Bible study
Things I Love 12: Tested And Approved by Lucy The Wonder Kitty
Lucy is in my lap, approving whatever I type. Of course, she can’t read, but if she could, she would add her own comments (most of which would not be fit to print in a family-style blog such as this one). So I’ll take her silence as either approval or extreme sleepiness.
The list commences with #264 (I think).
264) Ice-cold water to quench my thirst on a humid summer day.
265) A long walk alone under a full moon at night (as opposed to all those moonlit walks during the day).
266) That I’m finally at a place where I’m comfortable alone or in a crowd.
267) Planned spontaneity.
268) That I’ve come to the place where if I never see a certain person ever again (and at the moment it appears very likely to be the case), that I will be glad for the friendship; I will miss her, but my life will go on.
269) Those quiet moments of peace where God speaks into my silence.
270) That with God, every day is a day to look forward to.
271) Reading collects out of The Book of Common Prayer and seeing my own prayers expressed better than I could ever put them.
272) That this blog site has spell-check so that I can appear smarter than I really am, i.e. that I can actually spell.
273) That I really don’t have to be friends with everyone or have everyone like me to be content.
274) That everything will be fine in the end, and if it’s not fine, it’s not the end.
275) Good lines from good movies (like the one I just referenced earlier).
276) Chocolate bars with bacon in them (it sounds gross, but tastes divine).
277) All of my quirks
278) That I have to show my driver’s license to prove that I really am the age I say I am.
279) That even though Jon Acuff might have more readers for one blog than I’ve had for all my 1,000+ blogs combined, that I have touched and impacted lives that wouldn’t have been touched and impacted had I chosen not to write a blog.
280) That I can use bad grammar, and bad punctuation, in my blogs, if I so, choose.
281) Those rare times when the Church is known for what it’s for rather than what it’s against.
282) That I can learn something from anybody, no matter what their philosophical, theological, political or social beliefs and regardless of whether or not they have the same worldview as mine.
283) That hamburger from The Pharmacy with bacon, ham, and a fried egg (10,000 calories of deliciousness!)
284) That the last spoken words from Jesus in the Bible aren’t a condemnation but an invitation.
285) When I talk into a box fan and make my voice sound like a robot.
286) That being grown-up doesn’t always mean having to be mature all the time.
287) That the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
288) The way my cat Lucy hovers when she goes to the bathroom.
289) Not knowing all the answers (or even all of the questions).
290) A perfectly made and perfectly thrown paper airplane.
291) That I saw the actual Batmobile from the campy 60’s TV show tonight in downtown Franklin
292) That this list will continue– maybe tomorrow, maybe not. You’ll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out. Same bat time, same bat channel.
Things I Love 8: Greg’s Sanity Has Left the Building
FYI: these blogs will continue until I get to 1,000 things I love. It’s from the book, One Thousand Gifts, so I’m trying to list out– wait for it– 1,000 little things that I believe are God’s gifts to me and daily reminders that stir me to gratitude and thanksgiving as a lifestyle. Plus, I don’t have to worry about what I will be blogging on until at least July of 2014. Just kidding. Sort of.
Ok. Here goes the list, starting at #168. Drum roll, please.
168) Looking through old photo albums and reliving those old memories and remembering people who’ve been gone from my life for a while (and thinking they’re looking down from heaven and smiling at those photos, too).
169) My extremely loud Hawaiian shirt, which one random teenager called “sick.” I guess that’s a compliment. I’m not really sure.
170) Everything related to either Narnia and Wardrobes or Middle Earth and Hobbits.
171) Surprise birthday parties (hint, hint, subtle subliminal suggestion. . . cough).
172) Celebrating Easter and remembering that the Resurrection changed EVERYTHING. Including me.
173) That Jesus would have chosen the nails and the cross and the agony if only for me alone.
174) By Jesus loving me unconditionally and prodigally, he made me loveable.
175) Silent movies.
176) Box hockey (and the fact that I know what box hockey is).
177) All my high school reunions where I see old friends and get to catch up after 10 (or 20) years apart.
178) That I get to be a small part of Kairos, a worship gathering for young adults, every week and I see God at work there every single week.
179) Being content in my relationships and not obsessively wondering where they might or might not be headed,
180) Knowing that if the absolute worst case scenario should happen, I would still be loved by Jesus and God would still work even that out for my good and his glory.
181) How randomly my brain works these days.
182) The vast array of autumn colors from the leaves changing and falling.
183) Doing small random acts of kindness for people when they least expect it.
184) Any positive news stories (because they are sadly the exception and not the rule).
185) That I’m down to 715 more things to be thankful for.
186) Now it’s only 714.
187) That I’m not what everyone else thinks I am or even what I think of myself, but only what Jesus says I am– Chosen, Redeemed, Beloved, Child of God, Forgiven, Free, etc.
188) That Jesus won’t ever stop reminding me of my true identity and sending friends who will help me remember the song in my heart when I forget the words.
189) Lightning bugs at night in an open field.
190) Cheese grits made just right.
191) That I probably have at least 32 more of these blogs a-comin’ your way. But not in a row.
Not Original But A Good Reminder Still
I know you’ve probably heard this used as an illustration in a sermon or a speech at some point in your life. I’ve heard it more than once, but it bears repeating because it is such a good and timely reminder.
Those who look for counterfeit bills don’t spend as much time studying the counterfeits as you might think. Why? Because they spend all their time studying the real bills, getting as familiar as possible with every little detail so that when a counterfeit comes along, they can instantly spot the differences.
The best way to spot false teaching is to know the truth. It’s to know the Bible. Not just carry it around or talk about it or read books about it. Not even just to read it. But to soak it in, to know it, to breathe it, to live it, so that it becomes such a part of you that you instantly recognize counterfeit teaching when you hear it.
Don’t just read words. Come to Scripture with a prayerful heart and a teachable spirit. Ask God to show you what he intended when he inspired the original authors. Pray for eyes to see the truth within, no matter how painful or uncomfortable. Then do what it says.
That’s my challenge to you. That’s my challenge to me because I frankly haven’t done a very good job of knowing the Bible I carry around. Because the Bible says false teachers will come and try to deceive you and lead you from the truth. They will say what sounds good to the ear, what feels good, and what maybe partially true. But in the end, it’s deception.
Deception leads to bondage. Only the truth, and knowing the truth, will set you free.
Late-Night Thoughts About Joseph
“Joseph replied, ‘Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people.'” (Gen. 50:20)
As I have confessed before, there’s a whole lot I don’t know. Especially when it comes to why horrible things happen to godly people. I can point to verses that talk about God working in mysterious ways and how he works all things together for good, but at the end of the day, I’m unable to explain why God couldn’t have worked it out for them in a less painful way.
That’s when I yield to faith. I yield to what I know of God and his character. I yield to what I know of his proven track record in my own life. And I have to fall down on my knees and confess that he is good and that I have nowhere else to turn.
Joseph comes to mind. If anyone in the Bible had a right to play the victim card, it was Joseph. Sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood, falsely accused and slandered by the wife of the man that he had done nothing but serve faithfully for years, and forgotten in prison by those who promised they would remember. I would have thrown in the towel long before then.
But Joseph chose forgiveness. He chose to look with eyes of faith to what human eyes couldn’t see– that God was working even in the worst of circumstances to save not just one man, but an entire nation. He, like so many others, looked to the promises of God and counted them as good as done even when they seemed as good as dead.
I love what a pastor says. God can take that worst moment of your life, that most painful and humiliating season, and make it the first line of your testimony. To borrow a quote I’ve heard a lot lately, he can turn your mess into your message, your test into your testimony, your trial into triumph, and the victim into a victor. You will be able to speak to the pain that no one else can touch because you’ve walked through it.
I love this verse in Hebrews 11: “By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.” In other words, Joseph saw that God was able to redeem every single part of what he went through for a purpose far greater than himself. A purpose that saw the rise of a people of God, and later the Messiah.
May you and I see our circumstances with that kind of faith. May we trust that God is just as able to redeem our pain to make something equally as glorious and beautiful out of our messes.
The One Who Remembers
I looked up the word “witness” in a Greek dictionary just for kicks, ’cause that’s what really cool people like me do for fun, in case you ever wondered.
The definition I got startled me a bit. The literal meaning of the word is “one who remembers.” As I’ve mentioned before, believers are not called to be attorneys and prove the existence of Christianity and God, but to be witnesses and tell our stories.
Being a witness is remembering. It’s remembering where you were before Jesus found you, how lost and hopeless you were, how nothing made any sense and life had no meaning.
It’s about the moment you said YES to Jesus and how your life forever changed in that moment and how you became a new person, or a new creation as the verse in Galatians puts it.
You remember who you could be apart from the constant grace of God and how you’re capable of any sin under the sun apart from the indwelling Spirit of Christ. You remember enough times where you fell into temptation and messed up your witness to keep you from pride and thinking too highly of your own abilities.
Most of all, you remember God’s promises. How he promised to finish the good work he started in you. How he promised to never leave or forsake you. How he would see you through to become every bit of what he created you to be.
The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring those things to mind. His job is to remind us of all that Christ taught us, all of the lessons of faith we’ve learned along the way.
May you and I help each other remember our stories so that we can tell them to those who need to hear them most.
It Is Well
“When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, ‘Behold, there is the Shunammite. 26 Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’’ And she [o]answered, ‘It is well.'” (2 Kings 4:25-26).
I was reminded of a great truth today. The context is a story about Elisha and a Shunammite woman in whose house he had stayed. She had given birth to a son late in life, probably the only child she would ever bear, only to watch him die in her arms. His body was still warm when she spoke those words.
How could she say, “It is well,” after losing her only son? I don’t think I could. I might be raging and cursing and lashing out at God and everybody else, but “It is well” would be the last words out of my mouth.
Those words she spoke are a perfect picture of the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is circumstantial, depending on what happens. Joy is not. You can be supremely unhappy and still have joy, because joy is grounded in the knowledge that God will make every thing right one day.
In her case, God worked through Elisha to bring her son back to life. Sometimes he makes things right in this life. But not always.
I was also reminded of the story of Horatio Spafford, a man who wrote a very famous hymn. He had send his wife and three daughters across the sea to England, but was unable to accompany them due to some business he had to attend to. On the way back, the ship collided with another vessel and sank and his three daughters drowned. His wife sent the infamous telegram that read “Saved alone.”
When he was on his way to meet his wife in England, he passed the spot where the horrific accident had occurred and penned these words:
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul”
I pray for that kind of faith that can bring me joy even in the worst of circumstances, knowing that even in those times God is still in control. May your joy never waver and your faith in God only grow stronger in the days to come.
The Word of God
“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.” (Hebrews 4:12)
I mentioned earlier that I’m really good at collecting Bibles and carrying them around. I like to talk about the Bible and read books about the Bible, but I don’t really read the Bible as much as I should.
Only the Bible is transformative. The commentaries, as insightful as they are to me, are not living and active. The books on doctrines and theology are not inspired and God-breathed the way his Word is.
Sometimes, that Word cuts deep. It’s described as a two-edged sword. I heard a pastor say that means that it cuts both going in and coming out. If you want a safe, nice book that leaves you the way you were when you picked it up, I certainly do not recommend the Bible. Not if you’re serious about really digging into what it says.
It’s no good to read the Bible if you’re not willing to do what it says. I am as guilty as anyone for reading the Bible for information and not for transformation. If I don’t do what it says, then reading it does me no good. As that same pastor has said many times, “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.”
So that’s what I want. To not only read the Bible, but to live it out. A friend of mine once said that you’re the only Bible some people will ever read, and they may only read you for 5 seconds. So it’s important to be living out the Word in such a way that others can see.
Just a thought.
A Plethora of Bible Translations
I collect Bibles. I probably have too many already, but I can’t stop.
I’m trying to get as many different translations as possible. I have everything from the old King James Version to the very contemporary Message translation.
Recently, I picked up a New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible which the extra apocrypha books added. It’s almost like a Director’s Cut of the Bible.
I’m looking for a full American Standard Version Bible with both Old and New Testaments. For some reason, it never caught on when it came out in 1900 and it’s next to impossible to find one. But not impossible. And yes, I am up to the challenge.
I personally think it’s good to read from more than one translation because none of them are perfect. Plus, you get a better idea of what the original authors were trying to get across.
I’d go with the New American Standard for word-for-word accuracy, the New Living Translation for readability, and the Message for its unique rendering of Scripture.
But as I heard somebody say, as long as it starts with Genesis and ends with Revelation, you can’t go wrong. The point is not to waste time looking for a perfect translation that doesn’t exist. The point is to find a Bible that fits you and then read it.
I’d be lying if I told you I read my Bible every day for hours and hours. I carry around my Bible and talk about it and read books about it way more than I actually read it. It’s fine to read commentaries and books about the Bible, but the Bible is the only book that is living and active and God-breathed.
So I will make a deal with you. I will read my Bible more and I challenge you to do the same. It doesn’t have to be for five hours straight the first time, but if it’s for five minutes here and five minutes there, that’s a start.
And as I heard a pastor say, all God needs is place to start.
Reminders from Revelation
I’ve been loving the sermon series on Revelation from Brentwood Baptist Church, as well as the companion Wednesday night Bible study. Here are a few of the highlights I’ve taken in so far.
1) Revelation is primarily a book written to persecuted believers to give them encouragement that Jesus has already overcome and the victory is already theirs if they hold on a little bit longer. Like I heard it said, we as followers of Jesus don’t fight for victory, but from it.
2) Revelation is a book saturated in worship. The setting of the book is a heavenly scene of ultimate worship. To focus on the symbols and what they mean is to miss the main point that God puts everything right again and the good guys win once and for all.
3) It’s not ultimately about when the end will come or who the anti-Christ will be or what the mark of the beast will look like. Ultimately, it’s about the Lion of Judah, the root of Jesse, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Jesus, and how he has already overcome.
You can read commentaries about the book. I’m reading one right now. But if you really want to understand the book, read the book. Sit down and read all 22 chapters in one setting.
You can even read the ending first if it will help.
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