whole USAmerican economy is based on keeping you and me in some form of discontent. For the very wealthy, Paul counsels them to see their wealth at God's disposal for the sake of others. Generosity is one of the great and most liberating virtues in life, and each of us is called to find the level in which we can be faithful to God.

I Timothy 6:11-16, 20-21 (A Concluding Charge)

From the beginning the primary agenda has been to encourage steadfastness and purity in Timothy over against the many challenges and temptations around him. He also lifts up the greatness of Christ in a beautiful doxology ins verses 14-16. Paul is being a great mentor. As a growing Christian, it is likely that you both need a mentor and also need to be a mentor to someone else. Who might those people be in your life? See you tomorrow.

Deepening Your Christian Life VIII

I Timothy 3 (A Word on Church Structure)

One of the latest movements to hit the church is what is called "The Organic Church" movement. It's main critique of the post-Constanine era of the Church (4th century CE and afterwards) is that it takes its structure of ministry from pagan sources (George Barna and Frank Viola are major proponents). Let's be honest - the church has always used pagan means to spread the gospel. Paul spread the gospel throughout the Gentile world on Roman roads that were built for military and commercial purposes. The Doxology we sing on Sunday morning comes from French folk music tht was not sacred. Many of the tunes we sing in our hymnal were melodies in public domain. Many of the great songs in Handel's Messiah were taken from his failed secular operas. The different translations of the Bible are reflective of the sacred and secular trends in communication at the time. Christianity is a divine movement working through human beings who communicate in human ways. The United Methodist Church leadership is structured with bishops (executive), conferences (legislative)and a judicial council to take care of doctrinal and procedural disputes. Wonder where they came up with such a structure? It is reflective of the way leadership was structured in the birthing of our nation.

To even proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord was to state allegiance to Jesus when Roman society was already calling Caesar "king of kings and lord of lords." To proclaim the kingdom of God was to present an alternative form to the secular kingdom already in existence. Last but not least, the term "church" was a Roman term for a voluntary gathering of people who met in homes and other places to share common concerns, raise money for causes, and in many cases, partipate in the worship of Caesar. Now hear with new ears the words of Jesus to Peter, "Upon this rock, I will build MY church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." I submit that there is no such thing as a sacred structure for leadership in the Bible. The sacredness is in the mission and in the Lord we serve. I believe the Lord will use mightily the home church movement (organic or otherwise) and where it seeks to correct the excesses of the organized church (of which there are many) may it be also used greatly. I pray that many come to know Jesus Christ as Lord through that movement. But I believe that its desire for a church free of pagan structure is an argument that ends up being an argument with Paul("to the Jew I become a Jew, to the Greek as a Greek...") and with Christ himself.

The second thing in behind the home church movement is one that formed many of our denominations, the attempt to regain the vibrancy and Spirit of the New Testament Church, particularly as described in the book of Acts. The Church of Christ is just one example of a church that calls itself "a New Testament Church". That's why they find no justification for instrumental music (not part of the worship in the early church) and even see instrumental music as part of secular society (The Romans used orchestral instruments for pagan ceremony and political and military parades as well as for the persecution of Christians). My argument here is the same as the above paragraphs. Yes, let us return and rediscover our first love for Christ and our passion to reach people with the life-changing, world-changing love of Jesus Christ. Let us return and reclaim shared life in community that does more than pay lip service to "love one another" and "bear each other's burdens." Let us return to a ministry in which the ministers are not those who are paid to lead, but include every person in the body of Christ. But the New Testament leadership structure and worship/music is reflective of who they were (fledgling small communities often in very large towns). To speak of the church in Corinth is to speak of "the Church in Lubbock" with less than 50 people in it. The growth of the gospel pushed the church into new structures, not paganism. The New Testament Church was a movement of the Holy Spirit among God's people to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That is what we are called to rediscover, not some New Testament version of structure or method of worship.

In fact, I will be even more daring. What has been known as United Methodist is passing away before our eyes - the Methodist way of doing things. What was the Methodist movement? It was a move of the Holy Spirit that caught fire during the Industrial Revolution. It has served us well for more than 250 years. The distinctives of the United Methodist movement can and must be kept: salvation as both a gift and growth process in love, grace as the primary way God operates with us, preaching the gospel in the highways, marketplaces and workplaces (including the digital ones), and the placement of the kingdom way of life in every part of society. But those distinctives must be reclaimed and recast in a way that makes sense to 21st century people. Behold the death of the United Methodist Church as it presently is! Do not despair. It is our opportunity. For Good Friday/Easter has already taught us that following death is resurrection - a whole new chapter of life and witness among the people called United Methodists. Pray for that and be part of it.

What does this have to do with our scripture lesson? The above soapbox oratory was prompted by the structure of elders (overseers in some translations) and deacons in I Timothy 3. While it is not entirely clear how these leaders were used, it is clear that in the church by the time of Timothy that leadership structure was emerging. Notice the qualifactions of elders: above reproach both inside and outside the church, in a healthy and godly marriage and family situation, self-controlled in habits, emotions and passions, gentle and not quarrelsome, not money-driven and not a recent convert. I find it interesting that talents and spiritual gifts are not even mentioned here (as is the case in I Corinthians and Ephesians). The clear emphasis here in church leadership is on character and a growing and authentic relationship with God and with others around them. What if that were our first priority in selecting church leaders? Would it change how we do things? The priorities of a deacon are not much different. Most people see elders as performing administrative and spiritual leadership in the church while deacons offer leadership primarily in service both in the church and community. In the United Methodist Church we have made these two leadership positions clergy positions. When I was a Presbterian, these positions were served by groups of lay people. We know that at first these positions had to be lay people, but there is some evidence that they were specially selected and had hands laid on them (a lay ordination of sorts). So which is the proper New Testament structure for deacons and elders? See the first three paragraphs of the tirade above! lol.

I like the way Paul finishes the chapter. Godly leadership is a holy mystery, demonstrated to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Following Jesus in his teachings and in his love is the best way to true Christian leadership both in the Church and in the world.

I Timothy 4

Paul returns to the problem of "false teachers." The problem here added is tendency to add to the requirements of the gospel. John Wesley taught that we should only require of people what is necessary for salvation. Beyond that there was lots of room for differences. In his words, "If your heart is as my heart, take my hand." The rumor is that as a United Methodist you can believe just about anything. That is not true. But once you get past faith in Christ, love of neighbor, and holiness both personally and in society, there is lots of room for diversity and varieties of gifts among us!

Chapter 4, verses 11-16 are Paul's words of strong encouragement (more like a kick in the seat of the pants to "get after it"). Timothy is not to underrate his power or right to lead because he is young. True Christian leadership is not based on age, whether young, middle-aged or old. In fact, leadership from all three is optimum and should be nurtured. The last four verses could easily sum up our strategy for deepening our Christian lives - Scripture (public reading, preaching and teaching), sharing your gifts (we do seem to have special gifts that are set loose in our lives because of the move of God's Spirit in us), holiness of life and doctrine, and, from other parts even of this letter, prayer. Notice the language of discipline in these words: set the example, be diligent,and persevere (stay at it). In the end, Paul says that will be saving for Timothy and those who hear him. There's salvation as gift and growth process again. There is so much more I could say, but this entry is already a tome. I look forward to your responses.

Deepening Your Spiritual Life VII

I Timothy 1&2

I hope your time in Meditation on Scripture was meaningful last night. It was a blessing to me to see you allow Psalm 103 get up close and personal. This week's readings will center on building our lives on God's Word as we experience it through Holy Scripture. I hope you notice what I just wrote. We don't just read the Bible to get helpful information and guidance, we read God's Word to encounter Christ, the Word who became flesh. Remember our goal in deepening our Christian life - total transformation. Concerning God's Word, we might consider the words of Jesus from the end of the "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 7:24-27,

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Have we sung the little children's song about this passage so much that we no longer hear its words. Our lives are to be founded on God's Word, both knowing it and practicing it. I know so much more than I practice, how about you?

The letters to Timothy are written during a time when there were many competing philosphies and teachings (not unlike our own day). Believers were easily led astray by "false teachers" (not unlike our own day). Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him to be strong in his faith and fervent in proclaiming God's truth. Timothy is a son in the faith to Paul (I Timothy 1:2) and Paul sees him as a key person to take the faith to the next generation. Never has the need been more pronounced to bring along a new generation of leaders than the one we are in. The present bankruptcy of the church (spiritual and missional)is partly due to the fact that the church got comfortable in its relative success and did not mentor leaders for the present generation. Regrettably, I can show that trend in every level of the church. We forgot that the church is always one generation from extinction.

After his greeting, Paul immediately addresses the problem of "false teachers". While the dominant ones were gnosticism, that set up Jesus amidst a hierarchy of beings, and docetism,that denied that the Son of God could take upon himself the sins of the world, there were also others who wanted to implement a new Jewish legalism into the Christian faith and still others who wanted to take obscure parts of scripture and create exotic versions of the Christian faith. An contemporary example of exotic use of traditional religion would be Kaballah with Judaism(remember Madonna among others in the entertainment industry). But there is a more widespread practice done by self-appointed biblica experts who take certain images and make more of them than the Scriptures ever did. Some studies of the tabernacle, the food laws, and an overuse of Messianic interpretations of the Old Testament would be just some examples. When anyone says to you that they have gotten a new revelation from God that no one else has, run!

In chapter 1, verses 12-17, Paul shares with thanksgiving his conversion story. Remember that we started the class with our BC/AD stories. It's important to remember your story of faith as a way of staying rooted in both changing and trying times. Paul finishes the chapter by calling Timothy to stay strong and "fight the good fight", even admist some high profile people who have fallen away. I'm not sure we realize as USAmericans how easy we have had it in our faith. For a few generations, the Christian point of view was the dominant one (not that we all necessarily lived by that view!), but we are now part of an era where faith will once again suffer and be persecuted. There are and will be casualties as some step away. We too will have to "fight the good fight" in following Christ.

Chapter 2:1-8 is a wild paragraph, as Paul launches into a "stream of consciousness" discussion about prayer. We are to pray for those in governmental authority. Are we as prone to pray for the one that we did not vote for or just complain? Notice in verse 4 says that God wants all people to be saved. Regrettably, my NIV Study Bible says in the commentary,"On the other hand, the Bible indicates that God chooses some (not all) people to be saved." Just because we see that only some respond to God, does not mean that God didn't choose them. All have sinned and all can find salvation in Jesus Christ. Some just choose not to live in their chosenness, but choose selfishness and resistance to God instead. Let's not make that God's doing.

Would that chapter 2 had ended at verse 8! First, I will address what is positive about verses 9-15. The call to modesty in how one dresses and how much bling is worn is a good one. Our worship of God and our following of Christ is not for self-glorification. And there isn't a preacher, teacher, scholar, or even servant of people that doesn't need to die to self-glorification on a regular basis. This does not mean that we should abase ourselves and demean ourselves with how we dress. But it does mean that we should not flaunt our looks or personality to a degree that they become the message or ends in themselves. We have a message to share and a kingdom to demonstrate and nothing should get in the way.

Chapter 2, verses 11-15, remind me that the Bible was written in real historical times with particular structures. The Jewish faith was highly patriarchal and Roman society was very harsh toward women. Some defend this writing, saying that the early Christian women were often of ill repute and needed to be quiet. Paul's justification of his position is based on created order (Adam first then Eve) and Eve's disobedience in the garden of Eden (which Adam also shared in without hearing from the snake!). For me, this argument does not work and has been used even to the present day to justify the persecution and stifling of women. While I am not a fan of taking to heart only the passages of the Bible you agree with, I cannot hold these five verses in the esteem that I hold most of the rest of the Bible. I welcome your comments.

Deepening Your Spiritual Life VI

II Samuel 21:15-23:7

We now arrive at the closing months of David’s life. How a person finishes the race of life often says a lot about who he or she is and has been. II Samuel 21:15-21 tells that David is no longer able to be in battle. How about that Philistine with 24 digits (12 fingers and 12 toes)? It reminds me of some of the characters in the superhero cartoons or the Mortal Kombat series. Since the latter days of Moses till the end of the life of David, the Israelites are contending with “the giants in the land.”

Chapter 22 is a jubilant Psalm of Thanksgiving as David consider the how God had delivered him and sustained him through the challenges of his life. You might want to join him and survey your own life for how God has delivered and sustained you. I invite you to write out your personal psalm of thanksgiving. It will be a blessing, and if you tuck it in the pages of your Bible, you might find it again someday and it will remind you of just how blessed you are. Curtis Borland just sent me an e-video presentation that said on one slide, “You are too blessed to be stressed.” One of the old hymns I learned as a kid sings similarly,

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Randall Thompson has written a stirring version of II Samuel 23:3-4, entitled “The Last Words of David”. “One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.” The song is often sung at inaugurations and coronations of world leaders and you can locate it on You Tube for free. I like the Westminster Choir version, but there is also one from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. For me, this is a reminder to pray for our world leaders and also to examine my own places of leadership, not that I rule but servant lead in the fear of God. For we really are responsible to God for how we lead and there is accountability for our words, actions, and attitudes.

Psalm 103

More on our prayer theme of thanksgiving is stirred by this great Psalm of David. I’m thinking of several different songs that lift this up from Rachmaninoff (Classical) to Andrae Crouch (Black Gospel) to Stephen Schwartz in Godspell (Rock Opera). Do take time to read this Psalm aloud. We will also share it in our class this evening. Notice the great themes for thanksgiving: forgiveness, healing, redemption, steadfast love, satisfaction with good things, vindication and justice, mercy and grace, and for his just rule over life and the world. How might these themes apply to your life and what prayers of thanksgiving might you give to the LORD? I really like verses 11 and 12, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.” Forgiveness really is complete in the LORD.

Psalm 108

You have already seen this one in Psalm 57, so we do have a repeat in the Psalms. Verses 7-13 will make more sense if you pull out a map, or better yet a biblical atlas. This Psalm of God’s victory for his people is jubilant and even has a little bit of swagger to it.

So how is your day of thanksgiving going? See you this evening.

"Deepening Your Spritual Life" V

II Samuel 13:1-19:8

I must apologize for an extremely busy day and am only logging in this blog very late tonight. I have added to the assigned reading so that you will have a fuller picture of the tragic relationship between David and Absalom. Trying to keep David's family straight is a challenge. Chapter 13 tells the horrifying story of the rape of David's daughter Tamar by Amnon, David's first-born. Phyllis Trible, famous Old Testament Scholar out of Union Theological Seminary, includes this in her book Texts of Terror. Jonadab, Amnon's brother is also involved hatching the plan for the rape. Following the rape, Amnon throws her out into the streets and she moves in with her full brother, Absalom. Interestingly, David takes no action against his son for his criminal actions. Chapter 13:21-29 tells the story of Absalom's revenge against his step-brother. Following the murder of Amnon, Absalom flees and stays away three years.

Chapter 14 tells how Joab tries to bring the father and son back together. It seems that David really wants to reconcile with Absalom, but at the same time, pride will not let him. Once Absalom is brought back to Jerusalem, he still is not permitted to see his father's face. Notice the description of Absalom's looks in 14:25-26. The story is heightened by the description of his gifts and potential. Eventually, Absalom's deep seated anger becomes a plot to overthrow David as king. The story of David's flight and the eventual demise of Absalom in chapters 15-18 is rivetingly tragic. The grief of David over the loss of his son strikes at the heart of every parent, "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you -- O Absalom , my son, my son!"

Psalm 3

The heading attributes this Psalm to David while he was in flight from the armies of Absalom. Absalom had cornered the leadership in Jerusalem and David was in real danger of being killed. Yet verses 5-6 share that David still takes confidence in the LORD and he is able to sleep at night. Read together, this Psalm and the II Samuel passage gives us a picture of the conflicted feelings of David. He is a king who must defend himself, his kingdom and its citizens, but he is also a dad. He grieves that their relationship has been sour for a long time and they never have been able to put things back together. All David can do is hang on to the grace and mercy of God. Sometimes in our broken relationships, that may be all we can do, as well. That's not the answer David wanted nor is it the one we want. But the good news even when loved ones choose a path of sin or even betrayal, God doesn't abandon us and is able to get us through.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" IV

II Samuel 11-12

After a successful military career and rise to power as King of Israel,including the elimination of rivals, David experiences the greatest risk of leaders - abuse of power (often as sexual indiscretion). It is easy for us to stand at a distance and pronounce words of shame on David as well as for leaders of our own time who have done the same - as if somehow we are beyond such behavior. It is worth noting that this tragedy happened at a time of great success for David; a warning that our greatest vulnerability can happen when things are going well. Because of the subject matter, you may want to switch from adoration to confession and return to adoration tomorrow. It's up to you.

The narrator is a great story teller beginning with the words, "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle.." David, as king, must stay away from the front lines, but I wonder if he didn't miss being there with the soldiers - the drama, the energy and the risk. The army is out putting their lives on the line, but David stays home and falls to his own desires. The story tells itself. David moves from being an adulterer, to a crass manipulator (calling Uriah from battle so he can sleep with his wife and cover up David's sin, even getting him drunk to try to help him be more cooperative), to a contract murderer (setting up Uriah for instant death on the front lines of battle). David believes he has covered his tracks perfectly, except before one: "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord."

The LORD sends the prophet Nathan who tells a story that baits the self-deceived king perfectly. David pronounces the man in Nathan's story guilty and calls for his death. Nathan then says, "You are the man." The baby dies shortly after childbirth as punishment for David's multiple sins. Have you noticed that in the Bible nobody gets away with anything? Numbers 32:23 seems to give a biblical principle in this regard,

"And be sure your sin will find you out."

And what of the credibility of the king from this point forward? His commander, Joab was obliged to carry out this horrible plan, as were the other men who backed off so the murder could happen. Will Bathsheba be able to trust that he won't do the same thing with someone else? Are we to assume that none of those people will talk about something so heinous? One of the books pastors in the Northwest Texas Conference have been required to read is entitled, Leadership and Self-Deception. Don has led some classes with it in the Master's Program. Face to face with his guilt, he writes Psalm 51.

Psalm 51

With nowhere to hide, David is forced to come clean before God. By now there is no hint of self-justification or blaming others in his words. His sin is not just against Uriah and Bathsheba, it is against God. Verses 3-4 stand out from his earlier self-deceiving actions.

"For I now my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment."

When we finally see our motivations and the evil in our actions and words, we realize we violate the relationship we have with God. At that spot, all we can do is plead for mercy, which David does.

He also prays for restoration. His relationship with God had been deteriorating before he ever committed adultery. He was full of his own success and busy holding the kingdom together. One of the real risks for us even in doing a lot of good things is that we can start to "over-function." At first, it feels good, like we're "in the zone," where everything is really working. But after awhile, our attempts at being too much to too many for too long ends up leaving us empty and exhausted. It is that point where we are tempted to fill our lives with something else besides what is godly and right. The relationship with God is suffering and we are not even aware of it. Eventually, that relationship will have to be restored.

Psalm 51 finishes with adoration and thanksgiving for God's forgiveness, pardon, and yes, restoration. From where I sit, what David did is unforgivable, but from where God is, he is forgivable, and so are you as am I. As for me, my prayer will be Psalm 51:10,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

The good news is that God is even more anxious to forgive and restore than we are to be forgiven and restored. That means we can sing with David in verse 14, "And my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance." Thanks be to God.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" III

Your nearing the midpoint of your week of readings from I Samuel and the Psalms, as well as praying by the ACTS method, one dimension each day. Have you taken some quiet time that is not rushed or squeezed in among lots of other things? Our discussion of meditation on Wednesday encouraged each of us to create personal time and space just to be quietly in the presence of God to listen. How has that gone for you?

I Samuel 21:1-22:23; Psalm 56-57

Note that I have expanded the reading in I Samuel to include the entirety of I Samuel 22. The deterioration and desperation of Saul continues. The slaughter of Ahimelech and the priests of Nob in chapter 22 represents the height of Saul's paranoia and the lowness of his behavior. Two interesting things are found in this story right at the beginning in chapter 21. First, David lies about why he is coming to see Ahimelech, saying that he is on a mission rather than admitting that he is running for his life from King Saul. Second, he asks the priest for bread for him and his men and the only bread available is the liturgical bread for worship, called "the bread of the Presence" (See Leviticus 24:5-9 for how it was made), which could only be eaten by the priests. The comment about David and his men not having been with women was a statement that they were ceremonially clean. The priest gives it to David. In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus is criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath (a violation of Pharasaic law), and he cites David's eating of the liturgical bread as evidence that sometimes the need outweighs the letter of the law.

Like the soap opera scene where a wicked word is always overheard and the wicked act is always seen from around the corner, verse 7 of chapter 21 lets us know that Saul has a mole in the scene, who will later turn David and the priests of Nob in. In verse 9, David talks Ahimelech out of the sword of Goliath so that he will be able to defend himself. Why is Ahimelech so accommodating? Remember that David is known among the people as a man of great power and, at least on the surface, is a confidant of King Saul.

The deceptions continue as David feigns insanity so that the king of Gath will not kill him (a reminder of the deception by Abraham where he saves his hide by claiming Sarah was his sister). Achish the king falls for the deception. David continues on the run and hides in a cave, where Psalm 56 is written. While understandable, we see here, once again, the prominence of deception among the Old Testament biblical characters. At the same time, in the following chapters, David remains fiercely loyal to the king, saving the king's life on two occasions.

Psalms 56 & 57

The pattern here is common for David - a plea for help in desparate times in which grave concern and distress will alternate with statements of faith (also seen in Psalm 42 and 43). Notice how verse 4 and verses 10 and 11 are a repeat of each other, just like the chorus of a hymn (which it is). David is obviously scared to death, yet calling on faith with all that he has. What a wonderful pattern for us for desperate times. Psalm 57 continues the theme in the previous chapter, but finishes with an exultant hymn of praise (which I put to music for the choir and orchestra for the Grand Opening of the southwest campus).

I wanted to finish today's blog by mentioning our theme of thanksgiving. One of the great gifts we can give each other is to encourage "the attitude of gratitude." Our natural selfishness tends to emphasize what we do not yet have and where things haven't worked out yet. We become stressed and disappointed (leading to brooding - what I call "negative meditation"). That may also explain why we tend to spend most of our prayer time in supplication (praying for our needs). Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:16-18,

"Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

Feeding the attitude of gratitude provides a positive energy that changes the whole flow of your day, allows you to see resources you wouldn't see otherwise, and opens you up to the presence of God. So what are you thankful for today? You may want to send a comment in answer to that question. See you tomorrow.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" II

I Samuel 18-20

Today is your day to emphasize "confession" in your prayer life. Roman Catholic brothers and sisters find it important to "go to confession" where they confess their sins to a priest and hear words of forgiveness and pardon. While Protestants say they don't need a priest to do that with, I sometimes wonder if we don't conveniently avoid confession altogether. Besides there have been many times when having someone to confess my sinfulness to has been a powerful source of both healing and avoidance of doing or saying foolish things. Confession with another Christian or just between you and God requires a most important discipline, self-examination. Where are the places in your life where your Christian faith and your words, actions and attitudes don't line up? If you say, "There are no places," then I invite you to examine yourself more closely.

Today's Bible Study mainly involves three people - David, King Saul, and his son, Jonathan. In yesterday's reading, we saw that Saul had become very fond of David. We know from today's passage that Saul's son, Jonathan and David had become best of friends. Again, this looks like a setup for a smooth change of power, except for one major flaw in the character of Saul. That character flaw destroys Saul as a leader and threatens both his relationship with David and his own son, Jonathan - the green monster of jealousy. This flaw seems to be a natural hazard for anyone who has a place of leadership, so as we investigate Saul, we will need to examine ourselves.

Our reading for today follows the famous story of David and Goliath and tells of the great popularity of David. Mighty mouse had indeed come to save the day! All seems well in the opening verses of chapter 18 until the ladies come out into the streets to meeting their returning warriors singing, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands." Notice the celebrity cult that had been there for Saul but suddenly left him for a new celebrity. We will read later in the beginning of next week how this very same situation happened between David and his own son, Absalom. People love a hero...until they find a new one.

We also have here a competitiveness that develops between generations. Demographers have divided society according to generations (conveniently set up in 18 year intervals according to birth): builders (1910-1927), silents (1928-1945), baby boomers (1946-1963), Generation X (1964-1982), Generation Y or Millenials (1982-2000). Each generation has been marketed to in ways that have pitted them against each other. While there has always been a "generation gap" (a term coined in the 60s), the Judeo-Christian faith has seen the generations as gifts to each other and passing power from one generation to another as being natural and something to be done with great care. But the Bible is also honest to say that sin and competitiveness between the generations has always been present.

Saul views the one that he so dearly loved and had made as one of the family as a threat from the day of the victory parade over the Philistines forward. Verse 10 shows how this jealousy took a spiritual power all its own (an evil spirit that came forcefully on Saul) and verse 14 even says that Saul feared David. In the generations of St. Luke's, will we see each other as gift or threat? Will those who are in power zealously hold on to it? Will those who are coming of age agressively grasp for it? Or will power and leadership be shared and mentored into an even greater day for the service of Christ? This challenge faces every mainline church of our day. It will take the grace of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit to help us in this time of transition. It will also take the examination of hearts and confession of our own fears and unwillingness to share power - what is only natural and human.

In jealousy and fear, Saul then resorts to manipulative leadership. He offers his own daughters to David as wives, not because he thinks David would be a good husband to them, but because David would be distracted and easier prey in battle (a strategy employed by David on someone else later). Saul promises his daughter Michal to him if he kills 100 Philistines (in graphic terms), expecting that David would be killed in the process. But David accomplishes the task and he ends up giving his daughter to David in marriage. The marriage is a difficult one. The tendency toward manipulation is real in every small child and it only matures into adulthood. We manipulate information by gossip and laying, manipulate feelings by self-pity and shame, and manipulate power by control or setting people up for the fall in many ways. In what ways do you find yourself manipulative? As Christians, we are not immune and must die to manipulation's natural tendencies daily.

The brokeness of Saul's relationships only deepens as even his own son and daughter take David's side to protect him against Saul's enraged attacks in chapter 19. A tragic moment happens in chapter 20:30 when Saul publicly cusses out Jonathan, reminding Jonathan that he was the rightful heir to his throne, not David. Jonathan defends David and Saul hurls a spear at his own flesh and blood. Often broken relationships are the fruit of our jealous, fearful, competitive and manipulative ways. Self-examination invites us to search what broken relationships we experience and seek God's forgiveness, pardon and a way toward healing.

Psalm 18:1-30

This Psalm was written while David was eluding the attacks of Saul. Notice the epic language of David as he describes God's faithfulness and deliverance of him in times of struggle. When we're in distress it does feel like the whole earth is shaking around us. But David has a relationship with God that provides him supernatural strength for his epic struggles. David's response here is Spirit-filled rather than reactive. In his better days, David is like this, but not always, as we shall see.

"Deepening Your Christian Life" I

Today, St. Luke's and many throughout the Northwest Texas and New Mexico Conferences lost a good friend in Dr. Richard Bales. I ask for your prayers for his wife, Norene and for the entire family.

The blog entries for this week come from the life of David and Psalms that scholars believe were written in connection with them. Our inner life is not separated from the external events that happen around us and to us. David is a good one for us to study as we consider God's call on our lives for ministry. He has an unusually strong faith in God and a passion to know Him. He also is prone to behavior that is far beneath a chosen servant of God. Furthermore, he is devastated at times by the things that happen that are beyond his control: threats from enemies, betrayal by family and friends, and even personal emotional struggles. My guess is that during this week we will look in the mirror and see a little of David.

I Samuel 16:1-23

The story of the anointing of David as the second King of Israel is powerful. We have already studied the call of Samuel at the beginning of this book. But the move to having a king was something Samuel opposed. Samuel was the leader as a prophet/judge of the people (in a theocracy) and he took the people's request for a king personally. God assured Samuel that it was not Samuel who was being rejected, but rather the call for a monarch was a rejection of God as their king. The first king was Saul, who was the prototype of a king:

There was not a man among the people of Israel more hansome htan he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. I Samuel 9:2

Yet, Saul, though chosen by God and having all the necessary gifts was disobedient and became ill with his desire for absolute power. We see the same thing all the time with public leaders. In the choice of one of the sons of Jesse in I Samuel 16, Eliab is the obvious choice. But notice God's response to Samuel's suggestion:

"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

In the choice of leadership, do we choose the one that is the best looking, the most charismatic in personality, the best connected or do we choose based on character and competency? If only it were that simple! In the TV-Digital age how do you know which is which?

Samuel keeps going down the line as the choices get younger and younger. It seems that God has rejected them all, so Samuel asks, "Is there anybody else (after all God had sent him there)?" So they bring in the shepherd boy, David. He is described as "ruddy." We would translate "rosy-cheeked", handsome with beautiful eyes, but more of a mama's boy look. Of course, this look would play later in the story as David always did well among the women. Solomon must have carried the same genes! God chooses the non-rugged, non-warrior like David. The rightness of God's choice would show up in the next chapter of I Samuel.

David in the coming months develops into a young warrior and most of all "the LORD is with him." Saul develops a mental illness and interestingly enough, David (his anointed successor) becomes the harpist who is employed to calm the king's anxiety and rage. David eventually becomes the king's armor bearer and beloved confidant. All is well...not quite.

Psalm 138-139

The Psalms shared here are intimate and beautiful. David is unique in the Old Testament in his ability to sense the emotional closeness of God. In this day when adoration is the theme of your prayer journal, note the adoration in this passage. Notice the attributes of God that are lifted up: steadfast love (138:2), the answerer of prayer and the strengthener of the soul (138:3), the greatness of God's glory (138:5), the protector and perserver (138:7) and the keeper of promises (138:8), the high knowledge of the LORD (139:1-4), the constancy of the LORD's presence (139:7-12), the creator from conception to now (139:13-16).

In other Psalms, David says "Let us magnify the LORD together." In these Psalms he lifts up who the LORD is and it strengthens him for the challenges of the day. He knows that he is not alone. This alone is reason for our prayers of adoration. It is a way in which God and us "link up" for what each day and even each moment holds.

Make sure as you read these Psalms that you treat them as hymns. Read them aloud like you would poetry or song lyrics, for that is what they are. Have a great day in our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" VI

Acts 9:1-31

By now, you might have noticed a pattern in the encounters with Christ for the week. In every case but one, the result was a new name: Abram and Sarai become Abraham and Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, the nation of Israel has a new name," married" and "blessed" instead of "desolate", Simon becomes Peter, and now Saul becomes Paul. Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ he/she is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new is come." The new names these biblical folk received was a way of communicating their new relationship with God and their new reality in life. In the case of Paul, he was always known as Saul among the Jews, but Paul was a Greco-Roman name. His name change was a symbol of his ministry and a whole new direction of the Christian movement - to the Gentiles.

One of the things we do in baptism is declare the name of the child before the congregation. Why do we do that? The name is the same as the one on his/her birth certificate and everyone already knows the child's name. In some cultures, the baptized are actually given a new and different name. But in our culture we name them before the congregation as a statement of their identity not just as a child of her/his parents, but as a child of God.

Saul,in the book of Acts, is known as a young and radical Pharisee. He is brilliant (having been trained by Gamaliel - one of the leading Jewish scholars of the day) and bold, a major persecutor of those who followed "the Way," what was seen by the Pharisees as a Jewish cult. When Stephen is martyred in Acts 7, those who stoned him laid their coats at the feet of Saul. On the way to Damascus to persecute others of "the way", the Savior of "the way" met him.

Sometimes I am jealous of Saul and the drama of his conversion - a blinding light, Jesus audibly speaking to him. It is one of the great stories of how a person met Jesus, but it should not be used as a paradigm for how people meet him, for the ways people meet Jesus are as varied as the people who experience Him.

Sunday's sermon will take on the experience of Ananias in this passage. What a risk he took and what a benefit for the gospel.

Of course, not everybody was excited by Saul's conversion. The Jews wanted to kill him and set out to do so and the Christians in Jerusalem did not trust that his conversion was genuine. So he ends up going back to his home town of Tarsus and waits for seven years.

Consider a moment the dimensions of Saul's conversion: from head knowledge of God to heart knowledge, from legalistic religion to dynamic Christ-centered faith, from radical allegiance to a tradition to a living experience of Christ. His primarily goal in life changed from being the most feared Pharisee in Palestine to being the bondslave of the Christ he persecuted. Where might your story have common ground with Saul who became Paul?

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" V

Matthew 16:13-28

The theme of the lessons this week examines the difference faith in Christ has made in our lives. Today, we look at Peter's story. We considered him last week, but now we have Matthew's more expanded version of Peter's encounter with Christ. In my Board of Ordained Ministry meeting they said the most important job of leadership is asking the right questions. The idea that the best leaders are those who have an agenda or vision and convince people to follow it is not the best because it does not bring out the best ideas and creativity of those who are involved. Jesus was the master questioner. He would ask a man in need of healing, "Do you want to get well?" He would ask others, "Do you believe?" He asks the disciples here, "Who do people say that I am?" They begin to tell him what people are saying - that Jesus to some is a prophet like Elijah or to others another eccentric teacher like John the Baptist. There have always been a variety of opinions about who Jesus was or is. Then Jesus asks another question, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Christ was not Jesus' last name, it was a statement that he was "the Messiah", "the anointed one." We don't know how long the disciples had been following Jesus by this time. Was Peter speaking out of the inspiration of the Spirit not really knowing what he was saying or is this what he had deduced after following Jesus many months. Clearly, for Jesus, this was a watershed moment.

Jesus blesses him and says that "upon this rock, I will build my church." It's a play on words as his name Peter means "rock," and his confession of faith would be the rock on which the Christian movement would be built. The Christian faith is unapologetically Christ-centered. When someone asks, "What is God like?" our response is to say, "Look at Jesus." Even in the catacombs, you find drawings and writings from the early church that say simply, "Jesus is Lord." In Acts 4:12, we see even more just how Christ-centered Peter's faith was as he says, "there is no other name under heaven by which a person can be saved." We immediately are drawn into a debate about whether Jesus is the only way compared to other religions. For me, there is a two-part response to that issue. First, people who had followed in another religious tradition saw something so decisive in Jesus that they chose to follow him and call him Lord. I am one who believes there is much to be gained by learning what people of other religions believe. But Christians do believe that God did act uniquely and decisively in Jesus. It is important that we share that truth wherever we go. We can do that without pronouncing judgement on those who believe otherwise. I can boldly proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord and still be in positive and creative dialogue with people from other religions.

The surprise in this encounter is the immediate discussion of Jesus' sacrificial death. The Messiahship of Jesus would be a confrontation to both the religious and secular worlds. The claim of Jesus as Messiah would fly in the face of the religious leadership. The claim of him as "son of the living God" was already taken by Caesar. So Jesus must have heard Peter's words with both joy and trepidation. This would be the beginning of the end.

Peter is deeply offended that Jesus talked about a sacrificial death and argues with him. And the one who was "the rock of the Church" is now called "Satan." I can't help but see this in the light of Matthew 4 when Jesus was tempted by Satan and said, "Get out of here." Peter wants Jesus to take the revolutionary, public approach of rule by force and popularity. Jesus had already struggled through that and knew that the cross was God's way for him. Yet, I understand Peter and likely you do, too. Jesus makes no sense. But there is something else I see here. Peter was indeed the great man of faith on whom the early Church was founded. But he also was flaky as could be - the one who walked on water and the one who denied Jesus. One moment we are close to God and bold to share with anybody. The next moment we're full of ourselves and afraid to say a word. Yet, Jesus continued to put his message and the welfare of the disciples in Peter's inadequate and sometimes volatile hands. He does the same with us. Full of faith and unbelievably flaky - That's who we are. It makes you thankful for grace doesn't it? It is a grace that I am utterly dependnent on. See you tomorrow night.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" IV

Isaiah 62

I am writing this blog entry from Phoenix after a long day of meetings with 50 other Board of Ordained Ministry Chairpersons from across the country. I was enjoying that many of the chairs that what I shared with you in our open gathering, that this is the generation in which the spread of the gospel will no longer be church-centered but rather centered outside the church walls in our businesses, classrooms, neighborhoods and even our recreational activities. It is the generation in which your response to the call to ministry is every bit as important as mine. If we take that move of God seriously, then we will see God do things greater than we have dared to dream. So I encourage you to continue to listen for the call of God on your life.

The important thing for me in Isaiah 62 is that conversion stories are not just about individuals. Churches, communities, and even nations can have conversion stories. This chapter is one describing Israel on its return to the homeland after exile under the Babylonians and the Medes and Persians. During exile, they felt abandoned and punished by God. A companion reading would be Psalm 137, describing the horrible pain they experienced in exile. Isaiah 62 is a joyous prophecy of restoration.

American Christianity tends to be highly individualistic (about me and my relationship with Jesus), but the Bible in both testaments is not so. God's guidance was for the whole church or the whole nation. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit falls on the people as they worshipped together. In American history, there have been two "Great Awakenings" that have shaped the kind of nation and religious people we are. Some are saying we are in a third one, but it is really too early to tell.

In Isaiah 62:2-4, the prophet declares that they will be given a new name. They no longer will be called forsaken or desolate. Instead they will be called beloved and married. The people of God who have been separated from God are now being reconciled and reunited. We are pretty good at seeing when individuals backslide and separate themselves from God, but I wonder if we are so apt to see when that happens as families, as churches and as communities. I invite you to join me in praying for your families, for St. Luke's United Methodist Church on her two campuses, for the United Methodist Church in the United States and around the world, and for the USAmerican Church, that we might see where we may have become distracted, sinful, and separated from God and his purposes for us. Then pray that we will be reconciled and reunited with the LORD so we can truly be his people.

We are watching a major religious shift happening all around us. Some have named the mainline churches, including United Methodists, as "dead," "irrelevant", "out of touch," "sinful," "hypocritical" and a host of names. In the Bible, a new name always meant a new reality. I dream of day when God calls us "newly alive," "a powerful force for changing lives and changing the world," "a holy and compassionate people," "a people who make his love real wherever they go." What new name would you like to see God call the church and what new reality would it describe? In the end, it has to be a work of God. That's true for us both as individuals and as groups.

"Sharing Your Story BC/AD" III

Joshua 5:13-7:26

The famed African-American spiritual "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" has made this story familiar to many people. But as we read the story as it is in scripture there is much more to it than we might have seen before.

BACKGROUND

Joshua, the son of Nun, is the God-selected successor to Moses. Moses, because he did not speak to the rock in Numbers 20 (but rather struck it because that is what had worked earlier. You do remember the seven last words of the Church, don't you - "We've never done it that way before!"), was denied entrance to the promised land. Joshua, who had shown himself faithful in scouting out the land of Canaan has now led them across the Jordan River (it parted in Joshua 3 just like the Red Sea parted for Moses in Exodus). The area is full of small city-states with malitias and walls around them. Going into the promised land meant going in where people saw the land as belonging to them, so it would have to be conquered. Sideline lesson here is that there is often lag time and hard work between what God promises and the fulfillment of it. To follow God's call usually means doing that work in between, a mixture of waiting and seeing God at work, a mixture of victories and defeats. This is where God develops and grows us for his purposes. Astronomers tell us that in the universe there is more energy in the black holes than there are in the stars. Don't underrate those "in-between" times.

5:13-15 A Visit with the Commander

The commander of the army of the LORD is impressive. He has been sent by God and he does not take sides (contrary to the football prayers we sometimes here before the games!), but rather carries out what God says. The picture here of the army of the LORD is important. The victory will be done in partnership with God, the human army representing a greater one. In II Kings 6:8ff, Elisha is part of the same experience as the army of the LORD is described as "chariots of fire." Joshua then has another experience that Moses did, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." In your story, where are the places where God has brought you through when you could never have made it on your own?

6:1-27 Marching Around the City

Jericho has bunkered in because the Israelites were coming. It must have seemed to them like a threatening and chaotic mob. Notice the number seven in this account, seven days, seven priests with seven trumpets and seven times around on the seventh day - God's number of completion used throughout the Bible. This would mean a lot to a people organized around the Sabbath. For this is a story not just about a battle strategy but an identity story as the people of God.

On the seventh day they make a great shout and go into the city and burn it to the ground just as they were instructed to do. The geological site of Jericho has several layers separated by ash. Evidently it was burned to the ground several times in its early history. As I noted in an earlier blog, this was a common battle strategy in those city states during those centuries.

Joshua 7:1-26 A Failure to Follow Directions

The children of Israel were chosen by God to be his holy people. We think of holy as a moral term, but it's true definition is "separate, different from the rest." The reason God did not want them taking the goods from Jericho is that they were goods that had connections to the worship of idols and other gods. This is also the basis of the food laws. The Hebrew food laws were healthier, but the main thing was their eating habits were to reflect that they were different from those around them. The severe punishment of Achan's family is a statement to all that there would be no compromise with their lifestyles and worship.

That leads us to an important question as we seek to follow God's call. What differentiates you from the people around you in the neighborhood, at work, in your family? Does your faith in Christ make a material, real difference or is it private or hidden? The danger for the children of Israel is that they would fall into syncretism (developing a religion that was a combination of this and that) rather than true faith in the LORD. How might that be true today and have we done far worse things than Achan?
See you tomorrow in holy worship to the LORD.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" II

Genesis 32-33

BACKGROUND

Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau (whose name may mean "rehead")was the first born and Jacob (meaning "grabber" or "trickster")was grabbing on to Esau's foot. Esau was a virile man's man while Jacob was a mama's boy. At first Esau looked like he would take after dear old dad, Isaac, who was not the brightest of the litter. I can picture him growing up with his name meaning laughter and how many times people might have laughed at him rather than with him. Rebekah on the other hand was a manipulator on behalf of Jacob and Jacob grew up to be "the great manipulator." Jacob cheated his brother out of his birthright twice and was given the rights of the firstborn even though he was second (a little bit of "the last shall be first and the first shall be last"). Jacob then runs for fear of his life. Esau said to him, "They don't call you Jacob (grabber, trickster) for nothing." But eventually Esau becomes very successful in his own right, in fact, more successful than swindler Jacob. Esau even has his own small malitia that he travels with. When Jacob hears that Esau is on his way to see him he fears the worst. In that fear and panic, our scripture lesson takes place. This is my favorite Old Testament story.

Jacob has it all planned, the speech, the placating of Esau by letting all the women and children pass by him first, but Esau has moved on from his hatred. Jacob doesn't know that. Looking at the possibility of his own mortality, he was a wrestling match with a man all through the night. But the match is really a wrestling match with God, really a wrestling match with himself. He has been a liar and a swindler all his life and his life is crashing around him. Finally, the wrestling match ends with the man putting Jacob's hip out of joint. Jacob "the grabber" refuses to let go until the man blesses him. The man accomodates by giving him a new name, Israel (meaning "he who struggles with God")and tells him he has wrestled with God and won (interestingly by losing). That is one of the stories of Will Cotton's life. He wrestles with God and wins by losing (every time!) My guess is that it is part of your story as well. We win when we finally "surrender all", when we "let go and let God." In the words of Jesus we lose in order to find and die in order to live - paradoxical but absolutely true.

Jacob's new name is important, because it becomes also the name of a great nation who throughout its history has been a struggle with God. When calls the Church "the new Israel", I think about what that means. As we approach ministry in this 21st century, we seem to be once again like Jacob at the Jabbok River. Who have we been as individual Christians and together as the Church? And who will we be from now on?

The most important scene in this story is often ignored. When Jacob finally meets Esau, Esau asks, "Why the big parade ahead of you? You had nothing to fear. Look how I have been blessed." Esau the offended embraces the offender and abuser and Jacob looks at his twin brother and says, "I see in you Peniel (meaning 'the face of God')." Jacob builds an altar there and calls it Peniel. Jacob sees the face of God in the brother he has wronged. Now that's powerful. Do you know what it's like to be forgiven by someone? Have you given that gift to someone else? Jesus taught us, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." When we do that for each other, we really show each other Peniel, "the face of God." Give that gift to someone you love or don't love this week. See you tomorrow.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" I

The readings for this week are the faith stories of a variety of people from both testaments. We will explore them much in the way that we did the "woman at the well" story in John 4 during class. While the stories are interesting in themselves, they can be powerful as we bring those stories into conversation with our own.

Genesis 18:1-15 - "A Laughing Matter"

The experience of Abraham and Sarah is interesting in part because it is so human. In Genesis 17, it is Abraham who laughs at the prospect of having a child in old age and in Genesis 18 Sarah joins in. She then lies to God and denies that she laughed. We understand why she laughted and would have done the same thing. We also know that following the call of God means venturing to the edge of absurdity and also believing after we have been hurt. Eventually, the child will be called "Isaac" which means "he laughs." Abraham and Sarah find themself face to face with doubt. Any commonality with your story or mine?

Genesis 20:1-17 - "She's my sister"

One of the things you find in the book of Genesis is that trickery and deceit abounds (Abraham with Sarah, Rebekah with Isaac, Jacob with Esau, Jacob's sons with Jacob, Joseph with Jacob's sons, etc). Here to protect himself and his wife he tells a half-truth, for she is his half-sister.
I had a moral theology professor who said that at the heart of sin is self-deception. We deceive others but in the end we also deceive ourselves, building our lives on half-truths. Partly, we do that because we are afraid, in the words of the great theologian Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, the people around us "can't handle the truth." Jesus, in John 3:19-21, talks about how when we choose to walk in the light, then our deeds become obvious and they show the work of God. But most people choose to stay in the darkness of deceit. Ever lived a lie? To one degree or another, most of us have. Our story is not that far from Abraham and Sarah.

Genesis 21

This chapter begins in jubilation and ends in tragedy that reigns to this day in the Middle East. Sarah invites everyone to come laugh with her for indeed the Lord has turned her "mourning into dancing." We see God move and we are amazed. God has this way of confounding us (leaving us confused and exasperated in our waiting on him) and then astounding us (doing more than we could ask or think).

But soon the teenage Ishmael starts picking with the toddler Isaac and Sarah, repeating history, sends Hagar away with her son, never to return.
Again, the scriptures here remind us that rivalry and competitiveness (as natural as it is) must be put in its proper place. As Christians we don't coompete with each other except to hone our skills so that we can enter the real competition against evil, hate, faithlessness and selfishness. The devil's best work is to get you and me (and church denominations and local churches) in to rivalry with each other, so we will be distracted from fully participating in the game that really matters.

How does the story of Abraham and Sarah resonate with your story? Their "clay feet" did not disqualify them from being called of God and used by Him. You'll see more of this "clay" throughout the week. Maybe it will help you and me to come to terms with our own clay feet and lay fresh claim to the grace of God. Have a great evening and sorry about the lateness of this post.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" VI

Matthew 28:16-20

We finish the call stories with the famous "great commission" of Jesus, often called "the great omission" of the Church. The point of including this passage is that God doesn't just call us as individuals. He calls as groups: classes, local churches, denominations and the body of Christ as a whole.

The scene takes place on a mountain (which one we are not told)in Galilee (where they were told to go twice in chapter 28, verses 7 and 10). Some see the location as the mountain where Jesus gave his sermon (Mt. 5-7), while others see it as the "Mount of Olives" with Jesus ascending from there with the promise of returning there in his second coming. There are two responses to Jesus' appearance there: worship and doubt. Give Matthew an "A" in honesty. We know Thomas doubted, but this account indicates that there might well have been others. The resurrection still brings both reactions from people.

Jesus is now ready to pass on his ministry to the "eleven" (one short of perfect and one short of the divine, inadequate but usable, as we always will be by the grace of God). We go with his "authority", not our own and we go in his name, not our own. What right do you have to share your faith and follow God's call? The authority and grace of God in Jesus Christ gives you that right.

The call of ministry is to "make disciples of all nations." What were they called in verse 16? Disciples. They are now to multiply themselves. What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who is introduced to Jesus - his person, his teachings, and his presence for daily life. A disciple chooses to follow Jesus as the first priority of her or his life. A disciple grows in the faith and matures in his or her relationship with God through prayer, study, fellowship and service. A disciple introduces other people to Jesus, and the discipleship cycle begins again. I often receive chain e-mails that encourage me to forward them to everyone I know, some even threatening great tragedy if I don't do so. But the discipleship cycle is one that has come to us through someone else and it is crucially important that the cycle not finish with us.

We have the baptismal formula of the early church in 28:19b. Some churches have substituted "Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer", so as to be more gender inclusive. From our discussion last week, you know why that is a problem for me. The contemporary terms are more functional (one who creates, redeems and sustains), when the Trinitarian formula itself is relational.

Jesus finishes with a promise - that he would be with us always. Frederick Dale Bruner sums up the great commission this way:

Mission Commander (I, Jesus, am in charge around here)
Mission Commands (So you move out, obeying me)
Mission Commander (I, Jesus, will suppport you all the way - relax and enjoy!)

Maybe that's why I always feel closer to God when I'm sharing my faith with someone who doesn't now the Lord. That word always is big. Do you think he meant it? See you this evening.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" V

Luke 9:46-62

Jesus never soft-pedalled what it would cost people to follow him. In fact, when I hear the way churches appeal to people today to follow Christ, I wonder if they are talking about the same Jesus. In this call story, we see three costs in following Jesus that few talk about. The first is the call to set aside your own ego and competitive spirit. The disciples are arguing over who is the greatest. Will it be those who were first to follow Jesus (seniority)? If so, that would be Peter, Andrew, James and John. The gospels differ about who was first among those four. Will it be those who are the designated leaders (Peter, Judas), and we know what happened to them (personality and strength)? Will it be the smartest or the one that gathered the most followers Phillip or Andrew)? Will we ever get over ourselves and our desire to compare and compete with each other for status? The gospels even put James and John's mother in the conversation! Jesus settles the issue by placing a vulnerable and lowly child - the least in the society of that day - and says that the greatest of them must be willing to be the least. Jesus would make the point even more vividly in John 13 with the washing of the disciples' feet. We all yearn for greatness and signficance. We want to be like Michael Jordan and be able to say "I am the greatest at what I do, no thanks to all those who didn't see it." Jesus says that the way to satisfy that yearning is to become the least. Is he right or is it just an empty ideal? Your honest answer to that question will make a difference in whether you see or hear God's call...or not.

The second kind of competition is one we know all to well in American Christianity. How do we handle it when others do what we do and get credit for it? Is the success of others a witness against us? John wants to stop them, because they are not the right ones to do it. In our day, we would fight about who is doing it right. Either way, we need to hear Jesus' words: "...for whoever is not against you is for you." In the words of a friend of mine, it's time to quit competing and start completing. Not everyone will respond to the ways of the people of St. Luke's Lubbock, but some will never respond to the gospel at all, unless we do share it the way we do. The disciples had to learn that the gospel of Jesus Christ was bigger than they were; 21st century USAmerican disciplies all the more so.

The second cost in following Jesus was being controversial. The ministry of Jesus was not near as tame and sweet as the church has made it over the years. The Jesus we present to the world most of the time would never have been crucified. The Jesus of the gospels challenged the religious and political world around him and created a movement to perpetuate it. He also crossed economic, class and racial barriers. The opposition in this passage is from the Samaritans who see he is headed to Jerusalem. In the very next chapter, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaraitan to people who didn't believe there was such a thing as a "good" Samaritan. The equal opportunity offender is at it again. Jesus does not call us to be merely nice and kind people. We are called to be loving and bold revolutionaries who speak and live a confrontation with the way the world is. If we really do that, we will experience rejection, misunderstanding and personal pain. Which Jesus will you follow, the revolutionary or the Jesus who holds lambs a lot?

The third cost is the sacrifice of our own personal agendas and plans. The man says, "Jesus, I will follow you anywhere, but first...." On the face of it, the man's request seems more than reasonable. But the biblical language hear betrays that this man is the oldest son in his family and has responsibility for his father and his estate. The father is not likely to be dead yet and may not be even near to that. The man has but Jesus on hold and Jesus will have none of it. We say, "I will do more for Christ when I get more time...when work eases up...when I retire." I have observed that most of the time, those who say that never come through. To see and hear God's call and follow Christ is to make Christ and his mission the first priority.

The image of plowing here is one we understand in West Texas. Looking back means crooked lines and sloppy production. So how does your spiritual/moral/action ministry field look? What are the fruits of your planting and labor? Perhaps all of us need to examine our focus and see if the gospel of Christ and demonstrating and promoting God's kingdom is the first priority of our lives. The promise of Christ is that if we make that priority number one then everything else falls into place in some rather amazing ways. Do we dare trust that? Will you and I pay the price Christ asks in following His call? Have a great day in God's field.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" IV

John 1:35-51

For the next three days, we shift to New Testament gospel call stories. I try to picture where Jesus might go and what approach Jesus would use if he were gathering disciples today. Would he go to a college campus at the student union? Would he join a local "Facebook" group on the internet? Would he rent a billboard on the freeway? One thing is clear, Jesus "networked" his disciples. Most of them were friends and relatives with one another.

John, the gospel writer's approach to the call of Jesus emphasizes a previous relationship many of the disciples had with another Jewish revolutionary and cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist. I invite you to read the entire first chapter of John and see just how pronounced this is. The verses previous to today's passage draw a picture of a handoff in a ministry relay, signaled at Jesus' baptism, between the forerunner and the Messiah. As we look at verse 35, who might the two disciples of John the Baptist who become followers be? While no one can say for sure, John, the writer tends to talk about himself in his gospel without using his name (the disciple whom Jesus loved, the other disciple). My guess is that these two disciples are none other than the "Sons of Thunder," James and John. Andrew was also a follower of the Baptist, and he leads Peter to become a follower of Jesus. We know all four of these were in the fishing business together. Phillip and Nathanael are friends, two of the more skeptically oriented disciples, and Phillip is from the same home town as Peter and Andrew. So half of the disciples come from a very small circle of folks.

Two of the disciples are given special mention in this passage. Simon is given the name "Cephas" or "Peter" which means 'rock.' I guess we could call him "Rocky." I guess that would make his New Testament letters, Rocky I and Rocky II? lol. The "rock" nickname seems to have two different meanings in Christian tradition. One emphasizes his strength and greatness, a potential Jesus sees in him. The other emphasizes that a lithos was usually the word for a larger stone, while a "petros" referred to a smaller one. Later in I Peter, he would describe the church as a house of living stones built on one another.

The extended discussion of Nathanael is interesting. He is not mentioned again in the New Testament until John 21, where he is listed as being from Cana (the place of Jesus' miracle in John 2). Nathanael's choice to follow Jesus is what precedes that miracle. In the other gospels, he is refered to as Bartholomew. In John 21, his name is listed next to Thomas, another skeptic. So we have two circles that emerge - the fishermen and the skeptics. Another circle could be the political revoluntionaries -Simeon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot among others. Back to Nathanael. Jesus seems to enjoy countering the questioning and bluntly honest style of Nathanael. "Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile." The reference to the angels ascending and descending on Jesus recalls the image of Jacob's ladder in Genesis. But Jacob was one in whom there was much duplicity, trickery and guile. It makes me wonder what prompted this angle from Jesus. This is one of the places where I see the role of positive doubt in the growth of our faith. Our questioning does not disqualify us from following Jesus. But even despite his skepticism, his experience of Christ frees him to follow Jesus. We still follow Jesus step by step, even amidst our questions. Have a blessed day.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" III

Today we look at what are two of my favorite call stories, the ones to Isaiah and Jeremiah. Jeremiah fits into the already familiar role of the reluctant prophet and he will be that way throughout his life. Isaiah, while overwhelmed at times, seems to enjoy his role more and the book of Isaiah (which covers nearly 200 years) has evidence that he passed his prophetic role along. Isaiah is a prophet to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, while Jeremiah is only a prophet to the south.

Isaiah 6:1-9

The context of Isaiah's call is important in that it sets the date and circumstances of his prophetic ministry. Verse 1 of chapter 6 reads, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord..." King Uzziah, a prominent southern king,took over over in 792 BCE at the age of 16 and ruled for 52 years. He was a godly king who did great things for Israel. II Chronicles 26:16ff tells the occasion of his death beginning as follows: "But after Uzziah beame powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and enterd the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Isaiah lived until at least 680 BCE, so we can assume that at the time of this vision he was a very young man, possibly in his late teens or early 20s. Uzziah is the only king he or his parents have known and the times were perilous. The Assyrian army (with its legendary chariots and iron weapons)was bearing down on the northern kingdom and making threats on the south. In his 18th year of ministry the Assyrians would sack Samaria in the north and take her brightest and best off to Nineveh (remind you of another prophet and a certain large fish?). It was in a time of great political and military stress and possibly great admiration on the part of Isaiah for the king that Isaiah had his vision.

Last week, Matt Wolfington and I were talking about this vision in Isaiah. He said, "I wonder if this event was something that everybody else in the temple experienced that day or if it was just something that happened in the heart and mind of Isaiah?" Are our visions or even our experiences of God's call actual events visible to everyone else or are they times of heightened awareness in which God helps us see what others cannot? Of course, that brings up the question of whether Isaiah's experience or even Ezekiel's more outlandish visions of wheels within wheels and eating sweet scrolls that turn bitter are creations of an overactive imagination. The answer to that question has to be in the fruits of a person's life following such a vision. I have known some people to have visions and then nothing happens after that. I mistrust those kind. In the case of the biblical prophets, their lives continued in conversation with God and their lives had a huge impact for good around them.

Isaiah's vision and call is a wonderful description of authentic worship. While our experiences may not be as dramatic, the general benefits can be the same. Isaiah went to the temple regularly. In his grief, he did not expect God to do anything. But God did meet him in his grief and his fears for his country. His vision of the LORD is "high and lifted up, with the train of his robe filling the temple." Quite often in scripture people have visions of the greatness that show him above the fray and greater than the surrounding challenges. But then the animated picture begins with six winged seraphs singing the song Isaiah had sung in worship before. It's a song we sing, too, whether its the tradition hymnal "Holy, Holy, Holy" (which combines this passage and the Revelation of John) or the contemporary chorus, "Holy Is the LORD" (a direct quote of this). The incense, always a part of the worship of God's people now takes over the room and the place is shaken. Isaiah is having a powerful experience of the presence of God in a regular worship service. Do I believe that could happen to any of us? You bet.

Overwhelmed by the heaviness and brilliance of God's glory, he feels inadequate in the moment. He sees his own sinfulness and failures and confesses his sin and the sin of the people. One of the six-winged seraps then touches his "unclean lips" and gives him the gift of forgiveness. We so easily pray our prayers of confession at communion, but do we really do business with God about our actions, words and attitudes? The sacrifice is not just for the sins of Israel in general or for other people, it is for him.

So Isaiah, who came to worship in grief and concern, experiences the powerful presence of God and receives forgiveness, and now hears a question from God, "Whom shall I send?" Later Jesus makes a similar call upon his disciples after his resurrection, "As the father has sent me, so send I you...Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Both Isaiah and the disciples are to pass on what they have experienced (powerful presence and forgiveness) to the world around them.

Take a moment now to consider who God has touched your life. It's your ongoing story, some of which has yet to be written. How might God be calling you to share that story with a hurting and broken world?

Jeremiah 1:4-19

It was Paul who wrote to his young protege "Let no one despise your youth." We see the same theme in the call of Jeremiah, known as "the weeping prophet" for all his melancholy "downer" prophecies. Like the call of Samuel the call comes upon him at a very young age. Jeremiah's reluctance to follow his call because of his young age is quickly rebuffed by the LORD - Do not say 'I am JUST a child!' I have heard a similar thing from people in the church - "I am not a preacher. I am JUST a lay person." I remember Bishop Norris chastizing a layman for saying such a thing and I was glad.

Verse 5 speaks to Jeremiah's chosenness, with a theme remarkably similar to that of David in Psalm 139:13-16.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

While few if any of us are called to be "a prophet to the nations," we do have a purpose for our lives. For me, it has been a lifelong journey to discover that purpose. Throughout my life, while the call to ministry has been the same, the way it has been carried out has shifted in both method (preaching instead of singing, pastoring instead of directing choirs)and emphasis (performer of ministry to equipping teacher and local pastor to a mentor pastor of other pastors). No doubt, my calling will shift again. But through it all, there is a sense that I am carrying out the purpose for which I was created. Why not take a moment to ask God about yourself, "Why am I on planet earth? What message do you want be to both speak and demonstrate by your power?" One source for the answer to those questions is to look back at the past years of your Christian life and see where God has already been using you. Your experiences, your talents and your walk with God come together to shape how you carry out God's call. What often happens through busyness and distraction is that we get "off track" from our purpose and end up doing and saying things that either don't matter or are even destructive.

The role of prophet is a very difficult one. When someone comes to me and says God calls them to be a prophet (one who speaks for God and confronts people about the lives they lead), I warn them how the people of the Bible (and contemporary society) treat prophets (reject and ridicule them, set them up for the fall, stone them, kill them, etc). Prophets stand for substantive change and even a baby doesn't like to be changed until its absolutely necessary! His will be a life of controversy, but someone must tell people the truth they don't want to hear.

The closing scene of chapter 1 is comical to me. I picture a scrawny melancholy late teen or young adult standing before God (picture yourself at that age) and receiving these words, "Prepare yourself. Stand up to whoever I tell you and speak whatever I tell you. Don't fear those who will hate you. Be more afraid of me. Stand tall, Jerry. You are a fortified city (chest out!), a pillar of iron (stomach in!), a wall of bronze (square those shoulders!). They are going to insult you and fight you, but you will win for only one reason, 'I am with you and I will be your rescue.'" Anybody watching would say, "He'll never make it. That's no prophet." But that's the way all of us start out as we hear God's call. As a preacher friend of mine says, "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called." Jeremiah is a prophet in the making and so he was throughout his entire life. As we respond to God's call, we, too, are whatever we are "in the making." As Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will continue it until completion in the day of Christ Jesus." So ministers-in-the-making, let the work of God begin in you as well as through you. Enjoy your Sabbath tomorrow.