Category: Bible Studies

The Biblical Archaeology Society just sent me this interesting notice:

The Hebrew Bible mentions left-handed people on three occasions: the story of Ehud’s assassination of the Moabite king (Judges 3:12–30), the 700 Benjamites who could use the sling with deadly accuracy (Judges 20:16) and the two-dozen ambidextrous warriors who came to support David in Hebron (1 Chronicles 12:2). All of these stories of left-handed people in the Bible appear in military contexts, and, curiously, all involve members of the tribe of Benjamin.[1]

These facts have always been fascinating to me since I, too, am left-handed. My elementary school teachers were a step ahead of the previous generation, where lefties were forced to use their right hand. However, they still penalized me for smudging the ink as my hand rubbed over the letters of my compositions, and because my penmanship became squirrely as I contorted my hand to write around the rings of my three-ring binder.

It may just be a conjecture, but I would like to think the Apostle Paul was also left-handed. After all, he was from the tribe of Benjamin too.

It has often been pointed out, since scientists agree the left side of our brain controls the right side of our bodies and the right side of our brain controls the left side of our bodies, only left-handed people are in their right minds … 

Blessings! John

  [1] Downloaded August 13, 2020 from https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/left-handed-people-in-the-bible/?mqsc=E4118479&dk=ZE0480ZF0&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHDDaily%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=8-13-2020_Bedouin_Culture_in_the_Bible

She was upset, and I can’t blame her. The song leader changed the words to a grand old hymn. (“When we all get to heaven” became “When the saved get to heaven.” Apparently, he believed some of the singers were vile sinners, but that is a story for another day.) This sweet, upset sister raised an interesting question: “When should we change the words of a hymn?”

Obviously, the meanings of words change over time. So, it seems reasonable to change the text to make the hymn understood. Did you know the original lyrics to “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” were “Hark How All the Welkin Rings”? Likewise, the beautiful hymns “Night with Ebon Pinon” and “Here I raise my Ebenezer” are rarely understood by moderns. Perhaps it is time to modernize them. I am especially worried about children and new Christians misunderstanding our songs. I remember one young man asking why we were singing about “Gladly the Cross-eyed Bear” and “Bringing in the Cheese.”

Likewise, we don’t use words like thee and thou in our prayers or in worship anymore. Why should they continue to hold a place in our hymnals?

But change can be dangerous. My friends at the Methodist Church are struggling to update their hymns by using gender-neutral words. (As they sing, some are changing “God Our Father” to “God Our Mother.”) The poor Presbyterians are wrestling with hymns that celebrate substitutionary atonement. (The hymn “In Christ Alone” has a line “the wrath of God was satisfied.” Some believe that reflects a vision of an angry God, and so it was left out of their latest hymnal.) Even worse, the Canadian Anglican church just released Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community, which has been warmly received by many Episcopalians here in the states. The Lord isn’t even mentioned in some of the hymns.

Please excuse my curmudgeonly attitude as I sit in my rocker. The church was born in song – just consider Mary and Elizabeth in the opening chapters of Luke. Music is an essential part of our worship, but it has always been controversial. (Should the congregation sing or just the minister? Should women be allowed to sing? Can we sing “contrived hymns” or should we only use the words of Scripture like the Psalms?)

For me, though, the greatest tragedy during this pandemic has been the loss of our voices as we worship in song. Lord, when can we take these masks off and sit together again?

Blessings,

John

Last night a thunderstorm broke over my house. It woke me up. The flashing lightning and the booming thunder led me out of bed. Although it was about 2:00 in the morning, I slipped into my jeans, pulled on a t-shirt, and walked out onto the porch. The rain came down in sheets – a Kansas “toad strangler.” The wind mussed my hair, and the rain wet my feet. The spectacle was just beginning. Stabs of lightning cracked between the clouds. Thunder shook the house. I took a sheltered seat and watched.

In the midst of it all, one defiant lightning bug struggled against the storm. His little light burned bright, flashing on and off as he dodged left and right. The harder it rained, the brighter he glowed. Behind him, in the sky, ragged daggers of blazing light flashed. Below, dodging the raindrops, his tiny glow burned bright.

Of course, it was hopeless. None of his kin were to be found. They had either been washed away or had sensibly taken shelter under the leaves of the tree in my front yard. Still, my little friend pressed on. Suddenly he was dashed to the sidewalk. Still, he tried to flash his light. His glow grew dark, and I would have sworn he was finished, but then he defiantly blazed again.

It was hopeless. The winds pinned him to the ground, and it was only a matter of time before he would drown. Why didn’t he just give up? Why did he continue to struggle? Then his tail blazed in glory again. He couldn’t move. He certainly couldn’t fly, but he let his light shine brighter than ever. My tiny friend embodied courage and perseverance. Glow bug glow! On. Off. On. Off. Brighter, then fading away. The inevitable moment came. After a heroic struggle, sadly, he was gone. The soaking wet sidewalk sank back into darkness. I sat back in my chair, and the steam from a mug of hot coffee swirled before me.

“Lord, is there a lesson to be learned from this drama?” I sat for a long time in silence. The booming thunder punctuated my thoughts. Then I began to sing a song from my childhood.

“This little light of mine.

I’m gonna let it shine!”

Lord, I would like to believe you gave my little friend a new life. Perhaps in glory, his tiny bioluminescent tail has been replaced with lightning bolts of glory in the heavens. Meanwhile, that childhood song has a new meaning for me. Big or small, let your light shine!

Have you thought about Christian qualifications? In 1 Timothy, Paul told his protégé “an overseer” that is an elder, “must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (1 Timothy 3:2 – 3). 

This is a surprising list. Where is “He must be a good communicator,” or, “He must be organized.” You could argue, Paul’s list doesn’t include skills. It focuses on virtues. For me, an essential attribute is “hospitable.” It’s often overlooked, and a good case can be made it is a dying virtue in our society. I believe hospitality is a significant key to church growth, but we need to understand the difference between hospitality and entertaining.

The following differentiation between “hospitality” and “entertaining” was made by Karen Mains in Open Heart, Open Home (Elgin, Ill.: Cook, 1976):

Entertaining says, “I want to impress you with my home, my clever decorating, my cooking.” Hospitality, seeking to minister, says, “This home is a gift from my Master. I use it as He desires.” Hospitality aims to serve.

Entertaining puts things before people. “As soon as I get the house finished, the living room decorated, my housecleaning done—then I will start inviting people. Hospitality puts people first. “No furniture—we’ll eat on the floor.” “The decorating may never get done—you come anyway.” “The house is a mess—but you are friends—come home with us.”

Entertaining subtly declares, “This home is mine, an expression of my personality. Look, please, and admire.” Hospitality whispers, “What is mine is yours.”[1]

  [1] Quoted in Green, M. P. (Ed.). (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

My wife Jan and I are starting to plan our vacation for this fall. With the pandemic, our choices are limited, but fortunately, we love to hike and camp, so I believe we’re heading west to Colorado for some backpacking.

When I was younger, I didn’t need much – a tiny tent, a small stove, a light sleeping bag, and a few odds and ends were all it took for a week in the woods. Now I’m not so sure. These old bones need some kind of pad to sleep on and a few more clothes to stay warm. A nice mug and some good coffee don’t seem like “extras,” but how much do we really need to be happy? If you were going on a two-week backpacking trip and had to carry everything you needed on your back for miles, what would you take? I remember taking a group of teens on just such a trip. One poor girl was surprised to learn there were no “current bushes” to plug her hot curlers into that first night on the trail.

The Apostle Paul shared this thought with his beloved Philippians:

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:10 – 13).

To be with and in hunger and still be happy? To be full and not want even more? What is the secret to contentment? How is it possible to be satisfied in spite of desires? Perhaps if we understood this one promise – “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” – we would be content. What does that mean to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Now hand me that camping catalog. I’m sure I’m forgetting something I can’t do without!

This past week my son and his family passed through town on their way to their new duty station. It was great to see the grands, and we pulled out some boxes of old family memories. Scrapbooks and memory boxes can be beautiful reminders of our past. Sometimes they make us laugh, and sometimes they make us cry, but they connect us with our story. So it is with our text today, 2 Timothy 1:6, 7.

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The Apostle Paul reminds Timothy to think about his past, the love of Timothy’s mother and grandmother, and the apostle’s tears. The reason wasn’t nostalgic. It’s motivational. Just like a campfire needs constant attention, we need to fan our faith into a flame.

We have all received gifts from our heavenly Father. They are different from the gift Timothy received, but they are just as precious. Our gifts, like Timothy’s, require diligence: “For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Notice there four qualities,

First, God didn’t give us a Spirit of timidity. We have received the Spirit of Power! Do you remember when the Sanhedrin – the most powerful government body in Israel – called the apostles before them? Peter boldly proclaimed:

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Now notice the council’s reaction:

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished (Acts 4:11 – 13).

You have been born again! You are a child of the King! It’s time to speak up!

Second, not only have we received the Spirit of power, we have received the Spirit of love. The opposite of love isn’t hate – it’s selfishness. The use of our God-given talents without love leads only to pride, but if we use our gifts with love, they will be tempered with gratitude, and others will be encouraged to use their gifts as well.

Finally, we have received the Spirit of self-discipline. (The King James Version says we have received a “sound mind.”) Self-discipline means we don’t think too highly of ourselves, and we don’t think too lowly of ourselves. We consider ourselves with sober judgment. That’s a beautiful thing. Some people look in the mirror, and it makes them sad. They don’t see themselves through God’s eyes. Jesus was willing to die for that person, you see. God was willing to let Jesus do that! You are special.

Other people can’t walk past a department store widow without checking out their reflection – and grinning. They walk on air and feel like the rest of us should be pleased just to be in their presence. We need to recognize the difference between pride and a healthy self-esteem!

“Power, love, and self-control.” Three great gifts of the Spirit! Consider these three questions in your time with God today:

1. How does the presence of God’s Spirit empower us?
2. How does the presence of God’s Spirit teach us to love?
3. How does the presence of God’s Spirit teach us self-discipline?

The funeral was over. Everyone was walking back to the cars. I had done a good job. Dad would have been proud. Now it was my turn to say “good-bye.” I reached out and touched his coffin and wept uncontrollably.

Dad was a good man, and I was going to miss him. He loved my mom as few men ever loved their wives. He worked hard and often muddled his way through fatherhood, but we knew he loved us. Where was he now?

The world of departed souls is called hades, a Greek word that simply means “unseen.” It is equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheol in the Old Testament. In the earliest days of the church, Christians believed hades referred to a transitory abode of the departed.

However, in the Roman Catholic Church, from the days of Gregory I, hades was transformed into purgatory, a place of torment where sins were purged until the soul was pure enough to enter heaven. However, Jesus never mentioned purgatory. The apostles hadn’t heard of such a thing. It has no place in the Bible and thus has no place in the teachings of the church. It’s a Catholic thing, not a Christian belief.

On the other hand, in reaction, Protestants went too far. In their minds, they linked the Catholic doctrine of purgatory with the Greek word hades that is found ten times in the New Testament. To make sure no one used the word hades to support belief in purgatory, they translated both hades and the normal Greek word for hell, gehenna (found 12 times in the New Testament), as “hell.” Compare these three English translations of Acts 2:31 where Peter is commenting on Psalm 116:

According to the King James translation, Jesus was in hell!

KJV [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The new translation, the English Standard Version, doesn’t translate the Greek word at all.

ESV [David] foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

However, the New International Version gets at the sense of the Greek word hades:

NIV Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.

In other words, the Bible teaches there is a great day coming: the Judgment Day. Between life and the judgment is hades, the grave – not hell or purgatory.

So what is hades like? The New Testament gives us several metaphors, but the most common comfort is, for Christians, death is like sleep.[1] Listen to Paul’s description of the great day:

The Coming of the Lord

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

My uncle came back from the car, put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me, and said, “Your father was a Christian John, and so are you.” Rest well, Dad. I’ll see you again on that Great Day.

  [1] The doctrine of “soul-sleeping” (technically called psychopannychism)is different altogether. People who believe in soul-sleeping believe the body and the soul are destroyed in death. They think at the resurrection God re-creates the souls of the righteous!

There are two purposes in biblical worship: to glorify God (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14; Revelation 4:8-11; 5:9-12) and to satisfy our most basic need: to be transformed (Romans 12:1, 2). Just as Jesus was transformed on the mount (Luke 9:28 ff.), so we are transformed from the inside out.

Worship Failures

Unfortunately, all too often, we fail in worship. It could be we were looking for an experience rather than an encounter. It’s easy to mistake feelings for substance. We may depend on worship being sensual: filled with sights, sounds, and smells rather than being filled with the Spirit. Old Testament worship in the Temple was a very sensual experience. The Temple itself was a feast for the eyes. The sounds of the choirs and instruments capture their attention. Even the scents of incense and the burning sacrifices enwrapped the experience. Today we may depend on multimedia and performance to carry us away in worship.

Failure to focus also derails our worship. It can be hard to shift from loading the family in the car, dealing with abusive drivers, and a thousand distractions. Mrs. Peabody’s perfume may cause us to long for burnt offerings. Mr. Abercromby’s snoring is certainly a distraction. Worries about work, relationships, and the big game conspire to blunt our devotion.

Finally, depending on others also dulls our worship. Sometimes we forget God is the audience, and we are the worshippers. Perhaps it seems like worship is becoming a spectator sport! We judge the success of our worship by how we were entertained.

Worship Success

Here are my suggestions.

1.         Recapture a sense of wonder. Alfred North Whitehead observed: “Philosophy begins with wonder.” Emerson added, “Wonder is the seed of science,” but Thomas Carlyle wrote, “Wonder is the basis of worship.”

2.         Sense the presence of God. Warren Weirsbee says, “[Worship] is an encounter with reality – with God – that brings awe to your heart. You are overwhelmed with an emotion that is a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear – and love.”

3.         Cultivate a sense of gratitude. This requires honesty. Strip off all hypocrisy and our airs. True confession requires an honest examination of our progress in Christ and a profession of our faith and gratitude.

Talking about sin seems so irrelevant. If I mention “sin,” what do you think of? Eating an extra slice of chocolate cake? Sin should make us feel guilty, but we have become very good at avoiding the pain of guilt. Let’s look at some of the ways we do that:

1. Passing the buck. When God accused Adam of sin, he blamed Eve. When God confronted Eve, she blamed the snake. We still pass the responsibility for sin on to others. “It’s not my fault.”
2. Calluses. When we repeatedly hurt ourselves, our bodies develop calluses. Our spirits can do the same thing in response to the pain of sin.
3. Giving it a new name. We don’t talk about “perversions.” We talk about “preferences” as if a new name will make a difference.
4. Anesthesia. Pain can be masked.
5. Paint over rust. Rather than address the problem, cover it up!
6. Propitiate the pain. “I’m not good with kids. Here’s ten bucks.”

Sadly, there comes a time when we can’t escape the pain any longer. In the eight century B.C., in Jerusalem, there lived a good man named Isaiah. I suspect if you had asked anyone in the city to name a good man, Isaiah’s name would have been prominent, but then Isaiah encountered God:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

                  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

                  the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Even though we think of Isaiah as a good man, no one is good in the presence of the Lord. We can’t hide or ignore our sins any longer. What was the solution for sin? It wasn’t soap. It wasn’t paint.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s response is what intrigues me. He didn’t cry out in pain or ask for ointment. The prophet was filled with gratitude. In our age of entitlement, gratitude may have fallen on hard times, but the attitude of gratitude is the essence of worship. Perhaps our lack of gratitude may explain why worship has fallen on such hard times.

The Boy Scout oath begins, “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country,” but honor is a word that has fallen on hard times. People seem to have forgotten what honor means and why it should be valued, so let’s begin by asking, “What is honor?” 

Honor is a social value rather than a psychological value. It’s more than a personal standard like integrity. K.C. Hanson says, “Honor is not simple self-esteem or pride; it is a status-claim which is affirmed by the community.”[1] For example, Gamaliel was “a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34). In other words, honor refers to value.

In a selfish world, you determine your own value. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks; I’m watching out for number one!” That makes for an interesting equation. Honor is inversely related to selfishness. The more I care about my own needs and desires, the less valuable I become to the world around me, including my friends and loved ones. The more I care about others, the more valuable I become, the greater honor I receive. To be an honorable person, means I must put others first, and isn’t that the basis of love?

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:9, 10).

Consider these Scriptures:

“The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor,” Proverbs 15:33, see also 18:12).

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21).

“Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool” (Proverbs 26:1).

“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Proverbs 29:23).

 “We aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man” (2 Corinthians 8:21).

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things,” (Philippians 4:8).

  [1] Hanson, K. C. (1995). How Honorable! How Shameful! a Cultural Analysis of Matthew’s Makarisms and Reproaches. Semeia, 68, 83.