Christian Life in the Greek Present Tense

The time has come to start working on the next Ladies' study. I've decided to study "Prayer from Paul's POV". [I'll come up with a catchier title later. Suggestions?] After translating Rom.1:8-12 and making a beauteous chart, I spent time making observations. The first thing I noticed is how many Present Tense verbs Paul uses in this passage. That's significant!

[As a reminder... Greek Verbs tell not only the TIME of the action, but also the KIND of the action. While there are some other specific uses of the Greek Present Tense, generally it denotes progressive action, which can be either on-going, repetitive or continuous.]

Here are some examples from this passage:

1:8a "...I am thanking my God ..."
1:8b "...your faith is being proclaimed in the whole world."
1:9a "...God...whom I am serving..."
1:9b "...I am making a mention of you"
1:10 "...always...making request/beseeching/imploring/begging
1:11 "...I am longing to see you..."

I worded it so that you could appreciate the "Present tenseness" of these verbs. When Bible writers talk about the Christian life, the Present Tense verbs start jumping out all over the place. That's because faith in the heart affects the outer actions... continuously, progressively. "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is." You don't "thank God" once, or even every once in a while. A heart of faith is thanking God continuously, progressively. It's a "lifestyle" attribute.

Read over this passage a few times and spend some time thinking about the significance of these verbs being in the Greek Present Tense. Then ask yourself if this is personally true in your life.

Lessons Learned

We've been going through a transition time. Having sold our business, we've been trying to find the next source of income. Transitions can be frightening, especially when you are aging and you don't have a clear picture of where you are headed.

Fortunately, God knows the answers to all my questions and concerns and He has my future all mapped out. I am completely convinced of that truth from an intellectual POV, but I have been having a hard time letting it trickle down to my emotional POV. And that has been bothering me. After prayerful study and meditating on God's Word, I thought I would share some of the conclusions that have helped me apply my "head" to my "heart". While most of these are not "new" truths, they are truths that I have absorbed in a new, more personal way. The crushing burden in my chest has lifted, and if it returns in the middle of the night, then I just remind myself of these "epiphanies", the weight leaves and I go back to sleep.

1. My prayer was wrong. I was praying, "Take it away...take it away. Fix it." Which, quite honestly, was not doing a thing for me. Is God able to take it away? Certainly. Then it really sank in that He has allowed this situation to help conform me to the image of His Son. [Rom.8:28-29] In the long run, THAT is what will bring me true joy. THAT is what is BEST for me. My prayer is now, "Lord, give me the strength to trust You, to rest in You, even when my "eyes" don't see the end."

2. I was not truly thankful for His current provision. He has given me two part time jobs I enjoy [teaching Koine & working at church], as well as the monthly payments for our business to live on in the interim. Yes, we had hoped to invest the payments to support us in our old age, but that was OUR plan. It's one thing to be a good steward and to plan wisely, but completely another to cling to absolute control of everything in our lives. For a believer, that is God's area.

3. I was looking at only MY picture of the future. This is where I want to be in 7 years when the business payments end. Maybe that isn't God's idea at all! All kinds of things might happen in the next 7 years, and my worry and anxiety would end up being completely foolish in hindsight. God knows 7 years from now. He tells me to be concerned with TODAY. [Mt.6:33-34] Today did He provide for me? Yes. I now remind myself that He is just as able to provide for me 7 years from now...and it doesn't have to be in the exact manner I have decided it should be. He knows what is best for me so much better than I do.

4. I need to spend more time immersed in God's Word for my own personal study, not just as a preparation for teaching. I spend a lot of time preparing for SS, Ladies' studies & any 1-on-1 mentoring I might be doing. I certainly learn & apply a lot in the process, but I do tend to be more others-focused. I ALSO need to be spending time repetitively reading a book of the Bible without having an extraneous motive... just humbly reading and letting the HS speak personally to me.

5. I looked for "feeding factors" to avoid and discovered the Evening News was NOT being helpful. I do not need to hear nightly scare stories about the price of gasoline and home heating oil going up, the stock market going down, etc.. It is of absolutely no value to me, except to make me anxious. So I skip the Evening News for now. I keep up with news on-line and in the newspaper, where it is much easier to choose what I want to be exposed to. Daily I remind myself how wealthy Americans are and how skewed our POV is because of it. So I skip the Evening News and instead read the "Voice of the Martyrs" magazine, in order to get my perspective right. The result is LESS needless anxiety and MORE compassion for believers around the world who are suffering for their faith in Christ.

6. I remembered the lessons learned from the 1Peter Ladies' Study. I remind myself constantly that I am a pilgrim, a traveler passing through. This is not my home. I need to keep my focus on my home country, which is eternal. I recalled Paul's life after conversion. He just kept walking, faithfully serving. I don't remember any verses about him becoming overly focused upon his old age. He was focused on glorifying God, moment by moment, day by day. And the result was that he "learned to be content" because of the opportunities God gave him to practice. [Phil.4:11-12]
I GET it.

Perseverance

We recently started the latest Ladies' Bible Study. It has been very encouraging to see the unexpectedly large turn out. [It's being offered at two different venues on two different nights. One class meets weekly and the other class meets bi-weekly.] I'm encouraged because these women are willing to WORK to learn skills which will help them interpret Scripture accurately, and then be able to use that knowledge in the preparation of lessons for discipleship, counseling, SS lessons, etc. - that is, in ministry.

This isn't the kind of class where you show up every week, chat about "what it means to me" and then go home to forget about it until the next week. No, friends, this is the kind of class where you come to realize how much you have left to learn.... where every week there is NEW material to digest and practice using throughout the week... where you have to relearn things you thought you had left far behind - things like grammar and history and geography.

Why, you might ask, would anyone be willing to subject themselves to such torture? Interestingly, anyone who has participated in one of these classes all the way through usually returns the next year... and they ALWAYS stick with it until the end! I often ask myself, "Why do they do it?" And I DO know the answer. It's because they have learned what a joy it is to be able to know God better, more obediently, to be able to gain new insight into Scripture, to have a whole new world open up before their very eyes as they start to plumb the depths of God's Word.

The hard part is convincing the first-timer to stick with it. It's hard to convince someone who is feeling clueless that ALL of us flailed around when we began. It has nothing to do with intelligence, with academic ability, with some special skill set you may have been born with. It has everything to do with hard work, with pushing yourself to learn, with reading, with meditating and with practice, practice, practice. This didn't come naturally to any of us!

But we discovered the value of perseverance. One day we DID start to notice things in our Bibles, it DID start to make sense to us, truths began popping out of the pages and organizing themselves in our minds. And that godly knowledge resulted in growth in our personal walk with Christ, in our dependence upon Him and in our obedience to Him. It changed the focus of our lives. That made perseverance well worth it!

The Land of Hills & Valleys

In January I traveled to Israel with a group from NE Bible College. Though it wasn't exactly the study trip I had pictured, it was certainly a worthwhile experience. Because there weren't enough students to fill all the slots, they opened it up to people from churches who support the College. The result was that the trip was not as academic as I would have liked... but I was able to make new friends.

We visited some sites I had only dreamed of ever seeing. I'm sure I became quite annoying as I kept trying to explain to people the significance of the gateway at Lachish or the controversy over the "stable" at Megiddo or the importance of all the miqvehs at Qumran as to whether or not this had been an Essene community (a small minority do not believe it was) or why there had once been an Egyptian governor's house on the Tell at Beth Shean. I'm not sure they were able to see how utterly cool it all was! ;)

Other than the archaelogical areas, what was most educational for me? I'd have to say seeing the terrain. I knew that Israel is small, about the size of NJ. But I had not really appreciated that it is pretty much all uphill, except for the coast and Jordan rift valley. When you look at a topographical map you notice that the terrain is arranged in vertical strips: coastline, hill country, Jordan rift valley. So when I read "hill" country, I imagined gently rolling hills, such as you would see in southern NH. But it wasn't like NH at all. The hills, though not always very high, ascend and descend sharply, again and again, so that you are constantly traveling up and down. From the top of one hill you can easily see the surrounding hills, but there are steep valleys in between. And it's just one hill after another after another... I have a new appreciation for Jesus and the disciples walking around that land. They must have been been pretty buff!

The Kidron Valley and Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem are also a lot steeper and deeper than I had imagined. One of the funniest stories happened when we were independently walking around in the Old City. The Old City is like a rabbit warren. The streets are narrow and roofed over in the market areas, so you often have absolutely no sense of direction and can walk from one Quarter to the next without even being aware of it, except for, perhaps, a change in merchandise or the writing being in Hebrew or Arabic.

Rick, Heather & I were walking along and I noticed we were going DOWN a lot of steps. I mean lots and lots of steps. Down and down and down... I laughed, saying at least we didn't have to climb back up all of them. Yes... you guessed it. We ran into a sawhorse roadblock we couldn't pass. The gentleman explained there was a mosque service ahead and we could go no further. We told him we were headed to the Jaffa Gate and he started laughing a deep belly laugh. After wiping the tears from his eyes and chuckling a few more times, he informed us we had been traveling in the exact opposite direction - which meant we had to climb back UP all those many, many stairs. I was pleased to have given him such a spot of joy in his humdrum job of stopping tourists from wandering into a mosque service. I'm sure we made his day and he couldn't WAIT to go home and tell the wife and kids!

I'm Baaack!

Yes, I am still alive and well. I praise the Lord that we have a new Pastor caring for our fellowship. It is a blessing I am not apt to ever again take lightly. I thank those of you who have been praying for us and want you to know that God, in His faithfulness, has answered your prayers. Now we can focus on the business of doing the work of the ministry.

Personally, I am currently preparing to teach a new Ladies' study entitled, "From Scripture to Implication: Rules and Tools for Personal Devotion and Ministry Preparation". I'd appreciate your prayers that God would use the effort to His glory. The class begins March 19 and I'm sure you will be reading about it here in the coming days.

Prayer Request

This week I started training for my upcoming job as part-time Secretary at the church. One day I happened to be in the office alone [reading equipment manuals :( ] and answered the phone when it rang. The gentleman was seeking a Pastor to help him.

Now I have been laboring along with the Pulpit Committee since January in our search for a new Pastor. We have an interim Pastor, but he is only available for Sunday preaching, and we have a single non-Staff Elder who also has a full time job, a family and a higher education commitment, yet who also has been trying to do all he can to shepherd the flock in this interim between full time Pastors.

But being the new secretary gave me greater insight into the magnitude of our not having a full time Pastor. There are people outside of our congregation who call desperately seeking pastoral help - but we have none. I find myself automatically wanting to respond in my "biblical counseling mode", only to be caught up short when I remember that I am in the position of being a Secretary - they want a Pastor. You have no idea how much it hurts me to have to tell them we don't currently have a Pastor available and then refer them elsewhere.

So now I have an even greater sense of urgency in my prayer for a new Pastor. Please join me in earnestly praying that God would send us the man of His choosing.

Simple Math

ONE FERRARI












+ ONE LIGHT POLE AT 200 MPH










= PIECES






Injuries: some bruising & two small cuts.
Car Loss: $1,000,000
Mileage: 9 miles
Waiting List for New One: 2 years
Still Alive: Priceless
When can I drive Dad's car again?: Nuclear Half Life

Another "Christianism" Discovered

In the course of my Christian walk I have become increasingly aware of what I call "Christianisms". A "Christianism" is a saying or way of thinking that is prevalent among believers, but which has no biblical basis. Sometimes it may even be antithetical to biblical teaching! We often pick up these sayings/ideas from our culture and then pass them on to one another without even realizing what we're doing. One of the reasons I am so dedicated to studying the Bible is that as I am exposed to God's Truth, I find areas where I need to change not only my own thinking, but also how I communicate God's Truth to others.

I am also thankful to the authors I read. They often point out "Christianisms" I had not previously thought about. Right now I'm reading Graeme Goldsworthy's "Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture". I don't necessarily agree with all of his views, particularly concerning prophecy, but he does an excellent job breaking down many conclusions I do share.

In explaining how Existential Philosophy has had an impact upon Christian thought, he writes about how the issue of the historicity of the biblical account became secondary to the question of how the "story" aided SELF-understanding. Rudolph Bultman typified this when he wrote, "the meaning of history lies always in the present, and when the present is conceived as the eschatalogical present by Christian faith the meaning in history is realized." It doesn't matter whether the Bible is Truth or Myth, what matters is how it helps me understand ME.

Goldsworthy goes on to write, "Thus, 'Jesus in my heart' theology not only distorts the Trinitarian perspective of the New Testament, it comes very close to the internalized gospel of medieval Catholicism [i.e. grace redefined as a spiritual influence in the heart of the individual believer]. The doctrine of the new birth is often thought of as an evangelical distinctive, but when 'you must be born again' is made to be the gospel, the real objective and historical nature of the biblical gospel is compromised."

Wow! Is 'Jesus in my heart' a true representation of biblical truth? In looking at what the Bible has to say about salvation I find it involving things like repentance of sin/rebellion against God, turning from idols to the living God, that salvation results in a believer no longer serving sin, but serving God, that an individual becomes united with Christ and becomes a member of a corporate body serving as His ministers on earth. I don't see 'inviting Jesus into my heart' anywhere. While it's true that the believer is sealed with the HS until the day of his ultimate redemption, it's equally true that the Trinity embodies BOTH unity AND distinction. Members of the Trinity are not interchangeable!

Let's not be sloppy with our terminology. Let's not get our theology from songs and "Christianisms". Let's keep reading and studying the Truth and let's be careful how we represent it to others. Let's make God's Truth our blueprint for reality.

Truth in Advertising. . . and Love

In poetry there is a particular style which intimately itemizes a lover's beauty by using hyperbole and simile. It's called "blazon" or "blason". We certainly find a bit of this in Song of Solomon, but it develops into a particular style in the "romances" of the Middle Ages and on into the Renaissance.

Many of you are probably quite familiar with Shakespeare's marvelous sonnets. . . sigh. . . BUT chances are you never came across Sonnet 130, which parodies this "blazon" form of love poetry. I wouldn't recommend sending this to your "beloved", but enjoy the chuckle. . .

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.

How God's People Handle Despair: Psalm 77

We often have the mistaken notion that the man of God never despairs, never experiences deep pain or anguish, never suffers. So when it inevitably DOES enter our lives, we are shocked. We don't know how to deal with it and, in fact, we feel rather guilty for having experienced it in the first place! But that's a modern concept, NOT one we find in Scripture. Have you ever studied the Individual Psalms of Lament? Let's look at Psalm 77.

vv.1-9 God's People DO Cry Out with Anguish and Doubt

The key point here is that their cry is directed towards God. Asaph, the Psalmist, doesn't HIDE his anguish or DENY its existence. He cries out to God - repeatedly. He writes, "My soul refused to be comforted. When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint." In vv.4-6 he talks about his sleepless nights. He tries to muse on better times, but that offers no help. The end result is that his heart unceasingly broods and he sinks deeper and deeper into despair.

In vv.7-9, he asks the BIG QUESTIONS:

Has God rejected and forgotten me?
Has His unfailing love ended and its all anger now?
Have His promises failed?
Where is His mercy/grace?
Does God really care?

The REAL issue at the bottom of his despair is Doubt. Here is my pain. There is my God. This is my voice. Where is His answer?

vv.10-15 God's People Move On to Clarify Their Perspective

God's people cry out in anguish from time to time, but they ALSO move on to clarify their perspective. Verse 10 is the Pivot Point: "THEN I said, "It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed." Asaph realizes his perspective of grief is skewing his understanding of reality and he makes an appeal to the stability of God, rather than relying upon his own skewed perspective.

What action does he therefore take? "I will REMEMBER the deeds of the LORD... I will REMEMBER Your wonders of old." "I will MEDITATE on all Your work and MUSE on Your deeds." The focus of his thoughts change. No longer is he focusing on his pain and turmoil. Now He is focusing on God. He realizes that relief can only be found by deliberately fighting to remember God - FIRST and FOREMOST.

And what is the result of this change in focus? Notice the change in the pronouns. In vv.1-6 primarily 1st person pronouns are used [I, my] and after v.13 God dominates [You, Your]. Asaph demonstrates the Biblical process by which the believer escapes despair of the soul. He remembers God. He reviews God's works. He worships Him. He adjusts his view to God's eternal perspective.

vv.16-19 God's People Remember Their Redemption

As a result of his now clarified perspective, Asaph remembers God's past actions on behalf of His people [specifically, His deliverance at the Red Sea]. God's past actions on behalf of His people give Asaph HOPE that his own present and future are ALSO in God's hands.

Has God rejected and forgotten me? - No!
What about His love? - It's real!
Has His unfailing love ended and its all anger now? - Don't be silly!
What about His Promises? - They are true!
What about his Mercy? - Depend on it!
Does God really care? - Absolutely!

The pain is still there. The circumstances are still there. But God DOES care and He is NOT powerless. He WILL sustain and deliver. Asaph's immediate problem is DWARFED by a Greater Reality.

v. 20 God's People Express Their Ultimate Confidence

Just as God delivered Israel by the hand of Moses and Aaron, God will ultimately deliver Asaph ... and the man of God. Pain is not the sum total of our journey. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?... Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Romans 8:31 ff]

So when you find yourself, or a fellow believer, in the "slough of Despond", don't say, "buck up" or "get over it". Christians do not embrace Stoic philosophy. They turn to their God. Go back to Psalm 77 and study it.

[Based upon Rev. Dr. Dorrington Little's outline, Hamilton, MA, 2001]
Related Posts: To the Soul in Despair - "Don't Listen to Your Self" (Psalm 42)

The Disciplined Life: Proverbs 19:16-23

As Christian mothers, we've all heard Prov.19:18 taught, but usually it has been completely excised from it's greater context, and as a result, is less than useful. It's a great idea, but there are no specifics about how to implement it. So instead, many draw from man-centered wisdom to fill that gap of application ... or they just start making things up! Too much teaching tends to jump from Book to Book, verse to verse. There's no connection, other than theme perhaps, and no "big picture". I'm learning to primarily STAY within a particular passage and glean what is being taught in that context.

Read through Prov.19:16-23 a few times and pay attention to the FORM it takes. Recognizing its form helps you get the whole picture. These verses are in the form of a Chiasm (k-eye'-asm), which is significant to Hebrew poetry. Instead of rhyming, as our poetry often does, Hebrew poetry utilizes parallel forms, comparisons/contrasts, repetition of thought, lots of play on words [oooh... I REALLY need to learn Hebrew one of these days!]. A Chiasm is made up of verses mirroring thoughts. Follow the Chiastic pattern with me in this passage, and see if you don't get more out of it...

First note that A (v.16) and A1 (v.23) "bookend" the passage with similar thoughts - These are the KEYS to "The Disciplined Life": Obedience to God (v.16) and Reverent Fear of God (v.23). Now see how the rest fits in - it gives a beautiful illustration of WHAT we teach, HOW we teach and WHY we teach our children "The Disciplined Life".

A (16) Obedience to God's Way of Life Has Eternal Consequences [WHY]
B (17) Teach them to Have Compassion for the Poor, the Needy [WHAT]
C (18) Discipline your Children When They are Young [HOW]
C1 (19) Allow consequences for their actions [HOW]
D (20) Teach them to Submit to Instruction [WHAT]
D1 (21) Teach them to Acknowledge the Providence of God [WHAT]
B1 (22) Teach them Honesty: Better to be poor & honest [WHAT]
A1 (23) Reverent Fear of God Has Eternal Consequences [WHY]

So the Chiastic Pattern is: A - B - C - C1 - D - D1 - B1 - A1. [It would help if this format allowed me to Indent, but it doesn't.] Basically 16 & 23 are a couplet, 17 & 22 are a couplet, 18 & 19 are a couplet and 20 & 21 are a couplet and all are built around the same Theme - The Disciplined Life. Cool, huh?

Now there's passage to build a lesson... and a life around!!

The World of Joel

Today we had the 1st & 2nd graders at our VBS site. I have to share with you one young boy's outlook on the lesson. It helps if you happen to know this child, so apologies to those of you who don't. Let me just say that some day there will be a bestseller entitled "The Sayings of Joel".

In the first half of the class I was teaching the lesson [Luke 5:1-11]. I always try to have the children use their Bibles, so we allowed extra time to make sure everyone had a Bible and that it was open to the correct page. [NOT an easy task with this age group, I might add!] As I told them what happened I would stop and have them read a section out of their Bible and answer my questions. I called on Joel to read and he informed me that he didn't read, so I quickly passed on to another child. During the second half of the class, Sarah St. J. was teaching them the memory verse and had written it out on a large poster. After reading it together a few times Joel eagerly raised his hand, saying, "Excuse me. [note politeness: he has a VERY good mother!] May I say the verse by myself?" He then proceeded to READ the verse from the poster. Sarah looked amazed and said to him, "Joel, I thought you said you didn't read?" To which he replied, "Oh, I can read. I just don't read the Bible. My parents do it for me." [YOU try keeping a straight face after a comment like that!]

At the very end, Sarah called on the kids one at a time to say the verse without reading the poster. Joel did very well...till the end. Instead of saying, "They left everything and followed him", he said, "They left all their stuff and followed him." Now isn't that more memorable phrasing? I'd love to see his translation of the Bible!

"Great Ideas!"

You may have noticed I've been rather "blog-lax" lately. I've been busy developing two FUN classes - both rather labor intensive. The Lord has handed me my dream on a platter with all the trimmings - I've been hired to teach "Beginning Koine" twice a week to a group of elementary-grade homeschoolers and their Moms, starting this Fall. There's also the possibility of teaching a second group at the HS level. Once my mind was headed in this direction... the ideas began to flood in!

I would like to make the classes interdisciplinary by integrating Ancient Literature, History, Geography, Bible, Archaeology, Creative Writing, Art and my travels along with the language - a little at a time, of course. ;) The beauty is that such knowledge will be infinitely useful. This is learning that can be applied to NT Bible Study! The advantage of teaching the Moms along with their children is that THEY can learn it, which will enable them to practice it with their children the other 3 days of the week. [I'm working on Lesson Plans for them to accompany our Koine lessons.] AND they will be able to learn at a slower, less painful pace. Of course, it is entirely possible that at some point they may want to advance more rapidly...which should just fit in to the time 1st year Koine will again be offered at NSTM. What can I say... it's "win/win"!

The second class I have been working on is based upon another request. Many of the women in our Ladies' classes would like to have a class on how to teach the Bible- from exegesis to application. One advantage of putting this material together is that I will become a better teacher! I've been doing a lot of reading, studying and preparation. This could also take the rest of the summer. I have considered sharing some of the points in this blog as I progress. Such info will be old hat to some, but perhaps useful to others!

So, I am happily working away and should be forgiven my "temporary" laxity in blogging. Just don't give me any more FUN ideas... for a while anyway. ;)

Proverbial Sayings

When we consider modern English language, many idioms and proverbial sayings come to mind. For a person raised in THIS culture and time period, such figurative language presents no obstacle to understanding. But if you are an immigrant to whom English is a second language, it can cause a great deal of confusion. I have a friend from Taiwan who showed me a book she had brought with her to the US, entitled "American Idioms", written by a man whose primary language was Chinese. There were many, many errors in his book, some of which would have been incredibly embarrassing to have repeated in public! I suggested that she throw the book away and just learn them as she comes across them. Even within the United States there are various regional idioms and proverbial sayings unknown to the general population.

Now consider the Bible. We are removed 2000+ years from the time and thousands of miles from the cultures. Yet we often forget to take that into consideration when studying our Bibles. I find myself expecting that everything written in the Bible is totally unique apart from its time and cultures. Yet if we think about it, we should realize that time and culture were just as much used by the HS as each author's individual writing style and vocabulary were.

This can take on particular significance when applying the Grammatical-Historical method of interpretation. This literal method of interpretation takes into account the use of figurative language - metaphors, poetry, idioms, proverbial sayings, etc. But if you don't recognize something as figurative, you could easily misinterpret it literally.

For example, if I became frustrated trying to work on a project and laughingly said, "I think I'll just shoot myself", you would know that I'm laughing at my frustration. But if you didn't HEAR my laugh or tone of voice and you didn't pay attention to the CONTEXT in which I used the phrase, you might become concerned that I was threatening suicide. You can see how easy it can be to misunderstand the figurative use of language.

One of the advantages of reading "old stuff" is that in ancient writings I am always coming across material in non-biblical sources that I had previously assumed to be completely unique to the Bible. Suddenly a light bulb will come on and I'll understand that the biblical author was using a common proverbial saying or idiom from his time and culture to clarify his biblical point. If I don't understand that in my interpretation of the passage, I may erroneously put the emphasis in the wrong place - and miss the REAL point all together.

Recently I've been reading Plato. [It's another "Greek summer"! ;)] Today I came across two proverbial sayings that sounded very, very familiar to me and resulted in my reconsidering the biblical passages where they are used.

For example, Mark 9:43, 45 says:
Mar 9:43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
Mar 9:45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

Now if I interpreted that literally, I would be handless and footless by now! Fortunately, for most of us, common sense would tell us that Jesus is not teaching that we are to literally cut off a hand or foot, but he is using figurative language to teach the point of the heinousness of sin. I'm relieved that I have interpreted it this way, because I just happened to come across the very same proverbial saying in Plato's (431BC-351BC) "Symposium":
"And they will cut off their own hands and feet and cast them away, if they are evil"

What do you know? Jesus was repeating an ancient Mediterranean proverb to teach a point!! [Good thing I held off on the self mutilation!]

Here's another, less drastic, proverbial saying:
Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Plato, in "The Republic", in reference to the education of the Philosopher-King, writes:
"For wherewith shall it be salted if the salt have lost its savor?" The point is ... if something lacks its purpose, it's good for nothing. The context of Mt.5:13-16 makes it easy to now understand Jesus' meaning. If a follower of Christ doesn't have good works that glorify the Father, then they are worthless ... like salt that doesn't taste salty or a light that doesn't shine.

I guess the moral is to constantly remind ourselves that such figurative language, as well as possible quotes from works familiar to the original readers, existed. I think I will start keeping a list of them as I read through ancient writings. In the meantime, probably the best thing we can do to avoid major errors in interpretation is to -

(1) Be humble in realizing there is more to Bible interpretation than we may at first consider

(2) Read the Bible slowly, thoughfully and repeatedly

(3) CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT

(4) Try to determine the MAIN POINT the author is making, rather than getting too bogged down in the figurative language or even with a specific cultural practice that is only reflecting that main point

(5) Read more "old stuff"

Preparing for a "Literary Vacation"

Beth, Nehemiah and I are about to take a little "literary vacation" to the Berkshires this weekend. This kind of trip has become a tradition with my family and friends. The last two summers I have dragged numerous friends to Concord, Mass. to visit Hawthorne's home and his grave on Authors' Ridge, after forcing them to read some of his work first, of course. [Hey... the lunch at the Concord Inn makes it all worthwhile!] Hawthorne has become a favorite of mine in recent years and I marvel at how I am now able to understand and thoroughly enjoy his writing... which seemed so cold and distant to me when in I was in HS. I heard Beth recently voice one of my own observations - great literature is often wasted on the young. Partly I think a good teacher can make a huge difference in learning to understand and appreciate a work. What a difference Tim's prof in a Milton course made in his enjoyment of "Paradise Lost", a work few would willingly choose to read. Ah... if only we ALL had such teachers introduce us to great works!

But I also think we are better able to appreciate really great writing the more we are exposed to it, and the LESS we expose ourselves to bad writing. I'm always amazed at the depth of my friend Heather's knowledge in literature. She was raised in a home that enjoyed poetry and good literature, particularly English lit. I wish I could have had as much of an influence on my own children, but I didn't really begin to enjoy classic books until they were grown and gone.

One thing I like to do on "Literary" trips is buy a classic work at the author's home. They usually give out a nice bookplate to paste in the front, saying where the book was purchased. Some of my favorites include copies of "Little Women" from Louisa May Alcott's house in Concord, Mass., "The Old Man and the Sea" from Hemingway's house in Key West and Hawthorne's "Tales and Sketches" [which includes: "Mosses from an Old Manse", "Twice-Told Tales", "The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls" and "Tanglewood Tales"] from his home in Concord. I also cherish two books I got at the Huntington Library while visiting Tim in Cali - A replica of "The Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales" and "Shakespeare at the Huntington".

In preparation for our trip, Beth and I are reading "Moby Dick", as we're planning to go to Melville's House, and I'm also reading Edith Wharton's "A Backward Glance", her autobiography, in preparation for visiting her home, The Mount. I plan to buy a copy of "The Age of Innocence" at The Mount and two of Melville's early books based upon his own experiences as a South Seas sailor, "Typee" and "Omoo". After avoiding "Moby Dick" all these years, I have to say it's a surprisingly easy book to read. I am even enjoying his digressions into history and descriptions of whales and sailing. I've been quite surprised to find so much humor. I never would have expected that from Melville, but he makes me chuckle quite often. The book IS quite long, but who's in a hurry?

Wharton's autobiography has been so much fun I'm considering reconvening a Literary Luncheon Group just so we can enjoy discussing it. This summer I'm also determined to host my "Paddington Bear Tea" for several little girls who are friends of mine... before they are too old to appreciate it. I dragged a stuffed Paddington all the way home from London on one trip, holding him on my lap on the plane so his hat wouldn't be crushed. I've bought them all copies of the first Paddington Bear book. My idea is to have a "Tea" with my stuffed Paddington as our honored guest and then read a few chapters of the book to them, before giving them copies to bring home. Summer is meant for fun... and what could be MORE fun than reading?!

A Believer's View of God's Word

I'm not sure where the saying originated, but I hear it quoted from time to time. It's a warning that we should be "worshiping Christ and not the Bible". On one level it sounds quite logical and godly, but behind it is the idea that the two are mutually exclusive. That's not what I see when I read Scripture. Scripture itself tells me that it is "God-breathed" [2Tim3:16-17], that it contains "the oracles", the very words, of God [1Pet.4:11] and that I am to crave it as a newborn baby craves milk [1Pet.2:2]. God's Word reveals God. If we are worshiping Christ, we need to be doing so in Truth, as He has revealed Himself to us. Otherwise we're worshiping a false Christ, an idol of our own making.

John 4:23 "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."

How then should we view Scripture? Dr. Mayhue's book ["How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself"] gives an edifying summary:

1. A Commitment to Receive It
1Th 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

Paul preached an eternal message. Scripture contains the mind and the word and the will of God. It's eternal, non-negotiable, never-changing and absolute. It "is at work in...believers". Those who are "in Christ" need to receive it for what it truly is.

2. A Commitment to Feed On It
Job 23:8-12 "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food."

Job finds himself in circumstances he doesn't understand. He thought he had a good understanding of God, but now he finds himself groping in the darkness. He's trying to find the reality of God in the midst of horrendous circumstances. Where does He turn? He trusts in God's words - and the KEY is that this has been Job's lifelong experience. He didn't wait for disaster to strike. He had received and been consistently and continuously feeding on "the words of his mouth". It was MORE important to him than his daily nourishment! May our souls be satisfied because they've fed on that which is spiritually healthful and worth more than gold. We also need to be consistently and continuously FEEDING on God's Word.

Psa 19:7-10 "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb."

3. A Commitment to Obey It
Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Moses sent 12 men into the land. They all viewed the same scenery, they all experienced the same feelings, they all came back with the same report - there was a tough road ahead. But they were divided in their advice concerning what to do next. Ten concluded it was too difficult and they had better not go. Two, Joshua and Caleb, knew it wouldn't be easy... but concluded that they needed to go because God had said He would be with them.

What does God say about Caleb in the above verse? He calls him "MY servant". The servant of God "has a different spirit" and follows Him fully. God doesn't want a 70% follower, or a 90% follower....He wants a 100% follower! How can we be that? By knowing His Word and obeying it.

1John 2:4-6 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

4. A Commitment to Honor It
Neh 8:4-6 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose... And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

After the return from the Captivity Ezra read the Scripture to the people. How did they respond to it? They worshiped God. Our response, every time the Word of God is opened, should be worship, for in the pages of Scripture are seen the majesty and the greatness of God. There is only one right response to the living God, and that is to bow down and worship Him. Scripture reveals God! It's a privilege to have it, to know it and understand it, to receive it, to feed on it, and obey it. And one day, God will hold us responsible for it.

2Tim.2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Psalm 3: Readjusting Our Point of View

We can learn a lot from Psalm 3. David wrote it during the time he was trying to escape from his son Absalom, a tragic situation both as a father and as King.

Vv. 1-2 concern the circumstances David currently finds himself in. It is "the Seen", the reality of the situation from his earthly point of view. His circumstances don't look good - his adversaries have increased, many are rising up against him and many are saying God has either abandoned him or is unable to deliver him from this situation.

But in vv.3-5 David is reminded of how things REALLY are, "the Unseen" - the reality of the situation from God's point of view. God is his shield [protecting him], his glory ["kabod", the same Hebrew word used of God's glory in Exodus, etc. In this context he's probably talking about his "honor/dignity/reputation" being God-ward. God's opinion, not man's is what ultimately counts!] God is the One who hears him and sustains him! God is the One who makes sure David is even able to awake in the morning!

In v.6 David then readjusts his thinking in light of God's Truth- the Unseen Reality. He comes to understand that his circumstances aren't what he initially thought they were and he responds by readjusting HIS own view to that of God's. NOW he looks at the situation through the lens of God's truth/ultimate reality, instead of through his own limited point of view. Are his immediate circumstances any better? No! But his reaction to them has completely changed.

Finally, in vv.7-8 David reinforces what he has just learned. He reminds himself how God has delivered in the past. He reminds himself of God's sovereignty and power. He reminds himself that God is the One who will bring ultimate deliverance - in spite of how things may currently appear.

May we learn from David! How encouraging God's Word is!

Truth and Theory

I've been reading C.S. Lewis' "The Discarded Image", an introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature. Now don't glaze over on me here... stay with me. Lewis does a wonderful job explaining the Medieval World View. They especially had a love for the written word...ANY written word. If something was written in a book, it was considered to be true. At the same time, they believed that ALL this disparate information must somehow fit coherently into one, complex and harmonious mental "Model of the Universe". Any apparent contradictions, therefore, must be harmonized.

In constructing a theory for such a "Model", a few basic rules became established:
1) It was necessary "to save the phenomena/appearance", which meant that a Scientific Theory must "save" or "preserve" the appearances, the phenomena, it deals with - in the sense of getting them all in, doing justice to them.

2) Occam's Law/Occam's Razor added a 2nd Rule - Any theory of the "Model" should be able to do so with the fewest possible assumptions. The simplest theory is the most likely. For example, reading Shakespeare we discover that some plays are not written as well as other plays. Two possible "theories" might arise to explain this. Either (a) the bad plays were all put in by later adapters, or (b) Shakespeare wrote them when he was not at his best. Both Theories "save the phenomena/appearance", but Occam's Law would make us choose the one with the fewest possible assumptions. We know that there really was a writer named Shakespeare and that writers are not always at their best. We must, therefore, provisionally accept the 2nd Theory. If we can explain the bad plays without the assumption of a later adapter, then that is the better theory. [By contrast, today the "newness" of a theory often carries intrinsic weight!]

3) The third point is that any Theory is just that, a theory- which COULD be replaced in the future by a better theory. So, on the highest level, then, any theory concerning the "Model" was recognized as provisional.

Why am I bothering to go into all this? Because I can't help but compare it to the modern World View. Lewis writes, "In our age...the ease with which a scientific theory assumes the dignity and rigidity of fact varies inversely with the individual's scientific education." Ouch! How true! [Ever listened to talk radio? Read about "science" on the Internet?]

Two of Lewis' points particularly strike me:
(1) In our age people easily mistake "theory" with "fact"... and do so rigidly! [Ever heard of the theory of evolution?]

(2) Those with the least scientific knowledge are often the most dogmatic concerning what is true. [Ever consider the inadmissibility of "experiential evidence"?] And I certainly wouldn't limit this phenomenon to the field of science! [Consider Bible interpretation!]

Lewis brings out one further point. "The mass media which have in our time created a popular scientism, a caricature of the true sciences, did not then exist. The ignorant were more aware of their ignorance then than now." Ouch! How true!

We've actually institutionalized the notion that all opinions are equally valid. The idea of an "informed opinion" is archaic. Some of you may recall my mentioning the HS girl who critiqued Homer on amazon.com. I kid you not...this young lady felt fully qualified to tell Homer how "The Illiad" could have been improved! She knew absolutely nothing about Bronze Age Greek culture, she knew absolutely nothing about the literary structure, and she had read the book ONCE ... but she felt completely qualified to offer her criticism. As the ancient Greeks would have said..."What hubris!"

And we thought we had advanced since the Middle Ages?! Observations? Comments?

Herod's Tomb

By now you've likely heard about the recent discovery in Herodium of what is thought to be the tomb of Herod the Great. The archaeological world has been expecting it to be found at this site...they just didn't know exactly WHERE. Herod built a fortress-palace in Herodium, one of his many amazing building projects. He also built a city, Lower Herodium, at the bottom of the hill. Sections of the city have previously been excavated, including a synagogue and mikveh for ritual bathing.

Ehud Netzer has been working at this site for over 35 years. Herod's probable tomb was found on the side of the hill, quite low down. Netzer speculates that the podium [approx. 32' x 32'] once supported a Mauseleum, with the actual tomb located beneath. Architectural elements of such a Mauseleum, dated to Herod's time and of "kingly" quality, were found.

The sarcophagus inside the tomb was found smashed into pieces. Any identifying inscriptions did not survive the desecration. Vengeful participants in the First Jewish Revolt against Rome were known to have destroyed the tomb and sarcophagus about 70 years after Herod's death.

The chances of now finding definitive evidence to positively link the tomb to Herod the Great are pretty unlikely. But the probability is quite high that this was indeed where he was buried. I came across some of Netzer's pictures and thought you might like to see some "close-ups" of the find. Most shots I've seen in the media have been archive footage of Herodium. Enjoy this sneak peek of the actual find!

Biblical Stewardship

In the current edition of Mission to the Military's "Messenger", there's an article by my good friends, the Hammons, missionaries at Ft. Bragg. I was particularly struck by a quote from one young Christian soldier they have been working with concerning his own ministry as a steward of God's grace. He said "His current task is an unexpected deployment to Iraq".

He's absolutely right! That IS "his current task" from God...it's NOT an "interruption" of his plans or an "unforeseen circumstance" or a "tragedy" that he was deployed to Iraq! It was the "current task" God had given him to do. I was reminded of the Apostle Paul presenting the same point of view in Phil.1:12-14, and its background in Acts 28:17-31.

Paul was under "house arrest" in Rome, with rotating Roman soldiers perpetually guarding him as he awaited the hearing of his case before the Emperor. But Paul didn't look at it as "a tragedy" or as "an interruption" to his evangelistic efforts. He saw it for what it truly WAS - God's current plan for his life. He writes:

"I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." [Probably because they had been observing Paul's actions and attitude!]

Paul didn't sit around downcast, "waiting for the trial to pass". He viewed the situation for what it REALLY was - his next assignment from God! When he settled in at Rome, Acts 28 tells us:

"After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews...When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets...He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness..."

Paul, and that young soldier from Ft. Bragg, understood something so many believers do not - Stewardship concerns properly using what God has graciously given every believer - our faith... our resources... our spiritual gifts... our entire lives. THAT glorifies Him!