The Word

2009-01-11T07:37:00.007-05:00

2 Thessalonians 2: Rumor Control

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

In reading the book of 2 Thessalonians, you will find an uncanny similarity to the subjects of Paul's first letter: Jesus' second coming, spiritual growth, idleness among certain non-workers. Obviously, they failed to listen well the first time, so a a sterner, more formal approach replaces the warm tenderness of Paul's first letter.

The controversy in Thessalonica actually traces back to a portion of Paul's first letter that answered his readers' questions about the afterlife. Will people who have already died miss out on the resurrection from the dead? That is more than an idle question for the Thessalonians, who live with the constant danger of persecution and the risk of martyrdom.

In his first letter, Paul assured them that people still living when Jesus returns to the earth will rejoin those who have died before them. Since receiving that letter, however, the Thessalonians have gone several steps beyond Paul's advice.

The expectation of Jesus' return evidently prompted some to quit their jobs and do nothing but sit around in anticipation of that day. They are becoming, in Paul's words, "idle...busy-bodies" (3:11). So, Paul writes mainly to correct this imbalance. In chapter 2 he tells of certain obscure events that must precede the second coming of Jesus. He also strongly warns against idleness. Some verses may prove confusing; indeed, no one can be certain of Paul's meaning in exact detail because he is building on a teaching he earlier gave the Thessalonians in private.

Reflection

In preparing for Jesus' second coming, we should all take Paul's advice as he cautions us to be patient and steady. He urges us to simply trust the fact that Jesus will return and finally bring justice to earth. In the meantime, we need to live worthily for that day and to not tolerate idleness...but live our our lives as Christ would have us.

2009-01-03T07:29:00.000-05:00

1 Thessalonians 3-4: Preparing for the End

And so we will be with the Lord forever. therefore encourage each other with these words.

One question seems to bother the Thessalonians: When will Jesus return to the earth as he promised? That question, still asked by Christians today, has troubled the church ever since Jesus' departure. The Thessalonians have some other, related questions as well. What about people who die before Jesus returns? Will they somehow miss out on life after death? Paul gives a direct and encouraging answer.

The Thessalonians have good reason to concern themselves with the future. Like some Christians in modern times, they live in constant danger of persecution by the authorities. On any night a knock on the door or the scrape of footsteps outside could mean imprisonment or death. Understandably, the young church looks forward to Jesus' second coming with longing and hope.

Paul assures its members that hope in the future is well-founded, whether or not they live to see Jesus' return. But he warns against an undue fixation on the future. Lead a quiet life and mind your own business, Paul advises.

Reflection

The Thessalonians are merely one of the first in a long line of Christians concerned with future events. Whole generations-including many today- have been caught up in a frenzy over the exact time and place of the second coming, only to watch their predictions misfire. I believe the entire business world/ computer network was suppose to mysteriously shut down on January 1, 2000. In his letter here, Paul shrugs off such speculation (5:1-2). He presents the right way and the wrong way to prepare for Jesus' return.

2008-12-30T06:59:00.006-05:00

Colossians 1: Spanning the Gap

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things.

Don't be surprised if Colossians strikes you as vaguely familiar. More than half of its verses have close parallels in Ephesians. The cities of Colosse and Ephesus were neighbors in Paul's day, and one of the believers in Ephesus has taken the gospel message to Colosse. Paul, who has never visited Colosse, writes this letter to people who know him by reputation only. The letter opens on an optimistic note, with Paul thanking God for the Colossians' spiritual progress. Then he brings up a doctrinal flaw that has crept into their church.

Paul's letters tend to follow a pattern: a greeting, a prayer, some doctrine and a practical application of how Christians should live. Although Paul often launches out into deep water theologically, he always leads his readers back to practical issues: What difference does theology make in daily life?

One stately paragraph (verses 15-20) contains a compressed summary of the absolute supremacy of Christ. Then Paul brings it down to the practical: Christ's supreme power does not distance us from God, but brings us closer. Christ alone has the ability to span the vast gap between God and humanity.

Reflection

Because Jesus bridges the gap between God and us, we don't have to approach God indirectly, through a "ladder" of angels, saints, or other deities. Before Christ, a mystery was kept hidden for many centuries. But with Christ, everything broke out into the open. We can come to know God directly because of his son, Jesus.

2008-11-26T06:23:00.000-05:00

Philippians 4: Paul’s Favorite Church

Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only.

The Christian church hasn’t had a perfect record throughout history. If you take a random sampling of adjectives people us to describe the church, the list will likely include such labels as racist, judgmental, narrow, divided, and pompous.

The church of Jesus Christ has fallen far short of the ideals he entrusted to it- so far short that we may sometimes forget what the church is supposed to look like. Problems existed from the beginning: Paul’s letters to Galatia, Corinth, and Colosse flame with indignation against defects in the early church. Occasionally, however, a church came along that worked, against all odds. Philippi was one of those rare congregations.

From its birth, the church in Philippi had two strikes against it. Its first recorded converts were an Asiatic Jewish merchant, a Greek slave girl employed as a sideshow fortune-teller and a gruff Roman jailer (Acts 16). Yet more than a decade later, when Paul wrote the church, he could hardly find words warm enough to express his pride and affection.

Paul turned down money gifts from other churches, out of fear that his enemies might twist the facts and accuse him of being a crook. But he trusted the Philippians. At least four separate times they sacrificed to meet his needs. And they also sent Epaphroditus on an arduous journey to care for Paul in prison.

Paul wrote Philippians, in fact, mainly as a thank-you for all that his friends had done. Its bright, happy tone reflects the fondness he felt for his favorite church. Nevertheless, Paul couldn’t resist an opportunity to give some fatherly advice. In a fireside-chat tone, he warned of encroaching dangers: divisions, a strain of perfectionism and inroads by those who wished to turn Christians back to a legalistic faith. Always, though, he returned to his underlying theme of joy, an emotion that seemed to come easily when Paul remembered the Philippians.

Reflection
It’s interesting to note that Philippians uses the word joy or rejoice every few paragraphs, but the joy it describes is a bit different from what we normally associate with the word. Rejoice, says Paul, when someone selfishly tries to steal the limelight from you. And when you meet persecution for your faith…and even when you are facing death. Paul certainly had a different understanding of the word, and it’s our responsibility as followers of the faith to take up this challenge.

2008-11-21T12:31:00.003-05:00

Philippians 2: What Keeps Paul Going?

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Paul has suffered much in the ten years since founding the church at Philippi: beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, hostility from jealous competitors. Surely he must have sometimes wondered, is it worth all this pain? Even as he writes this letter, he is under arrest, “in chains for Christ” (1:13). But whenever Paul’s thoughts turn to Philippi, the elderly apostle’s spirits lift.

If someone had bluntly asked him, “Paul, tell me, what keeps you going through hard times?” he likely would have answered with words straight out of this chapter. In Philippians 2, Paul reveals the source of his irrepressible drive. First, he gives the example of Jesus. In a stately hymn-like paragraph, he marvels that Jesus gave up all the glory of heaven to take on the form of man- and not just any man, but a servant, one who pours out his life for others. Paul takes on that pattern for himself.

Then, in a seeming paradox, Paul describes a kind of teamwork with God: While God is working within, we must “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling. A later spiritual giant named Saint Teresa of Avila would express the paradox this way: “I pray as if all depends on God; I work as if all depends on me.” Her formula aptly summarizes Paul’s spiritual style.

While Philippians gives an occasional glimpse of the apostle Paul’s fatigue, it also shows flashes of what keeps him from burnout. To him, the converts in Philippi shine “like stars in the universe.” Joy in his converts’ progress is what keeps Paul going.

Reflection
The cheerful sounds that we hear from Paul while he is sitting in a jail cell can be unexpected, to say the least. He proclaims to us in chapter 3 to “rejoice in the Lord”- all the while chained to a Roman guard. Is this guy for real? Paul probably wrote Philippians in Rome just about the time Nero began tossing Christians to ravenous lions and burning them as torches to illuminate his banquets. How could a rational man devote a letter to the topic of joy while his survival was in jeopardy? FAITH. God can take even the darkest moment in history and turn it into good. The cross, and Jesus’ triumph over death, prove that nothing is powerful enough to stamp out a reason for joy- joy in the Lord.

2008-11-17T10:25:00.002-05:00

Ephesians 3: Success Story

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ.

The Ephesus of Paul’s day is renowned for its religion- but not the apostle’s kind of religion. Worship of the Roman goddess Diana centers in Ephesus, and its residents take great pride in the temple devoted to her. The building ranks among the seven wonders of the ancient world, and inside it hundreds of professional prostitute-priestesses assist the “worshipers.”

In this unlikely city, Paul discovers a tiny Christian community already in existence. They know something about John the Baptist, not much about Jesus, and they have never even heard of the Holy Spirit. For the next two years Paul preaches, a church takes root, and soon word spreads throughout the entire province of Asia.

Miraculous signs and wonders mark Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, so impressing local sorcerers and magicians that they spontaneously hold a public burning of their valuable scrolls. In the face of such zeal, the Ephesian merchants who profit from the sale of idols chase Paul out of town. (See Acts 19)

Like most of the early churches, Ephesus struggles with ethnic and religious differences. Believers with a Jewish background have huge obstacles to overcome in accepting former idol-worshipers into their church. This section of Ephesians addresses the unity issues head-on.
To Paul, the new community composed of both Jews and Gentiles is one of the great mysteries of the ages, a culmination of god’s original plan kept secret for many centuries but now made known. He can hardly contain his soaring language as he marvels at God’s plan being fulfilled at that moment. He urges his readers to think through what it means to represent Christ in the world. When people look at Christians, do they see the qualities of Christ on display?

Reflection
In Paul’s time, Jews and Gentiles were the two factions most given to quarreling and division. From your perspective, what groups divide Christians today? Legalism certainly has played a role in dissention. Too often, Christian denominations get caught up in the “politics” of the church and lose sight of the Word. Staying true to scripture and keeping Christ’s two “key” commandments…love your God and love your neighbor…should keep us all on track with our journey.

2008-11-10T15:13:00.007-05:00

Ephesians 2: A Prison Letter

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Some of the world’s most famous literature originated in, of all places, a prison cell. John Bunyan wrote his Pilgrim’s Progress there. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s vast output had its conception behind barbed wire, as did Dostoyevsky’s. Parts of the Bible were written in prison as well, including Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Perhaps surprisingly, these books represent some of the brightest, most hopeful books of the Bible. There’s a good reason: Prison offers Paul the precious commodity of time. He is no longer journeying from town to town, stamping out fires set by his enemies. He can devote attention to lofty thoughts about the meaning of life.

The letter to the Ephesians gives a hint as to what the apostle Paul “sees” when he lets his mind wander beyond the monotony of his place of confinement. First, he visualizes the spiritual growth in the churches he has left behind. Most of his prison letters begin with a burst of thanksgiving for the vitality of the church he is addressing. Then, as he spells out in Ephesians, he seeks to open the eyes of their hearts (1:18) to even more exalted sights.

Ephesians is full of sensational good news. Unlike Paul’s other letters, Ephesians does not address any urgent problems. With a sigh of relief, the apostle turns to the grandest question of all: What is God’s overall purpose for this world? Paul answers the question this way: “to bring all things in heaven and on Earth together under one head, even Christ” (1:10) He raises the sights far above his own circumstances to bigger issues, cosmic issues.

Ironically, it takes a stint in prison to free Paul up for this happy endeavor. The book of Ephesians can hardly introduce a new thought without bursting into a song or a prayer. It is no wonder the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge would later call the book ‘the divinest composition of man.”

Reflection
Throughout his writings, Paul insisted on one fact of the gospel: Eternal life comes not by any ritual of rule-keeping (good works), but by the grace of God. Yet in this paragraph he notes that God intends for us to do “good works.” Conflicting message? Not really. Paul makes a clear distinction that good works do nothing to help us obtain God's favor, but they should follow naturally in our lives as we experience the love of Christ.

2008-10-05T04:21:00.006-05:00

Galatians 3: Legalism

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

On his first missionary journey, Paul learns to his surprise that non-Jews seem more receptive than Jews to the news about Jesus. He begins a policy that he comes to follow throughout his ministry career. He goes first to the synagogue and preaches among the Jews; if they reject him, he turns to the Gentiles.

Before his conversion Paul was a loyal and strict Jew, proud to be a "legalist." If a person could reach God by obeying the law, then he, a strict Pharisee, would have done it. In a twist of history, he gains a new reputation as "the Apostle to the Gentiles." As he sees God working among non-Jews, Paul becomes their champion.

This letter to the churches in Galatia (located in modern-day Turkey) dates from the time of the early Jew-Gentile controversy. Paul is emotionally worked up. In fact, he is downright furious at misguided attempts to shackle the church with Jewish legalism. Paul has felt the gust of freedom that comes after liberation from a set of confining laws, and he is not about to let that freedom slip away.

In the first paragraph of chapter 3, Paul explodes with the full force of his passionate beliefs. He then proceeds to give a "Christian," rather than Jewish, interpretation of the Old Testament covenants with Abraham and Moses. Chapters 3-4 draw sharp contrasts; a prisoner and a free man, a sheltered child and an adult. Don't act like a slave or a child, Paul says. Act like a privileged son, an heir to a great fortune! Galatians shatters the idea that God's love is conditioned upon how many rules we obey. Legalism is like a cage: it can only condemn people and lock them behind bars. As Paul points out, no one has perfectly kept all of God's laws, and all who try to do so ultimately fail (3:10-11).

Reflection

For years, I've always struggled with the beliefs of our Jewish friends and their tendencies towards legalism. In fact, just recently at our home ABF, we have discussed this very issue. By looking closely at Paul's work- here specifically in Galatians, he uses a clever argument to put the entire Old Testament law in a new perspective. The law- as he says- was never intended to make possible a way to God. Rather, the law was given to "lead us to Christ" by convincing us of the impossibility of gaining God's acceptance on our own. In fact, Paul- to prove his point- mentions a 430 year gap between Abraham and Moses. God gave his promises to Abraham, who lived long before Moses ever received the law; therefore, Abraham couldn't possibly have depended on the law. God's promise reached final fulfillment in Christ.

2008-09-28T04:52:00.004-05:00

2 Corinthians 11: Answering the Critics

Verse 1 of chapter 10 introduces a dramatic shift in tone. The first nine chapters mainly show Paul's relief at seeing encouraging signs in Corinth. But these last four chapters make clear that hostility was still raging. In fact, some have guessed that this section was taken from the painful letter Paul referred to earlier (2:4). Here at the end of 2 Corinthians, Paul boldly confronts his critics.

Who were his antagonists? A picture of them emerges if you compile all the accusations Paul answers throughout the letter. Basically, they were carping troublemakers. In their eyes, Paul could do nothing right.

Paul's enemies in Corinth had blasted him for not visiting them as promised; yet when he did visit they gossiped, "In person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing" (10:10). They had criticized him for not taking a salary and then insinuated that he was misusing funds (8:20; 11:7-9). To these "super-apostles" (11:5), Paul somehow appeared simultaneously unimpressive and yet crafty; overly strict and yet worldly. Some even hinted that he was out of his mind (5:13).

You can almost sense Paul declaring "I've had it!" and then rolling up his sleeves to refute the charges. He insists that the future of the Corinthian church, not just his own reputation, is at stake. What does he feel? Something like the burning jealousy of a father who watches his daughter being seduced away from her true love (11:2-3).

These four remarkable chapters show Paul's passionate nature. Frustrated by having to defend himself, he almost stammers in print. He is determined to convince the Corinthians that he is motivated by a desire to serve God, not by any schemes for profit or power. Along the way, he lists an amazing catalog of his physical sufferings and reveals intimate details of his spiritual life, including one incident still shrouded in mystery (12: 1-6).

Judge for yourself, Paul seems to say, to the Corinthians and to all of us. Look at my life and decide: Whose fool am I?

Reflection

Being wrongly accused of something might be one of the most hurtful things in life to endure. Just as Paul's enemies questioned his sincerity for the church and essentially launched a character assassination against him, we too may come to a point in life where we have to "explain" ourselves to avoid this type of alienation. It's how we handle it, though, that may be the more important aspect. Again, an awful lot can be learned by Paul, in terms of temperament, restraint, and faith in Christ.

2008-09-21T04:46:00.006-05:00

2 Corinthians 9: Don't Forget the Poor

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Every day in millions of mailboxes across the United States, letters with special "non-profit" postage stamps appear, stuffed among catalogs, magazines and flyers from retail stores. Fund-raising through the mail is big business for Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant groups, as well as other charitable organizations.

The apostle Paul assuredly never engineered a million-piece charity appeal- the empire's postal service and the cost of papyrus made such an idea unthinkable. But 2 Corinthians does present a direct appeal for funds (chapters 8-9). Jewish Christians near Jerusalem were reportedly on the edge of starvation. Paul seized on the crisis as a perfect chance for Gentile Christians to reach out in compassion and demonstrate their spiritual unity with Jewish Christians.

In these two chapters, Paul outlines a philosophy of Christian giving, holding up Jesus Christ as a model. He explains the goal of such giving and the proper attitude of the gives. He even applies a little pressure by citing examples of Christians less well-heeled than the Corinthians (8:1-6; 9: 1-5).

This brief passage on giving shows Paul's holistic concerns. While still recuperating from personal trauma, he had agreed to head up a major fund-raising drive on behalf of the needy in Jerusalem. Later, working on that very project, he paused to write the profoundly theological book of Romans. (Romans 15:25-26)/ His scholarship didn't dampen a zeal for practical Christian love; his concern for souls didn't crowd out concern for their hungry bodies.

Reflection

Generosity definitely has side effects. I think one of the lessons that Paul is trying to teach us here is the fact that giving actually enriches and benefits the giver. A gift can serve as an act of worship to God and can inspire other people's faith and thanksgiving.

2008-09-14T05:13:00.004-05:00

2 Corinthians 4: Jars of Clay

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Although Paul has an unshakable belief in an afterlife (see 1 Corinthians 15), he does not prepare for the next life by sitting around all day waiting for it to arrive. Paul works as hard as anyone has ever worked, but with a new purpose: "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it" (5:9). He seeks to do God's will on Earth just as it is done in heaven.

Paul's hope for the future, however, keeps him motivated when the crush of life tempts him to lose heart. He is writing this letter just as an intense struggle with the Corinthian church is coming to a head, and as a result, this letter reveals the apostle in one of his lowest, most vulnerable moments. He has, barely, survived hardships "far beyond [his] ability to endure" (1:8)

In his typical style, Paul uses a word picture to express his inner thoughts: "treasure in jars of clay." In his day, jars of clay are nearly as common- and as disposable- as cardboard boxes are today. You would not expect to store valuables in a container that, in essence, consists of baked dirt. Yet, Paul also recognizes that God has chosen to entrust the "treasure" of the gospel to ordinary people such as himself, people who in some ways resemble breakable jars of clay. At this point, beset by difficulties, Paul feels about as durable as one of these jars.

Reflection

Amazingly, God continues to choose mere humans as his personal representatives. Paul is determined to draw attention to the treasure inside him, not to himself. As he writes, "what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Everything we own in life can crumble like a clay jar, but the one treasure that we all have- God's grace- is rock solid.

2008-08-28T05:32:00.005-05:00

2 Corinthians 2: A Mysterious Visit

For we are to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Those who try to piece together Paul's life story from fragments in the two Corinthian letters and the book of Acts usually come away puzzled. Paul, addressing friends who knew that history intimately, saw no need to review every stage of their relationship. Yet for us, reading centuries later, some chronology would help explain his allusions and his emotional state. Many scholars believe that two events occurred to which Paul refers only in passing: the "painful visit" and the letter written "out of great distress."

In the first two chapters Paul explains a change of plans whereby he has decided not to visit Corinth because he doesn't want to make "another painful visit." What visit was he referring to? During his first visit to Corinth, spanning 18 months, the church took shape (Acts 18:11). Paul probably would not have described that time as a "painful visit," for his initial relationship with them was basically positive. Evidently he made a second visit to Corinth, not recorded in Acts, that included a painful confrontation. Paul planned a third visit to Corinth, but postponed it because he didn't want to stir up the conflict. Later, he wondered about rescheduling that third visit. (12:14; 13:1)

Second Corinthians also mentions a letter written out of great distress and with many tears (2:4; 7:8). This letter, coming after Paul's unsettling second visit, contained such strong wording that he feared the Corinthians' response. He fleetingly regretted having written the letter. Had it ruptured their relationship? While he preached in the seaport town of Troas, Paul anxiously awaited some report of their reaction, through Titus.

One can imagine Paul rushing to the dock as ships from Macedonia came to unload, fervently scanning the vessels for some sign of Titus. Finally, unable to find peace of mind, he left his ministry in Troas to seek out Titus in Macedonia.

News from Titus at last calmed Paul. The Corinthians had indeed repented (7:7-9) and now wanted to restore ties with him. Feeling encouraged, Paul contemplated a third visit as he wrote 2 Corinthians. He used the letter to rebuild his relationship with them and to spell out his reasons for coming.

Reflection

I think most of us at one time or another have experienced a tear in a relationship like the one described here in Paul's letter. We can find ourselves wondering aloud whether or not we have been too hard on someone while at the same time acknowledging our own lingering pain. The key is how we find healing in the damaged relationship. And like everything in life, Christ can lead us to a reconciliation.

2008-08-23T05:01:00.004-05:00

1 Corinthians 15: the Last Enemy

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Much of 1 Corinthians centers on issues of personal behavior involving rambunctious church members. After tackling each of those problems, Paul turns his attention to a question of doctrine, one that looms before him as the most important issue of all. People are challenging the Christian belief in an afterlife. Death, they say, is the end.

Throughout history, many people have taken such a position. In Jesus' day, a Jewish sect called Sadducees denied the resurrection from the dead. Doubters persist today, such as Buddhists, Marxists, and most atheists. Some New Age advocates present death as a natural part of the cycle of life. "Why resist it or consider it bad?" they ask.

The Corinthian church soon learns not to voice that opinion around the apostle Paul. To him, life after death is no fairy tale, but rather the fulcrum of his entire faith. If there is not afterlife, he thunders, the Christian message is a lie. If there is no afterlife, he has no reason to continue as a minister, Christ's death is merely wasted blood, and Christians are the most pitiable of all people.

The Bible presents a gradually developing emphasis on the afterlife. Old Testament Jews had only the vaguest conception of life after death. As Paul points out, Jesus' resurrection from the dead changed all that, giving the world decisive proof that God has the power and the will to overcome death. Chapter 15 weaves together the threads of Christian belief about death. With no hesitation, Paul brands death "the enemy," the last enemy to be destroyed.

Reflection

This chapter often gets read at funerals, with good reason. As people gather around a casket, they sense, as if by instinct, the unnaturalness and sadness of death. To such people, to all of us, this passage offers words of hope. It shows how death is finally conquered and becomes not an end, but a beginning.

2008-08-11T05:26:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 13: The Highest Spiritual Gift of All

If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

During one of the most stressful times of his career, Paul makes his first visit to the Greek city of Corinth (Acts 17-18). Lynch mobs chased him out of Thessalonica and Berea. The next stop, Athens, brought on a different kind of confrontation, with intellectual scoffers. Paul arrives at Corinth in a fragile emotional state.

Soon opposition springs up in Corinth too. Jewish leaders become abusive and haul Paul into court. It seems the harassed apostle will have no rest from his enemies. But in the midst of this crisis, God visits Paul with a special message of comfort: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Act 18:9-10).

These last words must have startled Paul, for Corinth is known mainly for its lewdness and drunken brawling. The Corinthians revere the goddess of love, and their “worship” practices resemble orgies. Corinth seems the last place on Earth to expect a church to take root. Yet, exactly that happens. A Jewish couple opens their home to Paul, and for the next 18 months he stays there to nurture an eager band of converts.

In his letters to the church in Corinth, Paul must deal with the many controversies that arise in such a diverse congregation. His intimate concern for them produces some of his most memorable writing. This chapter, “the love chapter,” endures as one of his most famous. The vision of love Paul describes contrasts sharply with that familiar to most Corinthians.

Reflection
I love the translation found in the Message…

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end

2008-08-04T05:14:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 12: Lessons from the Human Body

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

Can you get along in life without eyes? Of course, but you must make adjustments. You must rely more on other senses and depend on friends, or perhaps a seeing-eye dog, for extra help. Regardless of what adjustments you make, however, your body will remain incomplete without eyes. You will miss out on color and design and all the visual delights this world offers.
An eyeless body can cope, but a bodiless eye is unimaginable. The most beautiful eyes in the world, when detached from a body, are lifeless and worthless. Eyes need a body that will bring them blood and receive their nerve impulses.

In chapter 12, Paul gives a clever anatomy lesson, with a purpose. By comparing members of the church of Christ to parts of a human body, he neatly explains two complementary truths the Corinthians have failed to comprehend. Any part of a body, he says- such as an eye or a foot- makes a valuable contribution to the whole body. Whenever a single member is missing, the entire body suffers. And, he continues, no member can survive if isolated from the rest. Alone, an eye is useless. All parts must cooperate to form a single, unified body.

Paul relied on body images to explain both the diversity and unity of god’s followers. The body analogy fit so well that he referred to it two dozen times in his various letters. It became his favorite way of portraying the church.

A church as diverse as Corinth knew about the differences among various members, so Paul’s letter to them stressed the unity party of the analogy. How can diverse people work together in a spiritual body? He answered that question with the famous lyrical description of love in chapter 13. After that eloquent statement, he went on to discuss the Corinthians’ various spiritual gifts.

Reflection

Chapters 12-14 address issues that troubled the Corinthian church and that still disturb our church today. I think the solution, in our time as well as Paul’s, is for each person to respect other members of the body and to take direction from Jesus Christ, the head.

2008-07-23T06:14:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 7: When Everything Goes Wrong

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short...for this world in its present form is passing away."

"If anything can go wrong, it will." This tongue-in-cheek principle, known as Murphy's Law, is cited by economists, sports team owners and big-city mayors. Human nature somehow guarantees that nothing turns out quite the way it's supposed to. And the church at Corinth provides a darkly shining example of Murphy's Law.

To be sure, Corinthian Christians started out with the odds stacked against them. Imagine a church composed of converted idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, thieves, drunkards and swindlers. (6: 9-11). The church made up of people from such backgrounds soon encountered a thicket of problems. Paul faced a huge challenge: For one thing, he had to convince these people of the immorality of sexual activities that had been a part of everyday worship under their old religion.

First Corinthians is Paul's careful response to that rash of problems, some of which had been posed to him as questions in a letter (7:1). Many of his answers relate directly to Corinth's local situation. In that culture, as in Muslim countries today, whether or not to wear a veil was a major issue for women. (11:3-10). Eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols also disturbed some new Christians (10:18-33).

Reflection

Many problems discussed in this letter turn up in every culture: divisions in the church, lawsuits, immorality, the single life, the extent of Christian freedoms, differing views of worship and the place of tongue-speaking and other spiritual gifts. Not every breakdown in Corinth will recur in churches today, but Paul's principles apply to our own unpredictable experiences with Murphy's Law.

2008-07-06T05:01:00.006-05:00

1 Corinthians 4: An Angry Letter from Home

I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.

No other letter in the New Testament reveals such a wide range of Paul's emotions. At his own financial expense, he had invested 18 risk-filled months in Corinth. But afterward his rebellious "children" had launched personal attacks against him. Paul reacted like any parent first informed of his child's shocking behaviour. His moods in 1 Corinthians bounce from anger to shame, from sorrow to indignation. In short, this letter equates to an intimate, well-deserved scolding from a grieved parent.

Chapter 3, for example, begins with a stern lecture to "mere infants in Christ." This leads to biting sarcasm (4:8), which melts into the tender pleas of a spiritual father. Six times in chapter 6 Paul asks, "Do you not know...?" Finally, in chapter 7, he gets to the practical questions that have prompted his letter in the first place.

The apostle Paul was a superbly educated logician who could skillfully weave together history and philosophy. But he also brooded over his missionary churches like a parent. He asked the Corinthians pointedly, "Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?" (4:21). In this letter, we see a little of both.

Reflection

It can be a rather humbling experience whenever a parent, teacher, boss, or pastor tries to "straighten you out." I think human instinct drives us to automatically become defensive and utter words like..."what, I'm not doing anything wrong!" I loved Pastor Larson's three questions that he posed to us the other day when we are faced with a moral dilemma- especially in the gray areas: Does it serve God? Does it hurt others? Does it hurt myself?

2008-06-23T04:55:00.002-05:00

Romans 14: Weak and the Strong

“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.”

Paul closes his letter to the Romans by emphatically stating in chapter 13 that believers should fulfill the law by expressing love for others. Expressing love to others and living righteously are especially important since we are approaching Christ’s return. Believers should accept one another in love even when they disagree over issues of conscience, even as they follow their own consciences.

In 14, Paul warns his readers that they should be careful not to allow their behavior to disturb other believers who hold different convictions. For example, they should be especially careful not to encourage other believers to do something they do not believe is right. It is wrong, Paul claims, to eat, drink, or do anything that disturbs one’s conscience.

Jewish and Gentile believers, the weak and the strong, should live in unity and try to build up on another. They should learn to glorify God with one heart and one voice. Jesus Himself came into the world as a servant to the Jews, fulfilling the promises to the Jews, and yet including Gentiles in God’s plan so that they might glorify God like the OT foretold.

Reflection:

With Rome being the center of the world in every way- law, culture, learning, etc… a letter to these folks- needless to say- had to be impressive. Paul brilliantly set down the whole scope of Christian doctrine, which, at that time, was still being passed along orally from town to town. Paul wanted to convince the Roman readers that Christ held the answers to all of life’s important questions., leading to the famous battle cry of the Reformation- “by faith alone.”

2008-06-08T22:32:00.000-05:00

Romans 12: Hating Evil, Clinging to Good

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

Too often, people view theology as stuff for hermits or marooned shipwreck victims. When there's nothing else to do, then is the time to ask abstract questions about God. Such a notion would have exasperated the apostle Paul.

To him, theology always leads to action. He characteristically concludes the most concise theological book in the Bible with a down-to-earth discussion of everyday problems: politics, revenge, pride and the ups and downs of interpersonal relationships.

Pauls' life offers a good example of how to make theology practical. No intellectual recluse, he applies his theology to life, practicing what he preaches. In fact, he is writing the lofty book of Romans while traveling to raise funds for victims of a famine. Here in Romans 12, Paul describes what love in action should look like. "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices," he urges his readers. The Romans of his day, both Jews and Gentiles, associated the word sacrifice with the lambs and other animals they bring to the temple for priests to kill on an altar.

Reflection

But Paul makes clear that God wants living human beings, bot dead animals, as sacrifices. A person committed to God's will is the kind of offering most pleasing to God. Yet, as Paul warns us...let us be careful not to think of us more highly than we should; it's so easy to get "showy" with our sacrifices and forget about the humility that Christ tried to instill in us during his time on earth.

2008-06-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

Romans: 10: A Crushing Blow to Paul

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

Does anything bring more pain to a new Christian than family rejection? A teenager converts to Christianity. Her parents overreact, assuming their daughter has fallen for some weird cult. They slap away all her attempts to present the appealing facts of the gospel. What is good news for her is seen as bad news by the family.

Some new Christians can melt down the walls of suspicion and hostility. But others are treated like diseased persons by other family members and forced to live in a state of emotional quarantine. Anyone who has lived through such an experience can understand the agonizing dilemma Paul faced. Members of his own race, the Jews, were rejecting the gospel he had committed his life to.

Rejection by the Jews was a crushing blow to Paul, and he interrupted his letter to the Romans to consider the dilemma. These three chapters (9-11) contain some of his strongest words ever, including an offer to forfeit his own relationship with Christ for the sake of his race (9:3).

The issues discussed here apply to non-Jews as well, for they raise basic questions about God. Had he given up on the Jewish people, ignoring the promises he had made to them in Old Testament times? If so, couldn’t he also break promises made to us today?

For Paul, a Jew who called himself an apostle to the Gentiles, no other issue was so important to resolve. He couldn’t rest until he had linked the brilliant theology set forth in Romans to God’s past, present and future activity among the Jews.

Reflection:

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I don’t think that I’ll ever fully comprehend the dynamics of the Judeo-Christian theologies. In chapters 9 and 10, Paul painfully admits that, on the whole, the Jews did not believe in Christ. Despite all the advantages of Old Testament history, they stumbled over the ‘stumbling stone’ (9:32). Later in chapter 11, Paul goes back over that history and asks whether it was futile. Will the Jews come to believe in Christ some day? Did their tragic experience produce any advantage for the rest of the world? Chapter 11 concludes with Paul proclaiming God’s mysterious ways of working on Earth.

2008-06-01T04:50:00.005-05:00

Romans 8: Spirit Life

If God is for us, who can be against?

The Holy Spirit is the theme of chapter 8, and in it Paul gives a panoramic survey of how the Spirit can make a difference in a person's life. In the first place, Paul sets to rest the nagging problem of sin he has just raised so forcefully. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," he announces. Through his life and death, Jesus Christ has taken care of the sin problem for all time. (In chapter 4, Paul borrows a word from banking to explain the process. God "credits" Jesus' own perfection to our accounts, so that we are judged not by our behavior, but by his.)

Once again, Paul reminds us of the best news of all: Jesus Christ did not stay dead. Paul marvels that the very same power that raised Christ from the dead can also enliven us. A life-giver, the Spirit can break the gloomy, deathlike pattern described in Romans 7.

To be sure, the Spirit does not remove all problems. The very titles the Bible applies to the Spirit- Intercessor, Helper, Counselor, Comforter- imply that there will be problems. But "the God within" can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Paul never minimizes suffering: after all, his own life has included beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, assassination attempts and chronic illness.

The way Paul tells it, what happens in believers is the central drama of history: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Somehow spiritual victories within us will help bring about the liberation and healing of a fallen creation. The apostle can hardly contain himself as he ponders these truths. Romans 8 ends with a ringing declaration that nothing- absolutely, positively nothing- can ever separate us from God's love. For Paul, this truth is a fact worth shouting about.

Reflection:

Paul insists with absolute conviction that future rewards will outweigh all present sufferings. Just as Olympic athletes endure years of practice, discipline and pain to achieve the goal of winning a gold medal, so, too, the Christian's life on Earth may involve many difficulties (verses 22-23). But the glorious end result will make all the difficulties seem worthwhile.

2008-05-27T04:46:00.001-05:00

Romans 7: Limits of the Law

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

One issue surfaces in virtually every one of Paul's letters: What good is the law? To most of Paul's audience, the word law stands for the huge collection of rules and rituals detailed in the Old Testament. Whenever he starts talking about "the new covenant" or "freedom in Christ," his Jewish listeners want to know what he thinks about Moses' law. Does God still require obedience?

Thanks to his years as a Pharisee, Paul knows Moses' law well. This chapter, the most personal and autobiographical in Romans, discloses exactly what Paul thinks about this issue.

When the Law is Helpful. Paul never recommends discarding the law. He sees that it reveals a basic code of morality, an expression of behavior that pleases God. The law is good for one thing: exposing sin. "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law." To Paul, rules such as the Ten Commandments are helpful, healthful and good.

When the Law is Helpless. The law has one major problem: After proving how bad you are, it doesn't make you any better. As a carryover from his days of legalism, Paul has a very sensitive conscience. Yet, as he poignantly recounts, it mainly makes him feel guilty. The law that bares his weaknesses cannot provide the power needed to overcome them. The law, or any set of rules, leads ultimately to a dead end.

Reflection

A person like Paul probably had little trouble keeping most of the Ten Commandments. Outward actions such as swearing, murder, adultery, stealing and lying can be measured and controlled. But an internal, invisible sin, such as coveting, proves far more bedeviling. As Jesus made clear in the Sermon on the Mount, invisible sins like coveting, lust, and anger can have the same toxic effects as the more outward manifestations of stealing, adultery and murder.

2008-05-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Romans 3: the Remedy

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

Throughout his arduous and adventurous life, the apostle Paul has kept one career goal constantly before him: a visit to Rome. In Paul’s day, Rome stands alone, the capital of the powerful Roman Empire, which rules over the entire Mediterranean region. A tiny new church in Rome has caused great excitement among other Christians who know that in some ways the future of the church rests on what happens in Rome. If they expect to make an impact on the world, they will have to penetrate this great city.

Paul prays for the Roman church constantly and has made plans several times to visit there. Since none of those plans has yet materialized, Paul writes this letter, a concise summary of the Christian faith and the notion that Christ holds the answers to all of life’s important questions.

The remedy for human problems, Paul proclaims, is god’s amazing grace- a complete cure available to all. Yet people will not seek a cure until they know they are ill. If a doctor were to suddenly appear on a television news program announcing a cure for, say, the Paraguayan flu, who would care? For his discovery to impress us so deeply that we would seek vaccination, he must first prove the terrible danger posed by this unknown virus.

Thus Romans begins with one of the darkest summaries in the Bible. “There is no one righteous, not even one,” Paul concludes. The entire world is doomed to spiritual death unless a cure can be found. Out of the mournful sounds, however, comes a clear, bright note of wonderful news (verses 21-31), a compact expression of the core message of the gospel.

Reflection
It truly is hard for me to fathom how racial tensions continue to exist after the time of Christ. Paul makes it so incredibly clear that non-Jewish Christians should be considered first-class citizens of the kingdom of God. Faith in Jesus is all that God requires, regardless of age, color, or ethnicity.

2008-05-20T09:17:00.004-05:00

Acts 28: To the Capital…in Chains

From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus.

The future of the Gentile church depends in large measure on what happens to Paul, God’s chosen Apostle to the Gentiles. The last few chapters of Acts portray a spiritual tug-of-war in which God turns apparent tragedy into good. Paul gets arrested; he’s sent at last to Rome. The ship wrecks; they all survive. A poisonous snake bites Paul; he shakes it off and starts a healing ministry. The voyage ends at last in Rome.

Paul knows that if Christianity is to gain a foothold anywhere, it has to be in Rome. “All roads lead to Rome” is more than a figure of speech. Like a center of gravity, the city attracts all the roads of commerce, all the leaders and thinkers and fortune seekers of the empire. Political and military powers fan out from Rome. It is the indisputable capital of the world.

Ironically, the greatest spokesman for the Christian faith arrives at his ultimate destination as a prisoner. Paul is exhausted, having just survived a harrowing shipwreck. No doubt the reputation he has gained on the voyage helps convince authorities to treat him leniently. He lives by himself under a kind of house arrest. A soldier is always present, possibly chained to the apostle.

Despite the circumstances, Paul keeps busy. During his very first week in Rome, he calls in Jewish leaders and explains to them the Christian “sect” everyone is talking about. Over the next months and years Paul gets hours of quiet solitude to works on fond letters to the churches he has left behind.

Yet, Paul can no longer choose his audience; they have to seek him. But boldly, in the heart of mighty Rome, he proclaims a new kingdom and a new king. Before long, some of Caesar’s own household staff converts to the new faith. Christianity has made the journey and the transition from Jerusalem to Rome.

Reflection
Another great lesson that we can all learn from Paul’s story is to strive to make the best of bad situations. So often, when things go awry, I tend to make rash decisions and turn away from God, using him almost as a scapegoat. Instead- like Paul- I need to take what life gives me and run with it…keeping in mind all along that Christ is right beside me.

2008-05-17T08:40:00.005-05:00

Acts 27: the Perfect Storm

"But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed."

This chapter gives an eyewitness account of an ocean storm, the once-in-a-decade kind of storm that survivors never forget. Dense clouds blot out the sun and stars for many days and nights; the entire shipload of 276 passengers and crew goes without food for two weeks, and no one knows whether the passengers will survive to see another day. No one, that is, except the apostle Paul.

Luke vividly depicts the on board frenzy: sailors lashing ropes around their groaning ship, the crew heaving precious food supplies and even the ship's tackle overboard, Roman soldiers with drawn swords halting the sailors' save-our-own- necks escape attempts and preparing to slash their prisoners' throats. In the midst of all this hysteria stands the apostle Paul, calmly foretelling what will happen next. God has promised him he will visit Rome, a vision has confirmed it and Paul never doubts it, even when the boat breaks in pieces around him.

Once more Paul reveals himself as a man of unassailable courage. The Roman centurion surely recognized it: He grants Paul extraordinary privileges and protection. By the end of the storm, everyone on the ship is following the advice of the unflappable prisoner from Tarsus.

Reflection: You know the saying, the best laid plans...How true it is for Paul. In the midst of all the turmoil found in the last few chapters of Acts, Paul finally realizes his dream of visiting Rome- not in the form of a missionary journey- but in a Roman ship as a prisoner of the empire. What a great lesson this is for all of us that our plans may not be Christ's plans...and we simply need to trust him, always.

2008-05-14T05:49:00.002-05:00

Acts 22: On the Road

The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
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The books of Acts follows Paul on three distinct missionary journeys along the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Normally in the ancient world, travel posed great hazards, with pirates, barbarian armies and hostile border guards clogging up the roads. But by Paul's lifetime, Rome had established absolute mastery over a vast territory. Empire-wide peace, the famous Pax Romana- a condition that existed only twice in 700 years- prevailed.

Roman engineers had crisscrossed the empire with a network of roads (built so well that many still survive), and as a Roman citizen Paul had a passport to any destination. Language, too, was unifed. The Greek tongue, as well as the Greek style of thinking, crossed ethnic barriers.

Paul's backgroud uniquely qualified him for his adventures. A Pharisee who had studied with the famous teacher Gamaliel, he fully understood the Jewish mind. Roman citizenship gave him the status and respect he needed to gain official recognition and to survive threatening legal scrapes. Pauls' master of languages helped him also. He used Aramaic to relate to the early church leaders in Jerusalem, and fluency in Greek made possible a speech before philosophers in Athens.

Sometimes Paul was used by God to work miracles. In one tragicomic episode, a sleepy listener succumbed to Paul's all-night sermon and fell out of a third-story window (20:7-12); Paul promptly raised him from the dead.

By the end of his eventful life, Paul had left a ring of burgeoning churches around the eastern Mediterranean. To make sure his work would go on, he trained such leaders as Silas, Titus, Timothy and the man who recorded much of what we know about Paul-s life- Luke himself.

Reflection: No doubt, God used Paul to lead the early church because of his incredible zeal and communicative skills. I've wondered many times what special gifts (if any) I too may have that God could use to help spread His word. It's not enough- at least for me- to "proclaim" myself as a Christian, but to live out Christ's message each day so that my actions and the way I treat folks do the "proclaiming" for me...

2008-05-11T05:55:00.001-05:00

Acts 20: Legal Battles

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

The drumbeat starts with the last verse in chapter 20: "What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again." After this, wherever he went, Paul's friends begged him not to go to Jerusalem. One of them bound his own hands and feet with Paul's belt, publicly role-playing what was in store for Paul (21:10-11). But Paul had survived shipwrecks, a stoning, beatings, and long nights in jail, and fear had never stopped him. Besides, he knew that God wanted him to take his word to Rome, and no disaster in Jerusalem could prevent that.

Thus, against all advice Paul went to Jerusalem. His reputation as a Christian missionary had spread, to such an extent that it took a brigade of 470 Roman soldiers to protect him from a Jewish lynch mob. Luke details the process of Roman justice so thoroughly that some have speculated that he wrote Acts as a legal brief for Paul's defense. Was Paul a violent terrorist intent on inciting revolt? Luke meticulously records that, no, Paul had no political ambitions and consistently worked within Roman law.

Most of the time, Roman law found Paul innocent. An official in Corinth dismissed charges against him (18:15), as did the town clerk at Ephesus (19:35-41). In Judea Governor Festus and King Agrippa both concluded that Paul might have been freed outright had he not appealed to Caesar (26:32).

Paul's last days of freedom summarize his turbulent life. His friends' fears regarding Jerusalem proved well-founded. A murderous mob there assailed him with trumped-up charges, and he had to be rescued bodily by soldiers. In typical brazen style, Paul asked to address the unruly crowd, using the chance to confront them with his life's testimony. The crowd listened until he got to the part about a mission to the Gentiles; then it erupted.

Reflection:

No doubt, past events in one's life can impact the road you choose to follow in the future. In his speech (22:3-21), Paul referred back to the day he had stood on the sidelines cheering as Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was killed. That violent scene was forever etched in Paul's mind as a reminder of his former life. But another memory was even more powerful; the blinding light on the road to Damascus. Ever after that event in Damascus, Paul seemed determined to stun the human race as he had been stunned on the desert road. No matter how many nights in jail it cost him.

2008-05-07T05:51:00.001-05:00

Acts 17: Mixed Results

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seed (Matthew 13). Some seed falls on rocky places, some among thorns and some on fertile ground. This chapter, which reviews events from Paul's second journey, demonstrates that he, the first foreign missionary, encounters all these responses in quick succession.

In Thessalonica Paul's visit sparks a riot. The next town, Berea, proves far more receptive. After studying the Scriptures to test Paul's message, many believe, both Jews and non-Jews. Yet agitators from Thessalonica soon stir up trouble there as well, for Paul is often trailed by hostile opponents seeking to disrupt his work.

In the sophisticated university city of Athens, Paul faces perhaps his most daunting missionary challenge. This renowned city of philosophers subjects each new thinker to a grueling intellectual ordeal. Local philosophers, full of scorn for Paul, haul him before the Aeropagus, a philosophical council that oversees religion and morals.

Confident that the new faith can compete in the marketplace of ideas, Paul stands before the skeptical audience and, in a burst of eloquence, delivers an extraordinary speech to a gathering of philosophers and thinkers. Apparently, he meets with little success, and the results trouble him.

Paul gains few converts among the elite Athenians, but he next travels to the city of Corinth and founds a church remarkable for its ethnic diversity. Some scholars believe that the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians describe the after effects of his experience in Athens.

Reflection:

I think I'm getting a little better, but I still find it difficult to evangelize and share the gospel with family and friends. In some regards, it's easy to share my faith with friends from church, but out in the workforce and with other circles of friends, the challenge can be at times daunting. My own insecurity probably comes into play, but it's no doubt one of my weaknesses that I need to overcome.

2008-05-03T05:47:00.000-05:00

Acts 16: The Detour

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him. "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

In his travels, Paul concentrates on the chief trade towns and capital cities of the Roman provinces. From this melting pot of diverse cultures the gospel message can radiate out across the globe. If a young church shows promise, Paul stays on, sometimes as long as three years, to direct its spiritual growth. His letters glow with affection for the friends he develops in this way.

This chapter contains one of the Bible's most famous episodes of divine guidance: Paul's vision of a man of Macedonia. Yet the account actually shows how uncommon such a revelation is. It certainly startles Paul, who abruptly changes his travel plans. Following his normal procedure, Paul arranges this missionary trip strategically, linking together major towns and cities in sequence. But this time he runs into a roadblock and must adjust his itinerary.

As a result of this change, one of Paul's favorite churches comes into existence. Philippi is a leading city in the region of Macedonia, the place to which the vision has directed him. A casual conversation with a woman by a river opens the way for Paul. What takes place in Philippi stands almost as a pattern for Paul's never-dull missionary visits: early acceptance, violent opposition and providential deliverance from danger.

When in danger, Paul does not hesitate to use the prestige and status that come with his Roman citizenship. He is escorted from Philippi with proper respect, but he leaves behind two transformed households: one led by a woman cloth merchant and the other by a city jailer. From that unlikely combination grows the lively church at Philippi, to whom Paul later addresses the book of Philippians.

Reflection:

Missionary work can definitely be risky business. Just pick up the newspaper and on any given day one can read an obituary of someone who has been murdered in some part of the world for spreading the gospel message. Silas- one the churches earliest missionaries- led the way with Paul and he too readily found trouble. In Philippi, the authorities beat up both he and Paul and then threw them into jail. And yet even as an unexpected earthquake paved the way for their release, the two did not depart until they were able to successfully lead the jailer to faith in Christ. Remarkable.

2008-04-27T06:32:00.000-05:00

Acts 13: The Encourager

"I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Though his real name was Joseph, he became known as “Barnabas,” an apt nickname meaning “song of Encouragement.” Barnabas had a knack for recognizing and encouraging others’ potential. His most notable beneficiary? None other than the apostle Paul.

Even after his dramatic conversion, Paul frightened Jewish Christians- so much so that when he reached Jerusalem they all kept their distance. Wasn’t this the fire-breather who had hurt so many believers? But Barnabas took his life in his hands and went to see Paul. Convinced that his conversion was genuine, Barnabas led Paul to the apostles and introduced them (9:26-27)

Later, when the first Gentile church sprang to life in Antioch, Barnabas encouraged these new Christians and then thought of a role for Paul (11:25-26). Barnabas helped Paul find his real calling: to nurture churches that crossed Jewish-Gentile lines. (Paul would eventually become known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles.”) Soon God would handpick the two of them to leave Antioch on the first missionary journey (13:1-3).

Reflection
It’s interesting to examine your life to see if there has ever been a time when you are pulled in an opposite direction from family, friends, or church. In chapter 13, there is an incident- that is the first of several occasions in Acts- showing Paul turning away from the Jews. When the Jews rejected his message, he went to the Gentiles. Eventually he became known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” even though he maintained a deep love for his own people. (Romans 9:1-5)

2008-04-20T06:34:00.000-05:00

Acts 9: About Face

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Acts 9 shows a glimpse of the early church even before it has a name. Its members live in constant fear of arrest and persecution- if not from the Romans, then from the Jewish authorities. Already a leader named Stephen has been publicly stoned. And no one inspires more fear in the hearts of the early Christians than a man named Saul, who participated in Stephen's execution.

Then comes a miraculous turnabout on the road to Damascus. (Said to be the oldest continually occupied city in the world, Damascus is the capital of present-day Syria.) Saul opposes the new sect so fiercely that he undertakes the 150-mile journey from Jerusalem in order to persecute Christians there. His "Damascus road encounter" abruptly alters his mission. In a supernatural intervention, God converts, rather than destroys, the chief enemy of his young church.

Acts retells the events of this chapter in several places, for Saul's conversion shakes the world of his day. Such is his murderous reputation, however, that other Christians mistrust him and welcome him only gradually.

Against all odds, God taps Saul, the former persecutor, to lead the young church. Soon he has a new name, Paul, and is on the other side of the persecutors' whips; his former colleagues are now trying to kill him because of his effectiveness in bringing others to Christ. In the end, Paul has to flee the Jewish zealots he originally came to aid.

Although Luke does not mention it, sometime during this period Paul withdraws to Arabia, where he has an extended time to think through his new faith and mission (Galatians 1:17). In the course of four great missionary journeys, Paul will take the Good News of the gospel around the shores of the Mediterranean, and he also finds time to write many letters to his new converts.

Reflection

Former alcoholics can be the best individuals to convince others of the dangers of excessive drinking. Likewise, exiles from Communist countries- like the world author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, can become the most vehement anti-Communists...so it shouldn't be all that surprising that when the Book of Acts introduces the most effective Christian missionary of all time, he turns out to be a former bounty hunter of Christians.

2008-04-15T03:48:00.006-05:00

Acts: 7 Dying to Live

When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Thousands of Christians have died for their faith over the centuries. Even today Christians are persecuted in countries like Algeria, Iran, Sudan, and China. Stephen was the first martyr, setting the standard for all Christians who have come under fire for their faith.

While on trial, Stephen spoke so courageously and clearly that members of the sophisticated Sanhedrin lost all control. They gnashed their teeth, covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, rushed at Stephen in their fury. Then, in a mob action, they stoned him to death. (Acts 7:54-60).

Stephen had begun his public service for Christ when the apostles chose him, with six others, to make sure that Greek-speaking widows got their fair share of food. As it turned out, he did far more than administrate charity. God gave him the power to do miracles and to speak convincingly to other Greek-speaking Jews. However, Stephen angered the religious establishment for some of the same reasons Jesus did. Religious authorities claimed that he had dishonored their revered temple and the Old Testament law. There was a shred of truth in the charges. For Stephen, God's grace was greater than any building or any rule book.

At his trial, Stephen presented his case loudly and clearly. He recast the history of Israel as the story of God saving his people in spite of their stubborn resistance. Had anything changed? The very people who most honored the temple and the law- weren't these the same ones who "betrayed and murdered"" Jesus?

Like Jesus, Stephen was tried and executed because he had upset the establishment. Like Jesus, he died breathing forgiveness, not condemnation. Even while dying, he prayed for those who were stoning him. Stephen's final prayer was answered spectacularly, for a man named Saul stood among the persecutors. As Augustine said, "If Stephen had not prayed, the church would not have had Paul."

Reflection

Courage is the name of the game in chapter 7. Even though the early part of Stephen's speech must have please his Jewish audience- referencing famous ancestors such as Abraham, Moses, and David- Stephen quickly turned his listeners against him and directly attacked their establishment. He compared their treatment of Jesus with earlier Jewish rejection of God's messengers. He also criticized Jewish temple worship, claiming that "the Most High does not live in houses made by men". As a final commentary, Stephen brazening called the high priests of the Sanhedrin traitors and murderers. Undoubtedly, Stephen must have known that we was risking his life here, but his faith in Christ was so strong that he was willing to lay down his own life to pave the way for the young church to grow.

2008-04-12T05:45:00.000-05:00

Acts 5: Shock Waves

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

The disciples, newly empowered with the Holy Spirit, start acting, well, like Jesus. They go to the temple and preach sermons; they heal the sick and meet the needs of the poor. Meanwhile, the new church grows by leaps and bounds.

An honest account, Acts tells of problems that spring up alongside the successes. As the church becomes popular, sorcerers and magicians drop in, drawn by the reports of healings and other wonders. Wealthy people, like Ananias and Sapphira, see the church as a place to attract applause for their benevolence. Such opportunistics learn that the apostles, not to mention God, will not tolerate corruption in the fledgling church.

The focus of concern soon shifts from internal problems to outside opposition. The same forces that conspired against Jesus now align themselves against the new phenomenon of the church. Every so often they haul in the church's leaders, but for what can they prosecute them- healing the sick? Inciting people to praise God? The Christians hardly resemble dangerous conspirators. They usually meet openly on the temple porch.

Even so, religious leaders beat and jail the apostles on trumped-up charges. What happens next should show the establishment what they are up against: The apostles respond to the beatings with praise to God for the privilege of suffering in his name, and an angel of the Lord springs them free from jail. Gamaliel, a wise old Pharisee, has perhaps the best advice of all: "Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will bot be able to stop these men" (verses 38-39). He could not have been more prophetic.

Reflection

Each time that I read this chapter, I can't help but question whether this punishment wasn't a bit harsh. Certainly, it would appear that other Biblical characters committed crimes that most folks would deem worse than that of Ananias and Sapphira. Yet, as Peter makes clear, Ananias and Sapphira were punished not for holding back money but for lying about it. They were misrepresenting themselves spiritually, trying to appear especially pious and generous. At the very beginning of the church, God set a stern standard of absolute honesty and integrity.

2008-04-08T05:28:00.000-05:00

Acts 2: An Explosion

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit...

Thousands of pilgrims are milling about in Jerusalem on a Jewish holiday. Meanwhile Jesus' followers, in keeping with his instructions, have gathered in a small group indoors, where they patiently await what has been promised. With a sound like a violent wind and a sight like flames of fire, it happens. The Holy Spirit, the presence of God himself, takes up residence inside ordinary bodies- their bodies. Soon everyone in Jerusalem is talking about the Jesus-followers. Pilgrims from all over the world are astonished to hear the Galileans' message in their own native languages. Clearly, something is afoot.

Peter, once a cowardly apostle who once denied Jesus three times to save his own neck, now brazenly takes on both the Jewish and Roman authorities. Quoting from King David and the prophet Joel, he proclaims that his audience has just lived through the most important event of all history. "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact," he says. He goes on to declare Jesus as the very Messiah, the fulfillment of the Jews' long-awaited dream.

Three thousand people respond to Peter's powerful message that day. And thus the Christian church is born. The group of new believers, at first a mere annoyance to the Roman and Jewish authorities, does not stop growing. Just as Jesus predicted, the message spreads throughout the region, and in less than one generation, it penetrates Rome, the center of civilization.

In an era when new religions are a dime a dozen and disappear virtually overnight, the Christian faith instead becomes a worldwide phenomenon. It all begins with this scene on the day of Pentecost.

Reflection

I can't say that I've ever actually seen someone change "overnight" by an encounter with Christ, but the disciple Peter certainly had an abrupt change of heart. This same man not too long ago cowered in the shadows a the trial scene, trying to look inconspicuous. Out of fear of arrest, he had even cursed and denied knowing Jesus. Yet now, in these second and third chapters of Acts, we see a courageous man standing before the most distinguished religious leaders in the land, blasting them as murderers.

2008-04-05T04:44:00.007-05:00

Acts 1: The Invisible Kingdom

"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The New Testament divides neatly into two equal sections. The first consists of four Gospels that tell about Jesus' life on Earth. The second section, beginning with Romans, concerns churches that sprang up after Jesus left. In between stands the book of Acts- answering the question how in the world Christ's story has traveled all the way to Rome from Jerusalem in a relatively short period of time.

For 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus appears and disappears seemingly at will. When he shows up, his followers listen eagerly to his explanations of all that has happened. When he leaves, they plot the structure of the new kingdom that he will surely inaugurate. They simply long for a Jerusalem, free at last from Roman domination. Expecting a kingdom along the lines of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and no matter how many times Jesus has explained the invisible kingdom and the way of the cross, it never seems to penetrate the disciple's thinking.

In this first chapter of Acts, Jesus gives some mystifying orders, however. He tells his followers to return to Jerusalem and simply wait. "Do no leave the city," he says, "until the Holy Spirit comes." At last one of the disciples asks Jesus the question they have all been discussing together: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

No one is prepared for what happens next. Jesus seems to brush the question aside, deflecting attention away from Israel and toward neighboring countries, all the way to the ends of the earth. He mentions the Holy Spirit again, and then, to their utter amazement, his body lifts off the ground, suspends there for a moment, and then disappears into a cloud. And they never see him again.

Reflection

I've often wondered what the disciples must have felt like immediately following the Ascension. "Where's the prize?" comes to mind. It undoubtedly came as quite a shock that there was not going to be any tangible gift given to them...(i.e.- a restored kingdom free of Roman rule), but instead an invisible character boost, given by the Holy Spirit, to go out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all the non-believers. Quite a task for a small group of unassuming men from the surrounding area of Galilee.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-23T05:40:00.000-05:00

Matthew 28: A Rumor of Life

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."

When the greatest miracle of all history occurs, the immediate eyewitnesses are soldiers standing guard outside Jesus' tomb. The earth shakes, an angel appears, bright as lightning, and the guards tremble and faint dead away. When they recover, they flee to the authorities to report what they have witnessed. But here is an astounding fact: Later that afternoon the soldiers, who have seen overpowering proof of the resurrection, change their story. The resurrection of the Son of God does not seem nearly as significant as, say, stacks of freshly minted silver.

A few women, grieving of Jesus, are next to learn of the miracle of miracles. Matthew reports that they hurry away, "afraid yet filled with joy." Fear is the reflexive human response to a supernatural encounter. Yet they are filled with joy- the news they hear is the best news of all, news too good to be true, news so good it has to be true.

Jesus is back! He has returned, as he promised. The dreams of a Messiah all come surging back as the women run on legs of fear and joy to tell the disciples. Even as the women run, the soldiers are rehearsing an alibi, their part in an elaborate cover-up. Like everything else in Jesus' life, his resurrection draws forth two contrasting responses. Those who believe are transformed. Meanwhile, those who choose not to believe find ways to ignore evidence they have seen with their own eyes.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-22T05:23:00.000-05:00

Mark 15: Removing the Barrier

"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!"

Everyone, it seems, is demanding a miracle. At the trial before the Sanhedrin, the priests slap Jesus and challenge him, saying, "Prophesy to us Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:68) Pilate and Herod, who have heard rumors about Jesus' powers, beg for a show. The grieving women who have followed Jesus all the way from Galilee yearn for a miracle of rescue. The disciples, cowering in fear, ache for one.

On the cross, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus taunts him, saying, "Aren't you the Christs? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39) The crowd milling about the site takes up the cry: "Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him...Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Matthew 27:42-43) But there is no rescue, no miracle. There is only silence. The Father has turned his back, or so it seems, letting history take its course, letting everything evil in the world triumph over everything good. For Jesus to save others, quite simply, he cannot save himself.

Why must Jesus die? Theologians who ponder such things have debated various theories of "the atonement" for centuries, with little agreement. Somehow it requires love- sacrificial love- to win what cannot be won by force. One detail that Mark includes may provide a clue. Jesus has just uttered the awful cry, "My Go, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He, God's Son, identifies so closely with the human race- taking on their sin!- that God the Father must turn away. The gulf is that great. But just as Jesus breathes his last, the curtain of the temple is "torn in two from top to bottom" (verse 38).

That massive curtain has served to seal off the Most Holy Place, where God's presence dwells. As the author of Hebrews later notes (see Hebrews 10), the tearing of that curtain shows beyond doubt exactly what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished. No more sacrifices will ever be required. Jesus has won for all of us- ordinary people, not just priests- free access to God's presence. By taking on the burden of human sin and bearing its punishment, Jesus removes forever the barrier between God and us.

2008-03-18T19:14:00.005-05:00

Matthew 27: No Justice

"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.

Because the Jews live under the occupying power of Rome, Jesus must go through several levels of justice. The Romans allow the Jews to have their own court, the Sanhedrin, before which Jesus first appears. When he identifies himself as the Messiah, the members of the Sanhedrin convict him of the religious charge of blasphemy, a capital offense under Jewish law.

Since the Romans do not permit the Sanhedrin to carry out a death sentence, the religious court must now seek the sanction of the Roman government, so Jesus' opponents send him to Pilate, the Roman governor. Aware that the charge of blasphemy will likely not impress the unbelieving Pilate, the accusers instead emphasize the political threat Jesus poses to Rome. They portray him as a dangerous revolutionary who has declared himself king of the Jews in defiance of Roman rule.

Pilate has grave misgivings about the charge, and his wife's premonitions compound his sense of uneasiness. He seeks a way out of his dilemma by referring the case to Herod, the ruler over Jesus' home district, who has come to town for the festival. Herod, disappointed by Jesus' silence and his refusal to perform miracles, ultimately returns the prisoner to Pilate.

As Pilate tries to get the religious leaders to release their prisoner, the fury of the crowd only swells. At last, facing a mob scene, the canny governor gives in, but only after showily washing his hands of innocent blood. Through all these legal proceedings, Jesus maintains an almost unbroken silence.

Pilate seems to recognize, at some level, not only the enormity of the injustice he allows, but also his role in it. (Luke 23:4 records that Pilate initially declares Jesus innocent, despite pressure from the crowd.) He eventually has a notice of Jesus' "crime" prepared and fastened to the cross. It reads, in three languages, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." When the chief priests protest that it should read only that Jesus claimed to be king, Pilate answers, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:22).

2008-03-17T18:58:00.000-05:00

Matthew 26: Appointment with Destiny

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

In a stroke of bitter irony, the intimate scene of the Last Supper butts up against the brutal scene of betrayal in Gethsemane. The ordeal begins with Jesus praying in a quiet, cool grove of olive trees, with three of his disciples waiting sleepily outside. Inside the garden, all is peaceful; outside, the forces of hell are on the loose.

An armed mob makes its way toward the garden to seize and torture Jesus. He feels afraid and abandoned. Lying face down on the ground, he prays for some way out. The future of the human race- more, the universe- comes down to this one weeping figure whose "sweat (is) like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44) Blustery Peter is prepared to fight evil in the traditional way- by force. When he hacks off a guard's ear, however, Jesus stops the violence and performs, notably, his final miracle: He heals the guard (Luke 22:50-51).

Although Jesus has the power to defend himself- he could dispatch squadrons of angels to fight his battles- he will not use it. When the disciples realize that they can expect no last-minute rescue operations from the invisible world, they all flee. Fear extinguishes their last flicker of hope. If Jesus will not protect himself, how will he protect them?

Matthew's account of what transpires in Gethsemane and before the Sanhedrin shows that, in an odd inversion, the "victim" dominates all that takes place. Jesus- not Judas, not the mob and not the high priest- acts like the one truly in control. "Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God," the high priest demands. Jesus finally answers, simply, "Yes, it is as you say."

That single admission condemns Jesus to death, for the members of the Sanhedrin have a different expectation of the Messiah. They want a conqueror to set them free by force. Jesus knows that only one thing- his death- will truly set them free. For that reason he has come to Earth.

2008-03-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

Mark 14: A Scent of Doom

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

The Passover, an annual commemoration of the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt, is a high point of the Jewish calendar. In Jesus' day, all males older than 12 years of age travel to Jerusalem for the holiday, filling the city with many thousands of pilgrims. Passover festivities culminate in a solemn meal at which family and close friends remember the Exodus, the time of liberation. They taste morsels of food, sip wine, and read aloud the stories from the Hebrew Scriptures. They also select a lamb to take to the temple and offer as a sacrifice to God.

Jesus has entered the city in a moment of triumph on Palm Sunday, but soon a sense of doom steals in. Death is on Jesus' mind. When a woman splashes him with expensive perfume, he calls it a form of burial preparation.

Outside the room where Jesus celebrates the Passover, his enemies are stalking, waiting for an occasion to seize him. Inside, the disciples swear loyalty to their leader, even as he insists that all of them will soon forsake him. It is at this somber meal that Jesus makes a profound declaration. "This is my blood of the covenant," he says as he pours the wine. "Take it, this is my body," he says, breaking the bread.

Though the disciples do not fully understand, a dream is dying, their dream of a mighty nation. Jesus is announcing a new covenant, sealed not with the blood of lambs, but with his own blood. The new kingdom, the kingdom of God, will be led not by Jewish generals and kings, but rather by this scared band of disciples gathered around the table.

Today, virtually all Christian churches continue the practice of Communion (or Mass, the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper) in some form. This solemn ceremony dates back to the Passover meal when Jesus instituted the practice.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

John 17: Commissioning

"I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours."

Something seems to settle in Jesus' mind as he hears the disciples' response to his words. "You believe at last!" he says with obvious relief (16:31) and then concludes the intimate get-together with his longest recorded prayer. In it, Jesus sums up his feelings and his plans for the tight circle of friends gathered around him.

The famous prayer represents a kind of commissioning or graduation. In it, Jesus hands over his mission to the disciples and, by extension, to all believers who will come after them. Their previous missions, the preaching and healing excursions in the countryside, have been mere warm-up exercises. Now he is turning everything over to them.

Using language full of mystery, Jesus tells them that he must leave the world but that they must remain in it to proclaim him. They will now attract the hatred and hostility that have previously been directed toward him. Although they live "in the world," they are not quite "of the world." Something sets them apart from the world and binds them together to him in unity with God- a unity so close as to defy all explanation.

Jesus prays, too, for the unity of believers who will join them, stretching in an unbroken chain throughout history. "I pray...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." And then he leads the frightened little band toward his appointment with death.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-13T13:32:00.000-05:00

John 16: Grief into Joy

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

Good-byes are always sad, and for the disciples, this farewell speech is especially so. They have staked their lives on Jesus, and without him they can see no future. Jesus turns from word pictures and speaks directly about what will happen to the disciples. Some of it they comprehend; some of it they do not. John shows them whispering to each other, trying to figure out Jesus' meaning.

Perhaps the strangest words of all are these: "It is for your good that I am going away." Good? How could it possibly be good for Jesus to abandon them, thus dashing their hopes of a restored kingdom?

Jesus' analogy of childbirth gives a clue. Although childbirth may involve great pain, the pain is not a dead end. The effort of giving birth produces something- new life!- and results in joy. In the same way, the great sorrow he and the disciples are about to undergo will not be a dead end. His pain will bring about the salvation of the world; their grief will turn to joy.

Jesus concludes with a ringing declaration, "Take heart! I have overcome the world." How hollow this statement will seem the next evening when his pale, abused body hangs on an executioner's cross and the disciples slink away into the darkness. As the Book of Acts shows, only after Jesus' departure do these confused disciples fully grasp the meaning of his death and resurrection and begin to proclaim it joyfully to everyone around them.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

John 15: Vital Link

"No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine."

A sense of urgency intensifies inside the stuffy, crowded room. Jesus has just a few more hours to prepare his disciples for the tumult that lies ahead. These are his closest friends in the world, and he is about to leave them. What will happen to Jesus' little band after his departure? He foresees fierce opposition and hatred, beatings and executions. The disciples will face all these trials on his behalf, without his physical presence to protect them.

As he has done so often before, Jesus reaches for an allegory, a parable from nature, to drive home his point. Just outside Jerusalem rows of vineyards cover the hills- probably, he and his disciples have walked through them on their way to the city- and Jesus summons up two images from those vineyards.

First, he uses the image of lush, juicy grapes. Not long before, the disciples were drinking the product of those grapes while listening to Jesus' deeply symbolic words about the blood of the covenant. In order to bear fruit, Jesus says, one thing is essential: They must remain in intimate connection with the vine. Jesus also reminds the Twelve that he has handpicked them for a specific mission: "to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last."

Then Jesus mentions one more image: a pile of dead sticks at the edge of the vineyard. Somehow these branches have lost their connection with the vine, their sole source of nourishment. A farmer has cut them off and thrown them in a heap to be burned. They no longer have a useful function.

Most likely, Jesus' disciples do not understand everything this night. But the symbolism, with its abrupt contrast between juicy grapes and withered branches, will stay with them. The spectacular history of the early church- the fruit of Jesus' work- gives certain proof.

2008-03-11T16:03:00.000-05:00

Mark 13: A Day to Dread

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come."

Fast-forward a few days beyond the events of Mark 13 to the time when Jesus is prodded by Roman soldiers toward the place of execution. A group of women follows behind, hysterical with grief. Suddenly Jesus turns and silences them with these words, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children...For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (Luke 23:28, 31).

As chapter 13 spells out in grim detail, Jesus does not expect the war against God's kingdom to end with his own death He predicts that evil will only intensify until, after on final spasm of rebellion, the earth gives way to God's full restoration. This chapter echoes, and quotes from, the Old Testament prophets. At the end of time, God will take off all the wraps. And when Jesus returns, he will appear in a new form: not as a helpless babe in a manger, not nailed to a crosspiece of wood, but as "the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."

Some of Jesus' dire predictions find fulfillment in A.D. 70 when Roman soldiers break through the walls of Jerusalem and demolish Herod's temple- the same temple Jesus' disciples are admiring when Jesus first speaks these words. Other predictions apparently have not yet been fulfilled.

Just a few decades after Jesus' death, scoffers mock the notion of the second coming of Christ. "Where is this 'coming' he promises? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4). For all such scoffers, Jesus and the prophets have two ominous words of advice: Just wait. God will not let you go on scoffing forever. One day, the earth and the sky will flee from his presence.

2008-03-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

Mark 12: Baiting Jesus

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Mark believes this observation about Jesus' enemies: "Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them" (verse 12). The rest of chapter 12 records skirmishes between Jesus and the groups seeking to trap him and erode his popularity.

First, representatives from a political party cynically praise Jesus and then spring on him a loaded question about taxes. If Jesus says the Jews should pay taxes, he may lose popular support, for the Jews despise the Roman occupation forces who control the government. If he says "Don't pay, " he risks arrest for encouraging lawbreaking. Next, a small but powerful religious group tries to stump Jesus theologically. The Sadducees, who do not believe in an afterlife, propose a complicated riddle about life after death.

Finally, Jesus' perennial enemies, the Pharisees, take their turn. Rabbis of the day have detailed 613 commandments in Moses' law, and various splinter groups bicker over which ones are most important. A teacher of the law asks Jesus to select just one as the greatest commandment, knowing his choice will surely offend some of these groups.

Jesus fends off these attacks so impressively that Mark concludes, "And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions." His replies combine brilliance, wit and common sense in a way that turns the tables on his critics and leaves them speechless. In all these skirmishes, Jesus does not try to placate his adversaries. Instead, he uses these conflicts to warn his disciples and the watching crowds against these adversaries, whose fury only increases.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-09T19:40:00.004-05:00

Mark 11: Opposition Heats Up

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

As the group reaches Jerusalem, Jesus permits one rare display of public celebration. Always before, he has hushed up his identity and shrunk back from the crowds that tried to coronate him. In the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, he lets people honor him as the true Messiah.

In some ways, this procession is a slapstick affair compared to the lavish processions of the Romans- Jesus rides into town on a donkey, after all, not in a gilded chariot. But the event, foretold by the prophets, has deep meaning for the Jews. Jesus is openly declaring himself the Messiah, and the Triumphal Entry sets all of Jerusalem astir. Religious leaders raise an alarm, and even the Romans take note of a man claiming to be a king. The next few chapters demonstrate how tragically short-lived public acceptance proves to be.

The last few weeks of Jesus' life show a mounting sense of urgency, as seen in several dramatic confrontations at the temple. In the spirit of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus brands greedy profiteers at the temple "robbers" and forcibly drives them out. Furthermore, Jesus does nothing to temper his harsh message. On the contrary, he parries the demand to explain what gives him the right to behave so aggressively, and he proceeds to tell a parable that seems deliberately provocative (12:1-12). He presents himself as the last resort, God's final attempt to break through humankind's' stubborn resistance.

Battle lines are drawn. One one side is Jesus, kept safe only by his widespread popularity. On the other side are leaders of the religious and political establishments. Threatened by Jesus' radical message of repentance and reform, they determine to find a way to trap Jesus and turn the crowd against him.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-07T06:46:00.000-05:00

Mark 10: Servant Leadership

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus uses no false advertising in attracting disciples. He states the cost of following him in the bluntest terms. As the height of his popularity, as throngs of people are tailing him, Jesus talks about his forthcoming suffering and death. Such talk baffles his disciples, whose image of a Messiah includes no such dark notions. Showing incredible insensitivity, they lapse into petty disputes about status. They cannot embrace the message Jesus patiently repeats for them: in his kingdom, the greatest is the one who serves.

No matter how many times Jesus explains the way of the cross, it never seems to sink in. He uses curious techniques to gain recruits for his kingdom. He uses words like cross and slave, rather like a modern Marine Corps recruiter displaying photos of war amputees and dead soldiers. How can the ugly image of an executioner's cross fit the nation's dream of a new kingdom?

Jesus' own disciples- let alone the admiring crowds- are wholly unprepared for his type of kingdom. Its demands are too hard, its rewards too vague. Although Jesus makes a point of mentioning his resurrection whenever he talks about his death, the disciples grasp neither concept- until he dies and then comes back.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-06T06:18:00.000-05:00

Mark 9: Slow Learners

"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

At first, Jesus' disciples do not distinguish themselves- to put it mildly. Their most obvious trait is denseness: "Are you so dull?" Jesus asks more than once. Mark 9 shows the disciples bungling a work of healing, misunderstanding Jesus' hints about his coming death and resurrection, squabbling about status and trying to shut down the work of another disciple. Obviously, there is much in Jesus' mission they fail to understand.

In spite of the disciples' erratic performance, Jesus devotes much of his time to them. Outsiders still gather to watch and listen, but Jesus concentrates on training the Twelve, preparing them to carry on his work after his departure.

How do the disciples handle the increased attention? If anything, they prove even more inept. When Jesus refers to his coming death, they either miss the point or foolishly protest his plans. Sometimes they bicker over who deserves the most favored position. They obviously do not understand the dazzling events going on around them. In short, the disciples amply demonstrate the mixture of good and bad present in all of us. Sadly, after Jesus' arrest, despite vigorous pronouncements of loyalty, each one of the Twelve sneaks quietly and ashamedly away from Jesus in his moment of deepest need.

One event, however, will dramatically alter the Twelve. Something passes through their lives like a flame: Jesus' resurrection. After that incredible event, Jesus' patient hours of training seem to bear fruit at last. The disciple's change in behavior is astonishing. Of the proofs for the resurrection of Jesus, one of the most compelling is simply to compare these cowering disciples as portrayed in Mark with the bold, confident figures in the book of Acts. There, in a remarkable irony, we see the incredible advance of the early church being led by the two disciples who earned Jesus' strongest reprimands: John and Peter.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-05T06:43:00.000-05:00

Mark 8: Turning Point

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things.

Chapter 8 shows Jesus exasperated with his disciples. "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" he asks reproachfully. After seeing him feed 5,000 people and then 4,000 more, they still worry about their next meal. Still, for all their slow-wittedness the disciples have grasped something important about Jesus. The crowds see him as a reincarnation of a prophet- Elijah, perhaps, or John the Baptist. But Peter boldly pronounces Jesus "the Christ," the Messiah long predicted by the prophets (verse 29).

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the word Christ to first-century Jews. Ground down by centuries of foreign domination, they are staking all their hopes on a Messiah who will lead their nation back to glory. Matthew 16:17-19 records that Jesus, pleased by Peter's impulsive declaration, lavishes praise on him. Yet Peter's brightest moment barely precedes one of his worst- a few paragraphs later Jesus identifies Peter with Satan. What transpires between these two scenes marks an important turning point in the story of Jesus' life.

To Peter and the other disciples, the Messiah stands for wealth and fame and political power- the very temptations Jesus consistently resists during his ministry. The true Messiah, Jesus knows, must endure scorn, humiliation, suffering and even death. He is the suffering servant prophesied by Isaiah. He will end up in Jerusalem on a cross, a symbol of shame rather than honor.

Peter may have grasped Jesus' identity, but he has much to learn about Jesus' mission. Not comprehending the Messiah's ultimate goal, he wants Jesus to avoid suffering. Jesus knows otherwise. From this moment on, Jesus makes a strategic turn, leaving Galilee to head toward the capital of Jerusalem, where he will meet his fate.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-04T06:11:00.001-05:00

John 10: No Secrets

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Every few years an author or scholar or even a movie maker raises new questions- or the same old questions- about Jesus' identity. Often such portrayals show him wandering around the earth in a daze, trying to figure out why he came and what he is supposed to be doing.

Nothing could be further from the account given us by John, Jesus' closest friend. According to John, Jesus was a man on a mission who knew exactly what he had come to Earth to accomplish. John states his purpose in writing very clearly: to get people to believe in Jesus the Messiah (20:31). His book selectively features incidents from Jesus' life to demonstrate who Jesus is.

"I am the gate," Jesus says in chapter 10; "I am the good shepherd." Jews who hear these words undoubtedly think back to Old Testament kings like David, who were fondly thought of as the shepherds of Israel. Unlike modern-day shepherds, who use dogs to drive their flocks, shepherds in Jesus' day walked ahead of the sheep, calling them to follow; the sheep would respond only to a familiar voice.

In the Old Testament, God is also called the "Shepherd of Israel" (Psalm 80:1). In claiming to be the good shepherd, Jesus is asserting his leadership over a flock he is willing to die for. When some challenge him bluntly, "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly," Jesus answers them with equal bluntness, saying, "I and the Father are one" (verse 30).

The pious Jews, understanding Jesus all too well, pick up stones to execute him for blasphemy. Not even these hostile reactions surprise Jesus, though. He expects opposition, even execution. As he explains here, a truly good shepherd, unlike a hired hand, "lays down his life for the sheep." This chapter explains why he makes that choice.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-03-03T05:48:00.000-05:00

Matthew 18: Out of Bondage

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Legalists, people who follow strict rules of conduct, at first glance seem righteous. But Jesus warns against the subtle dangers of legalism. Oddly, legalism tends to lower a person's view of God. If I manage to meet all the requirements of a strict rule book, I may begin to feel secure about my goodness. In fact, I may even think I have earned God's approval through my own efforts.

Both Jesus' enemies (the Pharisees) and his friends (the disciples) seek a precise list of rules so they can feel they have fulfilled their obligations to God, which then gives them a sense of satisfaction. To such people, Jesus shouts a loud, "No!" We never outgrow our need for God; we never arrive in the Christian life. We survive spiritually only by constantly depending on God for mercy and for strength.

Jesus' disciple Peter tries almost ludicrously to reduce forgiveness to a mathematical formula. Let's see, exactly how many times must I forgive someone? Six? Seven? (verse 21) Jesus parries the question and tells a profound story about God's forgiveness- forgiveness so great and all-encompassing that it defies all mathematics.

The Pharisees continue along the same line in chapter 19 by trying to pin down a formula for divorce. Once again Jesus avoids the answer they want to hear and points instead to the principles that undergird all marriages. Later, in chapter 19, Jesus doesn't tell a rich person to give away 18.5% of his belongings; he says to give them all away. He doesn't restrict adultery to the act of intercourse; he connects it to lust, adultery of the heart. Murder? In principle, anger is no different.

In short, Jesus always refuses to lower the sights. He opposes every form of legalism, every human attempt to accumulate a list of credits. The credit goes to God, not us. The chief danger facing legalists is that they risk missing the Good News of God's grace, a gift freely given by God to people who don't deserve it.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

Mark 7: Poles Apart

"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'?"

Although the crowds sometimes have difficulty accepting Jesus' message, as long as he keeps healing people they tag along. On the other hand, the religious, political and intellectual establishments all strongly oppose Jesus but cannot manage to loosen his grip on the common people. The Pharisees, in particular, keep trying to trap him in a major blunder that might turn the people- or the government- against him.

In many ways, the Pharisees make an odd set of enemies for Jesus, for most people would rank them as strict and religious. Although the Pharisees work hard to follow the Old Testament law, Jesus can see right through their pious behavior. He blasts them for focusing on the outside while neglecting far greater dangers from within.

The Pharisees are strict legalists, and Jesus reacts with surprising harshness to such seemingly petty matters. By concentrating on all the rules, the Pharisees risk missing the whole point of the Gospel. Showy forms of legalism do not move anyone closer to God; in fact, they tend to make people proud, cliquish and self-righteous.

One way Jesus exposes the hypocricy in the Pharisees' attitude is by publicly healing people on the sacred Sabbath. Fully aware that such acts will scandalize strict Pharisees, he goes ahead anyway, insisting that compassion for needy people must take precedence over tradition. Sure enough, they care more about keeping the rules than healing the sick.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-28T22:02:00.001-05:00

John 6: Food that Endures

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

Apart from the resurrection, Jesus' feeding of 5,000 people is the only miracle that all four Gospels record. It shows Jesus meeting the most basic human need, food, by using barley loaves, the least expensive kind of bread. John describes the effect of the miracle on the ordinary people who saw it. Dazzled by Jesus' power, they try to crown him king. When he slips away, persistent fans commandeer boats and sail across a lake in pursuit.

The next day as the crowds catch up with him, Jesus meets them with a blunt warning: "I tell you the truth, your are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."

Hearing this, many Jews no doubt remember the miraculous manna that their ancestors ate in Moses' day. Jesus points to a better, life-changing meal: himself. As the "bread of life," he will nourish his people far better than any miraculous meal could.

Sensation-seeking crowds, however, care more for physical spectacle than for spiritual truth. What happens next certainly bears that out. As Jesus is interpreting the spiritual meaning of the miracle, all their enthusiasm melts away. The crowd grows downright restless, then hostile. They cannot reconcile his exalted claim- "I have come down from heaven"- with their knowledge that he is a local man whose mother and father they know.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-27T22:33:00.006-05:00

Luke 18: Underdogs

"He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'"

Jesus' stories in Luke 18 feature underdogs: a mistreated widow, a despised tax collector, little children, a blind beggar. A rich man makes an appearance as a negative example, as do most wealthy people around Jesus. Even Jesus' closest disciples have trouble swallowing his teaching that money represents a grave danger. Jesus spells out that danger, warning that wealth can keep people from the kingdom of God by tempting them to depend on themselves rather than God. The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector reinforces that message. Not only wealth, but any form of pride or self-dependence tends to lead away from God.

Even an effort to become "holy" may produce the opposite effect if it produces spirtual pride and a feeling of superiority. Human beings have an incurable tendency to feed their own egos, to take credit, to compete. The way to God, said Jesus, is just the opposite: Trust God like a little child, admit wrong, let go.

Jesus reveals the key to true success in the very first story in this collection, a parable to illustrate why we "should always pray and not give up." The persistent widow endures much frustration and apparent injustice before the judge finally grants her request. Similarly, Jesus implies, we may go through desert periods when it looks as if God is ignoring our heartfelt requests. In the end, God himself will settle accounts. And all those whose faith holds firm, even in the hard times, will see justice done.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-26T21:07:00.001-05:00

Luke 16: Of Two Worlds

"You cannot serve both God and Money."

A story is told about Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian communism. The rabbi spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith. One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took him to a police station and worked him over, demanding that he give up his religious activities. He refused. The interrogator brandished a gun in his face and said, "This little toy has made many a man change his mind." Rabbi Schneerson answered, "This little toy can intimidate only that kind of man who has many gods and but one world. Because I have only one God and two worlds, I am not impressed by this little toy."

The theme of "two worlds," or two kingdoms, emerges often in Jesus' teaching, and a couple of stories in this chapter draw a sharp distinction between the two worlds. "What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight," Jesus says, commenting on his first story (verses 1-15).

The second story, about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus, elaborates on the difference in values between the two worlds. The rich man prospers in this world, yet neglects to make any provision for eternal life and thus suffers the consequences. Meanwhile a half-starved beggar, judged by most standards as a failure in life, receives an eternal reward.

Jesus tells such stories to an audience with a tradition of wealthy patriarchs, strong kings and victorious heroes. He keeps emphasizing the stunning reversal of values in God's kingdom. People who have little value in this world (the poor, the persecuted- people like Lazarus) may, in fact, have great stature before God. Jesus consistently presents the invisisble world as a place to invest in for the future, a place to store up treasure for the life to come.

In a question that brings the two worlds starkly together, Jesus asks: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-25T20:19:00.004-05:00

Luke 15: Master Storyteller

"This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!"

Using simple, homespun images, Jesus expresses profound truths in a way that holds his audience captive. His parables (concise short stories) have won high praise, even from literary experts who do not accept their spiritual message. Some of the most famous of these parables appear only in Luke's Gospel.

The three stories in chapter 15 stir up feelings for the lost- and for the loser. A shepherd scours the hillside in a frantic search for a missing sheep. A woman turns her house upside down over a lost silver coin. A runaway son thumbs his nose at a life of comfort and ends up half-starved in a pigpen. In a few brief sentences, Jesus' parables tug at feelings of loss and remorse that lie buried just beneath the surface in all of us.

Yet all thre parables end the same: spectacular good news floods in to replace the sadness, and partying breaks out. All the parables point to the limitless love of God for those in real need. God stands ready to forgive all those who cry out to him.

The parable of the lost son actually tells the story of two sons, one irresponsible, the other hardworking. One wastes his life and comes home humbled; the other proudly refuses to celebrate his brother's homecoming. The story ends with one son inside, enjoying a joyful family celebration; his brother lingers outside, bitterly unwillings to forgive. Which son is really lost?

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-22T12:41:00.001-05:00

Luke 12: Mysterious Power of a Dangerous Force

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus has more to say about money than about almost any other topic. Yet 2,000 years later Christians have trouble agreeing on exactly what he means. One reason is that Jesus rarely gives “practical” advice. He avoids commenting on specific economic systems and, as in this chapter, refuses to get involved in personal disputes about finances. Jesus sees money primarily as a spiritual force.

In some ways, money issues can be reduced to three questions:

1. How did you get it? (Did it involved injustice, cheating or oppression of the poor?)
2. What are you doing with it? (Are you hoarding it? Exploiting others? Wasting it on needless luxuries?
3. What is it doing to you?

Although Jesus speaks to all three of these issues, he concentrates on the last one. As he explains it, money operates much like an idol. It can catch hold of and dominate a person’s life, diverting attention from God. Jesus challenges people to break free of money’s power, even if it requires the radical step of giving it all away.

Luke 12 offers a good summary of Jesus’ attitude toward money. Jesus does not condemn all possessions: “Your Father knows that you need (food, drink, and clothes).” But he strongly warns against putting faith in money to secure the future. As Jesus’ story of the rich man shows, money will ultimately fail to solve life’s biggest problems. The rich man’s money did him absolutely no good the night of his death.

Jesus urges his listeners to seek treasure in the kingdom of God, for such treasure can benefit them in this life and the next one too. “Do not worry,” he says. Rather trust God to provide your basic need. To emphasize this point, Jesus uses the example of King Solomon, the richest man in the Old Testament. To most nationalistic Jews, Solomon is a hero. Jesus sees him in a different light: Solomon’s splendor- long since faded- was no more impressive than that of a common wildflower. Better to trust in the God who lavishes care on the whole earth than to spend your life worrying about money and possessions.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-21T04:02:00.000-05:00

Luke 10: Mission Impossible

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."

A seismic change is rumbling through this chapter. As Jesus commissions 72 followers, he does not disguise his alarm. "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves," he says. Finally, in a voice that commands attention, he gives this mysterious charge: "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me." Then the recruits depart on their dangerous, important mission.

Luke's next view of Jesus is almost unprecedented. Nowhere else in the Gospels will you find Jesus so happy, even bubbling with joy. The caution in his face has brightened to exuberance. It has really worked, this perilous mission into the hill country, and Jesus celebrates the enormous breakthrough with these 72 disciples.

In his enthusiastic response, Jesus reveals that he has come to Earth to establish a church, a group of believers, to carry on his will after his departure. As these 72 disciples walk the footpaths of Judea, knocking on doors, explaining the gospel of the Messiah and healing the sick, Jesus watches the behind-the-scenes impact: Satan falls like lightning from heaven. Jesus' own mission- more, his own life- is being lived out through 72 very ordinary human beings whose actions win a cosmic victory.

Power can go to your head, especially if you've never before had any. The disciples, mainly farmers and fishermen, are overwhelmed to discover their spiritual authority. Jesus urges them to keep it in perspective. Their salvation, he says- their names written in heaven- matters more than their power. (The Bible often speaks of God's people having their names recorded in a heavenly book. See Daniel 12:1 and Revelation 3:5.)

Finally, Jesus's parable- beginning with verse 25, definitively shows the correct teaching of Christian charity and love. The priest observes a robbery victim in a half-dead state. According to Old Testament law, any priest who touched a dead body made himself ceremonially impure (Leviticus 21:1-4) Both he and a religious Levite decided not to get involved. Jesus' audience might have been expecting the third character to be a Jewish layperson. But Jesus added a twist by making the one who showed love a Samaritan, a racial minority despised in Israel. In this way, Jesus contrasted mere religious beliefs with true love.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-20T05:03:00.000-05:00

Mark 6: Contrast in Power

When Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

Two very different kinds of power display themselves in Mark 6. Herod, ruler of Galilee, personifies one type. Rich and ruthless, he has legions of Roman soldiers to carry out his every command. He leaves impressive monuments all over the area he governs. Mark describes how Herod uses and abuses his power: He steals his brother's wife, locks up John the Baptist and then has the propeht beheaded as a party favor. Herod does feel some remorse in killing John, but he also feels he must protect his image by honoring a careless vow.

Jesus uses power in an opposite way. He reaches out to the weak, the suffering and the hungry. After declining an offer of worldly power in the wilderness (Matthew 4), he gives no further thought to cultivating an image of power or importance. He seeks to serve God rather than meet people's misguided expectations.

Of special note, Herod has built a lavish palace in Jesus' home province of Galilee, but Jesus avoids that fashionable area. As Herod wines and dines prominent guests, Jesus roams the countryside with his ragtag band of followers. He, too, serves a banquet of sorts to 5,000 unexpected guests. His simple message of love, forgiveness and healing has its own kind of power. Mark tells of crowds chasing Jesus around a lake, running to fetch their sick friends, pressing in close to touch the Teacher.

Jesus contemptuously dismisses Herod as "that fox" (Luke 13:32). But as talk about Jesus spreads, Herod longs for a chance to meet him. (Eventually he gets that chance at Jesus' trial.) One good thing does come out of the tragedy of John's beheading. Though Jesus has already gained some disciples from among those following John the Baptist, after John's execution even more of them join Jesus as disciples.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

Matthew 13: Kingdom Tales

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

Writers have long marveled at Jesus’ skill in communicating profound truth through parables- short, simple, everyday stories with a point. Everybody likes a story, and stories are easier to remember than concepts or logical outlines. Jesus spoke in terms that would hold the interest of a society of farmers and fishermen, many of whom were illiterate. About 30 of his masterful parables have survived in the Gospels.

While he is telling the stories recorded in this chapter, Jesus is floating offshore in a boat, projecting his voice to the large crowds that have gathered. Because the stories concern their daily lives- farming, baking bread, hunting buried treasure, fishing- he keeps their interest. Later, he reveals the deeper meanings of the stories to his disciples.

As Jesus explains to his disciples, parables also help to winnow the audience. Spectators seeking entertainment can go home with a few stories to mull over, but more serious inquirers will need to come back for further interpretation.

This chapter collects several of Jesus' stories about the "kingdom of heaven"- a phrase used 32 times in Matthew. Although Jesus never concisely defines the term, he gives many clues about the nature of this kingdom. Unlike, say, Greece or China or Spain, this kingdom has no geographical boundaries and can't be charted on a map. Its citizens live right among their enemies, not separated from them by an armed border. Still, Jesus predicts that the kingdom of heaven will show remarkable growth, even in an evil environment bent on its destruction.

In summary, the "kingdom of heaven" consists of the rule of God in the world. It comprises people of all races from all nations who loyally follow God's will. Jesus stresses that this new kingdom is a major advance in God's plan: its least member, he says, surpasses the great John the Baptist (11:11). The disciples, accustomed to more traditional images of power and leadership, never quite grasp Jesus' concept of the kingdom. They keep asking him to explain his parables, even as they jockey vainly for status. Not until Jesus dies and then comes back will they comprehend his mission on Earth.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-18T05:26:00.000-05:00

Matthew 7: Letting the Inside Match the Outside

"Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Almost all of us live two lives: what other people see on the outside and what is really going on inside. In school we learn what outward signs of attention will please the teacher. At a job we learn to "put up a good front" whenever the boss happens to stroll by. As if putting on masks, we style our hair, choose our clothes and use body language to impress those around us. Over time, we learn to excel at hiding truly serious problems. People tend to judge by outward appearances and so can easily be fooled. Acquaintances are often shocked when a mass-murderer is arrested. "He seemed like such a nice man?" they insist. The outside appearance did not match the inside reality.

Chapters 5-7 announce that the time has come for us to change not just the outside, but also the inside. In Jesus' day, religious people tried to impress each other with showy outward behavior. They wore gaunt and hungry looks during a brief fast, prayed grandiosely if people were watching and went so far as to wear Bible verses strapped to their foreheads and left arms.

In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blasts the hypocrisy behind such seemingly harmless practices. God is not fooled by appearances. We cannot fake behavior to impress him. He knows that inside the best of us lurk dark thoughts of hatred, pride, and lust- internal problems only he can deal with. Jesus goes on to present a truly radical way of life, free of pretense.

These three chapters (5-7) among the most analyzed in the entire Bible, present a fresh view of the world. In one sense, Jesus says, the truths presented here are not new: They fulfill, rather that abolish, the Old Testament law. In another sense the way of life Jesus describes is more radical than anything before or since. Jesus' words turn many normal assumptions upside down. With statements like, "Blessed are the poor in spirit...those who mourn...the meek...the peacemakers...those who are persecuted," Jesus attacks those who strive to build a good image by appearing powerful, successful, and assertive.

Perhaps most radical of all, the Sermon on the Mount introduces the possibility of living solely for God and not for appearances. At last we can get our inner and outer lives in sync.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-15T05:25:00.000-05:00

Matthew 6: Some Perplexing Advice

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasrues in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, contains the Lord's Prayer, perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This model prayer by Jesus capturees well the message of the kingdom: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus seeks to bring th two worlds together, and the Sermon on the Mount explains how.

At first glance, some of Jesus' advice may seem downright foolish: Give to everyone who asks, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, grant interest-free loans, don't worry about clothes or food. Can such idealism ever work in the "real," or visible, world? That is precisely Jesus' point: Break your obsession with safety, security, thriftiness, self-righteousness. Depend instead on the Father, letting God take care of the personal injustices that come your way, trusting God to look after your daily needs.

The message applies to rewards as well. Most of us look to friends and colleagues for our rewards: a slap on the back, a raise, applause, a generous compliment. According to Jesus, far more important rewards will come in God's heavenly kingdom. Therefore, the most significant acts may be carried out in secret, seen and rewarded by no one but God.

As Jesus explains it, we are accumulaing a kind of savings account, "storing up treasures" in heaven rather than on Earth- treasures great enough to pay back any amount of suffering in this life. The Old Testament has dropped a few scant hints about an afterlife, but Jesus speaks plainly about a place where "the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (13:43). In their quest for a kingdom, the Jews of Jesus' day have been looking for signs of God's approval in this life, primarily through prosperity and political power. Beginning with this speech, Jesus changes the focus to the life to come. He discounts success in this visible world. Invest in the future life, he cautions; for rust, a burglar or even an insect can destroy all the accumulated things of this present one.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-14T12:55:00.004-05:00

Matthew 5: Sermon on the Mount

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

One emotionally charged word, kingdom, makes images dance in the minds of Jesus’ audience: bright banners, glittering armies, the gold and ivory of Solomon’s day, the nation of Israel restored to glory. Yet Jesus often uses this word that quickens the Jewish pulse, starting with his very first message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (4:17)

Winds of change are blowing through Israel as Jesus speaks. Guerrilla fighters called Zealots hang on the edges of the crowds, awaiting the signal. Armed and well organized, they are spoiling for a fight against oppressive Rome. The signal for revolt, however, never comes. To their dismay, it gradually becomes clear that Jesus is not talking about a political or military kingdom.

The expectations raised by Jesus’ statements lead to confusion and, ultimately, to angry rejection. Initial excitement over Jesus’ miracles sours into disappointment when he fails to restore the long-awaited kingdom. As it turns out, the word kingdom means one thing to the crowd and quite another to Jesus.

Jesus indicates that two kinds of history are going on simultaneously. We live in a visible world of families and people and cities and nations- “the kingdom of this world.” But Jesus calls for people to commit their lives to an invisible kingdom, the “kingdom of heaven,” a kingdom more important and more valuable than anything in the visible world. It is like the finest pearl in the world, he says- worth selling everything you have to invest in it.

Success in the kingdom of heaven involves a complete reversal of values, as seen in this major address, the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus says, and also those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and the persecuted- “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Status in this world does not guarantee status in the kingdom of heaven.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-13T05:39:00.000-05:00

Mark 5: Jesus and Illness

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Jesus’ healings help to overturn common notions about how God views sick people. During Jesus’ lifetime, Pharisees teach strictly that all suffering comes from sin. In other words, if you’re sick, you deserve it. In fact, Pharisees judge a deranged or demon-possessed person as permanently cursed by God. They see God’s hand of punishment in natural disasters, birth defects and such long-term conditions as blindness and paralysis. Following Old Testament law, they consider “unclean” those who suffer from diseases such as leprosy, and they exclude them from worship.

Jesus boldly challenges such teaching. This chapter shows him curing a demon-possessed man, touching and healing an “unclean” woman and resurrecting a child (even though touching a corpse made a person “unclean”).

On other occasions, Jesus directly refutes the traditional doctrine of sin and suffering. He denies that a man’s blindness comes from his own or his parents’ sin, and he dismisses the common opinion that tragedies happen to those who deserve them (see Luck 13 and John 9)

Jesus does not heal everyone on the earth or even in his homeland. But his treatment of the sick and needy shows that they are especially loved, not curses, by God. His healings also provide a “sign” of what will happen in the future, a time when all diseases, and even death, will be destroyed.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-12T14:40:00.001-05:00

Mark 4: an Unrecognized Messiah

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

The story about the sower of seed recorded in chapter 4 summarizes the mixed results Jesus himself got while on this earth. We, who live 2,000 years later, who have such events as Christmas and Easter marked plainly on our calendars, may easily miss the sheer incredulity that greeted Jesus in the flesh.

Neighbors: They have watched Jesus play in the streets with their children, growing up. He is simply too familiar for them to believe he is sent from God. “Isn’t this the carpenter?” they ask. “Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? ...What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!” (6:2-3)

Family: Not even Jesus’ family can easily reconcile the wondrous and the ordinary. Mark casually mentions one time when Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive to take charge of him because they have concluded that “he is out of his mind” (3:21).

Religious Experts: The scribes and Pharisees, who pore over the writings of the prophets, should have the clearest notion of how to recognize the Messiah. But no group causes Jesus more trouble than these scholars. They criticize his theology, his life-style and his choice of friends. When he performs miracles, they attribute his power to Satan and demons.

The Crowds: Common people seem unable to make up their minds about Jesus. One moment they judge him as “demon-possessed and raving made” (John 10:20); the next, they forcibly try to crown him king (John 6:15)

How could Jesus, God’s Son, worker of astounding miracles in broad daylight, go unrecognized? The incident that ends this chapter may provide a clue. When a storm nearly capsizes the boat transporting Jesus, he yells into the wind, “Quiet! Be still!” The disciples shrink back in terror. What kind of person shouts down the weather as if correcting an unruly child?

This scene helps convince them that Jesus is unlike anyone else on Earth. Yet it also suggests a reason for their confusion about him. Jesus has, after all, fallen asleep in the boat from sheer fatigue, a symptom of his human frailty. And the Son of God, the creator of weather, is- but for this one instance of miracle- one of weather’s victims.

The early church will argue for three centuries about exactly what happened when God became man, but their creeds do little to dispel the sense of mystery. In a way, Jesus is just like everyone else: He has a race, an occupation, a family background, a body shape. In a way, he is something entirely new in the history of the universe. In between these two statements lies a mystery that can never be explained away.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-11T07:09:00.000-05:00

Mark 3: Convincing Proof

For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

The Gospels record some three dozen miracles performed by Jesus, and Jesus states plainly one of their benefits: "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves" (John 14:11). Miracles offer convincing proof that Jesus is the Messiah, God's Son.

Large crowds gather from far away as word of Jesus' power spreads. Some people come for healing, others just to witness the extraordinary phenomena. Who but a messenger from God could perform such works? Yet Jesus himself has an odd ambivalence toward miracles. He refuses to do "tricks" on demand, like a magician. In fact, Jesus seems not to trust miracles to produce the kind of faith he is interested in. Mark reports that on seven separate occasions Jesus warns a person just healed, "Tell no one!" He is protecting himself from the crush of the crowds that flock to him when word of his miracles spreads- as it usually does, despite his orders- and from the opposition forces that always tails him.

In addition, Jesus remains suspicious of the popular acclaim that his miracles stir up. He is calling for obedience and sacrifice, whereas miracles tend to attract gawkers and sensation-seekers. The excitement generated by miracles does not automatically convert into the life-changing faith he seeks to arouse.

Mainly, Jesus uses his powers in compassionate response to human need. Every time someone asks directly for healing, he heals. When his disciples grow frightened on a stormy lake, he walks to them across the water or calms the wind. When his audience feels humgry, he feeds them. When wedding guests grow thirsty, he makes wine.

Much like people today, Jesus' contemporaries look for ways to explain away his powers. Here in Mark 3, the Pharisees seek to credit Jesus' miracles to Satan's power. On another occasion they arrange a formal tribunal, complete with judges and witnesses, to examine a man Jesus has healed. The man and his parents confirm the story- "One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"- but still the doubters hurl insults and throw him out of court (John 9). In short, the crowd's mixed response bears out Jesus' suspicions about the limited value of miracles. They rarely create faith; rather, they affirm faith in true seekers.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-10T06:12:00.000-05:00

John 3: a Story of Salvation

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Most of Jesus' disciples were ordinary people with no status to worry about losing. A fisherman or tax collector would not forfeit much standing if he followed an unorthodox teacher. By contrast, Nicodemus had quite a reputation at stake. As a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, he held an important ruling post. As a Pharisee, he was committed to a certain set of beliefs. And as a prominent religious teacher, he was a respected interpreter of God's law. No doubt, that is why Nicodemus first asked Jesus to meet him at night. (3:1-2)

Risking his reputation and safety by meeting with Jesus, whom his fellow Pharisees have sworn to kill, Nicodemus pursues this opportunity with some burning questions, possibly the most important questions anyone could ask: Who are you, Jesus? Have you really come from God? Responding with the image of a second birth, Jesus's words here in chapter 3 have become some of the most familiar in the Bible. In a few words, he tells Nicodemus the story of salvation: God loves the world, he gave us His son as a gift, and we can all be saved by simply placing our faith in Jesus.

John then follows this conversation with a report from John the Baptist. People are questioning the radical prophet about the new teacher across the river who is drawing all the crowds. In words that echo Jesus' own, John confirms that Jesus holds the keys to eternal life. Jesus is indeed the one John has come to herald. A great prophet still in his prime, John nonetheless bows to Jesus: "He must become greater; I must become less."

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-09T05:44:00.000-05:00

Mark 2: Signal Fires of Opposition

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that?"

Jesus claims to be the Messiah, sent from God. Yet because he does not fit the religious leaders' image of a Messiah, opposition springs up to counter his wild surge of popularity. Mark 2 tells of three different criticisms leveled against Jesus.

He blasphemes. The teachers of the law are scandalized by the fact that Jesus forgives sins. "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" they mutter. Jesus readily agrees that only God can forgive sins- his point, exactly. When the Pharisees react violently to Jesus, it is usually because they have heard him correctly and simply refuse to believe him.

He keeps disreputable company. Jesus shows a preference for the most unseemly sort of people. Even after becoming famous, he dines with an outcast tax collector and his low-life friends. At the same time, he offends politicians and religious leaders by calling them names. On hearing complaints about his strange behavior, Jesus replies, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

He goes against tradition. To the Pharisees, it seems Jesus' disciples are playing fast and loose with the holy Sabbath. Jesus' response: A new day requires a different approach, just as new wine needs new wineskins. God has major changes in store for the human race, and the old traditions cannot contain them.

Life Question: What intrigues you most about Jesus- that he is frank about who he is, that he spends time with outcasts or that he goes against tradition? Does he threaten you?

In some ways, it's kind of easy to sit back today and quickly criticize the actions of the religious leaders of Jesus' times. What would happen if Christ came back today? Would society embrace him? Would he make the evening news as the Messiah or the tabloids as some evangelical lunatic that we all could sit back and laugh at? Christ's message was so startling to the Jews that- I think- they resorted to a very human nature response of defensiveness and protectiveness for their beloved faith customs. Watching Christ exert so much energy and time with non-Jews was probably perceived as a slap in their faces- they were the chosen people, and they were waiting for their Messiah. Christ, however, had other plans.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-08T05:27:00.000-05:00

Mark 1: Immediate Impact

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this?" A new teaching- and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Although the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all cover basically the same ground, each one looks at Jesus' life from a unique angle. For example, Matthew and Luke begin with historical background, taking pains to verify Jesus' Old Testament connections. Mark plunges right in to report on Jesus' actions.

After John the Baptist fans enthusiasm for Jesus- so much enthusiasm, in fact, that John lands in jail- Jesus openly announces his ministry. He has some surprises in store for the eager audience. For one thing, Jesus goes, not to Jerusalem, the natural center of activity for any aspiring leader, but to small towns in the hill country of Galilee.

Jesus has spent his childhood in Galilee, in the obscure town of Nazareth, which leads some sophisticates to scoff, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:46). Except for festival times when he travels to Jerusalem, Jesus shows a marked preference for small towns and rural areas, especially in the remote northern region of Galilee.

In other ways, too, Jesus does not fit the expected image of a prophet. His cousin John personifies the severe ascetic image: He lives in a desert, eats insects and preaches a harsh message of judgment. But Jesus lives in the midst of people, dines in their homes and brings a message of "the good news of God." Although Jesus may not be a conventional leader, as soon as he begins healing people, his reputation swells overnight. News of his miraculous power spreads, even when he tries to hush it up. The word about an amazing, unconventional kind of prophet gets out.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

Luke 2: No Fear

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Nearly every time an angel appears in the Bible, his first words are, "Don't be afraid!" Little wonder. When the supernatural makes contact with planet Earth, the human observers usually end up flat on their faces in fear. But Luke tells of God appearing in a form that does not frighten. In Jesus, born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough, God uses a mode of approach that causes no fear. What could be less scary than a newborn baby?

Imagine becoming a baby again: giving up language and muscle coordination and the ability to eat solid food and control your bladder. That gives a mere hint of the "emptying" that Jesus chooses to undergo.

According to the Bible, Jesus is both God and man. As God, he works miracles, forgives sins, conquers death and predicts the future. As he does all these things, Jesus evokes awe in the people around him. But for Jews, accustomed to seeing God in a bright cloud or a pillar of fire, Jesus also causes much confusion. How could a baby in Bethlehem, a carpenter's son, a man from Nazareth, be God? Jesus' skin gets in the way. All through his life- and even today- Jesus remains a puzzling figure for skeptics. God could have made his identity more smashingly obvious, but he chose not to.

What does God gain by coming in "disguise?" Why does God empty himself and take on human form? The Bible gives many reasons, some densely theological and some quite practical. Luke's story of Jesus as an adolescent in the temple (2:41-50) gives one clue. For the first time, ordinary people can hold a conversation, a debate, with God in visible form. Jesus can talk to anyone- his parents, a rabbi, a poor widow- without first having to announce, "Don't be afraid!" In Jesus, God comes close.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

2008-02-06T04:19:00.000-05:00

Luke 1: One Final Hope

In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!"

Does any human emotion run as deep as hope? Fairy tales, which are nearly universal, pass down from generation to generation an irrepressible sense that in the end the forces of evil will lose the struggle and the brave and good will somehow triumph. For the people Luke introduces in this first chapter of his Gospel, all hope seems like a fairy tale. As Middle Eastern empires rise and fall, the tiny nation of Israel can never truly break free from the domination of greater powers. No prophet has spoken to the people in four centuries. God has long threatened to hide his face, and indeed a dark shadow has fallen across the planet.

For four centuries, the four hundred years of God's silence, the Jews have waited and wondered. One flicker of hope remains, the ancient promise of a Messiah. On that promise the Jews stake everything. Then, suddenly, stories spread about the birth of a baby unlike any other. Luke takes care to relate these stories to the predictions of a Messiah given by the Old Testament prophets who originally stirred the hope. He portrays John the Baptist as an "Elijah" sent to prepare the way for the Lord.

It was Elizabeth and Zechariah who were among the very first to sense the change that came with the Messiah. Devout believers from priestly families, they represented the best of the old order. They had devoted many years to serving God under the Old Testament law. Yet a cloud of sadness hung over their lives, for they were growing old, and the greatest blessing they could imagine had been denied them. Childless, they knew their line would die out when they passed away.

Then the new era abruptly broke in. One day as Zechariah was performing his duties in the temple, an angel brought some astounding news: He would have a son! Zechariah, long past the age of parenthood, asked for proof and got perhaps more than he had bargained for (1:20) A short while later a relative of Elizabeth's named Mary brought even greater news. The Messiah, the Savior the Jews had been longing for, was on the way! Not only had God answered Elizabeth's and Zechariahs' personal prayers; their nations long waiting would soon come to an end as well.

2008-02-03T23:15:00.000-05:00

Esther 4: A Race's Survival

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.

Not all Jewish exiles return to their homeland when given the opportunity. Some have put down roots during the half-century of Babylonian captivity, and when the more tolerant Persian regime takes command, many of these Jews decide to stay. Suddenly, though, these Jews in Persia face a grave crisis. Their success has attracted so much jealousy that a powerful man is leading a conspiracy to kill every Jew in the land. Tragically, the underlying plot of the book of Esther is an old and familiar one to Jews. Throughout history- the Roman campaigns, medieval Jew-hunts, Russian pogroms, Hitler's "final solution"- they have faced a constant threat of extermination.

Ensconced in the luxury of the palace, the beautiful Queen Esther is possibly the only Jew in Persia who has not heard of the extermination plans. She is most likely safe, but her adoptive father, her cousin Mordecai, warns that the king might just as easily turn against her too. Mordecai has a sophisticated view of God's providence that never lapses into fatalism. He believes that God will somehow preserve his people; yet he also knows that God might accomplish that goal through the courageous actions of people like himself and Esther.

In Esther's day a queen does not easily stand up to her husband- especially like Xerxes. By intervening for the sake of her race, Esther places her own life in jeopardy. Chapter 4 spells out Esther's dilemma and describes the decision she fianlly reaches. The rest of the book records a series of plot twists: the Jews are spared, even honored, and the original conspirator is hanged in the place of Mordecai. Esther's story is a thrilling chapter in the narrative of God's love for the Jews.

Life Question: Someone once called coincidences "God's way of working anonymously." Do you tend to give God credit for the "conicidences" in your life?

All to often. It's so easy to embrace the idea..."What a lucky thing to have happen." Yet, my notion of luck is probably God's divine plan of helping steer my life closer to His Son...and the things that happen to me as well as the people whom I interact with each and every day all probably have a specific purpose, a purpose that I'm not always in tune with. The next time "luck" comes my way, I should offer a sincere prayer of thanks instead.

2008-01-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

Esther 2: Uncovering a Conspiracy
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Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
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Ezra and Nehemiah, the books preceding Esther, tell the inspiring story of Jews returning to Jerusalem after years of captivity. Only 50,000 Jews came back tot heir plundered land, however. Many more- among them Mordecai’s family- stayed behind, and some of these prospered quite well. The story of Esther takes place in that foreign setting, ruled by the Persian Empire.

His family had come to Persia as virtual slaves, captives of Jerusalem’s last-stand against the Babylonians. Yet even in enemy territory, Mordecai succeeded in business. His relative, Esther, found more success; she was selected from all the beautiful women in the land as King Zerxes’ queen. With his connections inside the palace, Mordecai probably had high ambitions. He would have to hide his background, though, and he strongly advised Esther to keep her Jewish heritage a secret as well.

Yet when a crisis came, Mordecai stood tall, showing extraordinary courage. The king had named the evil Haman his second-in-command, and everyone bowed before him- everyone except Mordecai, who stayed on his feet. His motive? Perhaps he knew of Haman’s character and of his hatred for Jews.

When Haman set out to annihilate all Jews in the empire, Mordecai urged Esther to “come out” completely, revealing her race even at the risk of her life. Clearly, loyalty to their people came before success or safety. Mordecai’s stand and Esther’s courage led to a dramatic turnaround for the whole community of Jewish exiles. King Xerxes rewarded Mordecai with a high position in his court. More importantly, his own community honored him “because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews” (10:3)

The feast of Purim, still celebrated by Jews today, commemorates these amazing events. Against history’s dark background of anti-Semitism, Mordecai’s triumph shines.

Life Question: Whom do you speak up for?

I’ve always tried to reach out to the group of kids who enter Hoban each year who have never really participated in any kind of organized sport/ co curricular. These are the kids who can flounder through their first year, making very few friends and at times end up leaving the school because they never feel connected to the mainstream of the student body. More often than not, it just takes a friendly invitation to help build a young person’s confidence and self esteem in assimilating themselves to the other 900 kids in the building.

2008-01-15T22:32:00.000-05:00

Nehemiah 9: The Power of the Word

They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.

For all the splendor of the temple, it had become a meaningless symbol to most Jews. They had even put idols in it. God had finally allowed the Babylonians to burn the temple down. After the exile the Jews had made rebuilding the temple their first priority. But it was no longer an automatic insurance policy. They could never again see the building as a substitute for real devotion to God.

Their leaders? Not one king, over hundreds of years, had come close to matching God’s ideal. Most kings had been scoundrels- descendants of David in name only. After the exile, Israel had no king of its own. The Israelites were under the thumb of a Persian, who was determined to keep all power himself.

And so, they turned to another source of power: the Word of God. The great gathering of chapter 8 stands in contrast to temples and kings. The splendor of jewels and crowns is replaced by a single man atop a wooden platform, reading from a simple scroll. Yet the words he reads, carefully explained to all, show their power in the way they affect those who hear them. The people are moved to praise God, to weep over their sins, to change their behavior, and to make renewed promises to God.

From this time on, the Jews were known as the people of the Book. They lived under foreign domination, so their political leadership became secondary. Their temple, while important, was never again a guarantee of God’s presence. Increasingly they studied God’s law and tried to obey it. A new kind of leader emerged, following Ezra- the scribe, a student of Scripture. The nation we see at the end of Nehemiah looks very much like the nation we find, after 400 years of Scriptural silence, when Jesus appears. Israelites found their unique strength neither in government nor in worship rituals, but in reverence for God’s written Word.

Life Question: Can you point to ways in which God’s Word has been powerful in your life? How has it changed you?

John 3:16 pretty much summarizes the entire New Testament for me. For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only Son; and whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. This is such a powerful little sentence, but- as a Dad- I simply can’t fathom what it would be like to hand over one of my own kids knowing that a painful and agonizing death would be a certainty. Amazing love…

2008-01-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

Nehemiah 8: No Time for Tears

Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Nehemiah alone is impressive, but when paired with Ezra, he is downright indomitable. The two make a perfect combination. Nehemiah, emboldened by good political connections, inspires others with his hands-on management style and his fearless optimism. Ezra leads more by moral force than by personality. He can trace his priestly lineage all the way back to Moses’ brother Aaron, and he seems singularly determined to restore integrity to that office.

The action in chapter 8 takes place after Nehemiah has completed the arduous task of repairing the wall. Safe at last from their enemies, the Jews gather together in hopes of regaining some sense of national identify. As their spiritual leader, Ezra addresses the huge crowd. He stands on a platform and begins to read from a document nearly 1000 years old, the scroll that contains the Israelites’ original covenant with God.

As Ezra reads the ancient words, weeping spreads through the multitude. The Bible does not explain the reason for their tears. Are the people feeling guilt over their long history of breaking the covenant? Or are they feeling nostalgia over the favored days when Israel had full independence? Whatever the reason, this is no time for tears.

People sometimes think of the Old Testament as gloomy. In verses 9-12, however, Israel’s leaders urge the people to stop weeping. Nehemiah and Ezra send out orders to prepare for a huge feast and celebration. Sadness, they say, does not suit a sacred day. Indeed, God wants joy, not mourning. The reading of the law leads to an eight-day celebration and camp out. God’s chosen people are being rebuilt, just as surely as the stone walls of Jerusalem have been.

Life Question: How important is the Bible in your life? Does it ever produce a powerful emotional effect (like the one seen in Nehemiah 8) in you?

I can honestly say that for too many years, I never saw the relevance or value of reading parts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. I had always assumed that these books were an outdated message for folks living in the modern day. But, having taken the time this past year to really study God’s chosen people, it’s pretty evident that they endured similar turmoil’s and mistakes that we do today. The names and locations are different, but in reality…the lessons are the same: God loves us unconditionally, and we need to live our lives in such a way to show honor to Him who has granted us His grace and given us His Son.

2008-01-06T22:40:00.000-05:00

Nehemiah 2: Building up the Wall

The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."

Decades after returning from exile, the Jews have a temple in Jerusaelm but very little else. The Holy City remains sparsely occupied, mainly because most people prefer to live in outlying villages. Indeed, with all the intermarriage and mixing with foreigners, the Jews' cultural and religious heritage is on the verge of slipping away.

What can stop the downhill slide? One man, a Jewish exile who until this point has stayed behind in Babylon, has an idea. Like Daniel before him, Nehemiah has risen in the ranks of a foreign government (Persia) and is prospering even as a foreigner. When he hears the dismaying reports from Jerusalem, however, he feels compeeled to act. He obtains the king's permission to lead an expedition there with the goal of rebuilding the city's walls.

Now strictly speaking, Nehemiah is not a prophet, though he is certainly a man of prayer. In an appearance before the king, he shoots an "arrow prayer" to God, silently asking for help in the middle of a crucial conversation (2:4). Improvising as he goes, Nehemiah meets each new challenge with a combination of business savvy, courage and dependence on God. He mobilizes work crews, fights off opposition, reforms the court system, purifies religious practices and, when necessary, rallies the troops with stirring speeches. And he does all this while on leave from his responsibilities as statesman in the Persian court.

Life Question: For the Israelites, a wall was imperative to keep the faith in tact. Should more churches today use "a wall" to assure that its members are not tempted to stray?

I think that "a wall" carries so many negative conotatations- primarily ones of exclusiveness and arrogance. Holy Communion was a big stumbling block for me when I first left the Catholic Church. For years, I had been taught that it was a sacred sacrament reserved only for Catholics who had made their First Communion as a child. It was not an arbitrary ritural that was to be shared with other Protestant Christians. Obviously, our church (the Chapel) has a whole different outlook on this topic, and it took me quite a while- along with a number of conversations with some of our pastors- to knock down this wall and embrace the idea that communion was intended for the entire community of Christ believers.

2007-12-27T18:39:00.000-05:00

Ezra 10:1 Tossing Away One Last Chance

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites- men, women and children- gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. Then Shecaniah said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel."

Ezra's party got to Jerusalem 80 years after the first exiles had returned. Yet within four months the Jewish leaders were asking this latecomer for advice on the most sensitive matters. They told Ezra that Israelites were marrying their idolatrous neighbors. At the news, Ezra completely lost his composure, tore his clothes and sat down stunned. (9:3) His grief-filled prayer of repentance inspired a large crowd to join him in bitter weeping. Then and there they resolved to break up the marriages. The women and children were to be sent away. Ezra, a practical man even in his emotional condition, put the machinery into operation and saw it done.

Why did Ezra react so negatively to these marriages? How could he allow children to be sent away from their fathers, families splits? Some people see proof that he was racially oriented, bound to exclude non-Jews from Israel. But, racial purity was not Ezra's worry. Non-Jews like Rahab and Ruth, who had converted to Judaism, had long been accepted into Israel. Ezra 6:21 suggests that outsiders who sought the Lord were still welcomed. Ezra's concern was that intermarriage represented a compromised faith that threatened the future existence of Israel.

Marriage in those days was more than a personal matter. It created a political and religious alliance between two families. These mixed marriages were tying Israelites to other faiths- for Israel's neighbors worshiped idols, an act God hated. Ezra knew that his God must hold the only place in his people's hearts. They must be a special people with a sense of their unique destiny. The law told them not to intermarry (Exodus 34:15-16, Deuteronomy 7:3-6). However, Ezra's prayer shows that petty technicalities of the law were far from his mind. His concerns involved the heart. He saw his people falling into the same pattern of compromise that he led God to give them up to the Babylonians years before. Had they learned nothing from their long exile? They were tossing away one last remarkable chance to start over.

Life Question: Ezra saw intermarriage as a compromise in people's faith. Do you think that this is still a relevant fear in today's society?

I've often thought how I would react if one of my kids ended up dating/ marrying someone outside the Christian faith. It certainly wouldn't appear to be very Christ-like to shun a member of your family or their significant other because they may not share the same faith as yours, but at the same time it would be awfully difficult to see someone whom I love get themselves into a situation that might jeopardize their relationship with Christ. I suppose the correct response would simply be a genuine prayer to Christ that my kids will choose the correct paths in life.

2007-12-13T05:14:00.000-05:00

Ezra 3: Home at Last

No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise.

1 Chronicles opens with the most complete genealogical record in the Bible, then adds many incidents from the life of David (often the same as those in 2 Samuel). Likewise- and often paralleling the books of Kings, 2 Chronicles records the history of the rulers of Judah, emphasizing the good kings yet ending with the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity.

For more than half a century Jewish exiles, among them the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel, have lived as captives in Babylon. Some Jews, like Daniel, prosper in the foreign land; still, no true Israelite ever feels at total peace there. Always a longing gnaws inside, a longing for home and for the temple of God. Some of the psalms poignantly express this longing: "May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy" (Psalm 137:6).

In keeping with their policy of religious tolerance, the Persian rulers who conquered Babylon granted permission for the first wave of Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. The Book of Ezra tells their story. The sight that greets the returning exiles in Jerusalem saddens their hearts. City walls have been torn down, few buildings are left intact and the temple of God is a mound of rubble.

As chapter 3 relates, the settlers go to work at once, setting temple reconstruction as their highest priority. They possess both energy and resources, since the Persians have even given back the pilfered silver and gold temple articles. When the Jews lay the foundation, they spontaneously shout in praise and celebration.

Yet the shouts of joy mingle with loud cries of sorrow. The older returnees, those who remember Solomon's temple in all its splendor, weep at the difference between what once was and what now is. After all, they had to obtain permission from a foreign government just to rebuild, and they have regained only a tiny portion of their former territory. They have fallen far from the glory days of David and Solomon.

Life Question: Have you ever lost anything in life, only to regain it at a much later date but realize that it just wasn't the same?

I've tried to rekindle a friendship of mine from years ago. I was the best of friends with a buddy who was my best man in my first marriage, but for a number of reasons, our friendship deteriorated during my divorce. A few years ago, we contacted one another and have met up a few times now. But, at least to date, we're not nearly as close as we were during college. I guess the lesson here is that- unlike a tangible object (like money or some other worldly possession) friendships and relationships should never be taken for granted. I'm guessing the Israelites had a similar feeling when they finally were able to escape the clutches of the Babylonians and return to Jerusalem...their relationship with God probably just didn't feel the same way as it did during the time of David and Solomon's reign.

2007-12-09T02:48:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 25: The Bitter End

He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

For a very long time, the kingdom of Judah had been sliding downhill. Good kings like Hezekiah and Josiah managed to stop the decline temporarily, but as soon as they passed from the scene, immorality and idolatry surged back. Prophets warned again and again of God's judgment, but few heeded them.

Fittingly, Judah endured its bitter end under the weak leadership of Zedekiah, a puppet king put on the throne by Judah's captor, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah personified all that was wrong with Judah. He took an oath of loyalty to Babylon, then spent his eleven-year reign cheating on it.

The great prophet Jeremiah lived during this same time, offering a strong counterpoint to Zedekiah's weakness. Zedekiah could never make up his mind whether to treat Jeremiah as a prophet of truth or as a trouble-making traitor. When Jeremiah warned against Zedekiah's policies, the king had him beaten and imprisoned. At the same time, he kept bringing Jeremiah in for secret consultations, usually ignoring his advice.

Judah paid cruelly for Zedekiah's poor leadership (24:18-20). Responding to his rebellion, the Babylonians put Jerusalem under an eighteen-month siege, then utterly wrecked the city. They treated Zedekiah as a traitor, executing his sons while he watched, then putting out his eyes so that their deaths would be his last visual memory. Judah's final king was led off to Babylon, blind and in chains. Survivors too were taken away in what became known as the Babylonian captivity, a tragic moment in Jewish history.

Life Questions: Under pressure, are you confident or indecisive? What do you need to gain confidence?

I'd like to think that I'm fairly confident when met with adversity/ personal challenges. I know that it is something that you tend to improve upon the older you get. I can remember many instances while in high school and college where inaction drove me towards failure and poor decision making. Teaching my kids to exude confidence in everything that they do is a personal goal of mine. Christ certainly provided us with the finest example of showing confidence and trust in his Father while he was being led away to Calvary.

2007-12-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 17: A Lost Kingdom

But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God.

By this time in Israel’s history, many impressive prophets have tried their hands at convincing Israel to change its ways. But neither the miracles of Elijah and Elisha nor the impassioned pleas of Hosea and Amos have had much effect. When troubles come, the nation frantically signs up military allies and turns to its neighbors’ gods for help. The Israelites never turn wholeheartedly back to God.

The Day of Judgment so harrowingly foretold by the prophets is recorded here in the flat, matter-of-fact language of history. This chapter gives a postmortem on the northern kingdom of Israel, a kingdom that has disappeared from the map. Israel meets its end when its kings, against all the prophets’ advice, seek to purchase political protection first from Assyria and then from Egypt. Discovering the double cross, Assyria dispatches an invasion force.

In earlier wars Assyrian conquerors followed a policy of genocide, exterminating their enemies and destroying their land and property. Later, they adopt a technique of deporting their victims and replacing them with foreigners from other conquered territories. After such radical disruption, these conquered peoples can hardly regroup and rise up as a new threat.

In keeping with that deportation policy, after its invasion of the northern kingdom, Assyria proceeds to expel 27,290 captives from the land, dispersing the “ten lost tribes of Israel” and replacing them with other conquered people groups. (This act leads to the origin of the Samaritans, a group that makes an appearance in the New Testament and, in fact, can still be found in modern Israel. These people of mixed races combine their own religions with some reverence for the true God.

After 2 Kings 17, the Bible’s attention turns toward Judah, the southern kingdom comprising the two surviving tribes of Israelites. Second Kings diagnoses idolatry as the chief sickness in the northern kingdom and points to it as the reason for Assyria’s invasion. Unfortunately, idolatry has already gained a foothold in the southern kingdom as well.

Life Question: God allowed the Assyrians, a much crueler people, to conquer Israel and take the whole nation into exile probably because Israel was judged by a higher standard, on the basis of the great advantages God had given his people. Even Christ would say many years later that “From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48) Do you ever feel that, as a Christian, you are held to a higher standard than others?

Yes, and more often than not I’m afraid I fall short of Christ’s expectations. We are called to represent his teachings in every word and deed of our lives. Christ didn’t get caught up in the world’s cynicism towards his Father, and he certainly didn’t care who he offended by spending time with people whom he felt needed to hear his message. Labels, barriers, and fences didn’t concern him.

2007-11-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 10: Beware the Idols

The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."

You cannot read very far in the Old Testament without encountering idols, for idolatry ranks as perhaps the most common topic in the Bible. A nagging question haunts these pages: Why did the Israelites keep deserting the God who had delivered them from Egypt for the sake of carved tree trunks and bronze statues? What was the big attraction?

Like peasants gawking at big-city life, the Israelites moved from 40 years of desert wanderings into a land of cities and more advanced technology. They had been landless nomads and shepherds. And so, many of the Israelites likewise drifted carelessly from god to god, adopting the religion of whatever group seemed to be having the most success with its agriculture. Similarly, when a mighty army threatened their borders, they smuggled in a few of that army’s favorite idols, hedging their bets in case their own religion did not bring them military success. Idols became a phantom source of power, an alternative place to invest faith and hope.

And yet, no attitude could be further from that demanded by the true God. He had chosen the Israelites as a kingdom of priests, a treasured possession set apart for himself. As Lord of the universe, he wanted not a casual faith, but total allegiance. He was not a good-luck charm.

Idolatry made such inroads into Israel and Judah that God had to tear apart both kingdoms in order to root it out. Second Kings clearly blames idolatry as the chief sin leading to both nations’ collapse. History records that the punishment ultimately worked. After the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions, never again did the Israelites dabble in idolatry.

Life Question:
Idolatry need not involve images of wood or stone; it’s possible to worship such things as money, another person, or fame. What are some “idols” you might be tempted to worship?

Keeping up with the Jones’ is a problem that I would imagine most folks in life struggle with. How much “stuff” is enough? How much fame does one need to be content in life? How many talents should one have? I’ve struggled with these issues my entire life. Jesus’ simple words of leave everything behind and follow me clearly shows us all the correct path, but my own stubbornness roadblocks his message.

2007-11-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 5: A Proud General and an Eccentric Prophet

Israel is reeling- internally, from the corruption of King Ahab’s reign, and externally, from attacks by the neighboring state of Aram (the area known today as Syria). Shouldn’t Elisha, God’s current prophet in Israel, help his countrymen? Instead, chapter 5 tells of Elisha’s assistance to a high-ranking enemy general. Naaman’s pilgrimage shows how far Elisha’s fame has spread. A pagan king, hearing of Elisha, agrees to seek help from God’s prophet in Israel in order to get his general’s health restored.

Elisha’s brusque treatment of powerful people, such as the general Naaman, mentioned here, and of the king of Israel elsewhere, contrasts sharply with his tenderness toward the poor and oppressed. The bizarre procedure he prescribes as a medical treatment, along with his refusal to take payment, offends Naaman’s pride. Elisha, however, leaves no doubt that healing comes through God, not through magical powers or a shaman’s secret techniques. God requires obedience and humility- even from five-star generals with piles of gold.

In this incident, and also in another (8:7-15), Elisha serves the kingdom of Aram, an enemy of Israel. Jesus later refers to this story at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:27), underscoring Elisha’s point: Don’t try to “box in” God, who must be obeyed on his own terms, not manipulated.

Life Question: One writer, Harold Myra, has defined the Christian life as “living by God’s surprises.” Has God ever surprised you?

Pretty much each day of my life. I'm in constant awe of His grace knowing so well that I'm a sinner who probably takes life's gifts for granted way too often. Getting ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I truly plan to cherish the time with my kids- the greatest gift that Christ has given me here on earth. The "surprises" that come from these three children make me laugh and cry pretty much every day of my life.

2007-11-04T23:39:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 2: Replacing a Legend

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied..
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When a prophet like Elijah leaves the scene, who will dare to take his place? As the time came to choose a successor, Elijah looked to find someone out of a different mold. He settled on his most faithful companion, a farmer named Elisha.

The slight variance in the two men's names expresses their difference in style. Elijah, whose name meant "The Lord is my God," dueled a king and the priests of Baal in dramatic confrontations of power. He lived apart from the people and preached judgment and the need for repentance. Elisha ("God is salvation") shifted the emphasis. He lived among people, preferring the poor and outcast, and stressed life, hope and God's grace. All social classes had access to Elisha, from lowly widows to foreign kings. His colorful life included work as a spy, a miracle worker, an adviser to the king, a leader of a school of prophets and an anointer of revolutionaries.

Elisha's exploits fall roughly into two categories, and the Bible seems to group them that way. One set of stories concerns people with evident needs. Elisha showed a deep sensitivity for the suffering and distressed, and sometimes helped them in miraculous ways: providing food, healing diseases, even raising a young boy from the dead. He dealt far more gently with the poor and downtrodden than with kings and generals. Another group of stories relates to the nation. Israel was reeling from the corruption brought in during King Ahab's reign. Politically, Israel was at the mercy of the neighboring state of Aram (the area known today as Syria), which launched periodic raids across the border.

Sometimes Elisha helped out Israel's army, using his special insight to detect bands of raiders. Twice, miracles he predicted allowed Israel's army to break out of an impossible situation and rout the enemy. Yet, he refused to become a "court prophet" serving the king's whims. On at least one occasion, he blatantly insulted a king of Israel (3:13-14). Another time, he anointed a general to overthrow the king in an outright revolution.

Both Elijah and Elisha used words and dramatic events to convey their messages. Everyone knew their power, especially the kings who sometimes sought them out for advice and other times tried to kill them. In a great irony, the kings and political leaders- who thought themselves the center of history at the time- all faded away. Meanwhile the stories and words of Israel's prophets live on, expressing a message as forceful today as ever.

Life Question: Prophets who followed Elijah and Elisha relied less on spectacular displays and more on the power of verbal messages from God. Which, in your mind, best captures the attention of people?

We've touched on this before in an earlier post...spectacular displays of miracles/ supernatural events do not necessarily equate to a binding faith in God. When I listen to someone preach the Gospel message with passion and conviction, (Mike Castelli comes to mind) for me, that refocuses my attention back to Christ just as much as any other event that may occur. Faith begins in your heart, and Elisha's parting of the Jordan River shouldn't have to occur to strengthen your faith.

2007-10-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 21: An Ivory Palace with Little Faith

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "

Although Ahab inherited a bad situation: a divided kingdom in which religious faith was in free fall. Yet somehow he made it worse, doing “more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (16:30)

The Bible lays much of the blame for Ahab’s performance on a bad marriage. To forge a political alliance he married Jezebel, the daughter of a neighboring king. When she brought along her idols of Baal, Ahab joined in, building a temple to Baal right in his capital. Jezebel then tried to hunt down and destroy all remnants of true Israelite faith, replacing god’s prophets with her own imported substitutes.

While Ahab may seem like the passive partner in crime, he bore his share of responsibility as well. The prophet Elijah might have been his salvation; Ahab saw him instead as an enemy and a troublemaker (18:17; 21;20) Time after time Ahab rejected good and godly advice.

By secular standards of prosperity and military strength, Ahab achieved success. He built a fine palace inlaid with ivory. He drove back invaders from Syria. From the Bible’s point of view, however, these achievements meant nothing compared to his failures of faith and morality. As a traitor to God, Ahab was the worst king yet.

Life Question
In today’s world, how do political leaders affect a country’s overall moral and spiritual climate?

Sadly, the media tends to dictate a leader's image- both in a positive and negative light. I think the average person is quick to judge someone's character by what they watch on the 6:00 news. One has to wonder what kind of press coverage good ole' King Ahab would have received back in the day. My guess is that he may have been glorified by his lofty buidling projects and little attention would have been given for his spiritual plight...and because of this, the people would rally behind him. Some things never change in human history.

2007-10-18T03:53:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 18: Mountaintop Showdown

For sheer drama, few scenes can match the one that transpires on windswept Mount Carmel, where the forces of good and evil collide head-on. The incident recorded in chapter 18 is no myth. On this day, a prophet single-handedly takes on a king and nearly a thousand powerful priests.

Elijah has already made a grand entrance, stalking the terraced streets of affluent Samaria in black camel's hair, a striking contrast to the priests of Baal in their white linen robes and high-pointed bonnets. Three years before, he had proclaimed a simple, unpopular message of doom: "There will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word" (17:1) That message was a direct affront to followers of Baal, who believed their god could control the weather. His message delivered, Elijah disappeared. For the next three years he was the most wanted fugitive in Israel, for he alone had the power to bring rain. And now, in this scene, the prophet Elijah returns to Samaria.

Israel faces a crossroads. Other kings have introduced idolatry into the Jewish religion, but King Ahab and his notorious wife Jezebel want to go much further. Queen Jezebel has just launched a murderous campaign to eliminate all true prophets of God and replace them with pagan priests. The prophet Elijah, whose very name means, "The Lord is my God," is a thorn in her side. So, Elijah proposes a showdown, the ultimate contest, to prove who is the true God. On one side stands a resplendent array of 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah; on the other side stands a lone, bedraggled prophet of God.

Elijah lets the pagan prophets have the first turn. As they dance around an altar beseeching their gods, he sits back, enjoys the show and taunts them into a frenzy. "Maybe your god is traveling, or sleeping," he yells. The priests slash themselves with swords until their blood runs. When Elijah's turn comes, he works the crowd like a master magician. Just when it seems Elijah is perpetrating a fraud, the miracle happens: Fire falls from heaven. In the final analysis, it is no contest at all.

Elijah lives during one of the greatest outbreaks of miracles in Biblical history, as God is sounding a final warning to the rebellious northern kingdom. As Israel's rulers and then its priests grow more and more corrupt, 1 and 2 Kings train the spotlight on prophets like Elijah. These prophets channel God's power through their words and deeds. Over time, the significance of the prophets equals and even surpasses that of the kings.

Life Question: Do you think people's faiths would be strengthened today if there were more miracles like that which occurred on Mount Carmel?

Sometimes God seems silent, and sometimes he works slowly and mysteriously. But occasionally God does step in directly, even spectacularly, with a display of power that is simply awesome. That said, the Bible is filled with spectacular miracles, and yet the Israelites time and time again break their covenant and fall away from God's plan. I would imagine that the same would hold true in today's society. A miracle does not strengthen faith. I think it has to be something that comes from your heart and is nurtured by a constant, healthy relationship with Christ. A lightning bolt can't bring you closer to Christ...

2007-10-10T19:33:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 17: God turns to a new breed of heroes- the prophets

Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.

Although the nation of Israel flourishes during its Golden Age under Solomon, in the end, the king's weaknesses seriously erodes the kingdom. His lavish public projects lay a heavy tax burden on its citizens and force him to conscript some of them as virtual slaves. His moral failures undermine the spiritual unity of the nation, and the brief, shining vision of a covenant nation gradually fades away. After Solomon's death, Israel splits into two kingdoms and begins to slide toward ruin.

The two nations will have 39 rulers between them and a couple dozen prophets besides. Although the Bible discusses all 39 rulers by name, their stories speed up into a forgettable blur after Solomon's reign. God turns instead to a new breed of heroes, the prophets.

Elijah, the wildest and woolliest prophet of all, illustrates better than anyone else the decisive change. Whereas King Solomon wore jewelry and fine clothes and lived in a gilded palace, Elijah wears a covering of black camel's hair, sleeps in the wilderness, and has to beg or pray-for handouts. He comes on the scene when Israel (the northern kingdom) is thriving politically, but floundering spiritually.

Chapter 17 shows Elijah during his fugitive days, learning utmost faith in God. First, he is fed by ravens. Then, when his water supply dries up, God orders Elijah to an unlikely place'" the home of a poverty-stricken widow. The widow, not even an Israelite, lives in evil Queen Jezebel's home territory, a dangerous place for a hunted prophet. Yet the widow shows enough faith in the prophet and his God to offer her last meager resources. The tender story of his healing of a widow's son shows that God has not forgotten the "little people." Israel's salvation will depend on how well the nation listens to prophets like Elijah.

Life Question: When was the last time that you had to turn to God in a time of physical crisis? What happened?

Well, just this past week my daughter finally confided in me that she has been absolutely miserable at school...dating back to last year. Peer pressure is just a miserable thing for adolescents, and part of me wants to wring the necks of the kids who can be so cruel at times. Long story short, Marie has asked to transfer over to St. Matthews, the school that her brother attends. She's visiting the school tomorrow, and we will all sit down this weekend to make a definitive decision. I will surely turn to God for prudence on this one...I just want what's best for my little girl.

2007-09-30T19:21:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 12: The Nation Splits Apart

Chapter 12 of 1 Kings marks a decisive turning point in the nation of Israel. For 120 years Saul, David and Solomon had consolidated power, expanded borders and built a strong government. But immediately after Solomon's death everything began to unravel. Simmering hostility in the north boiled over at last, and the northern tribes seceded to form their own nation.

Ten tribes joined under Jeroboam to form a nation in the north called Israel. Only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, remained loyal to Solomon's heir in Jerusalem. These southerners took on the name Judah and made Jerusalem, home of the temple, their capital. From that time forward, the united nation of Israel ceased to exist.

Ironically, the northern tribes seceded as part of a reform movement, to correct some of the excesses of Solomon's reign. But starting with the first king, Jeroboam, no king of Israel did what was right in God's eyes. The two books of Kings condemn all the northern kings, who brought idolatry into their religion and corruption into their politics. Conversely, Judah proved more faithful to God, producing at least a handful of good kings. The temple remained a powerful symbol for worship to the true God. And every few generations a sincere, committed king arose to sweep away his predecessors' dangerous practices.

Within 250 years the northern kingdom, Israel, was obliterated. Judah survived another 135 years before likewise falling to foreign invaders. In a sense, its fate was sealed from the time of the original secession. The prophet Isaiah would remember the schism as the worst disaster that had befallen his people. (Isaiah 7:17)

Life Question: Have you seen rebellion lead to "civil war" in families? Churches? Schools? When you don't like what the leaders are doing, are there alternatives to outright rebellion?

I think that at least on the "family" level, outright rebellion is usually just foolishness. Even with these Old Testament kings, one has to wonder why they never bothered to consult their contemporaries in regards to worship and leadership. Too often, one's stubbornness and excessive pride serves as a roadblock to God's will. Communication and prudence are the keys to "keeping the peace", and many families have been broken because of selfish individuals who impose their will on others...a will that is not God's.

2007-09-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 8: A Magnificent Temple

They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

Solomon spares no expense in building a place for God to dwell. The temple, fashioned by 200,000 workmen, soon ranks among the wonders of the world. From a distance, it shines like a snow capped mountain. Inside, all the walls and even the floors gleam, plated with pure gold.

In many ways, the scene in chapter 8 represents the high-water mark of the entire Old Testament, the fulfillment of God's covenant with Israel. Solomon calls the nation together to dedicate the temple to God. As thousands of people look on in a huge public ceremony, the glory of the Lord comes down to fill the temple. Even the priests are driven back by the mighty force.

God is making Solomon's temple the center of his activity on Earth, and the crowd spontaneously decides to stay another two weeks to celebrate. Kneeling on a bronze platform, Solomon prays aloud, "I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever." Then he catches himself in astonishment. "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, event the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!"

God has done it. His promises to Abraham and Moses have finally come true. In one of the most magnificent prayers ever prayed, Solomon reviews the history of the covenant and asks God to seal that agreement with his actual presence in the temple. God responds: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple...My eyes and my heart will always be there." (9:3) The Israelites now have land, a nation with secure boundaries and a radiant symbol of God's presence among them.

Life Question: What promise of God are you still waiting on?

Until I began attending the Chapel, I never longed for Christ's promise of salvation with the same degree of earnest that I do now. I had lived my life with the notion that if I tried to "do the right thing"- maybe, just maybe I'll get into heaven. But over the last few years, I truly have embraced the belief that if I accept Christ as my saviour, he'll welcome me home one day into his kingdom...and that promise is definitely worth the wait.

2007-09-16T23:29:00.000-05:00

1 Kings 3: The Man Who Has Everything

I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.

Solomon, the precocious prince and son of David, grows up with every conceivable advantage. Even God lavishes special gifts on him. In an incredible dream sequence, young Solomon gets the opportunity every child secretly longs for. God offers him his heart's desire- long life, riches, anything he wishes. When Solomon chooses wisdom, God rewards him with bonus gifts of wealth, honor and peace. His very request, the wisdom to be a good king, shows that Solomon possesses much wisdom already. Unfortunately, its accompanying humility does not stay with Solomon throughout his life.

Chapters 2 and 3 show conflicting personality traits in Solomon. In the power struggles of chapter 2, he proves far more ruthless than his father. This tendency stirs up resentment among the northern tribes of Israel and eventually leads to civil war. But chapter 3 shows Solomon as faithful, wise and even humble. Tragically, he yields more and more to his darker side as his reign progresses.

The famous scene recorded here shows "Solomonic wisdom" at its best. As is still true in the Middle East today, the nation's king serves as the "supreme court" of justice. Solomon's bold proposal to two prostitutes forces out the truth and brings a quick end to an ugly quarrel.

Even in the happy days depicted in this chapter, telltale danger signs begin to appear. Solomon marries a foreign wife and signs dangerous political agreements. His public spectacle of 1,000 burnt offerings makes a startling contrast to his father David's humble confessions before God. The new kings has a penchant for excess- whether in worship, architecture, or women- that will prove his undoing.

Life Question: And God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." How would you respond to this?

No doubt, I would be terrified. I truly can't think of one earthly possession that wouldn't probably come back to bite me in the proverbial butt. Certainly I want happiness for my family and the opportunity to watch my kids live out their faith to a ripe old age. Who wouldn't want these things? Asking for a tangible gift, though- like winning the lottery- would take an enormous amount of courage. Because with a gift like that, comes a responsibility to utilize it in a way that is pleasing to God. How often do we see the wealthy of today's society hoard their money instead of using it to advance Christ's message? Solomon's request for wisdom showed a degree of maturity that not only was pleasing to God, but inspiring to all of Israel.

2007-09-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

2 Samuel 23: Final Words

When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.

David inherited a country in tatters. His fellow southerners recognized him as the new king. But Saul's son, backed by a powerful general, launched a civil war for the throne. Ugly infighting followed: intrigue, murder and treachery.

Even after David's rivals were eliminated, peace was uneasy. Unless David could heal the wounds of war, resentment might smolder in the hearts of the northerners. David's decisive action showed wisdom and firmness. He justly punished murderers who expected his gratitude. He showed respect for his enemies by mourning their deaths. From his first day in office David behaved as the king of all the people, not just his loyal followers. The northern tribes soon came over to him, submitting to his leadership (5:1-3)

David's next move was to capture Jerusalem. People said it couldn't be done; mountainous Jerusalem was impregnable. Yet, David did it, and made Jerusalem his new political and religious capital. Located on the border between north and south, Jerusalem symbolized a new national unity based on trust in God.

That was just the beginning. David led the unified tribes to do what they had barely dreamed of: They defeated the dreaded Philistines once and for all. Almost overnight the tiny, threatened nation of Israel became safe. Secure borders encouraged expanded trade, and Israel's economy boomed. (In truth, David's son Solomon reaped most of the wealth from this.) Naturally, David's popularity increased.

But David's reign held ironic tragedies, too. Samuel 2 makes no effort to hide them. David could lead a nation but not his own children. His ineffective parenting nearly destroyed all he had done, when his heartless son Absalom led a rebellion. Samuel 2 portrays David without retouching his blemishes: He was a murderer and an adulterer and a leader capable of cruelty.

Nevertheless, he was Israel's greatest king. Evan at his lowest points, his great strength of character showed. He was never vengeful with his enemies. He took full responsibility for his mistakes. He managed to remember that he had started out as a mere shepherd. He held power only by the grace of God- and he believed that God had every right to take power away. Through his love for God and his sense of astonished gratefulness for what God had done for him, David became a living embodiment of the Israel God Wanted. Like all truly great leaders, he made his country thrive not just by what he did, buy by who he was.

Life Question: What do you envision your final words to be when your time comes?

Not to skirt the question, but my true hope is that I don't leave this place regretting not having spoken my final words...whatever those may be. Both David and Moses- arguably the Old Testament's greatest leaders- were able to leave this world by leaving a poignant message to their loved ones. But, life doesn't work that neatly. My daughter's dearest neighborhood friends lost their dad about 3 years ago...he died in the hospital after having undergone what was suppose to be a routine artery stint replacement. The girls never got to say goodbye to their dad, and I'm guessing that poor guy never got to give his final words to his children.

2007-09-06T20:27:00.000-05:00

2 Samuel 18: A Cancer in the Family

"O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you- O Absalom, my son, my son!"

2 Samuel reads like the history of a spreading cancer. In the beginning, David was on top of the world- and so was Israel. The civil war over, the land was at peace and Israel was entering an era of unprecedented prosperity. God had promised to ensure David's descendants a continuous reign forever. What more could David hope for? The rest of life appeared as one long celebration.

However, that celebration never began. After David's act of adultery with Bathsheba,the consequences of the sin were far from over. Unknown to David, cancer was growing in his own household. David's oldest son Amnon had an eye for women too. He tricked his half-sister Tamar into his bedroom, then raped her. Afterward, filled with disgust, he threw her out. David was furious. But, maybe because he felt his own sin had robbed him of moral authority, he did nothing to punish his son. According to the law (Leviticus 18:9, 29), Amnon deserved exile, but he got off free. David apparently wanted the matter forgotten.

The cancer merely disappeared from view. Absalom waited two full years to avenge his sister's rape. Then he murdered Amnon in cold blood. Again David was long on regret, short on punishment. He wept over Amnon's death but perhaps recognized his own responsibility for it. After three years, David let Absalom return to Jerusalem unpunished; two years later, when Absalom angrily demanded either a murder trial or full acceptance back into the palace, David kissed and made up completely.

Again, the cancer appeared to have disappeared from view. But it was not gone; it grew. Now an arrogant Absalom started a program of public relations designed to make him look better than his aging father. At the end of four years, having become quite popular, he set his coup in motion. Taken completely by surprise, David was driven out of Jerusalem into the desert. The shock seemed to awaken David. Though dazed and weeping as he left the city, he had enough sense to make some clever plans. When the battle came at last, David's army won, and Absalom was captured and killed.

For David the king, Absalom's defeat was a great triumph. For David the father, it was a horrible tragedy. The worst thing that can happen to a father had happened to him. His own son had tried to kill him, and in trying had been killed. David could not stop weeping over his son's death until Joab, his general, warned him that he was insulting the troops who had fought for him. So, David pulled himself together. Piece by piece, he put his kingdom back in order. He sent conciliatory words to the rebellious leader of his won tribe. He rewarded his supporters. He took no revenge on any rebel faction, but showed remarkable fairness. A 2nd rebellion broke out but was soon put down. Thought the cancer seemed to have finally run its course, it had not. For after David's death, murderous scheming would continue with his son Solomon.

Life Question: Many people will, at some point, see their well-run lives disintegrate. What enables someone to pick up the pieces, as David did?

Without question...faith in Christ. I was an utter mess when I went through my divorce a number of years ago. Anger and spite encompassed just about every hour of my day. But, I can honestly say that Christ got through my thick head and urged me to let go of all these destructive feelings and put my daughter Marie at the front of the picture. This was definitely a part of my life that I am not proud of, but it is also a part of my life that I look back at and realize that I could not have gone through it without Christ by my side.

2007-09-01T06:53:00.000-05:00

2 Samuel 11: Only Following Orders

Many people feel sympathy for the person who commits a crime under pressure or coercion. Perhaps Bathsheba fits this category. She could hardly help being beautiful, and in all probability she was bathing quite innocently when she caught David's eye. To complicate matters, the king- not just anybody- summoned her to sleep with him. The king's word was law, and had Bathsheba refused him she might have expected severe penalties- perhaps even death.

Certainly, Bathsheba suffered for what she did. She lost her husband and her child. Did she join with David in his repentance? The Bible does not say. After bearing another child, Solomon, she received no further mention in Scripture until the very end of David's life, when she supported Solomon's bid for the throne. The one really notable thing Bathsheba accomplished in life was the wrong thing- her affair with the king.

The way the Bible tells the story, David bore the chief responsibility for this national scandal. He initiated the adultery, followed it up with murder and suffered the consequences throughout the rest of his life. When we consider how the repercussions of David's actions affected the entire nation, however, we can see why "I was only following orders" is no defense. Although Bathsheba was in some ways a victim, her failure to resist a sinful situation made David's sin possible.

Life Question: Are there any situations in which you are tempted to "just go along" with sin because of pressure?

Sometimes I struggle with living out my faith when I'm away from the church and the WT/ praise band gang. These friends, who are all so incredibly dear to me, make it so much easier for me to "do/ say the right thing". But when I find myself out in the secular world...at my job/ hanging out with my other buddies on occasion, it can be rather easy to regress into a conduct that is contradictory to the message that I hear each Sunday. I know that Christ wants me to be genuine in all that I say and do, and I shamefully admit that this is something that I really need to address in my life.

2007-08-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

2 Samuel 6: Dancing for Joy

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

After being anointed king over Israel by the elders, one of David's first official acts is when he sends for the sacred ark of the covenant. He plans to install it in Jerusalem, the new capital city he is building. This symbolic move will underscore that God, not a human king, is the true ruler of Israel.

It takes a few false starts to get the ark to the City of David. Disregarding God's explicit instructions, the Israelites try to transport the ark on an oxcart- the method the Philistines use to parade their gods- rather than on the shoulders of the Levites, as God has commanded. Somebody dies, David gets mad, and the ark sits in a private home for three months.

Nevertheless, when the ark finally does move to Jerusalem to the accompaniment of a brass band and the shouts of a huge crowd, King David completely loses control. Wild with joy, he dances in the streets, pretty much breaking every rule of royal etiquette. David's wife, scandalized, reproaches him. But David sets her straight: It is God, no one else, before whom he is dancing. And he cares not what anyone else thinks as long as his one-person audience senses his jubilation.

In short, David, a man of passion, feels more passionately about the God of Israel than about anything else in the world. That message gets broadcast to the entire nation...through song and dance.

Life Question: Do you think that there should be boundaries in the way a person should be permitted to worship? What do you consider to be worship etiquette in the church that you attend?

Coming from a fairly conservative Catholic faith background, it would be safe to say that if David had showed up on the doorstep/ church altar to perform his celebratory dance for God, it would not have been favorably received by the folks in the congregation. That said, the various worship styles that I have witnessed at the Chapel have truly touched me. There's this one gal who sits up front each Sunday and vibrantly lifts her hands in praise while we in the band, the WT, and choir lead the congregation in song. At first, it appeared to be rather ostentatious, but I've really become to appreciate her passion for Christ's love, and I guess in some ways I'm envious of her courage to be able to reach out to God in such a charismatic way. Personally, when I'm with the band playing the songs, I often find myself drifting away from the click track/ instrument channels and engaging in a type of solitary prayer with God- (hoping my strumming doesn't come across too offensive to ears...)

2007-08-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 28: Grasping at Straws

"I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

Things had gone badly for King Saul and Israel ever since Saul had rejected the Lord. Enemies, especially the Philistines, pressed hard. On this occasion, the Philistines planned a major invasion of Israel. Beside himself with worry, Saul tried to seek advice from God, but he had severed the authorized line of communication back when he executed the Lord’s priests. Committed to evil, he had done nothing to repair the breach between him and God. So now, when he asked for God's advice, God was silent.

Deeply distressed, Saul apparently decided that if God wouldn't talk to him, maybe Satan would. He asked his staff to find him a spiritist — absolutely against the Lord’s law. Saul disguised himself — one wonders how, since he was a foot taller than the other tall men — and set out for the town of Endor, where the spiritist lived. He told the woman to raise the prophet Samuel, long dead now.

Samuel told Saul that the Lord refused to help him, and he wouldn't help him either. Saul had rejected the Lord’s leadership, and the Lord had rejected Saul as king. Saul would die in the coming battle, and David would become king.

Towards the end of the book of 1 Samuel, Saul is wounded in battle by Philistine soldiers. Unable to escape, and afraid of being captured and tortured by the enemy, Saul urges his armor-bearer to kill him. Afraid, he refuses. So Saul falls on his own sword and dies. Seeing this, his armor-bearer does the same.

Life Question: What lesson do you think we can learn from the tragic story of King Saul?

Saul’s demise as king is tragic because he makes very common human mistakes. Like all tragic heroes, Saul possesses a fatal flaw: he is more concerned with earthly objects and human customs than with spiritual or religious matters. True leadership requires you to place an unquestioning faith in God, and to listen to his Word- regardless of whether it may go against popular opinion.

2007-08-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 24: Time on His Side

I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the Lord judge between you and me.

Towards the beginning of this book, Saul was the right and proper king, living in luxury. David had been secretly anointed as his replacement, but he lived in the desert, scrabbling to survive. Saul had a professional army, David a small band composed of family members and an assortment of outlaws. Twice, Saul accidentally fell into David’s hands, but David refused to kill him. He felt that would violate God’s will. He would not use his sword to become king. He fought not to win but to survive.

Survival was not easy. You can read between the lines of chapters 21-31 and see a great drama unfolding. Saul is clearly deteriorating. Can David hold on long enough to outlast him? At first David ran from one place to another, alone and completely vulnerable. Then, after a few hundred supporters joined him, the local people turned the rebels in twice. Perhaps they feared that Saul would slaughter them the way he had the Nob priests.

David survived and managed to keep his army intact. He even built popular support by providing military protection to his neighbors. But eventually he saw that his position was impossible. “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul,” he thought (27:1). He left Israel and became, with his army, a hired soldier for one of the Philistine kings.

David believed God’s promise even when his situation looked very bad. He would wait for God’s timing. God had anointed him king, and he trusted God to vindicate him. A sense of timing, people say, is essential to leadership. You must know when to act boldly and when to wait patiently; when to bend and when to stand firm. David had that critical sense of timing because he trusted God’s control of events.

Life Question: What makes you impatient? What can you learn about patience from David’s life?

I’d have to say my impatience grows alarmingly high from the same source that brings the absolute most joy to me in life- my kids. This is something that I’m so well aware of and have fervently tried to improve upon. With having the three of them at so very different ages- and so very different needs- it can present somewhat of a challenge at times. Like David, I need to submit my life to God and patiently work through the small little obstacles in life…like when I’m trying to shave in the morning and Sarah is screaming at my feet because she wants picked up, Josh has just spilled his entire breakfast on the floor, and Marie is irate because her little brother doesn’t know how to knock yet while she’s trying to dress…ugh!!

2007-08-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 20: Friends First

Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever."

One can sense the force of David's personality by observing the effect he has on people around him. This chapter tells of an undying friendship from David's early days before the tumultuous break with King Saul. The king's son Jonathan values friendship with David so much that he forfeits his chance to accede to the throne.

After Saul reveals his true, murderous intent to Jonathan in a dramatic scene at the dinner table, Jonathan warns David. Thus begins the terrible struggle between the washed-up king and the would-be king. Saul, the king rejected by God, clings to power as he chases David and his band of followers. The events of the next few years mirror the differing inner characters of the two men. Saul, who knows God's will about the rightful king of Israel, spends his life resisting it. David, in contrast, shows amazing patience as he waits for the prophecy to come true without taking matters into his own hands. Caught in the middle, Jonathan sides with his friend David over his father, Saul.

Jealous friends sometimes force us to choose. "Who is your best friend?" they demand, when we'd prefer not to rank them. Jonathan faced that kind of loyalty dilemma with his father, who grew insanely jealous of his son's friendship with David. Insecure and guilt-ridden over past misdeeds, Saul feared that young David would take away his crown. Though Jonathan tried to stay loyal to both father and friend, his father made it impossible. Soon Jonathan realized that Saul would kill David if he caught him. Once, in a blind rage, Saul actually hurled a spear at his own son for standing up for David (20:32-33).

Tragically, the two friends never got the chance to rule together. In a battle against the Philistines, Jonathan fought at his father's side and was killed. David, mourning his dearest friend, sang a poignant song in tribute (2 Samuel 1:17-27). Their loyalty and love make for one of the most beautiful stories of friendship ever told.

Life Question: Do you have a close friendship like David and Jonathan had?

Embarrassingly and shamefully, I'd have to say no. I last thought about this at my son's birthday party when he mentioned to me that a couple of his pre-k buddies had promised each other to be friends forever. An admirable and touching promise, but statistics say that the average friendship last less than 10 years. My life has been marked by various events that have dictated my circle of friends over the years. But, I think that a meaningful friendship with someone has a much better of lasting a lifetime if you can share your faith in Christ with each other.

2007-08-09T08:14:00.001-05:00

1 Samuel 17: Giant Slayer

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands.

David spends the better part of a decade trying to escape the wrath of King Saul, and much of Saul's enmity probably traces back to this one scene. Saul, leader of a large army, sits in his tent, terrorized by the taunts of the colossal Goliath. The terror he evokes demoralizes the entire Israelite army. Meanwhile, David, a mere boy too small for a suit of armor, strides out bravely to meet Goliath's challenge. Little wonder Saul comes to resent and fear the remarkable David.

The scenario related here is not as far-fetched as it may seem. "Single combat" or "representative warfare" was an acceptable way of settling differences in ancient times. Champions from each side would fight, and the results of their combat would determine the battle's result.

During his many lonely hours as a shepherd boy, David hones his slingshot skills to a state of perfection. But he takes no personal credit for this victory. "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin," he shouts to Goliath, "but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (17:45). His confidence in God matches Goliath's scorn. And in the tradition of Joshua and Gideon, David places complete trust in God alone- a lesson that King Saul, tragically, never learns.

Once Goliath falls, the rest of the Philistines quickly succumb. The nation is beginning to recognize in David the qualities that mark him for a potential kingship. Saul, however, is not about to relinquish this throne without a fight.

Life Question: Have you/ are you facing any great fear or danger about which God is telling you to rely utterly on him?

Well, I'm kinda getting nervous about the Tribe's pennant chances as of late. Seriously, though, I suppose I have my doubts with my new position here at school. I had reached a real comfort level in the classroom, and this Admissions job is so incredibly different. But, like David, I have to simply trust God that He'll provide me with the guidance to perform well and the courage to face the adversities and challenges that I'll invariably encounter.

2007-08-05T19:18:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 15: A Rejected King

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

Saul had everything going for him. Tall and handsome, he naturally commanded attention. God chose him as the first king in the history of Israel. Soon after he was secretly anointed, God's Spirit came on him- an encounter with God that affected his entire personality.

Almost immediately Saul led a successful rescue operation, saving the people of a besieged city from mutilation. He was then publicly crowned king, even though he did no politicking for the office. (In fact, he hid during the selection.) He wisely refrained from allowing his opponents to be punished. Instead, he united all 12 tribes behind him, even though he himself came from a small, minority tribe.

Yet Saul's life went tragically wrong. The first sign of trouble, as 1 Samuel tells the story, came not long after he had become king. While preparing for a campaign against the Philistines, Saul grew impatient. Samuel, scheduled to lead in the proper spiritual preparation for battle, was seven days late. Saul's men began to desert, and Saul decided he could wait no longer. The king himself began to make the religious sacrifices that Samuel, as priest, was suppose to make. The hastiness of Israel's king, insignificant though it may seem, showed an inner weakness: his willingness to compromise God's directions under pressure.

Sometime later Saul compromised again in a high-pressure situation, not following the precise instructions God had given for a military campaign (15:3). Again Samuel caught him in the act. This time he accused Saul of rebelling against God. So, without God's and Samuel's support, Saul lost his sense of confidence as well as a strong compulsion to obey God. In the end, Saul's poor leadership left Israel worse off than at the beginning, and it would take the work of a young shepherd boy by the name of David to restore the glory of God to the Israelites.

Life Question: When you are put in the role of leader, how do you respond to pressure?

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that it's during these times that I pray most. I've got to start incorporating prayer into every facet of my life, but I too often only turn to God when I'm challenged at either work or home. I've been blessed, because God has taken real good care of me in life, but I'm guessing that He would appreciate more frequent communication from me other than when I just need something.

2007-08-02T21:10:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 12: The First King

If both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

The 12 tribes of Israel were a nation in name only. They had no central government at all. Since conquering the land, they had worked together only during emergencies, when inspired "judges" - military heroes like Gideon, Deborah, and Samson had come forward to lead them into battle. In Samuel's times, though, the Philistines' military threat wouldn't go away. Israel needed superior leadership, but Samuel was an old man. His sons made unappealing successors. What could be done? Looking around them, the tribes noticed that virtually every other country had a king, and so they too yearned for one.

The idea seems to have been popular with everyone except Samuel and God. Samuel may have been displeased that he and his sons were being rejected. God had a deeper objection: Israel was rejecting his leadership. God told Samuel to warn the elders that a king would oppress his own citizens. Samuel warned of the military draft, of high taxation, and of the king's power to make people slaves. (8: 10-18) Was God against a king? It appears that God only opposed the motive behind the request.

Yet, God gave into their request, bad motive and all. He not only allowed the Israelites a king; he picked out their man. He accepted the monarchy on condition that Israel still consider the Lord as its ultimate ruler. Apparently, Israel's king didn't answer to a parliament or court system, but he did answer to God. In short order the first king, Saul, was rejected because he disobeyed God. Though most nation's kings held absolute power, in Israel only God was absolute, and the king was to be his servant.

Life Question: Would you prefer to live in a theocracy rather than a democracy?

For all the turmoil that exists in our own country, I really can't think of a better form of government than what we are privileged to have as citizens of the U.S. The beauty of Christianity is that it's all about choices in life...and by living in this country, we all have the choice to accept Christ as our Saviour and emulate his teachings in our day to day lives. It doesn't appear to me that Christ would have wanted us to live in a society where someone- by force- tells us how to live our lives. I like to look at our faith as an open invitation to anyone who is willing to believe.

2007-07-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 8: Faithful Leadership

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

Times of crisis require exceptional leadership. Samuel ruled during a difficult transition. The last judge in Israel, Eli, had failed, and Philistine armies were pressing in. With everything in flux, the Israelites needed someone worthy of their trust. Samuel was the leader for the times. He oversaw the change from a loose tribal federation to a monarchy. He anointed Israel's first two kings, wrote down the rules kings were to live by and then deposed one king, Saul, who did not measure up. Samuel ended his long career without a single black mark on his record, and the entire country mourned his death.

Samuel also showed remarkable versatility. A lifelong judge, he settled disputes in a regular circuit of Israelite towns. He gained fame as a prophet, alert to hear God's word and quick to proclaim it clearly-especially when God entrusted him with key information about the future. Finally, he functioned as priest, presenting sacrifices and prayers on behalf of God's people. He considered prayer one of his basic duties as a leader.

Like any good leader, Samuel sometimes had to bring bad news. When he was just a boy, her heard God's message of judgment against his foster father, Eli. Samuel also gave stern warnings about a king's potential abuses of power, abuse he later had to denounce in Saul. Yet the nation remembered him more for his positive contributions. Taking over the helm when the nation was near disaster, Samuel steered the course faithfully until he could deliver leadership to David, a young man whom would become Israel's greatest king.

Life Question: What type of leader do you respect most? What qualities does he or she reflect?

Just as Eli provided parental guidance to Samuel at a very young age, I’m going to go with couples who have opened their homes to children and provided foster care for kids who have endured an abusive life. I personally have gotten to know a couple of different folks at church who have shown this kind of Christian compassion for needy children, and I truly can’t think of a finer example of emulating Christ’s love than what foster parents do for these kids.