Meditate on it

“Your laws endure to this day for all things serve you.” -Psalm 119:91 Lately I've been memorizing the first questions of the Westminster Catechism. I'm not sure if it's a counter-reaction to leaving our local church, to the pandemic, or a vestige of my Catholic upbringing, but the discipline and precision of the wording is good--calibrating my mind and heart to bigger truths. The catechism speaks of the providence of God, an alternatingly comforting and unsettling concept that is addressed in Questions 8, 11, and 12.   Question 11: What are God's works of providence? Answer: God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions. Alistair Begg cites God's providence as one of the overarching truths in Jonah : "Now, we ought not to miss, just in passing, that whether it is a gigantic fish or whether it is a small worm, what we’re discovering here is that God is at work directing every

"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [those living at that definite period of time preceding the second coming] will not pass away until everything takes place."  21:32 "Others would argue that the generation who sees “all this” is not the generation who is alive when Jesus is speaking these words, but rather the generation who is alive when the final period of great tribulation at the end of history begins. Darrell Bock, who favors this position, puts it like this: “What Jesus is saying is that the generation that sees the beginning of the end, also sees its end. When the signs come, they will proceed quickly; they will not drag on for many generations. It will happen within a generation.” - David Sunday Sunday references  Alistair Begg  's sermon on this verse.  Here are my notes from listening to Begg:  First, he points out that for the Jews, the temple was the focal point for God's relationship with the people. The disciples couldn'

" Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with [transcendent, overwhelming] power [subduing the nations] and with great glory [Dan_7:13-14]."   Luke 21:27 Amplified Bible How long would I have to sit with this part of today's passage (Luke 21:20-28) to begin to make even the slightest sense of it? As a well-read and well-preached Christian, the words are familiar enough to pass by and not marvel.  But if I had a friend who was a Jehovah's Witness, or any other cult for that matter, who introduced this image as their understanding of truth, it would confirm my belief that they're off balance. So am I off balanced to follow this set of scriptures? To believe this could really happen? To just drink my coffee and accept alongside the current news of today that "the Son of Man'" will come in a cloud?  A cloud---really?? When I was younger, I was a strict naturalist in the sense that I was suspicious of emotionally driven people that are led a

This is my second time working through the book of Jonah since I began this blog. The first time was in April of 2014.  Jonah is a mere four chapters in length, but worth spending several weeks upon if not more.  This year, I've been pondering it since mid-to early-January.  I think I'm about ready to move on, but I need to linger long enough to do due diligence to this "catch box" post of Jonah commentary and  personal reflections. I'll begin with background and observations on Jonah's call, Chapter 1: Alexander MacLaren notes that this book might fit better among narrative books than amid the prophets in some regards, but he concludes that it is a prophetic book above all because it anticipates Israel's role and resistance with regard to God's grander vision for humanity. MacLaren believes Jonah is representative of the narrow nationalistic views of Israel. Ultimately, God's mercy will prevail above judgement, and Jonah was not a fan. Charles Sav

In the midst of this coronavirus marathon we're in, I don't have a lot of capacity for more heavy.  Like it or not, Luke delivers, more specifically, Jesus delivers. I'd rather hear his acknowledgement of the widow's offering a few verses earlier. Everyone likes to champion the underdog.  The Pulpit Commentary suggests that this was Jesus' last public teaching, "As far as we know, his comment upon the widow’s alms was his last word of public teaching."  If this is the case, I long to leave with the public in a sense.   The hardest words are to come, and they are for us, believers and not outsiders. Couldn't we reverse that order? In Luke 21:5, Jesus shifts from commenting on the widow to a "brace yourself for impact" directive to the disciples. What provokes the speech?  Some of them comment on the beauty and richness of the temple.  His response guts their romantic notions:  "As for all these things which you see, the time will come whe

The Discipleship Journal Reading Plan  that I've been following has several aspects I appreciate.  One is that the Gospels are not divided into chapter chunks as in most reading plans.  Instead, the gospels are subdivided into smaller units of meaning, breaking down into narrative segments or units of speech.  Some plans I've read have you read the gospels several times a year to create a sort of equal weight and emphasis.  I appreciate the smaller bites of this plan as they become something like perpetual reading of the psalms or proverbs; something that washes over me again and again, each time leaving me bits that remain that I can ruminate upon and examine from this light or that. This morning's "bite" from Luke 20 reminds me that, yes, it is no delusion or distortion to think that social justice issues are huge to God. Social justice in the Gospels 101: These [men] who confiscate and devour widows' houses, and for a pretense [to appear devout] offer long

 I've been sifting through Philemon in different translations for at least a week now. It's still a mystery to me the way a verse, a chapter, or a book, in the scriptures often expands and calls the reader to tarry while the Spirit speaks over it in new ways. This morning, I was stopped at this common greeting of Paul's: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Philemon 1:3 ESV "God's best to you! Christ's blessings on you!" Philemon 1:3 MSG Often I'll go back over scriptures in the Message translation to make sure I haven't missed a thread or concept.  This translation is alternately disappointing and refreshing to me, like most things and people in life, it's good to accept limitations but appreciate the giftings as well. Here, the Message loses something---grace and peace being reduced to "God's best" is too loose for my liking, especially in light of this commentary from BKC: "It

 This morning, I'm gathering the embers of my memory from reading C. Hassell Bullock's perspective on the book of Jonah.  This is an exercise of memory--imperfect, but helpful in my efforts to retain and apply what I learned. Bullock views Jonah as a transitional prophet. He dates the book as quite old in comparison to the other literary prophets, but acknowledges other possible datings.  Jonah has aspects of the pre-literary prophets with the flashy manifestations of physical miracles--his time in the belly of the whale and deliverance, the growth of the vine.  He sees threads of Job's questioning at the end--man confronts God, and God basically blows his mind because His vision is forever grander than we can conceive, grander than our best abilities to love others and want the best for them, smashing our selfish constructs and beliefs about justice and what is right. Bullock asserts the primary purpose of Jonah is "to affirm God's irresistible will in the world.&

I'm reading the prophets in context for a second time while blogging.  When I have a moment, I'd like to go back and revisit my impressions from last time which was April 2014.  Wow, it's been six years that I've been there--longer than I've thought.  The older I grow, the more distorted my perception of time and memory becomes.  At least I recognize this problem. One of the things abut the blog that I appreciate is that it provides a framework and touchpoint for my reading and re-reading of the scriptures. Emerging from my study of Kings and Chronicles, my aspiration is to fit these prophets within that historical context. I've learned so much from sitting in Kings and Chronicles for months.  Here is a link to my Google slides from this period of study ; honing this document has clarified how the different nations and kings interacted with God and each other.  My goal now is to fit each prophet back into this historical construction. This time around, I'm r

When I think of the book of Philemon, I recall one of my students memorized it and presented it as a dramatic interpretation.  It was impressive!  Although it's only one chapter, there is something concrete about such an accomplishment that bears weight and makes an impression. Prior knowledge: Philemon was a slave I think---or was it that Philemon had a question about a slave--Onesimus?  When did Onesimus come up as a name?  Cotton Mather and inoculation.... Written by Paul (a prisoner for Christ Jesus) and Timothy (our brother) Written to Philemon (our beloved fellow worker), Apphia (our sister), Archippus (our fellow soldier), AND the church in your house.  "Apphia our sister was most likely the wife of Philemon. She may have possibly served in a semi-official position in the church in their home. “She is as much a part of the decision as her husband, because according to the custom of the time, she had day-to-day responsibility for the slaves” (Arthur A. Rupprecht, “Philem

This entry is more of a marking---like making a notch on a tree to count the days. It's been a long year with the instability of our country within the presidency of Donald Trump, enduring this pandemic. I have felt torn from our local church body by beliefs that, to me, seem out of keeping with what I understand of Christ and His kingdom.  So, I have pulled back.  I have prayed. I have read. I have studied. I have meditated upon the Westminster Catechism. I've asked many questions and received few satisfyingly clear answers. But, Thursday morning--yesterday morning--after my Wednesday ended with the crazy images of rednecks and "thugs" storming the Capitol of our country, God gave me a solid piece that is rock hard and clear.  It comes from my Bible reading, just keeping with my progress, the next verses in the next chapter, but clearly speaking, affirming, recognizing, and clarifying all of the crap that I have seen parading as Christianity lately: Be Ready for Ever

Yesterday I read through three chapters of Titus and hoped that my anticipatory questions would be answered.  This morning, I reviewed these questions and began re-reading just Titus 1.  In some ways, the book/letter seemed straightforward when I read it yesterday, but as I examined my questions this morning and tried to tease out direct answers, it all became more nuanced.   Here are the questions and answers I began to work out this morning: Q: What exactly is an elder?  Were they appointed by a committee, the congregation, or by the main leader? Answer: The elders at Crete were appointed by Titus (Titus 1:5)---here I don't see them being chosen by the congregation.   Answer from Believer's Bible Commentary: "It is clear that in the early church, elders were appointed by the apostles and their representatives (Act_14:23; Tit_1:5). This does not mean, however, that the apostles and their delegates had the power to make a man an elder. In order to become a bishop, there mu

Overview of Book Notes The chronological order of the pastoral epistles is most likely: 1 Timothy abt. 65 AD Titus abt. 66-67 AD 2 Timothy abt. 67-68 AD (written during Paul's second Roman imprisonment) Wuest believes these three books to be written closely together in time as they share the same characteristics of style, and he holds that the style of these three are distinct from Paul's writing in the other epistles.  Wuest also argues for two Roman imprisonments for Paul.  He believes he lived beyond his first Roman imprisonment and may have been martyred after his second. In discussing the translation of Greek in this book, he points out that the Greek words often have multiple nuanced meanings and that all of these should be considered when interpreting this book.  Me: I wonder if the Amplified makes a point to translate and include these multiple nuanced meanings.  My guess is that it does. Titus was a Gentile Christian leader in the early church.  Paul most likely led hi