Titus 1:9–A Call to Bible Study

Titus 1:9–"He must hold firm to the trustworthy Word as it has been taught, so that He may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

Paul's entire letter to Titus is about leadership in the Church, in particular, qualifications and responsibilities for leaders.  This passage, from the first chapter, gives us a distinct and certain exhortation about the need for sound biblical knowledge.  The necessity of the Bible cannot be overstated.  Aside from prayer and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is the single most vital resource for Christians in regards to learning who God is and who we are in Him.  We must not ever lose sight of this.

Recognizing the utter importance of sound biblical knowledge in the life of the believer prompts me to ask some simple, contemplative questions:

• Have you read the Bible today?
• Have you read every book?
• When was the last time you read an entire book of the Bible in one sitting?
• Are there parts of the Bible you don't know well?
• have you memorized any verses lately?

Ultimately, the Bible is our toolbox and our weapon.  We must become totally acquainted with so that we could wield it expertly and appropriately.  I don't ask these questions to convict but if you are convicted, then...you know what needs to be done.

Our Future Kids

A couple nights per week the same thing happens: my wife wants to cuddle and I have to tell her that I can't until my blog is written.  I've made a commitment to writing a daily blog and I try to remain disciplined to that responsibility.  However, it has not always been easy.  Not only is it difficult to turn down the affections of my wife but figuring out what to write about everyday is an exercise in itself.  If what I'm currently reading does not spark an idea, I sometimes resort to asking my wife for suggestions.  Today is one of those times.  She was pretty adamant about writing about our future children.

At the onset, it must be stated clearly: she is not pregnant.  There are no babies on the way, though we do talk about it quite a bit.  It is an important thing for us in the future and we're both excited for the day that she comes in to tell me that she's pregnant.  As of the writing of this blog, she hasn't told me any surprises like that yet.  Continuing...

Both of us, my wife and I, have made it our life's pursuit to be obedient to God and to His holy Word.  This means that we strive to have His Word permeate every facet of our lives that we may continue to grow in sanctification and to become the people that God desires for us to be.  Additionally, this means that we endeavor to hold every decision up to the light of Scripture in devotion and prayer.

As it comes to our future kids, this posture of obedience and praise will be put to the test.  We both have friends and family that have young children, and while the kids always seem so fun to spend time with in small doses, it seems to be clear that children are exhausting, taxing, and parenting will test everything we have.  I only need to think about how I was as a child and I rejoice that my parents didn't quietly kill me in my sleep.

But with all this, my wife and I have seen that the parents who keep a level head and who strive to teach their kids the Word of God seem to be the most effective parents.  This excites and convicts us.  Our goal is to raise the best children we possibly can, adhering to the Bible as closely as possible.  In thirty years, I hope to show this blog to our future kids to see how we did.

To our future kids: we prayed, we read, and we tried our best.  If you're still alive and you know that Jesus is Lord, then we did alright.  Please forgive us for when we lacked patience and when we considered cutting off your air supply in your sleep.  We love you and we are blessed to know you.

What Do You Think This Says?

Have you ever been in a situation like this: a group of Christians get together for a Bible study.  A passage is chosen somewhere in the New Testament.  Someone in the group steps into the role of leader (usually the one who likes to talk).  The leader prays and gets the study going.  Every person turns to the passage and it is read aloud.  Then the leader asks: "What do you think this says?  What does this passage mean to you?"

Unfortunately, this is an all-too familiar scenario.  Many of us have experienced more of these sorts of Bible studies than any other, where the focus is on what the Bible is saying to me personally.  In this way, the Bible is seen as something that needs to be applied to the individual.  The interpretive method of this kind would say that interpretation is 'up for grabs' in the sense that it is only as relevant as my imaginative interpretations can make.

This methodology, however clever the interpretations it garners may be, betrays two fundamental truths about Scripture.

In the first place, all Scripture is about God.  Let me say this again: Scripture is not about what we can get out of it; it is about Christ Jesus.  This means that any time we read ourselves into Scripture we are, in fact, not meeting Scripture on Scripture's terms.  We are trying to make Scripture fit our terms.  This, clearly, is not biblical.  The Bible interprets itself and changes us, we should not try to change it to get it to interpret us.

Secondly, the Bible is a message from God.  It is self-revelation to mankind.  It is redemptive, meaning that it serves the purposes that God has laid out.  This means, fundamentally, that the Bible meets humans from God's perspective with God's thoughts, and it is our duty, as interpreters, to think those thoughts and to see that perspective.  The Bible is not about what we see it is about what God has put there for us to see.

Quickly, it can be seen that interpreting the Word of God is no small activity and it demands no small amount of effort.  Striving to garner the most accurate interpretation is not about trying to make every verse fit our lives personally wherever we are; it is about trying our best to understand why God has put this verse there at that point in history, written that way, for that purpose as it relates to Christ Jesus.  This is how Scripture works and we need to meet it on its own terms.

Courage is from the Lord

Fear, anxiety, worry are all parts of this human experience.  They can keep us up at nights, ringing our hearts and drenching our cheeks in floods of tears, and the stress of fear can be stifling like walking fully-clothed into a steam room and gasping for just one, good breath. It is at these moments, when we feel crippled by the strain of this life, when courage becomes real.

Courage does not mean the absence of fear and worry, far from it.  Instead, courage is putting on strength amidst the suppressive suffocation and strain of anxiety and fear.  This is important to remember: one cannot be courageous until there is a pall-like force attempting to overpower.  It is this struggle against an adversarial force that is the call for courage.

These times, when fear clenches our throats and anxiety grips our hearts, courage requires that we find a source of strength that is even more powerful than our greatest fears.  For this, God is.  He is our present help in times of struggle, our rock, our fortress, our strong tower, our mighty deliverer, our Savior.

Thus, when we feel overwhelmed or overcome by the dark shroud of evil terror, whatever the immediate source may be, our source of courage is to be the Lord Himself.  Praise be to God who is our strength and our shield when all else seems bleak and fearsome.

Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths to righteousness for His name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days fo my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Clothing ourselves with God

I, like most adults in the world, put on clothing everyday.  And everyday I look through my closet and sift through the clothes that fill my dresser (my wife would say armoire) to decide what I will wear that day.  The scene looks like a tornado of tossed trousers and hurled sweaters as I choose one outfit, quickly become unsatisfied with it and cast it off, repeat this several times, until I finally find some sort of fashion that I feel reasonably comfortable in, and I continue on my day.

This is the scene that came to my mind today as I was recollecting the words of Paul in his letter to the church at Colossae, when he writes: "If you have been raised with Christ...Put on then (that which is godly and righteous)."  Or in his letter to the Romans, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14)."

I cannot help but ask a reasonable though challenging question: What/Who have I put on today?  What/Who will I choose to put on tomorrow?

Then, like a plank of wood, it stuck me: If putting on Christ and His nature is akin, even metaphorically, to my morning torrent of deciding what to wear, then I need to take more time to put on the Lord and the new self that I have be given in Christ.  Wow.  But how does this occur in space/time?

The Word of God, applied to the believer by the indwelling illumination of the Holy Spirit is how we put on Christ and wear Him as clothing.  Because of this truth, this utter and total reality in God and Christ Jesus, believers would do well spend time every morning worshiping in prayer and in study of the Word.  This is as foundational to real life in Christ as getting dressed is to going out in public: not an option, a necessity.  Let us then strive to make this a daily routine for the love of Christ!

God Helps those who Cannot Help Themselves

There is a common aphorism that's thrown around Christian circles with such frequency that many people have come to think that it is actually a biblical quote.  How many of us have heard this used in a devotional context: "God helps those who help themselves."  And, although there is a grain of truth to the statement, it is neither sacrosanct nor scriptural in nature.

For starters, this quote was not written by an apostle, a prophet, a pastor, or even a Christian.  It was written by Benjamin Franklin, an avowed deist who truly lived his life by this maxim.  The deists believed in God's existence as a transcendent being, the Creator and original cause, but they did not believe that God was imminent, in that, He never intervened in creation.  Therefore, Franklin and those like him felt that self-reliance was necessary as one could not depend upon God, who is transcendent and distant, to intervene on the human's behalf at any time.

The issue at hand is self-reliance and its biblical basis.  At the onset, a basic definition of self-reliance is in order.  Self-reliance refers to an individual relying upon their own strength, resources, guile, volition, intelligence, effort, or general power to achieve, sustain, and support themselves all while eschewing input, of resource or otherwise, from others.  Using this as our basic definition Scripture gives a remarkably unified indictment upon self-reliance, unequivocally indicating that self-reliance is not only unbiblical but is, in fact, disbelief that leads to outright sin.

The first instance of self-reliance, and a revealing example at that, occurs in Genesis 3, when Eve picks and eats of the forbidden fruit.  Eve did not trust God to provide her with wisdom and knowledge, but rather relied upon her own gumption, which led to sin.  Think of the Israelites wandering through the desert.  As they came to the Promised Land, they saw the giants and trembled in fear, believing that they could never defeat them and possess the land.  The result of their self-reliance was death in the wilderness and an entire generation failing to reach the Promised Land.  Or think of Saul, chosen to be king of all of Israel, but because he did not trust in God in patience, but rather relied upon his own will and assessment of the situation, sacrificed to the Lord in unbelief and the kingdom was removed from him for his self-reliance.

This is a minute swatch of biblical evidence but the point is clear: God does not ask believers to be self-reliant; He wants us to be God-reliant.  This means that we will rely on Him for our strength, for our resource, for our direction, and for our decision making.  Self-reliance is the very essence of pride, which leads to all sorts fo sin and debauchery.

However, and this needs to be heard clearly, to say that God does not want us to be self-reliant does not in any way, shape, or manner mean that God wants us to be lazy, lackadaisical, or unintentional in work.  He demands that we work.  Yet, the point at hand is that we would work for Him and through His empowering and in accord with His will.  In fact, God helps those who cannot help themselves, those who have no strength of their own at all, and have no resources of any sort.  This is the very essence of grace.  Let us then strive not to be self-reliant but to be God-reliant in all things!

Preach the Word of God to See Him Move

Recently, and on previous occasions, I have found myself having to confront a certain type of theology that stirred my heart today.  The rudiments of this theology would state that the unbelieving world knows God by the actions and lives of Christians.  As in, the evidence of a person's Christianity to an unbelieving world is his/her lifestyle.  While on the surface this sort of theology jibes with underlying principles of the Christian faith, it neglects another, namely, the authority and power of the Word of God.

At the onset, a brief qualifying statement is in order.  Christianity is supported and, in a sense, evidenced by a life that adheres to the teachings and example of Christ Jesus.  Word and deed.  We need both of these.  However, being a Christian that expresses the love of Jesus to the stiff conviction of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) requires a deep and ardent commitment to the Word of God.

The issue at hand is one of power and of authority.  The essential question for every believer to ask is: what has the power and authority to cause people to repent from sin and to sling to the Lord in a life-changing, transformational way?  The answer is two-fold, involving two equally-necessary forces: the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Consider this from a logical standpoint for a moment.  If the Word of God is in fact Jesus (John 1:1-5), and becoming a Christian is a matter of faith in Christ Jesus, then how could anyone become Christian apart from them hearing, at the very least, the story of Christ?  Unequivocally, the appropriate response is that no one can come to Christ apart from encountering His Word.  For if anyone claims to know Christ apart from His Word, then their testimony is called into question as is the Christ they have chosen to worship.

It is the Word of God, inspired by and understood by the Holy Spirit, that is authoritative.  If we, as Christians, would like to "live by example" in order to express Christ to a fallen world, not only will we be ineffective in garnering the intended result of discipling people and bringing them to a transformational relationship with the Lord, but we will also fail to rely on the power of God to convict the hearts of those around us who we may actually be affecting.

Quite bluntly, to not preach the Word of God and to not make His Scripture be the very speech that falls from our lips is tantamount to not spreading the actual power of the Gospel.  I understand that this is challenging and convicting teaching, however, how we relate to and express the Word of God is at the very heart of how we relate to and express God Himself.

How we overcome such a deficient attempt at evangelism is simple but by no means easy: we need to speak the Word of God, share the verses that speak to that moment, and present the Scripture to those who may not be saved with grace and kindness.  This may sound like "Bible thumping," but what would be worse: being hit by God Almighty who reveals Himself through His Word for the purposes of humility and salvation, or eternal damnation because some believer was too afraid to share it?

Now, and this needs to be asserted clearly, this does require a fair bit of discernment and, frankly, Bible study on the part of the believer.  However, what could be more exciting for someone who claims to know God that digging into His Word in order to be obedient to His commandments?  Clearly, nothing is more important.  Although Christians must back up their beliefs by living them out, they must also acknowledge that their beliefs are dependent upon their reliance on the Holy Word of God, the Scriptures themselves.  Therefore, let us strive after the Word and be bold to preach it for in doing so we will see God move and transform lives!

Faith like a Child

Recently, I was hanging around a playground with a client of mine (I do care work with the developmentally disabled).  While my client was busy swinging to his heart's content, a grandpa and his 4-year-old grandson walked up the playground.  I watched as the grandpa sat down on the nearby bench and his grandson tried with all his might to get his grandpa to play with him.

Because my client was safe and focused on his swinging, I decided to help the elderly man out.  I walked over to the boy, asked him his name, and asked him if he would like to go down the slide with me.  The dejected and frustrated 4-year-old looked up at me and beamed with an exaggerated nod, indicating his approval at my proposition.

We walked up the stairs, crawled through the tubes, I helped hold him as he struggled across the monkey bars, and finally I coaxed him to put aside his fears and go down the "big" slide.  After some time, the grandpa came over and told the boy that it was time to leave.  Before running away, the boy gave me a hug and the grandpa whispered, "thanks for playing with my grandson."  After they left, God spoke a simple passage of Scripture into my heart:

"Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17)."

This boy had never met me, yet because I was willing to meet him at his level and care for him, he loved me and followed me.  He didn't ask why he should follow me, nor did he question me leading him around the playground.  No, this boy had faith that I had his interests in hand.  This became clear when he was on the monkey bars, he clung to me, a total stranger, because he was so afraid of falling. True faith is more like this than any denomination, ritual, discipline, or doctrinal knowledge could ever hope to be.

Although the translation of the above verse is sufficient, it does lack in expressing the imperative nature of Jesus statement.  It might be more accurate to state that the one who does not receive the kingdom of God like a child cannot enter it.  The sort of innocent and pure faith of a child is not just a pithy motto that Jesus wants for us to put on plaques to hang above our mantles.  No!  Receiving God and His kingdom like a child is a requirement of faith, not merely a suggestion.  Let us then seek to have faith like a child so as to please God with love!

Technology and Bible Study

Technology has transformed are world.  Our culture is faster, more demanding, more entitled, and more connected than it has ever been in all of history.  The accessibility and overwhelming storm of information which is the internet has brought the wealth of the world's knowledge to our fingertips and made it easier to be distracted from the Lord and from His Word.  Luckily, the horizon is not so glim because technology has helped Bible studying too.

For instance, Bible apps have been created that let us have the whole Word with us wherever our phone is; several Bible study websites send daily emails with verses and readings; and, because of the statutes of copyright law, many works of the great theologians of the past can be found online for no cost.

Years ago, these commentaries and resources for Bible study would have been so expensive and hard to find that they would have been nearly out of reach for most Christians.  And many of them were not even in existence yet.  But now the technological advancements of the last couple decades have made these valuable assets available to anyone with access to a computer.

However, acknowledging that these resources are available is vastly different than taking advantage of them.  Doing the latter requires intentionality and focus.  Unfortunately, many believers take full advantage of technology for entertainment, social networking, and business, but they fail to use technology in to grow their faith.  This should not be so.  Let us then strive to use every asset available to us for the purpose of following Christ to the fullest!

Contextual Considerations for Interpretation

Interpretation does not happen in a vacuum.  Every action, every statement, every occurrence is interpreted behind filters.  These filters are cultural, familial, relational, economic, linguistic, and a slew of others that affect how we receive and comprehend the world around us.  For instance, think about when someone says, "Could you turn off the lights, please?"  We interpret that message and decipher its content through a litany of lenses that help us to make sense of what is actually being communicated.

Whether it is listening to the fall breeze blow outside your window, watching a television commercial, or discussing the plans for the weekend's events with a friend, interpretation is essential to life as a human.  In many cases, how accurately we can interpret any specific message or phenomena is dependent on how well we can be aware of the interpretive lenses we are using to interpret.

This is especially important when talking about the Bible.  The Bible is an ancient anthology of ancient literary pieces.  The various books of the Bible each were written at a specific time in a specific historical context with its own set of rules and its own way of writing that is firmly grounded within its own era and context.  However, we, as interpreters, inevitably live in a wholly different, modern context.  This means that the first step of biblical interpretation involves an intentional process of learning both about our context as well as the distinct context of the book under examination.

While this may sound abstract or conceptual in nature, the point is incredibly practical.  Our goal as interpreters of Scripture has been, is, and will always be to get the most accurate interpretations of Scripture that we possible can.  And one of the essential tasks to accomplish this is for us to look beyond our contextual lenses so that we can engage Scripture on its terms instead of trying to make Scripture contract to our terms.  Let us then take time when interpreting to understand where we are coming from so that we can understand where the Bible is coming from as accurately as possible.

The Fall of Man

Genesis tells the tales of beginnings.  One of these beginnings that has had long-lasting effects to every human since occurs in Genesis 3, known generally as The Fall.  Although the crux of this episode is chronicled is told in chapter 3, chapter gives us the necessary background information.  Because it is so needed to understand chapter 3, a brief synopsis of the relevant material from chapter 2 is in order.

This is the story of Adam, the prototypical man, and Eve, the prototypical woman.  Adam was created first, formed from the clay and dust by God's own hands, with life breathed into his nostrils straight from the breath of God Himself.  Adam was placed in a beautiful and complete garden, Eden, and given the freedom to take joy at eating any and every one of the fruits in the garden, save one, the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

It is at this point, the first time ever, that God esteemed something not good (Gen. 2:18), for man is a relational creature and is not to be alone.  God then tasks Adam with naming all the beasts and animals  before creating Eve.  Eve was then taken out of man while man was put into a deep, sedative sleep.  And thus the stage is set for chapter three.

In chapter 3, the apex moment of creation, sin, occurs.  Briefly, the serpent comes and entices Eve to take of the forbidden tree.  In a sequence that leads right to death, the serpent lies to Eve, she misinterprets the command of God and eats the fruit to gain the serpent's proposed effect of "god-like" knowledge.  Eve then passes the fruit to her husband who eats, their eyes are then opened to their loss of innocence, and they hide from God who, after confronting their disobedience, curses them for their actions.  There is so much more to this, far more than can be discussed here.  For this, read these two chapters after prayer and God will reveal Himself to us through His Word.

While there is long list of relavent and important points of comment about The Fall, because of the length and scope of this dialogue, the act of disobedience itself will be examined.  There are many misconstructions associated with this event, the chief of which deal with the deceptions of the serpent.

For one, the so-called knowledge to be acquired from eating of the forbidden tree did not make man god-like, nor was it nearly as fulfilling as promised.  This the truth is attributed to all sin.  There is another major point to be associated both with the Fall and with all sin: Eve and Adam, in eating the fruit of the tree, attempted to accrue knowledge apart from God.

This is the very essence of sin: any attempt of man to gain something that is God, such as get knowledge or wisdom or even find salvation, is a deliberate act of unbelief and disobedience.  Put plainly, it is sin.  Although this has been an all-too-brief exegesis of Genesis 2-3, the point is to show that sin has been the same act since the very beginning, though perhaps the particulars have changed.

Rosa Parks and Preparing for Opposition

On December 1st, 1955, a young black woman refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to make room for white bus riders.  The woman's name was Rosa Parks and her famous act of civil disobedience became an emblem for the Civil Rights Movement.  Although history will remember Parks for her braveness in the face of vociferous racism and systemic segregation, history would be wrong to think that Parks' actions were flippant or whimsical.

For over ten years, Parks had been a leading member of the local NAACP chapter.  She had also been involved with many demonstrations and community events that pursued the end of segregation in schools and in public.  In fact, Parks had been studying other bus boycotts, even being arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana a year earlier.  Truly, Rosa Parks had dedicated and prepared for her momentous and historic act of bravery.

Rosa Parks had prepared for years to be brave in the face of her opposition, and when the time came for her to seize the moment and act, she did.  Parks is a great example of courage in the face of adversity, but her preparation is also a key to her protest's efficacy.  Similarly, Christians face an adverse and oppositional world.  How we prepare for the those times that require bravery can ensure that our acts of courage for Christ will not be in vain but will have their maximum effect.

The point is intentionality for purpose.  Training and preparation for Christianity means prayer, counsel, Bible Study, fellowship, and service.  This is the training regiment that will prepare us for maximum Kingdom effect.  Let us then look to the examples from history, like Rosa Parks, who stood for the right things in the face of certain opposition, but did so after study and preparation.

Loving like the Samaritan

Helping others is not just an easy tagline that fits on a bumper sticker.  Helping others is an extension of our devotion and our love for God.  In fact, it is when we are serving others that God if most fully flowing through us.  The challenge to this ideal is that most of us are far-more apt to care and help those who are more like us and far-more likely to ignore or neglect helping those who are markedly different.  This becomes even more acute when those who need our help are the dregs, the disenfranchised, and the lowliest members of society.

Think for a moment of how easy it is to turn away from those who appear ragged and haggard.  But, in truth, these are the very people who we should help.  This is one of the most clear Christian ideals and yet, because of our natural bents towards entitlement and selfishness, many are too quick to dismiss charity altogether.  Unfortunately, charity has become a term for an organization, but in its truest historical sense, charity is love actuated.

Consider Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).  A man leaving Jerusalem is mugged, stripped, and beaten, left for dead alongside the road.  A priest, a man who has given his life to the service of the Lord, sees the man and crosses the road so as to ignore his misfortunes altogether. Then a Levite, a man groomed from birth as a servant of the Lord, does the same thing, going out of his way to ignore his compassion for this crestfallen man.

Finally, a Samaritan man comes along the road.  Samaritans were considered lower-class Jews, half-breeds whose ancestors had mated with the pagan nations.  In fact, although the mugged man was in a worse physical state, he was still the cultural superior to the Samaritan.  Yet despite all this, the Samaritan man had compassion on the other man, binding his wounds, letting him ride his animal to the nearest village where the Samaritan even covered the other man's costs: true mercy, true compassion, and true godly love. 

Jesus confirms this ideal when He says, "Truly, I say to you, as you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me (Matt. 25:40)."  The idea is that we will not withhold our love and compassion from those who seem unworthy.  Instead, we will always love and have mercy, especially to those people who no one else will love.  This means that we will not turn away from the dregs or marginalized, but we will get into the trenches with them, by the love of Christ Jesus.

Love like Forrest

Arguably one of the greatest films of all time is also one of the most profound, Forrest Gump.  The film chronicles the multi-faceted, history-laden life of a southern man, Forrest Gump, from his childhood through his adulthood.  The essence of the movie, told through Forrest's episodic adventures, is a tale about a character who didn't know anything but being a good guy, despite his mental handicap.

One such episode that expresses Forrest's character is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the whole movie, and it deals with friendship.  Forrest, a star college athlete, became a soldier after graduation and was thrust forth into the depths of the Vietnam war.  En route to training camp, Forrest met Bubba.  Bubba would become Forrest's best friend and trusted confidant.

Forrest's platoon was trudging through the thick of the Vietnamese  jungle, when the unit came under heavy enemy fire.  The squad was outnumbered and ambushed with nothing to do but retreat.  Forrest, being an all-star athlete, outran his entire platoon until he had escaped to the edge of the jungle.  Realizing himself to be alone without Bubba, Forrest turned back towards the action and ran into the abyss in search of his friend.

Although Forrest was unable to locate Bubba, he was able to save several other members of his platoon, even his commanding officer.  Eventually, after multiple trips into the jungle to find his friend, Forrest found Bubba and was able to harrowing pull his heavily wounded body from the jungle, all the while being wounded himself in the process.  Forrest was awarded the Purple Heart for his harrowing bravery, though despite his best effort, Bubba did not make it.

Forrest was under the heaviest of enemy attacks, yet he was unrelenting in his efforts to save his friend.  He sprinted through the jungle, dodged the enemy bullets, and did all he could to find and to pull his friend to safety.  This is such a great story of what friendship should look like.  As Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)."

Fortunately, most of us are not in war zones; however, we still need to lay down our lives for our friends as Jesus commands.  How this plays itself out practically is that we will not relent in our fervent love for one another, whether that means buying someone a tank of gas or helping someone move.  Additionally, we should never stop running back into the spiritual warzone of this world to preach the Gospel and save those whom we care about.  Let us then run like Forrest to save our loved ones, no matter how many times we have to go or how dangerous the circumstances are.

Remember:
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Pro. 17:17)."

Looking into the Welding Torch

Welding is a fabrication process for joining metals or other hard substances by causing coalescence.  It is different from soldering or brazing because welding using absurdly hot temperatures to create molten states so as to actually join two separate pieces of metal.  There are all sorts of different types of weld types, but the process of all of them causes an unbelievably bright light.  This is why welding lenses, in glasses or helmets, are a necessity when welding.  It is this phenomenon that Jim was concerned about when he brought his son, Bradley, to his workshop.

Bradley was nine or ten when Jim finally decided it was time to show his son the workshop.  Jim was a sculptor.  He did large metal installations for museums and corporate headquarters.  He almost exclusively worked in metal; his primary canvas was steel beams and his main brush was an arc welder.  Because of the industrial-sized danger, he waited until Bradley was old enough to stay safe before he brought him to the shop.

As they were going in, Jim made sure to repeat himself several times that Bradley was to always keep his helmet up when daddy was welding and to never look at the welding directly or it could burn his eyes.  Yet, despite Jim's best intentional effort, Bradley lifted his mask and looked right at the bright lights of his father's welds; more than once even.  By the end of the time in the shop, Bradley could barely see anything other than a reddish spot.

Jim, while driving Bradley to the hospital and he was infuriated and worried about his son, asked Bradley, "Why didn't you listen to me?  I told you that it would hurt you and I warned you so much.  Why did not listen to daddy?"  The young boy, crying and scared because his vision was so hampered, looked at his dad and answered, "The light just looked so pretty.  I couldn't stop myself.  I didn't think it would really hurt me if I looked at it.  But after I saw it once, I just couldn't stop."

This sort of story is all-too familiar but it might be startling to recognize that this very sort of disobedience occurred even at the very beginning of creation, as chronicled in Genesis 3.  Adam and Eve were given freedom and dominion over every fruit and animal in the whole garden.  God's only request was that they not eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge, for in doing so they would surely die.

Unfortunately, neither Eve nor Adam could refuse the beautiful fruit or the serpent's promise of knowledge.  They did not heed to the warnings of God and, like His word always does, God's warnings proved themselves to be true as humanity was banished from the Garden and cursed with death for their sin.

The point is listening to the Lord's warnings when it comes to life decisions, both small and large.  This means that we will listen to the Holy Spirit speaking within us.  But we will also pay attention to the counsel of godly people around us.  If we practice this kind of awareness and discipline, we will be far-less likely to find ourselves blind from staring into the sun.  Let us then heed the warnings of God because He always knows best.

The Olympics of Life

Every couple of years, the Olympics take place and sets the whole world in a stir of competition as the world's greatest athletes compete for their respective countries and for the chance to be deemed the very best at their sport.  To win the gold medal at the Olympics is the crowning achievement for these athletes who have spent, in some cases, their whole lives preparing for a chance, usually only a single in their lifetimes, to win.

Think of the years of preparation for an event that can sometimes take mere moments to complete.  The 100m freestyle swimming event, for instance, is over within seconds, and a lifetime's worth of training comes to fruition.  But, as the pool settles and the water returns to its rest, the times come in to determine whether one is a winner or not.

It is at this season when two particular verses of Scripture continually come to mind: 1 Cor. 9:24-27 and Hebrews 12:1-2.  Both of these passages deal with the theme of perseverance and endurance for the purposes of godliness and sanctification.  There is a sense, for both Paul and the writer of Hebrews, that the Christian is to train for godliness so as to be prepared to run the long race that is the Christian life.

Paramount to this is to understand that while each one of us is running our own race, we each run it together; we are not running individually.  This may seem paradoxical, because we are competing both in an individual event as well as a team event.  However, our individual race is done with the power fo the Holy Spirit, who empowers us with the strength and stamina to fight the good fight and to stay true.  Additionally, the team event is the Church, both the global Church and the local church. Both are important, as we, as individuals, need to rely on each other continuously for strength and for encouragement.  Let us then heed the words of Hebrews and begin to take our training much more seriously, because our competitive event is life itself:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every sin and weight which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is marked out for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2)."

Christian Family Reunion

Today I am in Williston, North Dakota for a family reunion.  Because this reunion is for my wife's family, I find myself in a situation that lends itself to observation and contemplation.  Four generations of family are gathered together for the purpose of reconnection and recollection.  To be sure, the focus on reminiscence centers on the value of heritage and it brings to mind the importance of remembering the generations past.

Biblically speaking, the concept of heritage and ancestry is one of those pivotal but oft-neglected pieces of the biblical world.  For instance, most of the Old Testament deals with ancestry.  From Adam through the Patriarchs and the kings, ancestry is important.  There are a couple of reasons that understanding lineage is a good and necessary thing for every human being to delve into.

The first is for the value of information.  Having an understanding of our ancestors can go a long way in explaining ourselves. Everything from biology to intelligence to spirituality can be traced through our ancestry.  Our society values health history when making medical decisions.  We should also value heart history when dealing with spiritual decisions too.  maybe if we valued it more, we would not keep making the same mistakes from generation to generation.

Another reason that we should study our past is for the value it has in teaching.  Consider the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews.  The writer spends a considerable amount of literary real estate using the great persons of the past to explain faith and belief.  This should prompt us to look to those great figures of history as inspiration, for we are related through Jesus to all Christians past.  Let us never forget that reality.

When we read the Bible or the writings of great past Christians or even when we spend time learning about our own biological ancestry, we should take to heart the value that those who have come and gone before can have in directing, guiding, and inspiring our lives.  Let us then take the time to consider our pasts so as to be informed about our presents and to be inspired for our futures!

How Jesus Summarized the Christian Lifestyle

Summing up the whole of the Christian life in a single phrase is no small feat.  Some Christians point to John 3:16 for this task, while others may point to Eph. 2:8-10, or even Romans 10:9-10.  But, luckily, we are not left to our own theological preference when it comes to summarizing Christianity, specifically in matters of living, for Jesus Himself summarized the Christian life for us.

As far as salvation is concerned, perhaps the Gospel of John has the most to say about faith and salvation.  While John's Gospel is unified in pointing to the efficacy of belief in receiving salvation, which is that grace of God enacted by Christ Jesus' work in life and death, it is how Jesus answers the sly questions of the slithering scribes in Matthew's Gospel that give us the best summary of how God desires believers to live.

The scene goes something like this: while in Jerusalem before his Passion, Jesus is having to deal with constant barraging attacks and theological traps set by the religious leaders who wish to destroy Him.  In one such inquisition, the Pharisees, seeking to trap Jesus, ask Him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?"  Jesus, without a flinch or beat responds, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt. 22:37)."

While this is a beautiful and easily memorizable passage the importance of it should not be lost due to its ease.  Jesus quoted directly from Deuteronomy in His reply (Deut. 6:4-5).  In doing so, not only did Jesus defend Himself by relying on the authority of Scripture, He also made clear to Christians that what God has asked from humans in history past is the same thing He asks of us now: utter and complete devotion.

This should be a convicting but comforting truth.  For God has not changed in what he requires of us: everything.  So, when Jesus responds to the testing traps of the Pharisees and leaders of the Law, He is not only answering them their question, He is answering us ours.  How far does God ask us to go in our devotion? All the way.  Every single crevice and nook is to be focused and filled with devotion to God.  This is the Christian life style in a nutshell straight from the mouth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Beginning to Know God Exists

A certain young man who was long overdue for a haircut decided to go to the local barber one day.  While sitting in the barber's chair the young man and the barber began conversing.  Near the end of the haircut, the conversation turned to the subject of God.  The barber, as nonchalantly as one with scissors can be, said, "I do not believe God exists."

The young man, being a believer, was taking aback at the barber's atheism and so he asked the barber, "Why do you say that?  What makes you believe that God doesn't exist?"  The barber paused mid-cut and, with gusto, replied, "Just look around, son. There is evil and sadness all over.  If God exists, then there shouldn't be any of that.  It seems so clear to me.  Maybe when you're a little older you'll understand."

The barber finished the cut and the young man paid him for his services, even leaving a nice tip.  While walking out the door, the young man turned back to the barber and said, "You know, I don't believe barber's exist.  I am sure of it that barber's just do not exist."  The barber, a little surprised, said, "How can you say that?  I just worked on you!"  The young man sharply replied, "But barbers can't exist because their are so many disheveled, messy, and long-haired people in the world, so barber's just can't exist."

The barber smirked, shooting back at the young man, "But barber's do exist!  That's just what happens when people do not come to me!" "Exactly!" harkened the young man, "That's exactly the point!  God does exist.  The pain and suffering and evil is just the evidence of a world that has not gone to Him for their trim!"  The young man turned and left, leaving the barber dumbfounded in his own disbelief.

How do we know God exists, really know that He is who He claims to be? This is a difficult but absolutely necessary question.  The consequences for neglecting it are dire and eternal.  For, if God is who He claims to be and Jesus is who He claims to be, then to know Him are of the utmost importance.  We are not left without testimony, though, in this discussion.  The Scriptures themselves attest to the knowledge of God.  And we should find comfort in their witness, for its truth is both self-attesting and authoritative.

At the onset of such a discussion, a brief note about knowledge must be made.  Knowledge refers to knowing someone or something.  True and definitive knowledge, though involving the intellect is a holistic endeavor, requiring all of the faculties of a person.  This is the necessary starting point for knowledge, particularly when discussing matter of spiritual and eternal significance.

While there are many verses to support the knowledge of God,  Paul's definition of spiritual knowledge in matter of receptive revelation in his first letter to the Corinthian church seems to cover the topic quite well (1 Cor. 2:6-16).  In this comprehensive statement Paul indicates that not only is the knowledge of God a spiritual ordeal, but more more importantly, it is revealed by the Holy Spirit. The relevance of such a truth is that although people, like the barber above, would prefer to use their physical sensory perceptions to know God, who is Spirit, the way to know God begins with the spirit of a person.

Additionally, unless we recognize that our knowledge of God is revealed and not earned, we will fail to know.  Because of this reality, we need to come to God in humility for Him to reveal Himself to us.  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, indicates that God has revealed Himself in creation, His eternal power and invisible qualities, and that the only appropriate response to such revelation is praise and thankfulness (Rom. 1:18-23).

In the end, the matter is a spiritual one.  Our knowledge of God is based on our spirit's malleability to be affected by the Holy Spirit revealing Himself in our hearts.  If we are hard of heart and deaf of ear, we will not receive that revelation, for to accept God's revelation one must first have faith that revelation is in fact possible.  But this knowledge is of a holistic and transformative nature, meaning that to know God forms the backbone of all knowledge.

Therefore, let us start the conversation of the existence of God where it needs to begin: in the spirit.  Starting there and working itself outward through every facet of our person, the knowledge of God will transform us.  But we must receive that revelation in order for it to take its affect within us.  But praise be to God that He has revealed Himself and that we can know Him!

Boasting in God

Muhammed Ali is one of the greatest boxers of all time.  He made his living beating boxing's best during the height of boxing's popularity.  Ali is well known for many things, including his epic fights, his religious name change, and even his political leanings.  However, more than almost anything else, Ali will be remembered for his wit and distinct ability to spin a memorable phrase.

Ali's perennial quotability has pervaded so much of society that even children of the digital generation say things like, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Or, "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."  And, "I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."  Needless to say, Ali understood the art of self-promotion that paved the way for generations of champions around the world.

To be sure, we live in a world of self-promotion.  One can barely spend anytime watching television or scanning the web without seeing some sort of self-exaltation or another.  And while it can be a funny thing to do in the company of friends, the idea of boasting about oneself is a serious ordeal that requires our attention.

The apostle Paul speaks about boasting to the Corinthian church.  Paul was addressing the Corinthian's propensity to boast about themselves when he wrote, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17)."  It would seem that the idea of arrogance and boasting was as significant an issue to the 1st-century Church as it is today.  Paul's point is that one cannot boast about themselves and God.  It is either one or the other.

But this concept did not originate with Paul.  The prophet Jeremiah, writing centuries before Paul, wrote this prophecy, "Thus says the Lord: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.  For in these things I delight, declares the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24).'"

The heart of the matter is what do we boast in.  If we boast in ourselves or something other than God, then we are taking away what is so rightfully God's, namely our worship and praise.  Moreover, when we lift up ourselves or someone/thing else into the high place in our eyes, then we are usurping God's place at the center of our hearts and we are committing idolatry.

Boasting stems from worth.  We boast because we feel proud of something present within ourselves that we value.  If we understand boasting in this way, we will recognize that to boast in anything other than God and our knowledge of Him means that we are esteeming something that is less than He is.  To be sure, the thing of highest value in our lives is God.  Anything that would take that place is a counterfeit illusion.

Therefore, we should boast only of and in Him.  This is what Jeremiah and Paul are talking about.  So, when we would feel inclined to raise our hands at our own adulation and like Ali say, "I'm the greatest," may we pause to think of the reality of our words.  Let us then turn to God and only to God, and if we are to boast may it only be in Him!