A Gift of a Bible.

100 Things You Should Know

Our church recently started a 100 part sermon series which highlights 100 key parts to the Bible narrative (Click here for sermon podcasts). We will be spending the next two years taking a look at redemptive history from Genesis to Revelation and along the way we will be posting additional relevant information here (things like additional reading, video clips, etc...). Heath Allison is a very talented artist in our church who has been illustrating each section of the story which you can see on this time line. If you have never read the Bible from beginning to end this is a great way to get a glimpse of the big story. Watch out! Not only may you learn something new, but you might have fun along the way.

A New Year's Blessing

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Life is Ministry

Originally posted on the Swainlife Blog Tuesday, June 1, 2004

Our daughter Abigail just turned two recently and is starting to learn how to use prepositions. However, sometimes she gets them wrong and it entirely changes what she means. For example, at night when it is time to read a bed time story sometimes she says "I want you lay down for me" but what she really means is "I want you to lay down with me (and read me a bedtime story)." Sometimes she will mosey into the kitchen and look up with wide, serious, innocent eyes and say "Can I want a cookie?" Meanwhile I know that she really does want a cookie and is just asking if she can have one.

From the beginning of time God has sought to have a relationship with humanity. God's desire has been for a close relationship, but it seems that humanity always wants to keep him at arms length (if not further). When God was setting up the brand new nation of Israel he declared to them that they would be a Kingdom of Priests as you can read in the following passage.

3 'Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you [1] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' Exodus 19

It is amazing that just nine chapters later that God calls out Aaron and Levites to come and serve as priests. What happened? They were going to be a kingdom of priests but they ended up becoming a kingdom with priests instead. Did God (like Abigail) accidentally mess up his prepositions? Did one of the Hebrew scribes hear him incorrectly? No, God wanted people to come directly to him, but they were not ready to do that.

The people preferred to have a mediator, someone who went to God on their behalf. They wanted someone else to have the job of spiritual work so that they could go on living their lives as they pleased. However, God did not forget what he said about building a kingdom of priests. In the New Testament, Peter reminds us again of God's desire for his people to be a kingdom of priests - a kingdom of people that have direct access to God and come directly before him.

"9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" 1 Peter 2

Often it is easy to think that the work of ministry belongs only to those who work in ministry full time. However, this is contrary to everything that God has worked for throughout history. Yes, we need pastors, teachers, preachers, missionaries, etc. God definitely calls some people to specific tasks, but to what end? Paul says,

"11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11

Why does Paul say that there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers? To prepare God's people for works of service, to prepare God's people to do ministry. If we call ourselves Christians, then we are privileged to be called to a life of ministry. Not just during times when it is convenient for us or only during times when the church does a special outreach event.

Our lives are to be lived with a sense of purpose and mission each day! We need to connect with Christ daily and walk with him and allow him to be part of every area of our life. Everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ needs to reflect the light of Christ and not just expect those with Christian job titles to do the work. And those of us with Christian job titles need to equip, empower and teach those in our care to do the work of Christ and not cause them to depend on us to do it all.

So, no matter where you are in the world and no matter what your vocation is, if you call yourself a follower of Christ I pray that you will live your life as ministry. I pray that you will seek and hear God's voice daily and do his work wherever you are. I pray that you will be encouraged and blessed as you see God's hands mold your life and as you follow him on your pilgrimage journey. Life is Ministry!

Will the Real J.C. Please Stand Up?

I was recently reading about Thomas Jefferson in the book American Jesus. Shortly after becoming President of the United States, Jefferson ordered two copies of the Bible. He went through them in the evening with a razor blade in hand and cut out the sections that he believed accurately portrayed who Jesus was and the rest he tossed to the ground. He really liked Jesus' moral teachings so he kept all of those, but he felt that the miracles were probably added to the texts at a later time by swindlers and charlatans, so like any good editor he removed those. When he finished he had a much smaller book that he considered the true essence of Christianity.

When I first read that account I was utterly appalled. Then, I spent a little more time thinking about Jefferson and I came to the realization those of us who claim to be Christians are guilty of doing the same thing. Granted, most of us would not have the audacity to actually take our Bible and cut it up into pieces (with the exception of the Jesus Seminar). However, in a more subtle way we do have a tendency to pick and choose what scriptures we will allow into our lives and what scripture we will really take stock in. In a sense, we do edit the scripture as we read through certain passages and justify why they are impossible or don't apply to us and instead of wrestling with them we allow them to fall to the cutting room floor.

We, like Jefferson, tend to cut and mold our Bible to fit into our worldview, our political beliefs, and our lifestyle choices. It is way easier to dress Jesus up like us than it is for us to dress up like him, so without realizing it we allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking Jesus is just like us.

In reality we are called to do the opposite. A true follower of Christ allows the Bible to go through their life, and like a razor blade cut away all of the parts that do not conform to the life of Christ. You see, Jefferson had it wrong and often so do we. He tried to shape his Bible instead of letting the Bible shape him.

You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,
"He did not make me"?
Can the pot say of the potter,
"He knows nothing"?
-Isaiah 29

Our First Allegiance...

"So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you." 1 Samuel 8:4-8

Samuel was the last of his kind, the final Judge of Israel. From the time that Joshua brought his people into the promise land the nation had a series of judges (or leaders) who came alongside Israel and guided them through treacherous times.

Israel had a unique set up compared with every other nation on earth. God was their King and he was a good king. They were neither overtaxed nor overworked and God was both just and merciful in his rule. However, as Samuel was increasing in age the elders approached him. They saw no apparent future leader. Even though God had walked with them throughout their history and protected their nation their allegiance was not with him. They told Samuel that they wanted a King.

While Samuel was not happy with their decision, God told him not to take it personally. The people were not rejecting Samuel, but they were rejecting God. Their first allegiance was supposed to be to Yahweh alone and yet when the people looked at the other nations they felt left out. They did not recognize that God was their king. In their hearts they had already dethroned him and the establishment of a human king was just an external representation of an internal reality.

As I watch this Presidential election unfold I see Christians putting more faith in McCain and Obama than they should. I see many that call themselves Christians who are overly concerned with who is president as though the president is the sovereign ruler of this world. The President of the Untied States is not all knowing or all powerful and while the position comes with great power and great responsibility the hope of Christians does not reside in who wins this election. For Christians our first allegience belongs to Christ and our hope and trust is in him. Our faith should never be placed in the idols of our wealth, our military, or any institution or human structure that is set up in this world.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7

As we vote today let's do so with conviction and with wisdom, but let us be cautious not to reject the true King. There is only one leader who is both perfectly loving and perfectly just and it is to him that our first allegience.

Pagan Christianity

Pagan Christianity breaks down many of the traditions that Christians hold to and practice and explores where they came from historically. This book makes the claim that many of these traditions have been taken directly from the pagan world and it’s practices.

I appreciated the way that this book questions many of the forms that Christians have come to accept today without questioning or considering whether or not they are Biblical. In that sense this book is a good book for us to examine the forms that we use and ask if we are really serving Christ in the way he has called us to do so. This book raises some excellent questions about what we do and why we do it.

On the other hand, I do feel that this book does fall short in answering some of my questions. If the church is as far off base as the authors claim than it would seem that the “true Church” has not existed for some time. I believe that even in flawed forms the church has persevered and even if we through out all of the flawed forms that the authors raise issue with we would still end up with new flawed forms. If you are interested there is much more discussion on this book here.

What is Necessary in Order to be the/a Church?

This question echoed around in my head for several years while I lived overseas. As I prayerfully thought through this, layer upon layer of American cultural church baggage was stripped away for me. I began to think of the Presbyterian Church that I was part of prior to going to the field. Obviously certain physical structures began to fall away immediately. Most Christians would agree that while they like their church building you don't have to have a steeple, pews, red carpet or an organ to effectively be the church.

Then I started thinking about the life of a church in a typical week. You don't necessarily need a Sunday school, a youth group, or a benevolence committee to be a church. Those are all great things, but are not absolutely necessary to be the church. Then I started thinking about the way we met on Sundays. Do you have to meet on Sundays? Do you have to have a time of singing together? As someone who was a worship leader for many years I sure do like it, but is it necessary? Must you have a sermon preached every Sunday? This question makes many people very uncomfortable. In our very small body of believers in Spain we went for a long time with out any official sermon, but we always dedicated ourselves to meeting together and to studying the scripture. This study took on various forms, but it did not require that one person study the scripture and spoon feed the rest. Instead, being a small group of believers everyone was responsible to participate and bring something to the spiritual table. We fed, challenged and discipled one another. Were we the church or were we something else?

In my mind I began to compare the church to a house and this mental exercise caused me to do a spring cleaning. I took all of the furniture of this house out into the front lawn along with a bunch of trash that had accumulated in my mental understanding of what it meant to be a church. There are certain things for every house that are absolutely essential for it to be a house. It needs a foundation and walls and a roof. After that, there are some essential pieces of furniture which we tend to place in the house to make it more livable. After we have the structure and the furniture, then we get into the decorations. These are the individual aspects of each house which make it a home. Each house is decorated in a different way, and this may make a house more beautiful (or ugly depending on your taste), but not every house will choose the same decorations.

As we look at the church we must realize what the true foundation of this structure is. After that we should move on to some of the essential pieces of furniture. Then we can move on to decorating, but let us be cautious not to confuse the decorations with the foundation. Also, once we take out the garbage we should resist the urge to bring it back inside and throw it in the closet. That will just make our Church an unhealthy place.

So what do you think? What is absolutely necessary in order to be the/a church? What are some great pieces of furniture that every church should strive for? What are some things that are nice, but merely decorations? And finally, are your answers Biblically or culturally based?

In light of the Current Financial Crisis...

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases;

for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper-

he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49:16-20

The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.

But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;

for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.

In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;

those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

Psalm 37: 15-22

The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
upon them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
"It is not by strength that one prevails;

1 Samuel 2:7-9

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Luke 16:10-13

Is Christ Divided?

According to Marin Marty in his book The Christian World: A Global History there are approximately 3,800 different Christian church groupings in today’s world. When I was in Spain I once had an agnostic Catholic ask me, “How can I know that the Christianity that you talk about is true when there are so many branches of Christianity around the world? If you can’t agree with other Christians about what is true, how could you ever possibly convince someone who does not follow Christianity?

When Paul came to Corinth for the first time in Acts 18 what he would have discovered a city less than a hundred years old that was bustling with activity. Corinth had an ideal location on an isthmus between two seaports that were four miles apart. Ships traveling from east to west preferred to unload their wares in one port and deliver it over land to a boat in the other port. Traveling south around this isthmus was particularly dangerous so shipping the good over land was the preferred method. This caused Corinth to be a major cross-roads of all kinds of good and services. Along with it’s new wealth and lack of traditions and heritage Corinth was a city known for its licentiousness. It would be comparable in reputation to a modern day Las Vegas or Amsterdam.

During Paul’s time there he encountered opposition among the Jews, but the Proconsul of Achai made a ruling that in essence said that Christianity was a part of Judaism. This legal precedent opened the doors for Christianity to spread across the empire. Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth making disciples and preaching the Gospel before moving on to other ministry fields.

While Paul was ministering in Ephesus he heard reports from multiple sources on the state of the church in Corinth. He finally addressed the church with the letter of First Corinthians. After an initial greeting to the church in Corinth he immediately confronts them based on what he has heard.

It is interesting to me the way in which he confronts them. He begins by saying “I appeal to you…”. He could have said I command or decree but instead he invites, encourages, and implores. Paul follows his own advice of correcting and rebuking with gentleness.

After putting forth an invitation he says the same thing to them three different ways. Whenever something is stated three times in three different ways it is obvious that it is important and that the author wants to avoid any confusion in what he is saying. First, he encourages the believers to agree with one another. Second, he states that there should be no divisions among the believers. Third, implores them to be united in mind and in thought.

The Corinthians had been quarreling and had lost focus on the one thing that they had in common. They began to focus on small externalities of faith and would claim that they followed a particular brand of Christianity. Some said that they followed Paul’s version of Christianity. Some said they followed Apollos’ version. Apollos was reputed to be a great orator and philosopher. Some said they followed Peter’s Christianity, some speculate that he had more appeal to the working class. And then of course there were those who claimed that they follow Jesus. One must wonder if this was a group who was genuinely seeking to be Christ followers or if they were just trying to out trump the others as to who had the best celebrity baptism.

Continuing on in his gentle rebuke, Paul appeals to logic. He asks them a series of rhetorical questions to point out the how ludicrous their arguments are. While they had been focusing on what made them different, Paul brings back into focus what it is that unites us. Again he makes his appeal in threes. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? All three answers point to Christ and how he is not divided. Basically, he is asking, “Why are you willing to be divided over baptism when we all find the same salvation in Christ?”

Then, in verse 17 Paul takes one final blow at the basis of their quarrels. He says that while they were fighting over whose baptism was better that baptism takes a back seat to the Gospel. You can’t have baptism without the Gospel and Paul was sent to preach the Gospel not baptism. They were fighting over a minor issue, a secondary issue and were allowing that to divide them. By focusing their time and energy on the wrong things they were not only forgetting the Gospel but were emptying the cross of its power. Ouch!

Recently I read a book called The Heavenly Man, which was an autobiographical account of the growth of Christianity in modern day China through house churches. This book reads like a modern day story of Acts. One of the things that was very interesting to me was that at the beginning of the church planting movement the only thing these small house churches had were a couple of copies of the Bible. When the Bible was all that they had, these churches worked together in unity, praying for one another and ministering together. This was going on for years and then some well-intentioned missionaries brought along some additional denominational material, which was spread among different groups. As different house churches received books and pamphlets from different denominations something very disheartening happened. They began to say we can’t pray or work with you because you don’t believe the same as us about baptism, or the working of the Holy spirit, or eschatology. As these churches began to focus on their differences factions, schisms, splits, and quarreling became the norm.

As we think about Christian unity we must realize what it is not. Christian unity is not accepting any belief or idea that comes along as valid and true. Christian unity is not a relativistic idea that says whatever you believe is ok for you. Christian unity does not mean that we unquestioningly hold communion with people from every so-called “Christian group, sect, or cult”.

True Christian unity means that should not quarrel and fight with fellow believers over secondary issues when we are all saved through the same Christ. Like Paul we should step above the fray and in humility hold up everything to the light of Christ’s work on the cross. We should be quick to focus on what unites us and cautious about focusing on minor things that might divide us. Focusing on secondary issues weakens the church as well as empties the cross of its power. A church divided brings confusion to the world, to people like my agnostic friend in Spain. However, a church united in the love of Christ is the best witness the world will ever see!

Deep calls to Deep

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?"

My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Speaking on Reaching Out

I am in the midst of a sermon series at Harvest Community Church on the topic of Reaching Out. This is a series that is near and dear to my heart after spending so much time seeking God and praying about reaching out to those who are not yet followers of Christ.

I have already given the first two sermons. The first one is "God is a Missionary God" and the second one is titled "Life is Ministry"(Hmmmm, sounds familiar). Anyway, the first one speaks about God's identity throughout history and his desire to reach all of the nations. The second one speaks about the identity of those who claim to be followers of Christ and what God's dream for us is. If you are interested in listening you will find the podcasts here.

Live from Fayetteville, Arkansas

That's right Fayetteville, Arkansas. This week I have been taking Perspectives, a course on the foundations of Christian Mission. I think one of the most important things that anyone can take away from this course is that God has always had a heart for all the nations. From Genesis it has been God's desire that his people be a blessing to all nations. We are blessed not as an ends unto itself, but we are blessed in order that we can be a blessing to others.

Missing the Point!

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts."

-Jesus of Nazareth
(John 5:39-42)

As I read the Gospels I am constantly struck by the interactions of Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were known as some of the most religiously devout men in that time. They poured over the scriptures day and night and set up all manner of rules and regulations with a desire to become more "Holy". In the midst of doing this they became experts in the minutiae of the most obscure Bible passages. They were so caught up with trying to find God that they ended up missing him when he was standing right in front of them.

It is easy for us to look back on those Pharisees with contempt and haughtily laugh in disgust at their foolish actions. However, it is easy to then turn around and do the exact same things that they did. As people who claim to follow Christ, I am amazed at how often we resemble the Pharisees in our thoughts, words and actions. We care more about what people think than we care about people (please know that I am speaking first and foremost of myself).

Here Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. He says you are "diligently seeking the scriptures". That seems like a compliment, right? Today he might say, "you are actively pursuing your degree in religious studies." Or, "You faithfully attend Sunday Sermons and Bible studies every week." Or, "You religiously devote yourself to a daily reading of the Bible and quiet time."

At first glance, it is easy to say "Yeah, of course I do. What's wrong with that?" His response is that in the midst of doing all these things that are about him, we refuse to come to him. The Pharisees were constantly busying themselves with every kind of religious activity, but in the end they were far from the heart of God. They were so far from God that they were the ones who paved the way to the death of Jesus.

Several summary thoughts:

1) Jesus did not say it was bad to study the scriptures. A cursory reading of the Gospels will demonstrate that Jesus is well versed in the Old Testament.

2) In his recitation of the greatest commandment Jesus says to "love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength". In order to love the Lord with all of our mind, we obviously need to study.

3) In our study of scripture we do not merely seek Biblical trivia as though we are cramming for a bubble-test to get into heaven.

4) We study as a way of "coming to Jesus"

5) We study so that we learn what it means "to have the love of God within us"

6) We don't want to pave the way to Jesus' death, but we want to pave the way to life with him. To do that we must first "come" to him.

God is not wasteful!

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams from the Church of England speaks about how we view things in our everyday life can effect how we treat God and others. Very insightful!

Lectio Divina

10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. 13 Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.

14 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. 15 Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.

17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

Deuteronomy 24

Lectio Divina

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Paul the Apostle to the Philippians

True Fasting

"Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 58

Lent

Today is the second day of Lent. This year Lori and I decided to do the Daily Office together each day out of the Book of Common Prayer. I found this a very refreshing exercise last night. If you have not made any decisions for what you are going to do this season I wanted to point you to the Hanloma Blog where Matthew is posting daily scripture readings.

What is the Emerging Church?

Since Chris first posted about this article called Five Streams of the Emerging Church by Scot McKnight , I wanted to read it. Today I finally got a chance to read it and I think it is well done. If you think the emerging movement is simply "a latte-drinking, backpack-lugging, Birkenstock-wearing group of 21st-century, left-wing, hippie wannabes" then you should check this out. As I look at the Emerging movement I find myself pulling them in and pushing them away at the same time. That is, I find parts of what they are saying very insightful and other things just seem off base (often depending on who is saying what). Scot does a great job of giving an overview of the movement as well as identifying it's strengths and weaknesses and I really appreciate his insight.