Category: Bible Studies

“Look at all the lonely people” goes the haunting refrain of an old Beatles tune. Have you ever been so lonely you ache? Loneliness is a bitter pill, and we rightly run from it. But there is an alternative to loneliness.

How would you complete the sentence, “A friend is someone who _________________ “? Most answers would be something like “a friend is someone you can count on” or “a friend will never leave you lonely” or “a friend is someone you can talk to.” But what about, “A friend is someone you can be quiet with”?

When you are with some people, you have to keep up the conversation and avoid those awkward periods of booming silence. On the other hand, there are some people you are so comfortable with, so secure with; you can just enjoy their presence.

Richard Foster observes, “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.” He then goes on to describe the examples of Jesus and solitude. Jesus inaugurated his ministry by spending forty days alone (Matthew 4:1-11). Before he chose the Twelve, he spent the night by himself (Luke 6:12). When he learned of the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, he withdrew “to a lonely place apart” (Matthew 14:13). After feeding the multitudes, he sent the apostles away and “went up into the hills by himself” (Matthew 14:23). The list goes on and on and on. Jesus valued solitude, and so should we.

Jerry Rushford remains one of my favorite teachers, especially when he teaches about hymns. One of the most memorable classes was about a young hymn-writer, Edward Perronet (1721 – 1792). His family were French Huguenots and were forced to flee first to Switzerland and then to England where they became involved with the Evangelical Movement along with Whitefield and the Wesley brothers, John and Charles.

Although Edward was very critical of the Anglican Church, he once wrote, “I was born and I am like to die in the tottering communion of the Church of England; but I despise her nonsense.” His senior, John Wesley, approached him time and time again to preach, but Edward resisted. He felt it was improper for a younger man to preach, especially when someone as capable as John Wesley was present, but Wesley was persistent, and eventually Perronet conceded.

“Although I have been forced to preach against my will in the presence of such notable men, I shall preach the finest sermon anyone has ever heard,” he announced. And he did. He stood up and read the Sermon on the Mount and sat down.

Perronet wrote “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” in 1789, but he was so humble, it wasn’t until 126 years after it was printed that researchers finally discovered Edward Perronet was the author!

His hymn is normally sung to one of two tunes. “Miles Lane,” was written by a nineteen-year-old organist in London, William Shrubsole, and “Coronation” was written in 1793 by American Oliver Holden in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Naturally our English brethren prefer the tune “Miles Lane” in their hymnals, while Americans almost universally sing it to “Coronation.” 

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

(Note: John Rippon composed verse 7 which is verse 4 in Songs of Faith and Praise #145 and #161. The lesser-known tune, “Diadem” was written in 1838 by James Ellor. See hymn #145)

For Americans, it’s a time for us to celebrate freedom. A new administration and a new president is about to take office. We are not under the thumb of a dictator or a despot. We are free! One of my favorite Christian authors is John R. W. Stott. He pointed out, “One of the best ways of sharing the gospel with modern men and women is to present it in terms of freedom.”

“Freedom” is a great Christian word (Luke 4:18, 19; John 8:36; Galatians 5:1). It is an extremely appealing topic, but freedom is also much misunderstood. I once read a quote from a Marxist, “When we get freedom, you’ll do what you’re told!”

What does it mean to be free? True freedom has limitations. If two people jump out of an airplane and only one of them has a parachute, which one do you think will enjoy the experience of sky-diving more?

As Christians, we are freed from guilt, freed from sin, and freed from fear. But in addition to being freed from, we are also freed to. Again Stott points out, “True freedom is freedom to be ourselves, as God made us and meant us to be.” That’s an important limitation!

Think about it. God is not free. He cannot be tempted or lie or tolerate evil. His freedom is freedom to be himself! What is true for the Creator is true for us. I think about taking our granddaughters to the beach. Rachel loves chasing the little fish swimming in the shallows along the shore. Now it’s an important truth that fish were created for the water. We learned that they are not very happy on the shore or in your pocket. Fish were created for the water, and that’s where they are happiest.

People were created for love. Robert Southwell wrote, “Not when I breathe, but when I love, I live.” True love is self-giving. True freedom is freedom from my silly little self in order to live for God and others (See Mark 8:35). As the fish are created for the sea, so we were created to love. The Apostle John wrote, “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another…. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers…. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:11, 16, 18).

Perga is a swamp. After the delights of their preaching tour through Cyprus, Perga in Pamphylia must have seemed like the end of the world. The air was stagnant and infested with mosquitoes. To refined Jews, the pagans who lived there must have seemed a godless race. On top of it all, Paul might have contracted malaria. Their assistant John Mark had had enough. He packed up and returned to Jerusalem. Barnabas stayed with Paul and managed to get his friend inland, to a higher clime and a healthier environment. Later, Paul wrote to the Galatians who lived in the highlands north of Perga, “You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. … For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me” (Galatians 4:13-15).

 It’s easy to understand why John Mark fled home to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), and we can understand why Paul was reluctant to trust Mark after that experience (Acts 15:38). On the other hand, Barnabas was adamant about giving John Mark a second chance, but Paul was equally insistent not to. Once trust has been broken, it’s tough to regain. The dispute became so great; the two old friends went their separate ways. History tells us Barnabas and Mark went to Egypt while the Bible describes Paul’s journey with Silas and Timothy back through Galatia and on to Europe.

So why didn’t Paul forgive John Mark and let him go with them? I’d like to think Paul did forgive Mark for deserting him, but does that mean Paul was obligated to go on as if nothing had happened? Trust is a precious commodity. It must be earned. Once it has been lost, it is hard to regain.

So how did John Mark react to all of this? When he heard about the plans for a second missionary journey, did he ask for a second chance? Or was he so ashamed of his behavior he didn’t even dare to dream about going with them? Was it wholly Barnabas’ idea? After all, Barnabas was John Mark’s relative. Did Barnabas seek Mark out after he and Paul decided to split up?

How would you react if you were given a second chance? Forgiveness is a beautiful, energizing thing, but here is the point. Mark didn’t talk Paul into trusting him. I like to think John Mark worked harder and longer and became worthy of the apostle’s trust. I know Mark’s reputation was restored. Peter calls him “my son” (1 Peter 5:13), and Paul told Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Yes, trust can be lost, but our God is a God of new beginnings. Trust can be restored.  It was true for John Mark, and it can be true for you.

“Either you are or you aren’t.” Have you ever known someone who makes a decision and then changes his mind — often over and over again? Perhaps they’ve changed it so many times no one knows what they really stand for anymore. Can you imagine the inner turmoil that poor soul must be experiencing!

James, the brother of Jesus, was quite a wordsmith. He had that wonderful ability to coin new words that exactly and picturesquely capture ideas. For example, when James wants to describe a very wealthy man who visits a church service, he says the man is wearing so many rings he literally has “golden fingers” (2:2).

We’ve all heard the derogatory term “two-faced” to describe a person who says one thing and then does something else. We might say he speaks “out of both sides of his mouth” but if he sincerely means both things the problem is much deeper than that. He doesn’t know what he believes! James coined a new word for the Greek language to describe just such a person. He has “two-souls” (dipsuchos).

The word only appears twice in the New Testament and both of them are in James’ epistle (1:8; 4:8). Most of our English Bibles translate James’ new word as “double-minded” but the New Living Translation gets at the heart of the meaning by explaining this kind of person “is divided between God and the world” (James 1:8). “That man” — the person who doubts the love of God — “should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does,” (1:7 – 8). In chapter four James gives the cure for double-mindedness, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” (4:8). Come to a decision and stand by it!

Other early Christian writers began using James’ new word. The Shepherd of Hermas, writing in the Second Century observed, “But those who are perfect in faith make all their requests trusting in the Lord, and they receive them, because they ask unhesitatingly, without any double-mindedness. For every double-minded man, unless he repents, will scarcely be saved,” (Man. IX, 6). 

Clement of Rome, writing about the same time that John wrote Revelation, says Lot’s wife was a good example of a double-minded person. She wanted to be saved but she also wanted to be with her friends in Sodom “and as a result she became a pillar of salt to this day, that it might be known to all that those who are double-minded … fall under judgment,” (1 Clement 11.2).

So what’s it going to be for you — the clear sight of single-mindedness or the appalling confusion of double-minded indecision? 

Some people try to make the case that death is a good thing – it is just a part of life. I recently read a statement from a prominent pastor, “Death is a part of life. Dying is as natural as being born,” but how does the Bible talk about death?

The Widow of Nain

Only six miles from Jesus’s boyhood home of Nazareth lays the little village of “Nain,” which means beautiful and the view from there is. However, on this day, the view was anything but beautiful. A widow, dressed in black, was walking behind the litter on which rested her only son, her only hope (Luke 7:11).

If death were a good thing and only part of life, then Jesus would have comforted her with those words. Instead, Jesus raised the young man back to life and gave him to his mother.

Jairus’s Daughter

After this, Jesus returned to Capernaum. There was a desperate man. His name was Jairus, and he was an important official in the synagogue there. Jairus might have been skeptical about Jesus – perhaps even hostile. It may be that Jairus was there when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. Maybe he was there when the Centurion’s servant was healed. Jairus may have been filled with confusion and doubt, but when his daughter was torn with fever, and the outlook was death, he went to find Jesus, but he was too late. His little daughter died.

Jesus told him: “Do not fear; only believe and she will be well” (Luke 8:50).

The Curse of Adam

Death is a curse. God told Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16, 17) and that’s precisely what he did. From that day forth, Adam and Eve began to age and get sick and to die. And because we are Adam’s children, we are under the same curse. Because of Adam’s sin, death has reigned overall.

Death is Not Good

God is good, but death is evil. It brought tears to the eyes of Jesus, and saying goodbye still brings tears to our eyes. Yes, we have hope, not just that we will live again, but there is more. The Apostle Paul wrote:

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:22 – 26).

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” There is a great day coming!

The Apostle Paul tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” in Ephesians 6:13-17. Then he goes on to list what that includes: the pants of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel of peace, the shield of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit and the helmet of salvation.

A radio preacher once declared he didn’t want any “streakers” running around in his congregation. He explained those are the ones who are only wearing “the helmet of salvation.” He wanted everyone fully clothed in the whole armor of God.

I wonder if we have any streakers — people who have been baptized, but never truly developed a relationship with God? To change metaphors, they haven’t put down spiritual roots. It’s a shame how many people have never learned how to pray, meditate, fast or study. Perhaps now they are too embarrassed to ask anyone to teach them.

I can identify with those folks. I vividly remember obeying the gospel, but as I came out of the baptistery I wondered, “What do I do next?” The simple answers were “live the Christian life” and “spread the Good News,” but no one really showed me how or what that means.

The “Spiritual Disciplines” are all about growing deeper in our relationship with God. They begin with the “inner disciplines” – learning how to pray, fast, meditate and study and then they manifest themselves in the “outward disciplines” — simplicity, service, submission and solitude. Finally, there are also the “corporate disciplines” – the activities of relationship – worship, confession and celebration. But to really grow spiritually, you will want to be a part of a small group. In the company of the committed, you’ll learn how. Join a few other Christians to share stories, laugh, cry, pray and learn in an informal setting. You’ll not only learn how to put on the whole armor of God, but you’ll make wonderful new friends who really care about each other.