One Psalm a Day--Join Me!
For the last 3 years, I’ve read one psalm a day, every day. There are 150 psalms, so when I finish Psalm 150, I start again the next day with Psalm 1.
I’ll be starting again with Psalm 1 on Easter Monday, April 10.
NOTE: I’ve not posted here on the general section of my blog since Thanksgiving—forgive the lack of content. I actually post almost every day on the Bible section of this site, but though this post is about the Bible, I’m posting it here because I wanted to draw my general readers’ attention to it. If you’re new here, know that I have 2 newsletters to which folks can subscribe: the general Andrew Forrest newsletter, which gets sent out infrequently—whenever I post something here—and my Daily Bible newsletter, which is sent out at 4:00 AM Central and offers brief commentary on that day’s scripture reading portion in whatever plan I’m currently following.
Asbury is a Bible-Reading Church
There is a simplicity to reading one psalm every day—even if you have an early-morning flight, e.g., you can still read your psalm on your phone on the way to the airport.
I like to say that “Asbury is a Bible-reading church,” and I’ve spent my first 8 months here preaching and teaching through Genesis and Revelation, respectively. We’ll continue reading through whole books this fall, when we work through the Gospel of Matthew.
But in addition to other reading plans, I’d like the practice of reading one psalm a day, every day to become part of the Asbury culture. No matter where you are or what’s going on, you can turn to that day’s psalm—there is a simplicity and security in that. It’s also almost always a really quick read, which helps folks who feel as if they are too busy to read the Bible regularly.
Psalms Scripture journals
We’ve ordered 10,000 of these beautiful ESV Psalms Scripture Journals from Crossway, and will be handing them out on Easter Sunday, April 9.
If you live out of town, you can order your own Psalms Scripture Journal here.
For Psalms, My Commentary Will Be Online Only
I like to preach and teach through entire books of the Bible—otherwise, it’s easy to just fall into topical, self-help preaching. There is nothing wrong with topical, self-help preaching, unless that’s all you do, in which case I think it’s too limiting.
But with the Psalms, I will NOT be preaching through the entire book, psalm by psalm. Instead, for the next several months we’ll be changing things up and I’ll be preaching shorter, topical series, as well as having some of our associate pastors preach series of their own when I’m gone in the summer.
And because we wanted to hand out the ESV Scripture Journals (which came straight from the publisher), we are not printing any of my daily commentary to hand out—rather, my daily commentary through Psalms will be online on the Bible section of my blog—each day’s post will go live at 3:30 AM central, and for folks subscribed to my Bible newsletter, emailed out at 4:00 AM central.
So, again, if you want to receive my daily commentary through the Psalms, be sure to either check out my blog each day, or sign up and receive each post over email.
(Also, so I can get ready for the Gospel of Matthew, as well as make some progress on a few other projects, I will NOT be teaching any churchwide Bible studies on Psalms this spring. I wish I could, but I just can’t do everything! Stay tuned for Matthew this fall.)
The Plan Going forward
After we get to the end of Psalms, we’ll start over again. And again. And again. New members at Asbury will get a Psalms Journal and be encouraged to jump in on whatever that day’s psalm is.
After this initial reading, however, we’ll focus on other reading plans and commentary—specifically the Gospel of Matthew for this fall, and then other books after that.
Emotions Series Starts April 16!
As I mentioned above, I’m NOT going to be preaching through the Psalms this spring psalm-by-psalm; rather I’m going to be using the Psalms a jumping-off point to launch some different, topical series.
Our first series after Easter will be called Emotions. Here’s a trailer:
From our Easter bulletin:
Emotions are good things. Like fire, in their proper place, they make our lives better. Watch out, however: if you allow yourself to be controlled by your emotions, they will burn your life to the ground!
What’s sad is that many people in our world today never really grow up—they may look like adults, but they live like little children, constantly being controlled by their emotions.
It’s time for us to grow up, and our new series Emotions will give us practical and simple strategies to learn how to use our emotions the way God designed them to be used. New series starts after Easter!
Going to be a lot of fun.
In conclusion: get a Psalms book and join me with Psalm 1 on Monday, April 10.
Let’s GO.
Read the Psalms With Me, One Psalm a Day
Starting Easter Monday, April 13, I will be reading and teaching through the book of Psalms, one psalm each day, ending in September. You should join me!
In this post:
Why we should read the Psalms—now more than ever;
How to read along with me;
How to get a copy of the beautiful book I’ll be using.
The Psalms Make Us Strong
For 3,000 years, the people of God have read, sung, prayed, studied, and learned the Psalms, and these ancient Hebrew poems have made God’s people strong in times of trouble and joyful in times of praise.
The Psalms help us remain rooted so we won’t be swept away in the storm. Psalm 1, e.g., explicitly promises that people who spend time with God’s words become like trees, deeply rooted and always fruitful even in times of drought!
The Plan
There are 150 Psalms; a few are long, and a few are very short, but most are a couple of paragraphs—in other words, perfect for reading one a day. We begin on Easter Monday, April 13, and will conclude on September 9, 150 days later.
Every day, I’ll post a very brief reflection/explanation on the Bible section of this blog; I will also email out that reflection daily at 4:00 AM for everyone on my Bible mailing list. Sign up here if you are not already subscribed. (If you had been receiving my Genesis emails, you are good to go for Psalms.)
I will be preaching and teaching through Psalms as well. The kickoff Bible study will be on Wednesday, April 15 at 8 PM.
The Beautiful Psalms Books We’re Using
We’ll be using the Psalms ESV Scripture Journal books available from Crossway.
You can buy your own from Amazon here.
You can of course read through the Psalms in any Bible or Bible app, but that is the book we’ll be using at Munger. They are beautiful books, with the text on one page and an empty notes page facing. The photo below (from the Crossway website) is of Matthew’s Gospel, but you get the idea.
How to Pick Up Your FREE Copy
We had ordered 4,000 books and were planning on distributing them on Easter Sunday. But, plans change and we set up a strict pick up system at church (sign-up online, drive-up, roll down passenger window, receive books into empty passenger seat, etc.) and in the last four days we gave out 2,038 books!
Let me repeat that: in the last four days we gave out 2,038 books!
The books have been in our storage unit since the end of January, and the only person who will touch them will be wearing gloves and a mask.
If you’d like to pick up a copy for you or a loved one, we have 2 more scheduled pick-up windows:
Wednesday, 4/8 and Monday, 4/13
10:00 AM- 12noon.
Be sure to sign up online at this link.
(And be sure to read and follow all instructions completely.)
***Remember, if you can’t pick up a copy at Munger, you can click here and order one from Amazon.***
Ready to Go?
For 3,000 years, the people of God have read, sung, prayed, studied, and learned the Psalms, and these ancient Hebrew poems have made God’s people strong in times of trouble and joyful in times of praise.
Now it’s our turn.
Ready to go?
Read Through the Gospel of John with Me
At Munger, we’ve been reading through the Gospels in 2019, and TODAY we begin the Fourth Gospel: the Gospel According to John. The readings are paced out on weekdays only, from Monday, October 28 through Tuesday, December 31. You should join me.
Sign Up Here
You can sign up here to receive a weekday email reminder and brief commentary from me, sent out M-F at 4:00 AM. (If you are currently on my Gospels 2019 mailing list, no need to do anything else.)
Update: be patient with today’s email—we’re having some technical difficulties.
More Info
At Munger, pick up a John Field Guide so you can just read along in the booklet.
(If you live out of town, email Rosemary, she’ll mail you a John booklet.)
If you would like to follow our schedule in your own Bible, you can download the reading schedule here.
On Wednesday, November 6, I’ll be teaching a 1 hour Bible study overview of the Gospel of John from 6:00-7:00 PM at Munger for 6th graders-old people. At the same time, there will be a study for elementary students. We’ll have free food trucks in the parking lot afterwards for anyone who wants to stay for dinner.
Let’s do this.
7 Reasons To Read Through the Gospels in 2019
I'm reading through the Gospels in 2019. We'll read each Gospel through once, and the readings are only assigned Monday-Friday, so we'll read at a pace with which anyone can keep up. Here are 7 reasons you should join me.
1. The #First15 Will Change Your Life
Nothing you can do will have a greater effect on your life than spending the first 15 minutes of the day in prayer, silence, and scripture.
2. You Need a Plan to Follow
Trying to read the Bible without a plan is like going to the gym without a plan: you'll end up accomplishing far less than you would otherwise, you'll play to your strengths, and you'll quit too early.
3. You Will Have Unexpected Difficulties in 2019
The best way to prepare for the unknown is to develop greater peace and poise beforehand. Reading the Bible is something the Holy Spirit uses to give us those things.
4. These Are The Most Important Documents in the World
Even if you aren't sure that you trust the Gospels, you simply must read them if you want to be an educated person. They are the most important documents ever written, and it's not even close.
5. I'll Post Everyday (So Subscribe)
I'll be posting something short every day (or, at least every weekday) to help you get the most out of your reading. You can subscribe to receive a brief post on each weekday's reading here.
6. Your Kids Can Do It, Too
Kids from elementary school on up can absolutely read through the Gospels. Do it as a family challenge for 2019.
7. You Have No Excuses!
- The readings will take about 5 minutes a day;
- Will only be on the weekdays;
- Are so short that you can easily catch up if you fall behind;
- And won't be from any of the difficult Old Testament passages, but only the Gospels.
In other words, you have no excuses!
[For more info, see mungerplace.org/bible.]
Ananias and Sapphira
Two people (a husband and a wife) lie in church--about how much money they are putting in the offering plate(!)--and the Holy Spirit strikes them dead?! Pretty much. That's the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.If you are a normal person this story strikes you as (a) really strange and hard to believe and (b) extremely troubling. Is the Lord really this capricious?Some quick thoughts:
- I think The Bible Project video does a good job of connecting the Ananias and Sapphira episode with the story of the stricken priests in Leviticus.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQhkWmFJKnA&feature=youtu.be&t=188[/embed]
- The presence of the Lord is not something to dishonor or mock: God's Spirit is a Holy Spirit, and he doesn't work for us. He is, to paraphrase Lewis, "not a tame God."
- It is dangerous, the Bible tells us, to think that God can be manipulated for our own purposes.
- I think Luke also wants us to understand that the one thing that will kill the church is the pretense that we are better than we are. Note that Peter makes it clear that the capital sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not withholding back part of the proceeds of the real estate sale--it was theirs to do with as they pleased--but that they lied and pretended that they were giving all of their profit.
- It's okay that the Bible stories trouble us. If the Bible were merely a human document, then we might expect to immediately understand and agree with all of it. Because, however, the Bible comes from God, we should expect it to confront, convict, and trouble us. It's at the places where we are most troubled that we should pay the most attention.
- The Lord is gracious, but grace is not cheap and grace is not guaranteed. To presume that we can do whatever we want and?not face consequences is to not understand grace.
So, some questions for reflection:
- What is it that most troubles about this story? Why?
- Are there places in your life in which you are trying to manipulate God?
- Where are you putting up a false front? Where in your life are you trying to pretend to be better than you are? (One thinks of social media....)
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What Conspiracy?
I hear the same canard all the time: "You know, the New Testament was actually put together by a group of men intent on perpetuating a conspiracy about Jesus. Jesus was actually such-and-such a traveling prophet, but the early church started spreading incredible stories about him to justify their power claims. The Gospels are a hoax."Here's the problem with that theory (one of many problems, actually): if you were creating a conspiracy about Jesus, WOULDN'T YOU GET YOUR STORY STRAIGHT BEFOREHAND? Hasn't it ever struck you how strange it is that there are?four Gospels in the New Testament, and not just one? Why include four similar but separate accounts of the life of your religion's founder?Today we began reading the Gospel of Mark in our Bible reading plan. Mark is the shortest Gospel, and though it generally tells the same story as Matthew, you'll see differences in detail and emphasis. In fact, each of the four Gospels is different from the others in detail and emphasis. The basic story is the same, but some of the details are hard to reconcile. To cite one important example, although each of the Gospels tells the story of the Resurrection and the empty tomb, they each place a difference number of women actually there that first Easter Sunday morning as eyewitnesses . Either there were one woman there, or there were two women there, or there were three or more women there, but the differences are irreconcilable. Why would the early church permit those sorts of discrepancies to be included in the Bible?The early church was okay with including those sorts of discrepancies in the Bible for the same reason that there are four Gospels in the Bible, and not just one: because that's what had been passed down by the eyewitnesses. It was so important that the early church preserve and not tamper with the testimony of the various eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that it decided to stamp all four Gospels as "official" and include them in the New Testament, even though that meant there would be slight discrepancies between accounts. If you were creating a conspiracy, you would never do that--you'd get your story straight and clean.But real life isn't straight and clean--it's messy. And if you actually witnessed God-made-flesh walking among you as a man named Jesus, and if he did the amazing things that Jesus did,?and if the tomb really were empty and you subsequently met and touched and ate with the Risen Jesus, you'd expect there to be some discrepancies between eyewitnesses.The Gospels are not a sign of some ancient conspiracy; the Gospels are signs of an ancient certainty:this stuff actually happened.
There's Nothing Else Like it
I don't know of anything else in the history of the world's literature that is like the passion narratives in the Gospels. I've often wondered what it would be like to read that sorrowful story as an adult, without any prior knowledge of Jesus.Then again, what would it be like to read about the Resurrection, never having heard that news before?When those stories are read in church every spring, they are broken up--the Crucifixion on Good Friday, the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. This morning, however, I read them together, back to back, as one story.There's just nothing else like it.
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And Neither Group Knows It
The pop culture version of Jesus meek and mild doesn't conform to the Jesus we read about in the Gospels. Jesus is not some kind of Semitic Santa Claus, who pats us all on the head, who tells us not to be too naughty, but who always ends up giving presents to everybody--Jesus is not tame, so to speak. The teachings of Jesus are often extremely unsettling if you actually pay attention to what he says.Nowhere is the gap between the pop culture idea of Jesus and the Jesus of history wider than in the terrifying parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25, the famous parable of the sheep and the goats:
31??When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32?All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33?He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34??Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdomprepared for you since the creation of the world. 35?For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36?I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.37??Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?38?When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39?When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you??40??The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.41??Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42?For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43?I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.44??They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you??45??He will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.46??Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. [Matthew 25:31-46]
This parable is often referenced in the media. Here, Jesus gives a beautiful picture of what faith should look like--caring for "the least of these"--and it is right for the media to use this parable to point out the failures of the contemporary church. All well and good. However, it is also a parable about judgment, which is a detail that is usually overlooked--folks are loathe to acknowledge that the same Jesus who says such nice things about the poor would also speak so clearly about eternal punishment. But, he does. Jesus doesn't conform to our expectations.I think about this parable often; I find it terrifying. Am I going to be held to account for the ways I've failed the least of these? But there is one detail that's particularly unsettling: neither the righteous nor the unrighteous are aware of what they've been doing--both groups are surprised by what Jesus tells them about themselves.What does this mean? It means that who we're becoming matters. Over time, righteous acts will become second nature to some of us, whereas selfish, self-centered acts will become habitual to others of us. In other words, the righteous act righteously out of who they have become, while the unrighteous act unrighteously out of who they have become. As Lewis famously puts it:
?[E]very time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before.?And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself.?To be the one kind of creature is heaven: That is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power.?To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness.?Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.??C. S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"
What kind of creature are you becoming today? Every choice matters.
P.S. Note to my Subscribers
I had my blog crash a few more times over the weekend, so I've been slow in posting recently and am still working out the kinks to the newsletter I want to send out. Stay tuned.How to subscribe:
I‘ve written a very short whitepaper on a subject I care a lot about communication.Click HERE to subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll send it to you for free:The Simple Technique Anyone Can Immediately Use To Become a Better Communicator.(If you are already a subscriber, drop me a line and I’ll send you the whitepaper.)
Just Who Exactly is a "Sinner"?
Just who exactly is a "sinner"? If you are anything like me, you get this wrong all the time.
9As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, Follow me. And he rose and followed him.10And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?12But when he heard it, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. (Matthew 9:9-13)
One of the striking things about Jesus--repeatedly mentioned in all four Gospels--was that he deliberately reached out to the people despised by the religious establishment of the day. These "tax collectors and sinners" were people who were WRONG: they were collaborators with the hated Romans, they deliberately betrayed their fellow Jews, they totally disregarded the Torah. They were WRONG. And yet Jesus graciously reached out to them, even having dinner with these sorts of people. It's an amazing example of what love looks like. We should go and do likewise.But there is a problem, and that problem is that we often misunderstand who the "tax collectors and sinners" are in our own day. In the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were the religious establishment, and in the Gospels they are outwardly pious, but inwardly self-righteous and hard-hearted. They despised the tax collectors and sinners. Disregarding their good opinion, Jesus deliberately reached out to the people the Pharisees despised. In diagram, it goes like this:X→Y→ZwhereX is Jesus; Y are the Pharisees, who are enemies of Jesus; and Z are the "tax collectors and sinners."Jesus→hated by the Pharisees→reached out to the people whom the Pharisees despisedOr, to put it another way, Jesus reached out to the people that the people who didn't like him didn't like.So far so good. The problem comes when we try to determine who the "tax collectors and sinners" are in our day. Who is Z?Here's what we do: we decide that the "tax collectors and sinners" in our day are the people that are despised by the people that we don't like. We're X, our enemies are Y, and "tax collectors and sinners" become Z, who are despised by Y. When we read the gospels, our "tax collectors and sinners" become the people we don't like don't like. For example:
- If we are a secular liberals, our "tax collectors and sinners" are the people that Trump voters supposedly despise.
- If we are a social conservatives, our "tax collectors and sinners" are the people that the New York Times editorial board supposedly despises.
What we do today is we take groups that we feel are unfairly marginalized or despised, and we put them in the place of Z, "tax collectors and sinners." But this gets the example of Jesus backwards; we draw the wrong conclusion because we misunderstand where to place ourselves in the diagram. When Jesus talks about showing mercy to the tax collectors and sinners, we do this subtle thing where we place ourselves in the position of Jesus and start shaking our head and clucking our tongue at the Pharisees, these wicked self-righteous people who just don't get it. It's as if we thinkX→Y→ZwhereX is Jesus AND us; Y are the Pharisees, who are enemies of Jesus AND us; and Z are the "tax collectors and sinners."But this is the point: we are not with Jesus--we are not X; rather, we are Y.We are the Pharisees, which means Jesus is asking us to love the people that we know to be WRONG.A few examples:
- If we are secular liberals, our "tax collectors and sinners" are NOT the people that Trump voters supposedly despise. Our "tax collectors and sinners" are TRUMP VOTERS. They are the people we are supposed to love.
- If we are social conservatives, our "tax collectors and sinners" are NOT the people that the New York Times editorial board supposedly despises. Our "tax collectors and sinners" are THE MEMBERS OF THE NY TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD.
Do you see what this means? I get the story of Jesus and the "tax collectors and sinners" EXACTLY backwards when I think it applies to the people I don't like. In fact, it applies to me, and how I love the people that I personally don't like, even the people I think are morally WRONG.So, who are your "tax collectors and sinners" today? Who are the people that you don't like, the people that are wrong? In the Gospels, we read that Jesus reached out to the tax collectors and sinners--the people who were wrong--with love and kindness.Go and do likewise.
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Of Pigs and Human Nature
Do you actually want to change, or would you rather wallow in the filthy status quo?
28?And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed?men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29?And behold, they cried out, What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?? 30?Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31?And the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. 32?And he said to them, ?Go. So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33?The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34?And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. (Matthew 8:28-34)
Jesus performs an astounding miracle in their village, freeing these two men from filth and misery,?and the villagers would prefer he leave than cause any more changes to the way things are.You don't think that those villagers had parts of their lives that needed healing? But rather than begging Jesus to stay and work among them, their immediate response is to beg him to leave and never come back.How true of human nature--so often we prefer the pain we know to the possibility of change.
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"I'm Basically a Good Person"
People say that all the time: "I'm basically a good person." What I think they mean is that they are basically?moral. They don't lie or steal or cheat or murder. But, when you read the Sermon on the Mount, you see how inadequate that idea of goodness is. For Jesus, goodness is not primarily moral, but spiritual--it's about being like God, who is even kind toward those who are evil: "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).It is possible to be perfectly moral and at the same time remain selfish, contemptuous, and resentful. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is explaining that true goodness is active love toward others--it's not refraining from doing evil--it's actively doing good, even towards those who are doing evil.I've read the Sermon on the Mount many times, but each time I read it I am reminded that there is nothing else like it in all of human history.
"Immediately"
18?While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, ?Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-22]
I've always thought that the calling of Andrew and Peter, James and John was a strange story, but recently I read something somewhere that made a lot of sense to me. Twice, Matthew tells us that the brothers left their nets "immediately," i.e., when Jesus calls, they respond totally: they don't hedge their bets or halfway follow him. What's Matthew trying to tell us?Either we follow Jesus, or we don't: there is no place for a half-hearted discipleship.Jesus says, "Follow me." In response, what do you need to "immediately" leave, drop, or do today?
![Matthew's Genealogy, Billy Joel's Song, and a Quiet Divorce [Matt. 1-2]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70f59aefca59000162e4e6/1568657624961-U2U3O601F6XBF7DUGJOQ/image-asset.png)
Matthew's Genealogy, Billy Joel's Song, and a Quiet Divorce [Matt. 1-2]
I'm going to be blogging regularly this fall as I read through the New Testament. (I'm going to commit to blogging each day as we read through the Gospel of Matthew, and see what that's like. Each day's Bible post will go live at 4:30 AM.) Below are some quick thoughts on our first day's reading, Matthew 1-2.Two important things to keep in mind as you read The New Testament:
- The story of Jesus only makes sense in the context of the Old Testament. Lots of what Jesus does is a conscious fulfillment of the Lord's covenant with Abraham's family (which started way back in Genesis 12). This means when something Jesus does doesn't make immediate sense to you, it's probably because you're missing the Old Testament connection.
- Even more than the other Gospel writers, Matthew is particularly concerned with connecting Jesus to Israel's story.
This is why Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus--the family tree he provides shows that Jesus is related to the family of Abraham. More than that, each name is shorthand for all the times and places in which that person lived. The genealogy seems boring to us because the names might not mean anything us--like reading random entries in a phone book--but to the 1st century Jews who were Matthew's original readers, each name was a touchstone to family stories that were cherished by the descendants of Abraham.
"Jesus and Genealogies"
On The Bible Project site I'd recommend you read "Jesus & Geneologies," an article I found really helpful. For example, did you know?
Just think about the separated sections of the genealogy of Matthew. It is broken up into three parts that cover 14 generations each, but why 14?Within the written language of Hebrew, the letters are also used as their numbers, and so each number is assigned a numerical value. The name of David in Hebrew is ???,? and from here you just do the math. The numerical value of the first and third letter ?? (called dalet) is 4. The middle letter ?? (called waw) has a numerical value of 6. Put it into your mental calculator: 4+6+4=14, the numerical value of the name of David.Matthew has designed the genealogy, so it links Jesus to David explicitly, and also in the very literary design of the list. In fact, Matthew wants to highlight this 14=David? idea so much that he‘s intentionally left out multiple generations of the line of David (three, to be exact) to make the numbers work.Wait, Matthew has taken people out of the genealogy?Yes, and this is not a scandal. Leaving out generations to create symbolic numbers in genealogies is a common Hebrew literary practice, going all the way back to the genealogies in Genesis (the 10 generations of Genesis 5, or the 70 descendants of?Genesis 11). Ancient genealogies were ways of making theological claims, and?Matthew‘s readers would have understood exactly what he was doing and why.
"We Didn't Start the Fire"
This opening genealogy has got me thinking about Billy Joel. Each name meant something to Matthew's audience, in the way that the names in Billy Joel's song mean something to a certain type of Baby Boomer:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g[/embed](By the way, I love this related scene from "The Office:"[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrjBpW6OSbg[/embed]That's from when The Office was still funny....)
The Quiet Divorce
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly"
I've always found that to be a quietly moving line: "And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly." That decision of Joseph's was a small, selfless act of kindness on which the fate of the world turned.Don't underestimate the importance of a small, unnoticed act of selfless kindness today. Who knows what hangs in the balance?
P.S. Changes to this Blog
This is the last post that my subscribers will receive as a standalone email. Starting Friday, August 24 through Monday, December 24, at Munger we are going to be reading through the New Testament. I'm planning on posting more frequently in this space, including regular (daily?) commentaries on what we're reading. Right now, subscribers get an email every time I post, but I don‘t want to fill up your Inbox, so tomorrow I'm going to be switching to a weekly newsletter that will contain links to the previous week‘s posts, as well as some other original content from me not available anywhere else.If you are already a subscriber, you don‘t need to do anything else. (If you want to be sure and read each post as it comes out, subscribe to my blog‘s RSS feed. There are lots of tutorials online to explain how to do that.)If you are not a current subscriber, here‘s how to subscribe:
I‘ve written a very short whitepaper on a subject I care a lot about communication.Subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll send it to you for free:The Simple Technique Anyone Can Immediately Use To Become a Better Communicator.(If you are already a subscriber, drop me a line and I’ll send you the whitepaper.)
My Bible Reading Plan for 2018
I'm going to read through the Bible in 2018, but if I'm going to make it beyond the first few pages, I know enough about myself to know that I need a good plan to follow. If I go to the gym without a plan, I'll fool around for 10 minutes and then say, "I've done enough for today--time to go home." I need to have a plan in place before?I go to the gym, and in the same way I need a plan to read the Bible, too. Otherwise, I just won't get anything done.So, here are 6 elements of my plan to read through the entire Bible in 2018.
1. The Read Scripture Plan
I'm using the READ SCRIPTURE reading plan put out by The Bible Project guys. It's roughly a Genesis to Revelation plan, though the order of some of the Old Testament books are rearranged to help you follow the narrative arc a bit better.
- The plan runs from January 1-December 24, 2018.
- Each day's reading will take about 15-20 minutes to complete.
- Every day there is 1 main reading (from either the Old Testament or New Testament, depending on where you are in the year).
- And every day there is 1 Psalm for devotional purposes.
This "Read Scripture" video from the Bible Project guys explains the plan.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hUs4TXRuVk[/embed]
2. The Read Scripture App
There is a free Read Scripture app that I'm going to use. I'm planning on doing my reading in my own Bible (more on that below), but I'm excited about also using the app to help me stay on track.
- The app includes each day's reading in a stripped-down format, so I can complete my reading right in the app, if I want.
- The app also includes a setting to include a daily reminder on my phone, and allows me to track my progress.. I'm the kind of person who likes checking things off each day, so I'll use the app for that purpose.
- As you can see in the screenshot below, the app also includes direct links to explanatory videos that are paired with a daily reading from time to time.
3. The Bible Project videos
The Read Scripture plan sometimes suggests explanatory videos to supplement a day's reading portion. (As I mentioned above, one of the benefits of the app is that it includes direct links to the videos, so you don't have to search on YouTube.) The videos the Bible Project guys are producing are REALLY GOOD. To cite one out of their dozens and dozens of really helpful videos, here is an overview of the Book of Leviticus:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmvyrLXoQio[/embed]
4. A Brand-New Bible
Though I'm going to use the app to keep my on track, I'm planning on using my own Bible to complete the readings. (We're handing out bookmarks at church with a month's worth of readings at a time; here's a pdf of the January schedule.)
- I prefer to read on paper than in an app, when possible.
- I like to make notes, circle, underline, etc.
- This will be the same Bible I'll be preaching out of in 2018.
I used my Christmas money and bought a stunningly beautiful new Bible: a Cambridge Clarion Reference ESV in Black Goatskin. These Cambridge Bibles are $$$$, but they are absolutely the most beautiful books I have ever held.Here's how I decided on this particular Bible:
- I didn't need a study Bible;
- I wanted something relatively portable;
- I also wanted it big enough to have room for notes;
- I wanted cross-references (the little margin notes that tell you when the same quotation appears elsewhere in the Bible);
- I wanted an ESV translation, since it's not what I've used previously;
- And most importantly, I wanted a single-column text. All the other Bibles I own have double columns, but I thought it would be a good change to try a single column.
I eventually found myself deciding between two Bibles that met my criteria: the Cambridge Clarion ESV and the ESV Personal Reference Bible. Brad Schrum has a detailed and very helpful post with lots of pictures comparing the two. I decided on the Cambridge Clarion because it was slightly larger and I just liked the feel of it in my hand a bit more, but the ESV Personal Reference Bible was also a really good option. (If you're in the Dallas area, the bookstore at Dallas Theological Seminary has both editions, if you'd like to compare them.)
If you are interested in getting a new Bible for 2018, here are two others that I've used personally for years:For a good study Bible, try The NIV Study Bible;For a nice thin Bible, try the NRSV Thinline.
5. A Bible Blog
Both on this site and on our church's Bible blog, I'll be adding thoughts from my reading. (On the church blog, my colleague Amanda will have notes for every single day of readings!) Occasional blogging will help me stay engaged with the reading.
6. The Bible Project newsletter
The Bible Project guys have a weekly newsletter than tracks along with the Read Scripture plan, offering a recap of the previous week and an overview of the coming week. I'm going to sign up on January 1. Go here to sign up; scroll down until you see the picture below. The newsletter is just one more reminder to help me stay on track--it's a marathon, not a sprint, you know?
So, that's my plan to read through the Bible in 2018.I'll let you know how it goes....
Read the Bible With Me in 2017
Can I suggest a New Year's resolution for you? Make the commitment to read through the Bible with me in 2017. At Munger, 2017 is our Year of the Bible, and we're launching something called The Bible Project. Here are 3 reasons why I hope you'll join me in?reading through the Bible in 2017.
The Bible is Difficult to Read Alone
Lots of folks struggle to understand the Bible, which shouldn't be surprising: the Bible is a collection of ancient documents, written by strange people in strange languages--of course it's difficult to read and understand all by yourself. Through the Bible Project (we've taken the name from some folks in Portland with whom we're partnering), however, we'll be updating our blog?every day with explanatory notes, videos, charts, etc. To give you an example of the kind of resources available, check out this great intro video to the Book of Genesis:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOUV7mWDI34&index=1&list=PLH0Szn1yYNee8aedW_5aCpnzkxnV7VQ3K[/embed]The Bible is difficult to read alone--so don't. Read along with me.
The Last Time You Tried It, You Quit in February
Many of you have probably tried to read through the Bible in a year, only to abandon your resolution in February when you got to Leviticus (if you made it that far). You're much more likely to complete marathon training in a group, and in the same way you're much more likely to read through the Bible along with other people. I'm preaching through the Bible in 2017, we'll have a weekly Bible study, a daily blog, podcasts, etc. All these resources are to help you persevere. Good things come to those who persevere.
Nothing Has More Potential to Change Your Life
I guarantee you that 2017 holds unexpected challenges for you. How will you prepare? There is nothing you can do that will have greater potential to change your life and prepare you for the future than the daily discipline of spending time in silence and scripture.
So, Here's What to Do
If you are a Mungarian, pick up one of the?free One Year Bibles we're handing out at church; if you don't live in Dallas, get one of these from Amazon. (We're using the ESV translation, but they are currently out of print.) You could also use the Bible app on your smart phone and pick the One Year Bible reading plan, but I recommend using the hard copy.Follow along with our blog: bibleproject.mungerplace.org.Watch my sermons: http://www.mungerplace.org/sermon-library/.Start on Sunday morning.Of all the New Year's resolutions you could make, reading through the Bible is the most important.So, are you in?
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Why Is the Bible So Difficult?
Why is the Bible so difficult to understand? Anyone who has ever tried to read the Bible has probably wondered why God didn't just make the whole thing a lot clearer. The great Christian writer C.S. Lewis wondered the same thing, so you and I are in good company. Here's his answer. In his fine little book?Reflections on the Psalms, Lewis writes:
"We might have expected, we may think we should have preferred, an unrefracted light giving us ultimate truth in systematic form--something we could have tabulated and memorised and relied on like the multiplication table...."[However] we may observe that the teaching of Our Lord Himself [i.e., Jesus], in which there is no imperfection, is not given us in that cut-and-dried, fool-proof, systematic fashion we might have expected or desired. He wrote no book. We have only reported sayings, most of them uttered in answer to questions, shaped in some degree by their context. And when we have collected them all we cannot reduce them to a system. He preaches but He does not lecture. He uses paradox, proverb, exaggeration, parable, irony; even (I mean no irreverence) the "wisecrack." He utters maxims which, like popular proverbs, if rigorously taken, may seem to contradict one another. His teaching cannot therefore be grasped by the intellect alone, cannot be "got up" as if it were a "subject." If we try to do that with it, we shall find Him the most elusive of teachers. He hardly ever gave a straight answer to a straight question. He will not be, in the way we want, "pinned down." The attempt is (again, I mean no irreverence) like trying to bottle a sunbeam.Descending lower, we find a somewhat similar difficulty with St. Paul. I cannot be the only reader [He's definitely not alone in this, as I have asked this EXACT same question many times! --AF] who has wondered why God, having given him so many gifts, withheld from him (what would to us seem so necessary for the first Christian theologian) that of lucidity and orderly exposition...."Since this is what God has done, this, we must conclude, was best. It may be that what we should have liked would have been fatal to us if granted. It may be indispensable that Our Lord's teaching, by that elusiveness (to our systematizing intellect), should demand a response from the whole man, should make it so clear that there is no question of learning a subject but of steeping ourselves in a Personality, acquiring a new outlook and tempter, breathing a new atmosphere, suffering Him, in His own way, to rebuild in us the defaced image of Himself." [My emphasis. --AF]from?Reflections on the Psalms, by C.S. Lewis, pp. 112-114
In other words, the Bible is not so much to be learned as to be experienced. Perhaps the truth that the Scripture conveys can't be truly learned in any other way. Perhaps the difficulty is part of the point.So, the next time you stumble across something in the Bible you don't understand, don't give up: God is trying to tell you something important.
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Does Old Testament Law Apply to Christians?
Does Old Testament law apply to Christians? A large portion of the first 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) is dedicated to laws governing how?Israel was to live, eat, and worship. Should Christians follow those laws?
The Old Testament is Obsolete, Right?
I've heard and read something like the following argument countless times:No sane person thinks that there is any problem wearing clothes made of?different fabrics [Leviticus 19:19], nor would any sane person‘think capital punishment appropriate for a child who curses his parents [Leviticus 20:9]. Since we don't abide by these or many other Old Testament laws any more, isn't it clear that modern Christians shouldn't?abide by ANY Old Testament laws?Unfortunately it's not that simple. Here's the problem:The Old Testament, while containing some laws that no longer apply to Christians, also contains the Ten Commandments and other components of the ethical foundation of the teachings of Jesus. For example, Leviticus, the book everyone loves to ridicule, contains beautiful ethical teachings:Did you know that "Love your neighbor as yourself" comes from Leviticus? (Leviticus 19:18.)Rather than being obsolete, the Old Testament contains much that is more relevant than ever for the people of God. But, it also contains elements that no longer apply. Which is which? How do we know which parts of the Old Testament law we should follow, and which are no longer binding on God's people?
The Epic of Eden
Sandra Richter, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, has an excellent book on the Old Testament called?The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament, which?I highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the Old Testament. In the epilogue to the book she includes some Frequently Asked Questions, one of which is?What Role Does the Law of Moses Play in the Christian's Life?? (pp. 225-229) I found her answer so helpful that I publish it below, with permission from her publisher. I've added my own remarks throughout.
What Role Does the Law of Moses Play in the Christian's Life?
Most everyone recognizes that simply abolishing the entire Mosaic law contradicts the New Testament (what do you do with the Ten Commandments?). Most equally recognize that imposing the law in its entirety on the Christian also contradicts the New Testament (what of God‘s instructions to Peter in Acts 10 to embrace unclean foods as clean?). So most have concluded that there must a middle-of-the-road position. The most enduring approach to defining this middle-of-the-road position has been the attempt to somehow delineate the law according to moral? versus civil? (or ethical? versus ritual?) categories. The claim is typically that the moral/ethical features of the law are still in force for the Christian, but the civil/ritual features are obsolete and can be put safely aside. For example, some would claim that the Ten Commandments can be cataloged as moral? and are therefore still binding, but the law requiring tassels on the four corners of a person‘s garment is to be catalogued as civil/ritual? and is not (Num 15:38-39). The problem with this sort of delineation, however, is that in Israel‘s world, there was no distinction between the civil/ritual and moral/ethical aspects of the law. All of these laws were deemed as the imperatives of God‘s divine will. Moreover, to honor your father and your mother? (Exodus 20:12) was both a moral expectation and the civil requirement of a patriarchal society to provide for the elderly of one‘s clan. And proper worship in a theocracy was an expression of both a moral/ethical and civil/ritual expectation. So what to do??[Emphasis mine. One of the mistakes we make in reading the Bible is to put?our own categories on top of it. As Professor Richter points out, unlike us the ancient Israelites did not divide the world into the sacred and the secular, the religious and the legal: it was all one. --AF] ?In the end, most assume that the Mosaic law is generally annulled as regards the Christian but hold onto those aspects of the law that are either reiterated by Christ (a good idea) or those that generally just seem right? (obviously not a satisfactory response to the question). [We see this all the time: people decide what's right beforehand and bring that decision to the Bible. Here's the problem, though--Where and how do we decide what's right? What are the sources we use to decide what's right? Aren't we in danger of just blessing whatever feels good to us, or whatever the dominant culture tells us is right? The reason for the Mosaic Law in the first place was to give Israel a way of knowing right and wrong that was distinct from the surrounding pagan Canaanite cultures. --AF] Although I cannot offer a complete solution to the conundrum, let me at least contribute to an answer.First, it is important to realize that as covenantal administrations change, so do the stipulations of those covenants. So, yes, the rules can and do change. And they change according to the will of the suzerain. [The suzerain is the king making the covenant, as she explains earlier in the book. For the Israelites, their king was the Lord. --AF] Hence, the first question we want to ask is, how does Jesus (our suzerain and mediator) change the rules with the new covenant?? We find the answer to that question as we read through the Gospels. Here Jesus regularly calls his audience back to the intent of the Mosaic law. Was the sabbath created for man, or man for the sabbath (Mt 12:10)?? Is adultery the problem or unbridled lust (Mt 7:27)?? Is it more important that a person keep themselves ritually clean, or serve a neighbor in need (Lk 10:30-37)?? So one thing Jesus tells his audience is to look beyond a legalistic adherence to particulars and see the goal of the law. This is clearly articulated in interactions like Matthew 22:36-40:
?Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law??? And he said to him, ?You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.? This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.? On these two commandments depends the whole Law and the Prophets.
Galatians 5:14 says the same: For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.? Thus, whereas the detailed message of the Mosaic law embodied the love of neighbor and God in concrete, time- and culture-bound expressions, Jesus finds a way to articulate the transcultural and all-embracing message of that same law to a new audience. [Emphasis mine. I think this is a perceptive analysis of the ethical teaching of Jesus. --AF] Moreover, he makes it clear that this message is still binding upon us new covenant adherents as well.We also read that Jesus redefines the major institutions of Israel‘s theocracy: the temple and the theocratic government. The temple is first re-defined as Jesus?own body, and then as the individual believer and the church (Jn 2:19-21; Eph 2:19-22). Jesus is identified as the final sacrifice (Heb 9:24-26) and as the church‘s new high priest (Heb 2:17). Thus, with the new covenant we learn that Israel‘s temple cultus is obsolete. [A "cultus" is a system of worship. --AF] And if this theocratic institution is obsolete, I believe it is safe to conclude that the complex processes dictated by the Mosaic law that directed the function of this institution (e.g. the design and d?cor of the building, the cleanness of priest and worshipper, sacrifice, mediation and the calendar of cultic celebration) are now obsolete as well. This means that in the new covenant the specific Mosaic regulations regarding these issues are annulled: our buildings of worship are no longer required to bring sacrifice, the laws of clean and unclean? are abrogated, the mediation of human priests is unnecessary, and the holidays of Israel‘s cult have become a mere shadow of what is to come? (Col 2:16-17). [Emphasis mine. Did you get that? Because the Temple is obsolete for Christians (the entire book of Hebrews is essentially about this topic), then it follows that all the Old Testament laws pertaining to Temple worship are also obsolete. --AF]And what of Israel‘s theocratic government?? Keep clearly in your mind that Israel was a nation that was directly ruled by God. Yahweh was enthroned in the temple in Jerusalem, between the cherubim,? and carried out his ordinances by means of his officers, the prophet, the priest and king. Israel was a political entity with national territory. Its citizenry were, exclusively, the people of God. Foreign oppression, drought and famine were God‘s communiqu‘s that his people had somehow broken covenant; national prosperity was the sign that they had kept covenant. Thus the nation of Israel could justly go to war in the name of Yahweh, slaying Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites to defend the national boundaries of God‘s kingdom. But Jesus makes it clear that his only throne will be in heaven (Mk 16:19; Heb 8:1; etc.). And as we‘ve seen, the new citizenry of his kingdom will come from every tongue, tribe and nation. As opposed to the land of Canaan being the Promised Land, now all of the recreated earth is. Thus, in the new covenant there is no longer any single nation that can lay claim to being the people of God? nor any single piece of real estate that is promised to them.[Emphasis mine. This is HUGE. Whereas before Jesus you had to be a member of Israel to be part of the people of God, now the church--the new Israel--is open to people of all ages, nations, and races. --AF] There are new officers for this new kingdom too. Even a cursory glance at Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28 or 1 Timothy 3 lets us know that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, deacons and teachers have replaced the prophet, priest and king of the Mosaic covenant. The only title that survives into the new covenant is that of prophet,? but even this office is substantially transformed. Thus the very literal political realities of Israel‘s theocracy are abrogated by the new covenant, and I believe we can safely say that the complex list of laws and regulations that governed the theocracy are abrogated as well. [Update: This is why capital punishments for crimes such as blasphemy and sorcery, etc., no longer apply: those rules were part of the Old Covenant theocracy. The offenses‘themselves are still sinful, but now that we live under the New Covenant of grace and no longer under the Israelite theocracy, the way the people of God deal with those offenses has changed. --AF]?Then, of course, there are those aspects of the Mosaic law that the writers of the New Testament specifically address as being changed or terminated. A few examples would be the necessity of circumcision (1 Cor 7:19), the regulations of kashrut (Acts 10:15), the rabbinic restrictions regarding the sabbath (Mt 12:1-9) and even divorce (Mt 19:3-9).In sum, I think we can identify at least three categories of Mosaic law which, in their specific expectations, no longer apply to the Christian: those involving the regulations of Israel‘s government, those involving the regulation of Israel‘s temple, and those laws that the New Testament specifically repeals or changes. I would still argue that the values that shaped these regulations express the character of God and therefore must be attended to by the Christian, but the specifics of their application are no longer our responsibility. Thus my contribution to the conundrum named above is that rather than attempting to delineate the law of Moses based on categories foreign to that law itself (?more/ethical? and civil/ritual?), perhaps we should address the question through a lens that is more native to both Old and New Testaments?Jesus? redefinition of certain major institutions of the Mosaic covenant. And for all the Mosaic law, be it superseded or not, we need to recognize that we can (and must) still learn a great deal about the character of God through these laws, even if we can no longer directly apply them to ourselves in this new covenant. [Emphasis mine. Rather than being irrelevant to the church today, even those Old Testament laws that have been abrogated by the New Covenant have much to teach us about the Lord. --AF] So rather than thinking in terms of the Mosaic law as being obsolete except for what Jesus maintains (as has been the predominant view), perhaps we should begin to thing in terms of the law being in force except for what Jesus repeals.
Taken from The Epic of Eden?by Sandra L. Richter. Copyright (c) 2008 by Sandra L. Richter. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com.
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A Framework for Understanding the Bible
I'll be the first to admit that the Bible is a difficult book. One of the reasons it's difficult is that it's not really even?one book, but rather a collection of books. (That's what "bible" actually means: a?collection of books.) Over and over again people will say to me, "I'd like to read the Bible, but I just don't understand it." I hope the following simple framework helps you get a little more clarity and understanding.
All of History in?3 Acts
The Bible tells the story of the great drama of History in 3 acts, with a prologue at the beginning and an epilogue at the end.
Prologue
Subject: Beginnings. Adam to Abraham. The Prologue tells us why the world is the way it is. After a beautiful beginning ("And there was light....") the story quickly becomes a story of blood and betrayal: Cain kills Abel, and we've been killing our brothers ever since.Scripture: Genesis 1-11
Act 1
Subject: Israel. The Lord's plan to save all of humanity begins with one man--Abraham--and it culminates in one of Abraham's descendant's: Jesus of Nazareth. Act 1 is about God's chosen people Israel, and Israel's slavery, exodus, kingdom, exile, and return.Scripture: Genesis 12-Malachi
Act 2
Subject: Jesus. Act 2 is all about Jesus, from his birth to his death to his Resurrection.Scripture: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Act 3
Subject: The Church. Act 3 is about how the church is God's means to redeem the world. It begins with a small group of disciples in Jerusalem on Pentecost Sunday and?it's still going, right up to and including the present. We are living in Act 3.Scripture: Acts-Revelation 20
Epilogue
Subject: Forever and Ever Amen. The Epilogue is about History's culmination, when Jesus returns and all the bad things come untrue and evil is finally ended.Scripture: Revelation 21-22
Conclusion
I realize that the above doesn't answer most of our good questions about the difficult parts of scripture, but it does give us a framework within which we can at least get our bearings when reading scripture. Keep reading--it's worth it.
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Who Cares if Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Lots of folks are asking that question these days, and though it is an important question (and one that I will not be answering in this post), I don't think the question is as helpful as other people seem to think.
Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?
Some people say yes, and these people imply that Christians are therefore under obligation to show compassion to Muslims because of their theological commonalities. After all, aren't Christians and Jews and Muslims all "people of the book?" (That phrase comes from the Qu'ran.) And, since we are all people of the book, shouldn't Christians treat Muslims with compassion?I do not agree with this implication.
The Problem With Saying Yes
As Mark Tooley points out in Newsweek, if you stress that Christians are obligated to show compassion to Muslims because they are theological cousins, you are inadvertently implying that Christians are not under the same obligation to show compassion to other peoples with whom they don't have any theological commonalities. Hindus, for example, are not "people of the book," and yet that fact should not affect Christian treatment of Hindus (or Sikhs or Jains or Buddhists or atheist communists, etc.)A Christian's compassion for another does not depend on that other's theological commitments. Whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether a Christian should show compassion towards his Muslim neighbor.Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? What if the answer is no--should‘that change how a Christian treats her Muslim neighbor?
Love Isn't Conditional
Christians are not required to only love people with whom we agree (or partially agree).Jesus, after all, told his followers to love their enemies.
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My Daily Media Diet
What are the books, podcasts, websites, blogs, and newsletters that make up your media diet? You are what you eat, and that includes the information you consume. Today's post is about what I read daily as part of my media diet (part 1 of a 3 part series).
What Is a "Media Diet?"
"Media diet" is a phrase I came across several years ago in a web series by?The Atlantic. A reporter would interview public figures about how they stayed informed and what they regularly read and watched and make a simple post out of it. (I still remember Malcolm Gladwell's comment about his daily reading habits:?"Since my brain really only works in the morning, I try to keep that time free for writing and thinking and don't read any media at all until lunchtime." I totally identify....)In part 1 of this series (parts 2 and 3 coming on the next two Mondays) about my media diet, I'll focus on what I read daily (or at least regularly).
What I Do First Thing in the Morning
I've written before about the importance of the First 15, i,e., spending?at least the first 15 minutes of your day in prayer, scripture, and silence. So, I've been getting up really early recently in order to have an unhurried time of prayer first thing, before I workout.Currently this is what I use in my prayer time:
- the NRSV Thinline Bible I was given by the bishop at my ordination;
- the scripture reading calendar my church gives out through our?Eat This Book program;
- Seedbed's Field Guide to Daily?Prayer (I really like the 30 day- reading plan for the Psalms);
- and a small journal that I write in about once a week or so.
Breakfast:?The Dallas Morning News and NPR
After working out and while eating breakfast and getting ready:
- I get the print version of?The Dallas?Morning News delivered at home, and read it every morning (except Sundays, when I don't get to it until late afternoon, if at all). I have come to really like?The DMN and get more locally-focused and sports news from it than anywhere else.
- I listen to NPR's?Morning Edition radio program most mornings.
Blogs: Rod Dreher (and Not Much Else)
I used to read Andrew Sullivan's blog almost every day. Now that he has stopped blogging, almost the only blogger I read regularly is Rod Dreher. Rod Dreher is a fascinating and unique writer: a convert to Eastern Orthodoxy living in his native rural South Louisiana who writes about culture from a social conservative point of view.One of the topics Rod Dreher writes about that I find most intriguing and persuasive is the so-called "Benedict Option": the idea that Christians in the West today may need to follow the 5th century example of St. Benedict and spend less time participating in politics and the culture wars and more time deliberately cultivating the practices that will "thicken" our faith and deepen our witness. Here is a post from Rod's blog in July that summarizes his thoughts on the Benedict Option.
Websites I Read Almost Daily
- I read?The New Yorker almost every day. I like the short form pieces from folks like John Cassidy and Amy Davidson, but I really prefer The New Yorker for its?long-form essays like this one about Northern Ireland that I wrote about in April.
- I also browse?The Atlantic's website regularly, though I believe that?The Atlantic?is a much worse magazine since it expanded its online footprint. Many of the online articles seem to be merely a slightly (sometimes?very slightly) more serious version of the kind of thing that I suppose you find on Buzzfeed or The Huffington Post, and I do not mean that as a compliment. The Atlantic these days seems to feature quick-reaction pieces on hot-button topics that lack nuance and wisdom. (I'll say more about my complaints with?The Atlantic in part 3 of this series.)
- I browse the?Yahoo! main site and scroll through the headlines, particularly about sports and politics.
- I check out the?BBC Sport's soccer page almost daily.
Online Newsletters and Other Sites
- I read movie reviews on?Plugged In every few weeks or so. I'm interested in movies, but I like reading reviews from a conservative Christian perspective (a perspective you don't get from mainstream reviewers). I rarely have time to see movies in the theater anymore, so I find myself reading many more reviews of movies than actually seeing movies.
- I've recently discovered?Book Notes,?a free newsletter from Byron Borger, owner of Hearts and Minds bookstore in central Pennsylvania. Through Book Notes, I've stumbled across books that I would never have heard of elsewhere--it's a great resources.
- I read articles and watch videos the videos on the CrossFit main site several times a week.
Coming in Parts 2 and 3....
Parts 2 and 3 will be about what I regularly listen to and watch and read in print. The above is what I read online on a regular basis. What about you? What makes up your daily media diet?
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