The Expert Sinner

1 Cor 3:1-4 - baby church

2023-05-28T15:24:00.002-07:00

"But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealous and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, "I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?"

Paul's finally come back around to the first thing he criticized the Corinthian church for in chapter 1: Following godly leaders, not God himself, and arguing about which leader was the best.

Chapter 2 mostly talked about God's wisdom versus the world's wisdom, and how people who follow the world's wisdom cannot understand God's wisdom or have the gifts that come with it. And here is the Corinthian church behaving as if they they have not been transformed by God, as if they don't believe, as if they do not have God's spirit living within them.. They are believers, don't get me wrong. He said in chapter 1 that they are. They're not in danger of "losing their salvation". We'll see in vs 15, though, that they ARE in danger of losing something.

Milk, not solid food. Paul has some pretty good metaphors in this chapter, and this is one. Babies cannot eat solid food. They have no teeth. They can suck, but lack the coordination to chew or to safely swallow anything but real food. They are completely dependent on the person feeding them.

These church leaders - they are the ones feeding the church spiritual truths. But clearly this church, like a baby, is completely dependent on the leaders feeding them, which is why they are divided into which leader gives them what they prefer. If they were spiritually mature, they wouldn't be so dependent on the words of church leaders (throwback to chapter 1, second half, which talked about God using the weakness/foolishness of leaders' words to convey spiritual truth). Words are cheap. God uses words, but we don't need to listen to podcasts, watch sermons and YouTube videos, or read Christian books to comprehend the real meat of the gospel, because we already have the spirit of God.

1 Cor 2:6-16 - About God's Wisdom

2023-05-21T11:34:00.001-07:00

I feel like I need to apologize again for way I'm going about this study. Normally when I write, I make sure I organize things under headings, vary sentence and paragraph length, and use other tricks to help keep the attention of the reader. And then I reread it and correct it before I show it to the world.

This is simply a window into my own study as I process Scripture by using writing. I don't expect people to think it is interesting or well-written. It doesn't impart any new truths about Scripture. There are no interesting anecdotes because my purpose isn't to teach or to grab attention: It's simply to understand, which is fitting since so far chapters 1-2 have been all about wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Paul has ADHD

As I read 1 Corinthians 2, I notice Paul basically repeats a lot of the same things he said in chapter 1, except out of order. We like preachers who organize God's word into numbered points that we can easily grasp. Paul is not that preacher (and remember, he says straight up he's not good with words).

Don't get me wrong. He stays on topic, but can't seem to organize his thoughts. While this can make it less easy to follow, it also requires more careful reading, which can lead to better understanding. When we have to do more work to understand, it's more likely to stick.

What is "God's wisdom"?

Every time I read "God's wisdom", I have to remind myself that this is not necessarily the wisdom about how to live a godly life, though he does guide us in that too. He says several times that God's wisdom is a person - Christ himself.

1:23-24 - "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the...wisdom of God". 1:30 - "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God". 2:2 - "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified".

God's wisdom is something to be shared with believers. 2:6 -7- "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom...we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God." 2:13 - "And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." 2:1-5 summary: Paul demonstrates that he himself preaches God's wisdom to believers.

God's wisdom cannot be understood by those who do not have his Spirit within them. 2:6 - "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away...None of the rulers of this age understood this...What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,, nor the heart of man imagined..." 2:14 - "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Back to chapter 1 - 1:18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing". 1:22 - "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles."

Believers already have God's wisdom. This is obviously not to say we understand everything about God, but because God's wisdom is Christ himself, we already have it. "Now we have received...the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given u by God". 2:16 - "But we have the mind of Christ."

He touches on a few other themes he already discussed as well, such as the craziness of the idea that God, the creator, would use us, his creation, to share his message through the weakness of our own tongues.

And again - this WHOLE conversation sprouted from Paul's criticism of Christians following the words of their preferred preachers instead of the wisdom of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16a

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" -

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ.

(Royalty-free photo from Unsplash, photographer Joel Muniz)

1 Corinthians 1 - Theme recap

2023-05-04T13:54:00.004-07:00

I'll include 2:1-5 in this recap. It reiterates what was said in chapter 1, but instead of using general terms, Paul shows how he himself is an example of someone unskilled and not confident:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men [people] but in the power of God.

When I study a passage in detail, I like to note how often word groups are repeated.

In 1 Cor 1:1-2:5, here are all the times Paul talks about preaching, speech, or words:

Enriched in him in all speech
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel
Not with words of eloquent wisdom
Word of the cross...is the power of God
Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?
It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe
We preach Christ crucified
Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord
I...did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech
My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom

Here are the times he talks about wisdom and knowledge, (or folly/lack of wisdom and knowledge)

Enriched in...all knowledge
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom
The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart".
Where is the one who is wise?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
Greeks seek wisdom
We preach Christ crucified...folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God
The foolishness of God is wiser than men
Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise
Because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God
I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified
My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom
so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God

(Royalty free image from Unsplash by Rod Long)

Sometimes I feel like Paul is all over the place. In fact, I would dare to say that he isn't necessarily the best writer/preacher (which he himself admits over and over!) But if I study the message instead of the words, it makes more sense. It doesn't matter if his preaching is "good" or not. It's all about the "power of God and the wisdom of God", not about the words and methods used to preach.

The biggest takeaway for me, personally, is my attraction to "good" preachers and "good" writers. Nowadays we have the luxury of picking and choosing what preaching/teaching most appeals to our preferences. Do you like preachers who tell a lot of stories and jokes? Or the more serious ones who just preach straight? Would you read a Christian life book if it wasn't necessarily written with the best words, or if maybe it required some extra thinking to decipher (hello Paul). But just because I have this luxury doesn't mean I have the right to judge or discount words from people who may not necessarily jive with my communication preferences.

I'll probably continue this study because it really helps me process the message. Unlike my other blog posts, I'm not writing these for an audience. I don't even read them over before publishing. I don't check how many "views" a post has. I publish them because the wisdom of God might be conveyed through the "foolishness" of what I say, even if I don't format things perfectly.

1 Cor 1:26-31 - Weak, Foolish, and Lowly

2023-05-03T16:25:00.006-07:00

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, at is it written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord". ' (emphasis mine)

Royalty-free image from Fa Barboza on Unsplash

This is the culmination of Paul's first criticism of the Corinthian church that was in verse 10 : They followed Christian preachers and leaders who had the prettiest words, the highest standing, the most baptisms under their belt, who trained under the most famous apostles, who related to someone who had met Jesus personally.

As evidence that God uses the "weak, foolish, and lowly", here are some examples (off the top of my head; you'll have to look them up because this is kind of a stream of consciousness post).

-Hagar. She didn't choose to be a slave or a woman. She didn't choose to be a Gentile in a household run by Jews. She didn't choose to be given to Abraham to bear his bastard child because Sarah refused to believe God's promise. She didn't choose to be mistreated and driven out to the wilderness to die. Weak, lacking in worldly wisdom, and lowly, God made himself known to her, of all people. He comforted her. He provided water in the desert for life.

-Various women in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). In those days, women were seen as the ultimate "weak, foolish, and lowly" people. How interesting that Jesus so often singles out women and commends them for their faith and strength!

-Jesus himself. He may have been physically strong as a carpenter, but he allowed himself to be taken prisoner and brutally executed. He may have been omniscient as God's son, but by becoming a man he got a tiny little brain and gave up that knowledge. He may have been followed by crowds, but he ended up naked and exposed, dying the most humiliating way possible and turned on by the same people who five days before had been beside themselves with excitement to see him." He became weak, "foolish", and lowly.

There are other examples too but I promised myself these posts wouldn't get too long.

1 Corinthians 1:18-24 - It's the message, not the preacher

2023-05-01T10:29:00.005-07:00

In the interest of time and effort, I'm not putting a lot of effort into formatting and editing these posts. Just as Paul knew the gospel could be preached even if he didn't present it with skillful words, I will let go of my desire to get more readers by making the content pretty.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION. Royalty-free image from pexels.com

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

As I read this passage, I must remember that this Scripture flows in context with what was said before. In verses 5-6, he talked about the church being "enriched in all speech and all knowledge" by God for the purpose of testifying to others in a way that confirms the gospel.

In verses 12-15, he appears to berate the church for following the eloquent words of preachers instead of the message they convey, elevating them to the point they brag about which famous apostle baptized them. He contrasts that with his own style in verse 17: "For Christ did not send me to baptize but the preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (emphasis mine).

This chapter so far seems to be about our attraction to the way things are preached instead of the message itself. The power is in the message, not the speaker.

Now to verses 18-31.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." The word (speaking/preaching/writing) of the cross is where the power lies, not in the speaking/preaching/writing itself.

For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will throat'. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" Two verses earlier, he warned that following eloquent words instead of the gospel would empty the cross of its power. He gifts us in "all speech and all knowledge", but even these gifts are nothing compared to the actual power and wisdom of God.

"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" These wise people, scribes, debaters - they may not be "foolish" in the sense that they cannot preach the truth and be used by God. They are "foolish", again, in comparison with the actual message they preach.

"For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach [note; can also be translated "preaching"] to save those who believe." As unbelievers we cannot appreciate the wisdom and power of God without hearing it in words. So he uses the words of people to convey it as a means to save those who believe.

"For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles..." What we believe doesn't make sense according to the wisdom of the world. The Jews couldn't comprehend that God would interrupt the same requirements he commanded earlier and instead fulfill them so they were no longer necessary. The practical Greeks see nothing except us the folly of us worshipping an invisible being, just as those venerated as wise and practical people of today see us.

"...but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Regardless of religion or nationality, those who are called will experience true power and true wisdom in knowing God - the same power and wisdom that doesn't make sense otherwise.

1 Corinthians 10-17: Words of Eloquent Wisdom

2023-04-18T11:30:00.008-07:00

I apologize the text background is a color that makes it difficult to read. Blogger is an old buggy platform that isn't listening and I'm tired of trying to get it to look right!

1 Corinthians 1: 10-17

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lor2d Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

I have read this passage soooo many times - in fact, in my Bible quizzing days I memorized it. I've studied it, too. I usually come away with the lessons "Don't argue with believers about vaccines, and if you aren't a good speaker you can still share the gospel."

But of course the more you study these familiar passages, the more layers you uncover. It seems like Paul is talking not about adopting positions on social issues, but on following Christian leaders based on their "words of eloquent wisdom".

I think the key point of this section is the final verse, 17: "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

"Words of eloquent wisdom" - isn't that the reason we pick favorite leaders to follow, especially church leaders? After all, God gives legitimate gifts with words to many pastors and teachers so they can make clear God's word to listeners. It's why we groan when we have a guest pastor speak. They're just not as good. They don't share enough anecdotes or their humor is too cheesy. They say "um" too much or simply don't make the text interesting.

Paul, this great Christian leader, did not have words of eloquent wisdom, yet it was so clear God was speaking through him that his words were included in the Bible.

We have our favorite pastors, speakers, authors, podcasts, blogs we follow, But our admiration comes with a risk: that we will be more attracted to the way in which scripture is taught than scripture itself. We follow people who follow Christ, not Christ himself. Paul says this behavior causes quarreling among believers and "empties the cross of Christ of its power"

I think the solution is to study actual scripture more than my favorite voices say about it. This will also help me appreciate "ungifted" (in my opinion!) speakers who direct me to scripture.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9: Enriched in all speech and all knowledge

2023-04-14T10:25:00.003-07:00

I don't know if I'll continue going through 1 Corinthians, but I just felt like sharing today. Sharing what I've learned helps me remember it!

Section Headings in Your Bible

My Bible titles this section of Scripture as "Thanksgiving". But did you know these titles are not actually part of biblical text? They don't exist in the Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. In fact, chapter and verse divisions are also later additions! They organize the text for clarity, and they can be helpful. But titles can also distract from the author's full intent.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way--with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge--God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

When I see the title "Thanksgiving" for this section, I tend to skim it. "Paul is thankful for the Corinthian church. He says this in almost every letter."

What God Does

But this doesn't seem like a passage about Paul's thankfulness, nor about the Corinthian church and their actions. It's more than a greeting. It's a reminder about God: a succinct, confident statement of encouragement about what God does for the church - which means every believer. He:

Gives grace
Enriches us with speech and knowledge (my favorite phrase in this section). You don't have to be a good speaker to talk about God. You don't have to be a Bible expert to understand its message. Why? Because we do not enrich ourselves. He enriches us.
Uses spiritual gifts to confirm the gospel
Supplies the church with everything needed to function while waiting for Jesus to come back
Promises to keep us firm
Promises to keep us blameless in God's sight
Is faithful
Calls us to a relationship with Jesus

I already know "all this stuff" which is repeated over and over in the Bible, especially in the epistles. I just need to be reminded by reading the same concepts with different wording. Only then will my way of living look like Jesus.

Let's Get Political

2021-08-09T10:41:00.005-07:00

I'm overwhelmed with grief today.

Let's get political.

As many of us did, I grew up loving America, the idea of America, the history of America. I memorized the Pledge of Allegiance, read the whole Constitution, and learned about amazing leaders of the past.

So it makes sense that, like many, I would feel personally threatened by anything that might disrupt what I feel America was founded on. The two biggies are:

Government of, by, and for the people
Prioritizing the well-being of citizens

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Today, many feel that #1 is threatened by a government that desires control over well-being. This is perceived as mandates, recommendations, vaccine development, and data and studies thought to be untrue.

And many feel that #2 is threatened by refugees, undocumented or not. It's feared that our taxes are not helping the country, but outsiders who do not contribute. Perhaps they'll take our jobs. And God forbid they don't speak English!

I will not argue facts against these two things. I totally disagree with the cause for the fear but it's not the heart of the matter.

Because I will argue to the death that fear has no place in God's service.

If you are a believer, this means that:

1. You embrace people in need even if they are undocumented, even if they don't learn English, even if you are afraid they will take your jobs, even if they flee over the border against the law, even if they use up America's resources and leave you with less, even if your taxes are paying their welfare, even if you're afraid they have bad motives, even if you're afraid a terrorist will sneak through.

2. You embrace people in need even if you're afraid that by doing so, you're giving the government power. This means prioritizing people over politics, acting in conviction instead of paranoia, and for heaven's sake don't say "Yes people are dying, but...". Anti-vaccine and anti-mask? Fine, but fear is an inappropriate argument.

The early church experienced government oppression to the point of prison, beatings, and death. The early church experienced loss of resources due to giving their stuff away to people who were both inside and outside the church. Why do we cling to such worldly concepts? We can't take it with us.

True freedom and true riches are only found in Christ. Live it.

Church: Modern Services

2021-06-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Bible does not say, "Do not give up meeting together."

It says:

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together...but encouraging one another."

You can see what the author of Hebrews is emphasizing here. Spurring one another on toward love and good deeds and encouraging each other: THAT is what is supposed to happen as you meet together!

I believe many people who attend church services aren't "meeting together".

Going to Church

I've been talking a lot lately about going to church. Of course, I'm referring to a group event that takes time at a specific time and place, and involves certain activities.

And I'll just tell you now - church services in the early church, as far as we can tell, did not involve listening to a single appointed leader or singing with a person leading. Elders were elected to help people in the faith, not to be in charge. Services were "popcorn" style as people were moved by the Spirit and shared: a song, a prayer, a letter from Paul, a recitation of Scripture, an update on missionaries, stories of God's provision and miracles.

I'm not saying our services today are wrong. However, they are restrictive compared to the original intention of "meeting together". They encourage passiveness. You can "meet" someone by making small talk with them for 60 seconds. You can sing along to a song. But these things do not involve you actually spurring someone on toward love and good deeds or encouraging each other.

Can you imagine a popcorn service today? I bet 90% of us wouldn't like it. Imagine someone saying they feel led to share a teaching, but they're not good at speaking? Or someone saying they want to share a song they wrote, but they have a bad voice? Would we contribute? Very unlikely. Fear of judgment and embarrassment would keep us away. We would say, "I don't have a lot to offer. I'm new in my faith. I'm just a shy person." We wouldn't like the lack of structure. We wouldn't like being without a leader to tell us what to do.

Photo by Samuel Pereira on Unsplash

Don't get me wrong: I value our church leaders and their dedication to encouraging us through teaching and song, through prayer, and all the things that the early church did. But if we are not also taking responsibility for our participation - in a figurative way, as the early church did - we may as well be going to a concert and hoping for some good content.

My neighbor, Doug, stopped by when I was outside recently. We talked about COVID and Jesus. We talked about our role as believers in today's world. We discussed Scriptures that we both knew, because we are both Bible readers. We prayed together.

We spurred one another on toward love and good deeds and encouraged one another as we were meeting together.

That was church. It involved learning, worship, prayer, Scripture. Being in the same space as him - that would not have been church. Listening to a Christian podcast by myself, singing worship by myself, reading the Bible by myself, praying by myself - that is not church either.

It is only church when we gather for the express purpose of spurring one another on toward love and good deeds and encouraging one another.

Psalm 16:7 - Peace

2021-06-17T10:46:00.004-07:00

I'm bouncing back and forth between a few series at the moment! I know it's a little disorganized. One of these days I'll find a better blog template to make it easy to find these, but since I'm writing for me (and not really polishing things up) I'm not too worried about it now!

This verse is personal to me this morning, so I'm not going to approach it academically in my "line by line" manner. A little introspection, a few more paragraphs, a few less headers. Enjoy!

Psalm 16:7

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

This morning: I woke determined to focus on one of my responsibilities.

I then remembered a second priority. Oh well! I can bounce between the two.

Oh dear - but I'm a BAD FRIEND! There are those two folks I wanted to catch up with. Nope, more. and more. and more.

I mentally checked my email, messages, computer files. Wow! I really need to take a week and just delete 90% of my files. Maybe then I'll be able to focus.

"Someone tell me what to start with," I thought. "Start with one thing...but what? What's the thing to do that WON'T exhaust me to the point I'll be useless for the rest of the day? What's productive but low-risk? Now I'm overthinking. Great job, Amber."

So I resolve to finish a task, to send an email. But, shocker, people don't revolve around my schedule and don't respond right away, and I get frustrated. Somehow "people don't like me" and "I'm a failure" works its way in there. Then it's downhill, to the point where I'm eating chips and Top Ramen for lunch and sleeping away the afternoon.

What do I need this morning? A pep talk? Caffeine? Advice? An app to organize my life?

These can be helpful tools. but they have never, ever brought me peace. Remember, this psalm is scattered with words like "secure", "safe", "not be shaken", "not be abandoned", "refuge". Coffee and motivational memes aren't permanent. We need counsel from an all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal source.

"I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me."

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

He counsels. He instructs. All the time. Even at night.

Night, when I'm running through my to-do list for the next day.

Night, when there is no light to reveal the path.

The LORD - Yahweh, the creator himself, counsels me through his very Spirit by speaking to my very heart with pure wisdom.

And that is where my help comes from. I lift up my eyes to the mountains to search for help, but where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121).

This is just another reason that "I will praise the LORD". If I can remember that today - and allow HIM to counsel and instruct me - I cannot go wrong. The #1 item on my to-do list, causing me the greatest anxiety, might not be his priority for me today.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Church People: Go to Church #3 - You Matter

2021-06-11T16:11:00.007-07:00

It's a fact: Most people go to churches that are simply too large to know every single member on a personal level. They are too large to know if, during the "turn and greet your neighbor" time, your neighbor's first visit is today or they have attended for 20 years.

Church sizes and their pros and cons are an entirely different discussion, so I won't get into that.

But I DO want to talk about why your participation in a local church matters - even if all you do is show up.

My Sundays are rough. Because of my sensitive ears and the worship music, I can't come to church early anymore to chat and sing. I miss out on announcements, the "meet and greet" time, and communion, because they play music during that. I also have to leave before the service ends because there's more music, then speakers broadcast music outside after the service. Oh, and it's physically exhausting because of my MS-y legs.

Photo by Taisiia Shestopal on Unsplash

I might wave and whisper to a few friends, but otherwise the only thing I "get" out of coming to church is part of a sermon - a sermon the church will put on YouTube the next day.

So you might wonder: why on earth would I still attend? If it's so difficult on every part of my body, and if I don't get anything out of it, what's the point?

Here's the point.

My absence is one less body in a gathering representing Christ's body.

I may not be serving, singing, or fellowshipping. I may not even be paying attention to the sermon or learning anything! I might not be "getting" anything and it might seem like I'm not "giving" anything.

But this group is one of many that represents a unified, universal church. Are we unified as we should be? Of course not. But the first step to being unified is to actually be in the same room as the people you're supposed to be unified with.

Your absence is one less voice singing praise to God in a multitude.

You are one less person who could have had an opportunity to bless someone, or to be blessed.

Even if, like me, we're just a butt in a pew, we matter.

DISCLAIMER:

I'm not saying everyone should be like me and go nuts insisting on going to church even when they have to crawl. I'm just saying your presence at church matters even if you think it doesn't.

Church People: Go to Church #2 - It's Habit-Forming

2021-06-06T11:56:00.008-07:00

I said earlier that traditional church is a "one-stop shop". In cruder terms, it's a way to "check the boxes" - serve, sing, learn, fellowship, pray, etc. Traditional church offers opportunity for these things. (Lest I sound legalistic, note that I am not a proponent of "Sunday Christians" who put on a show one day a week!)

Here's another reason I believe being part of a local church body is better than solely being part of the "universal church":

Church is habit-forming.

I'm too lazy to look up the newest statistics on "15 days of consistency makes a habit" (is it 12 days now? or 30?). But readers know what I mean.

You can't go through life doing things that are good for you only when you feel like it.

Daily devotions. An exercise plan. Diets.

Whatever your goal is, you need to get past the "I don't feel like it" thing if you want to succeed. That means turning it into a habit - and not just a habit, but a way of life. It becomes part of you.

If you've ever berated yourself in your Christian walk for not praying enough, not reading your Bible enough, not learning, etc....you have probably found, as I have, how difficult it is to keep up good spiritual habits.

And I believe one of the best spiritual habits is a weekly Sunday service. No, it's not the service itself: that hour simply gets your head in the game. You can be reminded of your spiritual responsibilities while remembering that because of Jesus, you have grace for neglecting them.

It's something about the discipline of being at a specific place at a specific time. I can procrastinate Bible reading and "devotions", but the church service won't wait for me.

This is Wiggle begging me to stay home. How can I resist?

Confession: I wish I could say the anticipation of being around God's people is always enough to pop me out of bed, but it's not. Sometimes it's sheer habit (or sheer coffee) that makes me gently lift my cat off my lap and get dressed on a Sunday morning.

And it is a habit that has benefited me whether I like church or not.

It still remains to be seen (blogged about) whether traditional church is inherently a good thing - but we'll get there.

I do want to give a voice to arguments about modern local churches versus the days of the early church. It's a huge topic that involves church activities, denominations, leadership, and where the money goes.

Someday those posts will come! Maybe.

Church People: Go to Church, #1 - Your Local Church Is A One-Stop Shop

2021-06-01T10:34:00.002-07:00

Emily Dickinson wrote:

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church (236)

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –

I keep it, staying at Home –

With a Bobolink for a Chorister –

And an Orchard, for a Dome –

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice –

I, just wear my Wings –

And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,

Our little Sexton – sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman –

And the sermon is never long,

So instead of getting to Heaven, at last –

I’m going, all along.

(For clarification, "keeping the Sabbath" used to primarily mean "going to church on Sunday", as evidenced by the rest of the poem.) It includes two of the things Christians do that I mentioned in my previous post: worship God through song and increase knowledge of God. I said before that our Christian duties can be kept either within or without traditional "church", and it seems Emily prefers without.

I don't think that's wrong, but I do not believe it's as beneficial as traditional church. That's right. I believe traditional church is better.

In this post, I'm not going to get into things like corruption, fraud, judgmental people, doctrinal disagreements, and all that. I promise I won't ignore these things! But for now I'm staying on relatively neutral territory.

So here we go.

Your Local Church Is a One-Stop Shop.

If you're a Christian, you don't need me to tell you that you should be giving and serving and fellowshipping and learning and all that.

And traditional church is designed to provide ALL of those opportunities in one community.

Photo by Peter Bond on Unsplash

I'm not saying you're bound to do everything within that community. We call that a cult. You could attend the church and a Bible study, tutor at the local school, and give to a homeless shelter.

It's simply more convenient to do these things within a church community, and even more so if you have children. (Note that I said more convenient, not easier!)

And that's it. What have your experiences been with churches that offer - or don't offer - opportunities for Christians to follow Christ? For reference, here is the list I gave in my previous post. Add as you will, because this list is off the top of my head and incomplete.

Giving
Serving
Singing
Praying
Reading, memorizing, learning, and studying God's Word
Meeting together

Church People: You Can Follow Jesus Without Your Local Church...

2021-05-30T13:38:00.003-07:00

I've tried SO HARD to qualify my last two posts with disclaimers that we must still follow Jesus' commands even though salvation does not depend on it, but I'm still getting corrected with Bible verses.

Keep in mind that at the moment, I'm not writing to the people who looooove church. I'm writing to Christians who have left the local church or are about to leave. If you are in love with your local church, great! For most of my life, Sunday has been the best day of the week!

And let me tell you, the most unhelpful thing you can say to someone struggling with Sunday is "but you should be meeting together." That's what a rule-follower says. What you DO is have compassion, because that's what Jesus does. He meets people where they are, in every stage of life, then loves them to a place where they want to follow him.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

I fully expect to get slaughtered in this post, so I'll try to be very clear:

Every Christian is part of the "universal church" (the body of believers all over the world).
As a son or daughter of God, every Christian has agreed to follow Jesus in his or her daily life.
Certain responsibilities come with this "membership" in the universal church and this daily commitment to follow Christ.

Some of these responsibilities include, in no particular order:

Giving
Serving
Singing
Praying
Reading, memorizing, learning, and studying God's Word
MEETING TOGETHER WITH OTHER BELIEVERS (Hebrews 10:25)

(Since this is a blog post, not yet a book, I haven't looked up references to these. That's sloppy of me, but if you want proof, comment and I'll find those passages in the Bible.)

All of these things can be done with a particular local body of believers, on Sundays, at 10:00 am. You can give to the church general fund, serve in children's ministry, sing during "worship time" and say "amen" after the pastor prays on stage, listen to a sermon to learn God's Word, and, of course, sit on hard chairs next to other believers.

ALSO, all of these things can be done without a particular local body of believers.

You can donate to local charities or friends in need, serve at Union Gospel Mission, sing along to Christian radio, pray in the shower, listen to sermons online, and join a Christian Facebook group.

I hate to stop here, because I believe in most cases (even when you don't like church!) it is more beneficial to you AND to others to do the local church participation thing.

I have a lot of reasons and disclaimers and stories to tell but that will come in future posts. I'm basically going to make every single reader disagree with me, but I've been in both the roses and the manure and I feel like I can talk about it with a some experience! So stay tuned...again...

Church People: ...BUT Jesus Is Lord

2021-05-27T20:34:00.001-07:00

I said in my most recent post (You Can Be Saved Without Your Local Church) that church services aren't necessary for salvation. I did my best to emphasize that I wasn't telling the whole story. I suspect half of my readers were saying "that's right" and the other one said "you'd better tell the other side of the story before I tell your pastor on you".

Well, fellow people-who-make-sure-other-people-follow-the-rules (I'm one of you), here's the other side of the story.

As a recap, here are Paul's "How to Be Saved" instructions according to Romans 10:9:

1. Declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord".

2. Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

I said before that salvation doesn't depend on what good things we do, and it doesn't.

But there's a phrase in there we just can't ignore: "Declare...Jesus is Lord."

This is inconvenient, because it can't be fulfilled by singings songs that have the line "Jesus you're my Lord" in them, or inserting the phrase "Lord Jesus" into a prayer. According to the verse, it's coupled with belief. You say that Jesus is your Lord, and you believe he is your Lord.

So what does "Lord" mean?

It means "boss". Jesus is my boss. I am letting Jesus be in charge of me and tell me what to do.

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash

So even though salvation doesn't depend on my obedience to my Lord-boss, I must declare--and truly intend in my heart--to do what he commands.

(Yes, fellow rule-followers, there is the "by their fruit you will know them" verse--this is related and worth discussion, but we're keeping this simple for now, okay?)

IF I declare Jesus as Lord and truly intend to obey him as boss, it stands to reason that I will follow through with my promise to the best of my ability.

Obedience isn't a requirement to salvation. It's a response.

Here's where I say, GOTCHA! Now you have to attend church as a measure of obedience!

Kidding! Before I go there--if I get there--we'll have to look at some other arguments, like what "meeting together" must mean or must not mean. For example, must it happen in a church building? Or maybe it is just a good habit to meet together in a church building? Or maybe it's just an archaic tradition passed down from our Roman Catholic roots to meet in church buildings instead of homes?

(It certainly wouldn't have been as memorable if Martin Luther had nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a small home gathering now, would it? *snort* Sorry, homeschooled Christian nerd joke over.)

So if you're still doubtful about the local church, rest assured that I still haven't said a whole lot.

I haven't talked about whether or not the local church is useful or even good. I've only said that

1. Salvation does not depend on the good things we do or the bad things we do not do, and

2. We do good things or abstain from wrong things as a response to being saved.

I hope so far we're on the same webpage. If we don't start with what Jesus did, all discussion about what WE do--meeting together and legalism and church leaders and doctrine--is pointless.

If you thought my "You can be saved without the local church" post ruffled a few feathers, just wait for my next post! I'm going to have some real explaining to do to my fellow rule-followers...

Church People: You Can Be Saved Without Your Local Church...

2021-05-26T11:21:00.006-07:00

I could write--okay, I AM writing--a book about basically why bother go to church at all since church people suck, and what is the purpose of the local church.

This topic is so freaking huge that these posts will be bite-sized. Maybe the size of half grapes you feed toddlers so they don't choke. It's funny how writers have brevity and concision pounded into them, yet feel compelled to write novel-length blog posts.

So, here's the first half of the first grape.

You Can Be Saved Without Your (Local) Church...

I can't think of one friend who hasn't been hurt by the local church. Every single person I know, believer or not, has had at least one bad experience with a Christian in their community, whether someone in their household, or former friend, or a church member or leader.

If this is true--if everyone has had at least one unpleasant experience with the local church, why voluntarily participate in a gathering that is guaranteed at some point to bring further unpleasantness?

Spoiler: I am pro local church, and I have reasons to believe Christians should attend local church services. I'll share those in the future.

But today I want to validate the argument, "I can be a Christian without going to church."

If you have said this, you are right.

I don't believe it is an adequate argument in itself, but as a standalone statement, it is technically and doctrinally true, and I want to validate that biblically.

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash

Here are two times REAL biblical characters explained the requirements for salvation. Same concept, different words:

1. Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus at night (so the other religious leaders wouldn't find out) and asked him to clarify some things. Jesus talked about people being "born again" and "God giving up his son" to "save the world through him", which of course made very little sense at the time since it hadn't happened yet. Probably the best-known verses of this story are these:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17, emphasis mine)

2. Paul preached the gospel to another group of religious people, where he also used the terms "saved" and "believe": "...My heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1). His "How to Be Saved" message was this: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (vs. 9).

You may notice--possibly with triumph--that these passages say NOTHING about attending church services.

In fact, for a really long book all about God (that surprisingly, most Christians haven't even read), you'd think there would be more things to do to be saved. Pray, read the Bible, and go to Bible study. Or, there's the list of things we're not supposed to do: Don't get drunk. Don't give up meeting together. Don't have sex before you're married. Do all that, and believe, and then you can be saved, right? But that's not at all what the Bible actually says.

The only point of this post is to emphasize that our SALVATION does not depend on abstaining from sin or doing any good things, including church (if that is good). No work required on our part FOR SALVATION. The work for salvation on God's part and has been finished.

Have I said "salvation" enough? That's because I'm afraid I'm going to get Christians saying "BuT wHAT ABOUt sANCtIfiCatioN amBeR????". Don't worry firstborns, I won't let believers use my words as an excuse to fornicate.

There's no "But" in this post, hence the ellipses at the end of the post title.

The "But" is coming.

Church People: Back to Church

2021-05-23T12:16:00.001-07:00

Many of my friends know I have big feelings about Jesus' church--so big that I've been working on a book about church people, brilliantly titled "Church People," for the last three years. (Okay, I took a hiatus in 2020 when I pretty much questioned my entire belief system, but I'm back.)

Instead of opening my writing software and staring at hundreds of pages of book while my eyes glaze over until I hit "x" and play Minecraft, I'm channeling my thoughts into blog posts until I'm ready to take on the project again. I have too many other "projects" going on. But I must write!

Last Week

I posted this on Facebook last week:

Attended church service today for the first time in over a year. It was rewarding, exhausting, annoying, and encouraging. I saw people I have come to see differently over the last year and people who have come to see me differently, and have struggled to reconcile their actions and words with the Jesus they say they follow. I saw people I have wronged and people who have wronged me, and people I don't like very much and people who don't like me very much.
I cried inside my mask with joy and hugged a friend till I thought I would break her, while grieving that others didn't seem to recognize me in a mask. I thought, "I can't wait to come back next week!" and "it was sure nice staying home for a year. Let's do that again."
Church is messy because I am messy and people are messy. It's a really good thing it's not about the service, preaching, music, or about whether I like the people or they like me, or I feel comfortable or fed. It's a movement of God's people who happen to live locally and have decided to gather weekly to solidify the "together even if we don't like each other" thing before we leave the building and live the real reason we're on earth: to glorify God to the world.
Inside the church, outside the church--it is not about me.

That's what I posted after service. If it's not complainy, maybe it sounds real or raw? Perhaps even super spiritual?

But here's what I confided to my husband just before the service.

"I don't know if I want to come back. I didn't know if I wanted to stay here even before Covid. I felt unheard. Plus, MS took away all the ministries that brought me so much joy. And I have said so many stupid things and displayed so much immaturity and ego. I just want to start over where no one knows me and try again."

Now THAT'S super spiritual, right? If I knew how to do emojis on this platform I would do an eye roll and a laughing face with tears coming down.

Photo by John Price on Unsplash

This Week

I "tackled" church again today with a better plan. This time, we wouldn't forget my walker. This time, we would be careful to avoid the music time because of my snowflake nervous system that interprets sound as OMG PAIN FREAKOUT. I would remember that, according to my own declaration from the week before, we gathered because of Jesus and not because of, you know, me.

It WAS better, yes! I had pain, but it was better. I was both discouraged and encouraged. I saw folks I wanted to chase down, and other folks chased ME down! I wanted to write a book on the sermon.

And you know what? Even if it wasn't better, it isn't about my experience.

Possibly Tomorrow If I Feel Like It

This post is already getting long, so I'll sign off for now.

Fair warning: I wrote an outline for a post about why I go to church even though there seem to be a lot of reasons not to. I expect arguments. Please don't disappoint me.

Psalm 16:6 - Say It Again

2021-05-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

(Read this post to see why I'm studying this particular passage in this particular way. Scroll down down down to see the entire passage.)

We already looked at verse 5, but I'll repeat it here because verse 6 requires the context of 5.

Psalm 16:5-6

(vs. 5) LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

(vs. 6) The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

If you read my post on Psalm 16:5, you'll notice the theme repeats a lot - which means there is overlap in my notes. I'll try not to repeat things, but instead point out where they are repeated. When lines in the Bible are repeated - either the same concept in different words or word-for-word, it always means, "This is REALLY important" or "This is the whole crux of the psalm, the part that ties it all together." You'll often see this this in the middle of a psalm (especially in a "chiasm" format), as many psalms are waves of emotion. They start out one place, go to another, and end up in another. So it is with this one.

Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash

"The boundary lines"

Sometimes this word is interpreted in the same way we use it for kids. We set up boundaries for them to keep them safe. For example, we set up a fence around the yard and warn them to stay within that area.

One interpretation of this term, in this verse, could be the same for us, because it is certainly true. God has set up boundaries for our safety - and this interpretation is consistent with the rest of the passage, which emphasizes the security and safety God provides for us.

There's another interpretation consistent with the rest of the passage too, and it has to do with land. "Land" was already mentioned in verse 3 (the holy people who are in the land) and verse 5 (my lot). Since verse 6 is basically a restatement of verse 5, I think it is fair to say that "boundary" can be interpreted as "my lot".

Boundaries/lots that God gave his people have historically been another sign of security. When the Israelites finally took over (part) of the Promised Land according to God's direction, he instructed Moses with specific boundaries for each of the tribes for them to settle in. Boundary lines indicate God fulfilling a promise. They indicate settling down, instead of camping and moving constantly and not having a home in the wilderness. They indicate security, a place where one can build an army, train soldiers, build walls against enemies. They indicate the end of a long journey, a final place to rest.

In this verse, he gives us the same things: fulfills a promise, gives us a place and a home, lets us settle down (see Psalm 23, "he makes me lie down in green pastures"), keeps us safe (see verse 1) and gives us a place to finally rest.

Remember that David wrote this psalm. I don't know if he wrote it in a time of peace or not. But he was fully aware that God's gift of land to the Israelites, carefully apportioned as each tribe required, was all these things.

One more thing - remember that the psalms point to Jesus. So where is Jesus in this verse? I would say he's in the rest of the passage, and there are key concepts that reiterate the idea that Jesus is given "land." Let me explain.

On earth, the Son of man had "no place to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). Like the Israelites wandering, he went from place to place, never having the security of a home. But there are two verses in this passage that speak of Jesus' future residence with God: Verse 9 - "My body also will rest secure", and verse 11, "You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand". If we plug Jesus into this verse - as if the pre-incarnate Jesus was giving prophecy to David, then Jesus must have been talking about God's promise of fulfillment for his own security. I may be way off but this is how the truth makes sense for me: I pray it, David prays it, and Jesus prays it.

"have"

Not too much to say about this word, except note the present tense. David and I do not have the true security of boundary lines yet (see the word "inheritance" at the end of this verse). The only thing I can think of is that, in a way, what God has promised is ours even now. We may not be there yet, but it is already ours - kind of when you're on a road trip. You own your house now, but you aren't there yet.

"fallen"

The whole phrase is "the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places." Being an English major, I notice when the Bible uses a passive voice. Up until now, he was saying, "Lord, this is something you do for me." But in this verse he does not directly mention God. He does not say, "You have put the boundary lines in place." He words it as if the boundary lines simply fell from the sky. I find this interesting because in the next line, he will do the same thing when he says "Surely I have a delightful inheritance" instead of "Surely you give me a delightful inheritance." I don't know the significance, but it is an aberration from the way the rest of the psalm is worded, and I notice it - especially since it is the crux of the whole passage.

"for me"

He didn't have to say this; he could have just said "the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places." But this emphasizes us and ours.

"in pleasant"

Another form of this word occurs in the last verse: "with eternal pleasures at your right hand." I love the pairing of "pleasant places" with "delightful inheritance." God is good.

"places"

There's that land again. A place of residence and permanence, and a "pleasant" one, no less.

"Surely"

Security/safety theme repeated here.

Photo by Everaldo Coelho on Unsplash

"I have"

Repetition of two things: 1 - the present tense. He said "have" in the previous line.

2 - A passive way of stating it, as in the previous line. Instead of saying, "You have given me a delightful inheritance," he says "I have a delightful inheritance," as if it fell from the sky. Again - I don't know the significance, but it is different from the rest of the verses, so it's interesting.

"a delightful"

I just love that word. Delight, pleasure - it is ours, it is David's, and it is the place where Jesus lives and delights in the Father.

"inheritance"

The funny thing about an inheritance is that it is typically claimed after someone gives up the ghost. But remember the story of the prodigal son? He claimed his inheritance BEFORE his father died. It was extremely disrespectful and selfish, and, it turns out, unwise. Yet the inheritance was technically his even before he claimed it, just as the older brother's portion of the inheritance was his own. The promise of something from God is just as good as if it is already ours.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:5 - My favorite verse EVER

2021-03-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

(Read this post to see why I'm studying this particular passage in this particular way. Scroll down down down to see the entire passage.)

Psalm 16:5

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

My favorite

When I "discovered" this psalm, I was in an emotionally dark period of my life. A friend had hurt me deeply and I made the decision not to tell anyone about it in the interest of protecting the person's reputation. It was just me and God. My anger and grief were long-term and I didn't know if I would mentally survive with my character intact.

This verse - verse 5 - was the one that "spoke to me," as we like to say. I memorized it as "my verse" for that season, and only later did I discover layers of meaning in connection with the rest of the psalm - and indeed, the story of Jesus.

Here we go!

"LORD"

As a reminder, the previous verse ended with the psalmist's resolution to "not take up the names of other gods". As the very next word in the passage is God's personal name - LORD (representing the Hebrew term, YHWH) shows the contrast: the psalmist will not take up the name of other gods on his lips, but only the name of the LORD.

"you alone"

I believe this is also said in contrast with the previous verse. The word "alone" speaks to God's oneness and "only-ness." See the first of the Ten Commandments, "You shall have no other gods before me" in Exodus 20:3, and also Deuteronomy 6:4 - "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one."

"are"

Tenses change in this passage. There are some present tense, like "I take refuge", "I keep", "you make", "my heart is glad", "my heart instructs me", and others. I feel like this is something to be noticed, because about half of the psalm also references what will happen. Maybe it's not significant, but this is the direction of the psalm: God preserves me now, and God will preserve me in the future.

"my portion and my cup"

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

(Warning: I'm going to talk a lot about this phrase.)

This verse meant so much to me when I first read it. On one level, it's saying, "You are my everything. You are my food and drink; I need you to survive; just like you are the bread of life, and I need you to if I am to live."

But the more I study it, the more layers I discover, and I get so excited.

First of all, remember again the previous verse - "I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips." I believe "my cup" contrasts to the previously mentioned cup (of blood) and "my portion" refers to food. But the metaphor goes much deeper.

Hundreds of years after David penned these words on a scroll, Jesus would literally give portions of a single loaf of bread to his disciples. He would say, "This is my body." And they would eat, with their lips and mouths (body parts - and what actions they take - will be frequently mentioned in the rest of this passage).

I feel there is no way this verse CAN'T be interpreted as a prophecy. David may have meant it as a contrast to the previous verse, or in a "you are my everything" kind of way. But he could not to know that Jesus would literally give his followers portions of bread and a cup of wine. He could have said, "You are my food and drink." This is one of those reasons I believe the authors of the Bible were inspired by God.

Also note - the psalmist does not say "LORD, you alone give me my portion and my cup"; he says, "you ARE" my portion and my cup. In the same way, Jesus' called the "portion and cup" his own body. Jesus, you ARE my portion and my cup - your very being is ingested in me as food. (Yes, I realize this is a really weird concept and I could explore it more, but that's a rabbit hole.)

I also want to mention the Trinity here. It is a doctrine that God is "three in one" - the Father (LORD), the son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. There's no good analogy for the Trinity; we say things like "it's like an egg, which has three parts but is one whole" or "it's like a man who holds the roles of father, son, and brother, yet is one man."

But this verse addresses the LORD, and later the words come literally true in Jesus. It's almost like they are the same person, but looking totally different. It's almost like the portion and cup that is the LORD mentioned here later becomes incarnate, corporeal, as the portion and cup that is Jesus. The unexplainable mystery of the Trinity isn't outright explained in the Bible, but there are many connections like this that make me say, "Huh. I can't explain how they can be the same person, but it seems to be the case."

"you make"

There's that present tense again. "You make," not "you will make." This is a mystery to me too, because a "secure lot" is definitely not ours on earth. Also, the next verse has a present tense, "I have" and is followed by a thing we have not experienced yet - "a delightful inheritance." We do not experience true delight on earth, nor do we experience a "secure lot." Yet in a sense, we already possess it.

"my lot"

Federico Respini on Unsplash

I may be incorrect, but I interpret "my lot" not as "my lot in life" but as "my piece of land" (figuratively). The whole Old Testament is about God's people journeying toward a secure land and fighting for it. And when they rebel, they are expelled, just as Adam and Eve were expelled from the land of the Garden. Not having a home - not having a "lot" - traveling in tents as the Israelites did as they journeyed - this is the ultimate insecurity. They never, ever had true security - and neither do we.

David certainly did not have a secure lot. He was promised a kingship, but was constantly chased away from it. So why would he say, "You make my lot secure"?

In context with the rest of the passage, this is another present tense referring to the future. The next verse repeats this idea, except with the word "inheritance" - which is both something we possess now in a promise, and something we will possess in the future in God's very presence.

"secure"

This word appears a few times, and relates back to the very first line in the verse - "Keep me safe, my God." The psalmist asks God for security; then he declares that God gives him security; then he declares that he will also have future security.

We may interpret the theme of security as "David had literal enemies who were trying to kill him and he prayed for safety, and we have our own enemies in life that we must pray for safety from."

But again, context: so far, many of these verses seem to be referencing a future security, and the next verse talks about inheritance. This goes much deeper than the day-to-day struggles we face. This is about eternal security, which will wipe EVERY tear - in fact, at that point these struggles will seem miniscule and we will wonder why we felt they were such a big deal when we had such promises from God.

Note

Okay, I've decided I do have to talk about Jesus/God as internally ingested food and drink.

Old Testament animal sacrifices represented an imperfect substitution that mollified God's anger at sin. Certain parts of those sacrifices were given to the priests for their food (portion!) since they did not have land (lots!) within the tribes. These sacrifices literally gave them life; literally became part of their very bodies.

However, they were never allowed to consume the blood, but were instructed to pour it on the ground (flashback to the previous verse - "I will not pour out libations of blood [to other gods]"). Animals temporarily paid penalties with their lifeblood on the ground, and gave temporary life to God's servants through the eating of the flesh.

But later, the disciples would be commanded to drink "Jesus' blood" which would give them life - and at the same time, Jesus' blood would literally be poured out on the ground as a representation of the ultimate, final sacrifice. Jesus paid the permanent penalty with his lifeblood on the ground AND gave life. And lived himself, which is why the resurrection is so significant!

In an effort to help kids understand salvation, we say that "Jesus comes into our hearts." But it is not Jesus; it is the Holy Spirit who spiritually enters our beings and transforms us into new people.

And so the entire Trinity is present in this single verse. (Later in this passage, the role of the Holy Spirit will be mentioned again, though not by name.)

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:4 - Confession Time

2021-03-10T12:10:00.006-08:00

(Read this post to see why I'm studying this particular passage in this particular way. Scroll down down down to see the entire passage.)

Psalm 16:4

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

This verse is BIG

This negative-sounding verse is pivotal to the whole passage. Nearly every single word or phrase contrasts with a positive reference elsewhere in the psalm. It's quite deliberate and fascinating, and I'm not even a big fan of poetry!

"Those who..."

The previous verse talked about the a group of spiritually mature people dedicated to God; the "saints" or "holy" people. This verse? Exact opposite.

"run after other gods"

In verse 1, I noted that the psalmist declares he runs to God for refuge. Note that this opposite group runs to gods, not God. Same action; opposite direction.

"other gods"

It's worth clarifying here what "other gods" means in Scripture. The Israelites were often tempted to literally adopt fake gods from other cultures - statues of idols they thought would bring them good luck, superstitions they followed because they didn't trust God fully, blood sacrifices and worship and prayer to nature and visiting temples dedicated to made-up deities or demonic entities.

We tend to ascribe these beliefs to undeveloped people groups, some of whom follow these ways. I have seen them firsthand. I have seen Christians in these people groups who mix God with fake gods the same way the Israelites did.

But we "modern, educated" people with internet access have gods too. Biblically, a "god" is anything that has priority over the real God. That includes unbelievers (who do not follow the real God at all) and believers who choose to prioritize anything over God.

These are some idols I've put over God. They are just as concrete as the physical idols Israelites carried into their homes, and burned, and brought back.

Showing other people that they are wrong
Anger
Pursuit of pleasure over better things
Self-righteousness
Desire for children
Desire for health
Love of money

Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash

Don't defend me. I know my heart. Some of these things have their place, but none are appropriate over God. Wanting children is not bad. Wanting health is not bad. Wanting these things over God is idolatry.

Sometimes I am in the Verse 3 group, the "saints," the noble ones.

Sometimes I am in the Verse 4 group, "those who run after other gods".

While God sees me as a permanent saint because Jesus has paid for my sin, I still do sinful things.

"...will suffer more and more."

When we say "Jesus paid for my sin," we mean he paid the ultimate death-price - the hell price. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23): that's talking about eternal death. When you're no longer destined for that punishment, you're destined for eternal life instead.

BUT these gods I put before God - I still have consequences on earth for running after them.

David wrote this psalm. He got his loyal soldier's wife pregnant and had him secretly killed so he could take her as his wife. Did God forgive him? Of course. Did God let him off the hook for what he did? No. His actions had severe, terrible consequences; yet he was called a man after God's own heart.

He ran after God. And he ran after other gods.

This phrase is a warning. And according to the story of the Israelites - who suffered more and more every time they adopted other gods - this is the truth.

"I will not..."

My confession above deviated from the psalmist's point, but I was just explaining the context. I want both believers and unbelievers to know that in context of the whole biblical narrative, these two verses do not give believers permission to be self-righteous or put themselves above unbelievers.

Back to the actual text, then...

Verse 1 started out with a declaration of something the psalmist does in obedience to God: "In you I take refuge." Now, this stanza ends with another declaration of obedience: "I will not [pour out libations of blood to such gods...]".

AGAIN, considering we JUST talked about how believers still sin, we know this declaration is not a promise. How can it be? Paul said, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out...For in my inner being I delight in God's law..." (Romans 7:15-24).

We can't make promises to God; that's ridiculous. HE is the only promise-keeper. Our promises are "pie crust promises; easily made, easily broken" in the words of Mary Poppins. So why does the psalmist make them?

I think the benefit of these declarations are resolutions to ourselves. Self-talk isn't a modern concept. David often speaks to his own soul. I have said this to children sometimes, and to myself: "You can decide now how you will respond to this situation. You may not be able to choose how you feel, but you can choose how you respond."

Of course, resolutions don't always work; mine usually last from January 1 to January 15. But it's still good to have goals to work toward, and the best goals are those resolving to follow God.

Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash

"...pour out libations of blood to such gods..."

The pouring out of blood is another concept foreign to us; repeated blood sacrifice was the only way gods could be appeased - even the holy God, which can be hard for us to fathom (how can a loving God say animals should be killed? That's another topic...). But this is why it's even more unfathomable that Jesus poured out his own libation of blood to God to appease him, which is why we call it the ultimate sacrifice. This concept is so very rich, but I don't even know enough about it to write the book it deserves. Best to just read the Bible a few times =)

"...or take up their names on my lips."

Names are also very significant in the Bible - and, I might add again, in many of the same cultures we consider "less developed" with much of the same culture as the Bible. The significant part of this line is the very word "name."

Verse 2 said, "I say to the LORD..." We talked about how "LORD" in all capital letters is a reference to his personal name. LORD is also the first word in the next verse (nice transition). After that, his personal name is mentioned two more times in this short psalm, for a total of four times.

So, another contrast: "I will not take up [the names of other gods] on my lips" but I will take up the name of the LORD on my lips. A lot.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:3 - Oh When the Saints

2021-03-06T16:31:00.004-08:00

(Read this post to see why I'm studying this particular passage in this particular way. Scroll down down down to see the entire passage.)

Psalm 16:3

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

I say

Verse 2 also started with "I say". It was "I say to"; this one is "I say of" (or about). It's always cool to notice these elements of Hebrew poetry, since we don't have English cadence or rhyme or alliteration to add to the experience.

of the holy people

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

This is also commonly translated "saints," though I suspect the translators chose "holy people" to make it clear that the passage is not talking about the venerated saints honored by Roman Catholics. Biblically, every believe is a saint--that is, a holy person--not because we did any outstanding work or because we deserve the title on our own merit, but because Jesus has claimed us as holy.

Note also the word people. This was many years before the word "church" would be used to refer to all believers, but "God's holy people" is used throughout the Old and New Testaments; originally to refer to the Jews, and later to refer to all believers. This verse is NOT just talking about individuals. It is talking about what Ephesians refers to as a body working together as one unit, made up of many parts.

Be prepared: the next verse is a direct contrast to the holy people.

who are in the land,

Photo by Yuriy Bogdanov on Unsplash

Remember how I said the Psalms - or at least some of the Psalms - could apply to David, or to us, or even seem to be the words of Jesus himself, who wasn't even born as a baby yet? You'll see more evidence of this later, but because the word "land" is SO full of meaning in the Bible, I have to explore this concept. I'm skipping a lot because this isn't a textbook but off the top of my head...

Creation: Genesis 1:28-30 - Land, fully prepared with all things necessary for life and beauty, is a gift from God.

The Promised Land: Exodus 3:8 - A promise to bring God's people out of the land of oppression into the land of blessing.

New Earth: Revelation 21; When you read Revelation (the last book of the Bible), you'll see that it is first an undoing of the marred Genesis creation.

All this to say - "the holy people in the land" - this could be the church today. This could be specific members of the church who God finds especial delight in. Maybe David is referring to the priests. I don't exactly what this means but I can think of a few ideas, all truth.

they are the noble ones

I had to look this one up because "noble" doesn't seem at all a synonym with "holy." One commentary suggests that the word was used to describe leaders. Great people, like nobles (surprise surprise.) I find this explanation plausible, and I don't think he's talking about political or social leaders. I think he's talking about spiritual leaders, repeating the idea that the "holy people" are the noble ones.

in whom is all my delight."

Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova on Unsplash

The same commentary I linked to above suggests that this verse is a continuation of the whole theme of the chapter; it's all about the psalmist's connection to God (and I can't drive this point home clear enough; it's not just about MY connection to God; it's about the church, and this could easily be Jesus' prayer to his father in heaven while on earth!)

I take delight in my fellow believers; God the father takes delight in us; Jesus delights in his church. This is to be a joyful relationship.

NOTE: While I love reading commentaries, I try to just read the Bible for what it is. Humans writing about the Bible can never be quite as right as the Bible itself.

But sometimes it's helpful to get ideas from people who have broken it down. It's also totally fine to just say "eh, I don't get it" and maybe the next time I read it I'll understand it better.

On a personal note: "What would Jesus do" is a hard question to answer. But when you watch a friend do what Jesus would do in a situation, you go, "Aha! Now I believe THAT'S how Jesus would handle that." And then you learn something.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Psalm 16:2 - No Good Thing Without God

2021-03-03T12:13:00.003-08:00

(Read this post to see why I'm studying this particular passage in this particular way. Scroll down down down to see the entire passage.)

Psalm 16:2

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

I say to the LORD,

The more I think about it, the more interesting this phrase is. Why does the psalmist have to announce that he's talking to God? He established that in verse 1 with, "Keep me safe, my God".

Nor does "I say to the LORD" seem necessary to the phrase that follows: "You are my Lord." We're reading the Psalms, David. When you say "You are my Lord," there's no need to break the fourth wall and remind readers you're praying.

No; "I say to the LORD" holds a different purpose than clarification, and two elements stand out to me.

1 - "I say" highlights what is going to be said next. When you're telling a story and you get to the part where you said something very clever, you might build up to it like this: "And do you know what I said? Here's what I said. I said..."

You'll see this throughout the Bible. Jesus will be talking to his disciples and he'll say, "I say to you..." Well, yes, Jesus. We know you're talking. We know who you're talking to. But it's an expression with a purpose: to emphasize whatever follows.

2 - "the LORD" is a special term. Once you've been reading the Bible for a while, you'll notice that it calls God both "LORD and "Lord". "LORD" is a reference to the personal name of God, YHWH. Here's a quick non-scholarly attempt to explain.

In my opinion, we can simply appreciate that in verse 1 the psalmist appealed to God's deity - his power and ability - to keep him safe, by using the term "God." In this verse, the psalmist uses God's personal name to express the person God is and what he does.

"You are my Lord;

As opposed to LORD, lowercase "Lord" is the same word slaves used to address their masters, students used to address their teachers, and anyone in a low position used to address someone in a higher position. I tell kids that "Lord" means "boss" or "in charge" - the one you obey. But it's more than that. It's the one with power to bestow both blessing and curse.

Photo by Alejandro Hollander on Unsplash

apart from you I have no good thing."

Other places in the Bible phrase this a little more positively, like "Every good and perfect gift comes from above". So I find this double negative interesting. Apart from God? No good thing? (The reason for the negative phrasing becomes more apparent in the next verse.)

I can think of many unbelievers who would disagree with this verse. "I have no desire to be near God, yet I have experienced many good things in life. I'm a positive person. I have no major complaints!"

I would respond that according to Christianity, that is not true joy. It's as C.S. Lewis said - we are "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." (And again, C.S. Lewis was an atheist who set out to prove Christianity logically false but became convinced of its truth instead. I realize his journey may not convince everyone, but he was certainly not a stupid man.)

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,

for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

"They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Psalm 16:1 - God Offers Shelter. I Run to Him.

2021-03-01T14:44:00.008-08:00

Today

Today I approached my Bible this way:

"God, every time I read this thing, I come away with a message that brings my mind to something higher than myself. Given the humanity of my understanding (and my inability to focus!) I know this is a gift in itself. But I could really use something personally encouraging today. If not that's fine."

I do the "Bible in a year" thing. Not because it's necessarily the best way to go, but because a visible "you should be here" schedule is the best way to keep me on track. So I went to where I was (behind) on the schedule and started reading...

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

To you, it may sound like a similar prayer that occurs in many other Psalms. But I realized immediately that this was my very favorite Psalm that I had memorized three years ago. If I wanted a personally meaningful Bible passage, there was really no single passage in 1,189 chapters that had ever been more dear to me for such a long period of my life.

Well, thanks God!

Word Study: The Amber Version

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash

I've dived into this passage on a word level before and found it rewarding. And today I did again - just with the first verse - and felt I wanted to share it again. Not because I think anyone will be particularly interested. I'd probably skip this post if I came across it. But I digest information best when I tell others.

A true biblical word study involves looking up the Greek or Hebrew term for a word and finding other occasions where it was used throughout the Bible. This is one way to help us learn the way the word was intended to be interpreted. It's not just for academics. Cross-referencing words can help us understand Scripture better.

Amber's version of a word study is that of a Bible college dropout who never made it to the biblical language classes and became an English major instead. But Amber thinks studying English word translations can also add meaning to the text.

So, disclaimer: Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are based on thousands of ancient fragments and scrolls which are virtually identical. They were copied faithfully by scribes over centuries, and we keep finding more and more archeological evidence that they were protected and unchanged. That's why Hebrew and Greek word studies work so well.

But English is a changing language, which is part of the reason we have different translations. So Amber's word study will trust a scholar's English translation of the Hebrew or Greek word or idea. Some may disagree with this because scholars have small differences in the way they translate (which is another reason we have different versions). So let's just remember that no English version (or German version, or Spanish version) is as accurate as the manuscripts in original Hebrew or Greek.

Psalm 16:1 - An Amber Word Study

Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

Keep - Two things. 1. There's no prelude. No "Hey God, I was wondering if you would please...." "You don't have to, but..." Psalms sometimes seem flowery if you read them quickly, but we waste a lot of words in prayers. 2. "Keep" is a word of permanence. This is not a place where I will be released when danger has passed, only to be exposed again. This is ultimate peace.

me - We must always be careful when studying the Psalms. David wrote them; we did not. Many of them are clear prophecy of things Jesus would say in the future. In context, the Bible is about God's people, Jesus' church, not about me the individual. So when I read "me," I must consider what David would mean praying this, what Jesus would mean, and what it would mean for all of God's people; not just me, me, me.

safe - What a rich word. David had literal enemies with swords and chariots trying to kill him. What else was he in danger from? The consequences of his own sin; the cowardice he showed by not going to battle when the kings went to war; taking another man's wife, and having her husband murdered. His position and reputation were in danger from his own son who publicly had sex with David's concubines. Suddenly this word means much more than "please keep people from murdering me."

Also, in conjunction with the permanence of "keep," it points to heaven. After all, where else will we be permanently kept safe?

my - a dear word boldly claiming a relationship. This was a unique example of what was to come; the personal friendship God would have with us through Jesus in the future. At the time David wrote this, prophets and priests were the usual ways to connect with God. This boldness matches the boldness of the first request, "Keep me safe."

God - Various terms for God are used to show various aspects of his personality and role. This term is used to refer to his deity; you'll see in a few verses that this term is used in contrast to "other gods".

for - nerdy transitional word. Keep me safe, my God - why? For.....

in you - a phrase of humility and need. Compare to the first word, the plea which sounded almost demanding.

I take refuge - While there is academic debate about whether God chooses us or we choose him - and I don't know the answer - in this particular phrase there is movement on behalf of the psalmist toward God. It almost sounds like a deal! "You do this thing for me, because I'm doing this other thing." But I think it's more of a plea, the claiming of a promise that the psalmist has experienced many times before.

Photo by Loan on Unsplash

(In case you can't see it, there are two chicks peeking out from under this mother hen who is hiding them! Jesus said he was like a mother hen. See Matthew 23:37)

When God Doesn't Use Gifts

2021-02-26T11:48:00.005-08:00

[Insert the whole "I struggled with whether to post this" paragraph here! 😆 Photos from Unsplash]

What wonderful predictions adults gave me as a child, teen, and young adult!

I would be successful. I could do whatever I wanted. How well I loved the children I cared for, and what a wonderful mother I would be! How blessed were those around me by my friendship and my generosity. The way I wrote, expressed myself, my academic smarts - and it was always emphasized that I was loved not for my traits, but just for me.

The encouragement of my awesomeness fueled such dreams in me!

Even as my path shifted - I didn't marry a man in ministry as I thought I would (it's okay - after ten years I can honestly say I wouldn't want to have married anyone else! 😉) and I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years into marriage, I bulldozed my dreams forward.

Here's what I'm learning about spiritual gifts.

I believed that God would not give me spiritual gifts - meaning abilities God gives a person to advance his mission on earth - without giving me avenues to use them.

It is true. Spiritual gifts are given to advance his kingdom on earth.

But I have learned something: he has the right to give, and take away, and give, and take away.

I can enjoy caring for children through ministry, nannying, and fostering in lieu of having my own, and then I can become too weak to care for children at all.

I can play piano. And then I can get a terrible tremor so I can't play at all. I can write, and then I'll have pain in my arms and hands that lasts for months. I can drive people to appointments, and then I'll have long-term eye pain, and suddenly other people have to drive me.

When people ask me how I deal with this, sometimes I can honestly say I'm so thankful to God for the experiences he's allowed. And often I grieve and cry, and envy the people who get to do the things they're good at without worrying they'll have to bow out of commitments because they're not able to walk that day.

I have learned a lot more too.. that I was relying on my abilities for self-worth and human praise; that they were becoming idols; that I had become proud and judgmental and insufferable. I don't know why God takes away, but I know that I can misuse gifts. But that's not exactly on topic 😉 So let's move on!

Here's what I'm learning about dreams.

I believed that God would not give me dreams - meaning deep desires of my heart - without fulfilling them.

Godly people reminded me of this, especially with verses like Psalm 37:4 - "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I no longer believe the typical interpretation of this verse is correct (read the whole chapter - it's full of promises that say things like "in a little while" and "a future awaits those who seek peace").

I'm not disillusioned. I know I'm only 33. God thwarts plans and surpasses expectations. He breaks rules of nature - he's the one who set them up in the first place, after all!

If I live a long life - let's say, 92 years - that lifetime is the length of a hyphen in War and Peace compared with eternal life. No, shorter; but since we cannot comprehend eternity, that's the best I can come up with.

My point is that it seems ridiculous, not to be too blunt about it, to insist a biblical promise must apply to THIS earthly life, unless that's what it says.

Couldn't God give me deep desires of my heart now to prepare me for my role in the "new heaven and new earth"? When I think about it, none of our desires are meant to be completely fulfilled on earth!

He is not even obligated to give me a taste of my earthly longings. I am free to grieve; I am free to pray and wish and beg. I am even free to doubt!

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world" (C.S. Lewis, atheist turned theist turned Christian. Mere Christianity).

Are We In the End Times?

2020-01-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

Why We Speculate

“It’s a sign!”
“We’re definitely in the end times.”
“Jesus will be coming soon.”

Jesus told his disciples that he would return to earth to collect those who have chosen to follow him (John 14:1-4). Most Christians understand Revelation to be a prophecy of what will happen in heaven and on earth before Jesus returns, as well as many other passages located throughout the rest of the Bible. I've come across a few that seem to fit the description in the epistles, the gospels, the prophets, and Daniel. So it makes sense that Christians will scour these passages and attempt to connect biblical prophecies with modern events.

We do this for two reasons. Reason #1: We are longing for our true home, the perfect place Jesus has been preparing for us where there will be no more tears. Frankly, we’re tired of tears! Reason #2: We genuinely care about the people who have not chosen to follow God, and if their time is running out, we want them to know the situation is urgent.

Reason #1 ostensibly benefits the believer. Indeed, if a Christian looks at current events and becomes convinced that Jesus will be coming very soon, they will feel a greater sense of anticipation than they would if they thought he was returning in, for example, two thousand years. For this Christian, especially the one who has been faithful to God for decades, it often feels the journey has been arduous, and a long trek still to go. How wonderful it would be if Jesus saved them from the earthly pain they have yet to endure! Of course, they realize this is a bit self-serving, and they are happy to do God’s will even until death if that is what he requires, but there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that we were not created for an imperfect world and longing for “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). This Christian eagerly says, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).

Reason #2 for trying to connect current events with biblical prophecies is meant to benefit the unbeliever. And this can work. The idea is that if we can convince the unbeliever that the “end times” are happening right now, there is not a moment to lose! Maybe a decade ago they could have dawdled without risk, but they no longer have that luxury. The signs are clear. It’s one way of interpreting Jesus’ message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

How Near is "Near"?

Interestingly, Christians have interpreted "the kingdom of heaven is near" to mean “Jesus’ second coming will happen within our personal lifetimes” ever since Jesus spoke said this approximately two thousand years ago. Even the members of the early church - some of whom had been alive at the time that Jesus died, was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven - interpreted “near” to mean “before we die.” We can’t fault them for this, since Jesus did cryptically say, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34). The church has been waiting on this promise for centuries, yet many Western Christians still apply Jesus’ words to us personally: “Well, the kingdom of heaven wasn’t as near back then, but it’s really near now!”

If the early church incorrectly thought Jesus’ return was just a few years away, why do we claim his coming is imminent now?

Because of all the signs happening today! I won’t go into them because they constantly change. National and world leaders come and go; events and disasters happen and are forgotten, and every time, there is someone to claim that it’s a fulfillment of a biblical prophecy and a sign that “the kingdom of heaven is near - really near this time, I mean it.”

It's worth mentioning 2 Peter 3:8, which, when speaking of the timing of Jesus' return, says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day." (Sometimes this verse is used to reconcile seven days of creation with the millions of years required by the evolutionary theory of existence.) But in context, one could interpret this to mean that in the two thousand human years that have occurred since Jesus said he was coming soon, it has only been two literal days to him! Obviously this verse isn't meant to be taken literally, but it reminds us that "soon" and "near" are not indicators of human time measurement. Rather, they are words to indicate urgency and motivate behavior.

If No One Knows, What About the Signs?

Jesus' disciples ask him outright in Matthew 24,

"When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus answers with a lot of descriptions of things that will happen. But then he hits verse 36 which many Christians are familiar with:

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

So on one hand, Jesus says, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). He uses many illustrations for people who thought they had time and were not ready, including the homeowner who slept while the thief robbed his home, the faithless steward who was discovered abusing his position as caregiver when his master unexpectedly returned from a journey, and the virgins tasked with carrying lamps for the groom, but who did not bring enough oil to keep them lit until he came (Matthew 24:36-50, Matthew 25:1-30). It's like he's repeatedly driving home the point that there's no way to know when he'll show up.

But on the other hand, he gives a lot of specific information about what is going to happen before the end - not to mention that this information is repeated in various places throughout the Bible, written at various times by different people who didn't even know each other but were all inspired by God.

So which is it, Jesus? Are you "coming at an hour we do not expect?" Or will we expect it, because of the signs you promised?

Speculating: Gloriously Futile

My best way to reconcile these statements is to look at the way Jesus fulfilled prophecies on earth.

Consider the Israelites, who received prophecies about their coming deliverer. They were told what to look for, yet when the signs came, they did not recognize them because the signs were not what they were expecting. Not only that, but the very definition of "deliverer" was not what they were expecting. They wanted deliverance from human oppressors - first Babylon, then Rome. How much more glorious a "deliverer" did God have in mind than they did!

Here's another example: In front of his disciples, Jesus predicted the destruction and rebuilding of the temple in three days. Considering he said those words while he was standing in the actual temple court, it seemed logical to his followers that he was talking about a physical building. How could they know otherwise? But the text continues:

“But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scriptures and the words that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:19-22).

It was okay that the disciples interpreted the prophecy incorrectly. Never in a million years could they have guessed what Jesus actually meant. It only became clear when it was fulfilled. And I would argue that it was more clear and more meaningful this way, even more than it would have been if he said, "I am like this temple, because God's presence lives in me, a human body. I am going to tear down this temple, or this body, in the form of death, for three days, but then I will raise it up again in the form of life."

Is it so farfetched that we might not completely understand or interpret the signs we're given? Isn’t it possible that we might think we know what we’re looking for in the end times, but God will completely turn our expectations on our heads and give us something in a completely different dimension?

I'm okay with that.

Speculating: Possibly Counterproductive

William Miller was an American Baptist preacher who predicted that Jesus would return "sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844." The time period passed without incident, and he revised the prediction based on typology findings in Daniel to October 22, 1844. Tens of thousands of people - Wikipedia says estimates range between 50,000 and 500,000 - experienced "The Great Disappointment" when Jesus failed to return that night. So what were the results, besides a bunch of brokenhearted people? Some of the followers started a new movement that became today's Seventh Day Adventists.

Harold Camping was a more recent public figure who predicted Jesus' return. His predicted dates were:

September 6, 1994
September 29, 1994
October 2, 1994
May 21,2011

Despite Camping's three failed prior predictions, some believers spent their entire savings before May 21,2011 in attempts to advertise the end of the world and reach the lost. After his 2011 date failed, Camping published a letter admitting that it had been wrong for him and his organization to predict and state a date for Jesus' return. "We have learned the very painful lesson that all of creation is in God's hands and He will end time in His time, not ours!...We tremble before God as we humbly ask Him for forgiveness for making that sinful statement."

David Meade is the pen name for one of today's Christian (?) end times theorists. Like Camping, he has several failed dates for the end of the world under his belt - but some other interesting predictions also have not come to pass; for example, his prediction that in October 2017, Donald Trump and Mike Pence would levitate in the sky and Barack Obama would be elected president for an illegal third term. Despite his failures, he's still going strong. He's also written books about fraud prevention, surviving EMP attacks, and Hitler's escape to Argentina.

(If you're interested, here's a list of predictions of the end of the world arranged by dates past to future, from 1st century CE to 3x1041 st century. These may be based on religion, science, astrology, myth, a vision, or some combination.)

These are three extreme examples of people who interpreted modern events and the Bible in a way that, to them, revealed that they were unmistakably "in the end times" - and not only that, but that they were experiencing The Day, all multiple times! The impact these people had on Christian influence through their predictions is interesting.

Miller, as I said before, unintentionally founded the Seventh Day Adventists when his doomsday prediction failed. Camping made his Christian followers appear foolish. And Meade sounds like a delusional conspiracy theorist. By trying to predict the end of the world, these people thwarted the mission of Christianity.

One caveat: Can God use anything to bring people to him? Did people come to Christ because of, for example, Camping's campaign? Yes. I don't know if they all remained true after the failed date, but at least some people were willing to encounter Christ because they felt a sense of urgency. Camping said of his prediction in the same letter I linked to above,

"Yet this incorrect and sinful statement allowed God to get the attention of a great many people who otherwise would not have paid attention. Even as God used sinful Balaam to accomplish His purposes, so He used our sin to accomplish His purpose of making the whole world acquainted with the Bible. However, even so, that does not excuse us."

I would argue, and if Camping were alive today I think he would agree, that any success of his method was by God's grace, and that there were also many people who were turned off to Christ because of his actions.

So what about Christians who do take to heart Jesus' words about "not knowing the day or the hour," but still believe they know the general time - which is now-ish, or sometime in the next few decades?

I already explained why I feel this is futile. But I also believe even this can be counterproductive.

I see two potential problems with speculating about end times Scripture and modern events.

1. We may not be as ready as we say we are.

If we scour the Scriptures and try to interpret the signs before his coming, and try to connect them with modern events, we will believe that he is not going to come until those events have been fulfilled. This is a problem, because it relies on our interpretations of the prophecies. It also ignores the whole point of the main "I am coming soon" passage, which is "be ready at any time." If I'm waiting for the prelude, I'm not going to expect the main event to happen right away.

2. We may spend our energy looking for signs instead of doing Jesus' work.

When Jesus said "be ready," I don't think he just meant that it was important to be saved at the time of his return. I think it meant that we should be busy (See Matthew 24:44-47). As one pastor says at the church I attend, "Focus on doing the work, not watching the clock." We're waiting for the end of a long work day. How well do we wait? Do we stare off in the distance and imagine what is waiting for us when work is over? Or do we engross ourselves in our work because time is running out?

(I once spent fifteen minutes of company time calculating how much money I was earning per second in hopes that time would feel more worthwhile. I won't say which company, but the result was pretty depressing and it did not help, especially after income tax.)

To wait well is to work. And the work of a Christian is the same as the work of God: to show people the way of Jesus. It's the whole purpose of being a Christian, according to Peter:

"But you are a chosen people...that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light...Live such good lives among the pagans [unbelievers] that...they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Peter 2:9,12, emphasis mine)

Things might be signs, or they might not be. It doesn't matter for the Christian, whose way of living does not change, however the world around them does.

The Purpose of Waiting

I'm annoyingly like Calvin's father in the Calvin & Hobbes comics by Bill Watterson. Every time Calvin complained about something, his father said, "It builds character." Hopefully I don't actually say such a dismissive thing when people share their woes, but it's a principle I'm trying to build in myself. Stuck in bed day after day? It builds character. Stuck behind a Prius with a driver who won't get off their cell phone? It builds character. At least, it can build character when I choose to see it as an opportunity to become a little more like Jesus.

It's a trite thing to say, and James says it better:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

So that's one benefit to me being stuck on this old earth in this old body: I have the opportunity to build character. It's not fun, but James says it will make me mature, and I've always wanted to be mature.

But that's just a side benefit, a way I can take advantage of the time to become more like Jesus.

The real purpose that Jesus delays his coming should make us overjoyed that he has waited so long:

"Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this "coming" he has promised?'...[T]he present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:3-9, emphasis mine)

As much as I would like Jesus to return and whisk me up to heaven right now, I would much rather suffer for a little more on earth so that other people have the same chance I did to spend eternity in God's presence as well. In my mind, it's kind of like we're all in a cold ocean. Most people are drowning, but I have a life vest. I'm miserable, but I'm safe. When the rescue boat comes around with shelter and blankets and warmth, I'll tell them to come back for me after they've already saved everyone else who is literally dying. My immediate comfort is less important than their lives.

I'm sure this is a terrible metaphor. Sorry about that. But that's the real purpose of Jesus waiting, and that's why I'm okay with waiting too, even when earth life sucks.

Modern Prophets

My last word concerns modern prophecies. If someone claims to have "a word from the Lord" regarding the end times, should we automatically disown them as a Miller or a Camping? Or could God actually be speaking through them?

This is a topic of debate among Christians, so let’s look at some definitions of the word “prophecy".

There is a definition which restricts the word “prophecy” to “prediction” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary), and that is how we often think of it today: a message from God about something in the future. But the word can be used in a broader sense, as we see in the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia’s discussion about the gift of prophecy in the New Testament church:

“Ordinarily, [the prophet’s] message was one of ‘edification, and exhortation, and consolation’ (1 Corinthians 14:3). Occasionally he was empowered to make an authoritative announcement of the divine will in a particular case (Acts 13:1). In rare instances we find him uttering a prediction of a future event (Acts 11:28, 21:10).” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia)

Given these parameters, a modern prophet could arguably be anyone who conveys God’s existing word to people for the sake of edifying the church. But today, when someone says, “I have a word from the Lord,” they’re usually not talking about the Bible, which contains plenty of words from the Lord that we already have. They’re usually claiming that they individually received from the Holy Spirit, possibly through a dream, a vision, or a very strong feeling, one of the latter two instances described above: an authoritative announcement of the divine will or a prediction of a future event.

A claim could be as absurd as, “God told me that when Jesus returns, we should be on the lookout for flying buffalo.” Or it could be as harmful as, “God told me that you should jump off this cliff. Don’t worry, he also told me his angels will catch you.” Or it could be as innocuous as, “God told me to tell you that he is your rock.” (Keep in mind that for this last one, if we expand our definition to include someone who conveys God’s existing word, it would even be a prophecy to exhort someone with the truth, “God is your rock,” and leave off the “God told me to tell you” part.)

So how do we respond to "special revelation" prophecies outside of the Bible, such as “God told me to tell you…”?

The one thing you can't say is, “But did he really?” because that makes you appear to doubt God’s ability to speak to an individual, and that would make you a bad Christian. But you also can’t blindly accept every reported message, because there are people who mistakenly believe they received a special message, and people who deliberately make false claims in order to control and influence people.

To avoid being led astray, we pray for a spirit of discernment (1 Corinthians 12:10) and test them (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22). But this isn’t a foolproof method to finding out the truth, because many people who think they are discerning end up deceived.

Next to the original special revelation, the Bible, prophetic dreams are of less value. God says through Jeremiah,

"Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:28-29)

For my part, I believe God can communicate whatever message he wants to any person, through any means. So I can’t judge another person’s claim of special revelation. But I also know that false prophets aren’t revealed right away, as we’ve seen in end-time predictions and in the Bible itself. So I have a right - even a responsibility - to be skeptical.

I think this is okay. For the Christian who trusts that the Bible is God’s complete inspired message, any visions and dreams and “strong feelings” are subject to the existing word. God said in Revelation through the prophet John, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll” (Revelation 22:18).

Even Harold Camping said after his 2011 doomsday prediction failed, “In this time of confusion and turmoil, God’s Word remains the only truth in which we can trust. God has shown us again the truth that He alone is true. In Romans 3:4 God declares, ‘Let God be true but every man a liar.’ Events within the last year have proven that no man can be fully trusted. Even the most sincere and zealous of us can be mistaken.”

In Conclusion

In conclusion, I don’t know if the end times are “upon us” in the immediate sense that some Christians believe. Maybe these modern events really are the signs that are prophesied throughout the Bible, or maybe these events are different versions of the same things that have been happening for thousands of years.

But if I spend my energy interpreting current events, my focus leaves his actual words, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (Matthew 24:6).

Maybe the end is coming in a decade. Maybe it's coming in an hour. Maybe it's not for two million more years.

But the end is still to come.

So let's be the church and focus on our job, not the clock.