Time Wasters

December 27, 2009 in Christmas, Church Life, Spiritual Formation, Spirituality | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

I had finished my message for Sunday morning when I ran across this great column by Mark Galli. I wish I had come across it before writing my message. I could have printed this off and just read it!

My text for the day is Luke 2:22-40, the story of Simeon and Anna. Here are two people who simply wasted time with God. No big results. No huge ministries. No great accolades. They simply worshiped. They hung out with God. And in that hanging out time, they were incredibly privileged to hear the voice of the Spirit speak to them one day in the Temple. In that moment, the voice could speak because they could HEAR, and that voice pointed them to a young couple with a little baby. The voice could say, “That one,” and they KNEW what it meant.

We need to be better time wasters with God. No agendas. As a pastor, I resonate with Galli’s frustration. People sometimes get frustrated with me if I don’t give enough “how to” in my message. Well, I must confess I get frustrated trying to tell everyone “how to” do something! Just hang out with God! Find out for yourself! It’s a great journey! Frustrating at times, but FUN.

May I waste tremendous amounts of time with God in 2010!

Christmas Eve and Weather Outside IS Frightful!

December 24, 2009 in Bible Study, Bibles, Blogging, Christmas, Family | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

We made the trek to my family in Kansas a day early (Tuesday as opposed to Wednesday) because we were leery of the travel conditions in Iowa. Now, on Christmas Eve, we were certainly glad we made the choice because weather is horrible every mile of the journey between our home and Kansas. Our hometown of Minneapolis is getting hammered with snow and Iowa is snow and ice. We are thankful for small decisions the Lord helps us make. Now… to see if we can get BACK to Minneapolis!

Family is coming into Kansas and the roads are cooperating so far, so we are thankful! It’s great to be with family at Christmas.

Looking ahead to 2010, one of the resolutions I made earlier was to try the HCSB for the year. As I have wrapped up a semester of teaching, and another year of preaching, I have decided I need to stay with the TNIV, using the NRSV on occasion when I need to consult the Apocrypha. It’s simply this: I have come to truly like the TNIV and will hope that when the 2011 NIV is complete, it will be much more like the TNIV than the old NIV. So, I need to stick with what I’ve used. I teach from it, preach from it, and it is comfortable. No need to switch unless the next revision disappoints me completely.

The Patriarchs, the Maccabeans, and Us

December 21, 2009 in Church, Church Life, Culture | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

There has been a strange interweaving of stories in the past few days in my life. Over the past week I have studied I Maccabees in the Apocrypha and preached on Hanukkah and the Maccabean Revolt. I posted earlier on lessons learned from Mattathias and the Maccabeans.

Then, I was given this link from a friend. It is the story of Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, but his situation is vastly different from that of the Pope. Bartholomew has his headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. A Muslim nation. His “headquarters” are tiny. The main church is empty. The seminary where he trained for the priesthood is empty.

Throughout this article I could not help thinking that this may be the future of the American Church. Probably not in my lifetime, but I was witnessing a church in exile. There could be a time coming when we will be in such a minority that our celebrated places of worship will be gone. We will understand what it means to be a “remnant.”

The piece by Bob Simon of 60 Minutes is a good one. Make sure you see it.

Taking Our Stand

December 21, 2009 in Christmas, Church Life, Culture | Tags: , , | 2 comments

This past Sunday was my attempt at preaching from the Apocrypha. I used I Maccabees as my text, re-telling the story of the Maccabean Revolt and introducing the story of Hanukkah.

In the story was the lesson of Mattathias. I have become fascinated by his incredible faith and boldness. When his village was confronted with sacrificing a desecrated offering or dying, Mattathias chose the possibility of death. The order from the soldiers was to sacrifice an improper sacrifice to show loyalty to the empire. Mattathias, as village elder, bluntly refused. His people were radically monotheistic and there was no way on earth he was going to go back on that belief. Not after hundreds of years of getting it wrong as a nation. Not after 70 years of captivity to learn the lesson. NOT NOW.

Another Jewish elder didn’t mind. He would have rather lived in compromise of faith than die for his God, his people, and his faith. Turns out he died anyway because Mattathias killed him on the pagan altar.

There needs to be a call in our day. We are people of Jesus Christ. We love him. We serve him. We serve no other god. Not in this nation, this culture, this world, or this age.

In this Christmas season (and YES, I know Jesus wasn’t born in December), I want to declare my love for the Savior of this world. In this season I want to declare my radical allegiance to my Savior. I don’t want the gods of this world any more. I want to know Christ fully. My life needs to be attached to him. He is the Master Teacher. I am the apprentice.

Are We a Burden?

December 19, 2009 in Bible Study, Bibles, Culture, Spiritual Formation | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Announcing my weak attempt to preach from the Apocrypha elicited some wonderful responses. One text sent was a prophetic/Messianic text from the Wisdom of Solomon. It understand it can be taken as Messianic, but the passage (Wisdom 2:12-20) begins with, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man…”

It is a passage speaking of the wicked who are tired of having someone righteous in their lives.

“…he is inconvenient to us…”

They are tired of the righteous example, so they want to be rid of him. Consider this verse: “the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange.” (Wisdom 2:15)

These are challenging thoughts! I like to be liked. I really do. Yet, there are times when my life, my stance in life, my reaction to life, needs to be different. And being different will, at times, cause problems. We may, as believers, become a burden. Those who are unrighteous just may not like being around us! That is not to say we work to be obnoxious. It IS to say that there are times that our lives in Christ really do separate us from unrighteous living and that gets to be uncomfortable.

Lines of separation SHOULD appear from time to time! I fear we are so caught up with the desire to be liked, those lines aren’t quite so distinctive any more.

There are times our faith WILL be tested. There are dear brothers and sisters all over the world living in such situations. Their lives are a burden to some very unrighteous people, unrighteous powers, and these brothers and sisters are tested because of it.

Sometimes lines do get drawn and we need to understand that we will at some point be a burden to unrighteous people. In that day, we need to know in whom believe. We need to be fully persuaded of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And THIS springs from the Apocrypha!

To the Apocrypha We Go…

December 18, 2009 in Church Life, Ministry | Tags: | Leave a comment

To my knowledge, I have never preached from the Apocrypha in my ministry. (I have a bad memory, so somewhere in my distant past I may have attempted this before.) I don’t do this with any anxiety, but with a sense of excitement. We too often miss things because we don’t understand why the Apocrypha exists. It is used so rarely in ANY circles we have lost sight of its value. But since the Reformation we simply have not valued this part of our literature.

This Sunday, I will tell the story of the Maccabean revolt and the forming  of Hanukkah. The story of the revolt (in I Maccabees) is exciting. The sacrifice made by the people of God was tremendous. There are incredible lessons to learn.

So, off to the Apocrypha we go!

Paying attention to the world

December 16, 2009 in Bible Study, Blogging, Culture, Prayer | Tags: , | Leave a comment

At one point in time I remember reading that living prophetically as a Christian is having a Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other. Well, both are readily available online, so maybe our hands are freed up to raise them to God in intercession.

But we MUST pay attention to our world. There are things happening where we have opportunities to hear from the Spirit. It’s not just about politics. Reading the news is often about prayer.

One place I recommend HIGHLY for world opinion is The New York Times, and specifically Thomas Friedman. He has a grasp on the Middle East like no one’s business. This column is incredible, and we need to pay attention.

Also, for another pulse on cultural issues, go over to Ben Witherington’s blog post on gay marriage and an evangelical perspective. Read the comments as well. This man is not afraid!

Let us engage our culture prayerfully. But above all, let us pray.

Why the Old Testament?

December 15, 2009 in Bible Study, Theology | Tags: | 5 comments

In preparation for my Old Testament survey course I teach in the spring, I want to express my thanks for those who have given me wonderful ideas for OT passages to memorize.

Now, the question I propose is this: WHY do we pay attention to the Old Testament? As a believer, not one who is taking a required course, WHY do we read and STUDY the Old Testament? I’d love your thoughts.

A Question for Old Testament Studies

December 13, 2009 in Bible Study, Spiritual Formation | Tags: , | 16 comments

Next semester I am teaching a freshman college course on Old Testament. It’s a survey class. One of the exercises I am toying with is having passages of Scripture to memorize.

If you had about six passages to assign, what Old Testament passages would you assign… and why?

Let me hear from you!

Especially T.C., Brian, Jeff, Bitsy, and Gary.

Resolved

December 12, 2009 in Bibles, Church Life, Discipleship/Spiritual Formation, Prayer | Tags: , , , | 1 comment

New Year’s resolutions are tough. Yet, there are some spiritual exercises I want to increase in my life.

1. Increase in prayer.

We will open the new year with a week of prayer. We will have a silent retreat in February. The Lord is challenging me in fasting and prayer. I need to call out on God in a more intense way this next year.

2. Preaching and study.

It’s tough, but I am going to try to stick to one translation. The HCSB hasn’t been a favorite. Despite not liking how they handle the gender issue, I am going to give it a go and see if I can use it on a regular basis. At church, I will be preaching through Thessalonians, and then possibly the Gospel of John. I long for a return to expository preaching and keeping at that discipline for a time.

There are so many more areas, but I want to be RESOLVED in my walk with the Lord. This past semester as I have taught Ephesians, I have had a deeper desire to grab hold of the vast riches of the Kingdom of God. It takes intentionality! Be resolved!