Scofield

 May 5, 2022

Last winter, figuring it was time to unpack some of the books I had boxed up when I retired, I refinished a set of barrister bookshelves that had been dismantled and stacked in the back of my garage. Among the various books on history and theology, I unpacked the very first Bible I ever owned. It was given to me by my parents upon my profession of faith in Christ. The cover is tattered and falling apart, as are parts of the Book itself. It is marked and underlined, filled with notes and comments. The bookplate in the front was designed and inked by my mother, which makes it even more of a treasure to me.

Some of my contemporaries would perhaps scoff at the fact that it is a Scofield Reference Bible, the notes and cross-references being the work of C.I. Scofield, forerunner to the fundamentalist movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Scoff they may, but it was in this Bible I cut my Christian teeth; the teaching and mentoring I received from the men and women of Westside Baptist Church, many of whom had identical Bibles, has stood the test of time, and remains the foundation upon which my life in Christ has been built.

That old Bible has long since been retired, but its pages are testimony to the power of the Word of God in a young man’s life. Someone once said, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” I can vouch for that, and am grateful for this old friend from years ago.

Neglect

 May 4, 2022

Whether one is shooting deer or basketballs, the principle is the same: a small error at the outset of a shot can mean missing the target altogether. This principle is true in life, too. Hebrews 2:1, 3 warns, “we must give the more earnest heed…lest we drift away…fro how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

I don’t think I am in much danger of rejecting the Gospel, but every day, I face the danger of neglecting it, which neglect has perilous consequences. Prayerlessness, distractions, pride, carelessness are all continually making war with my spirit and must be continually resisted. I don’t think I am alone when I say I am inherently lazy, and will take the easy path if given the choice. It is easier to drift than to stay on target. The latter requires discipline, focus, determination. As someone once said, “Even a dead fish can go downstream.”

In the next chapter, the writer encourages us to “exhort one another daily…lest you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (3:13). That word “daily” challenges me. With their daily gatherings for prayer, the monastics take these words much more seriously than do most of us. We have somehow come to the place where we think once a week is enough, and even that is becoming less and less common. Worship and fellowship are what we do when it’s convenient; when something “better” hasn’t come along, and even when we gather, there is little actual accountability and exhortation. 

The danger is real. Sin’s deceitfulness hardens us. It dulls the senses to the Spirit, and isolates us from each other by wrapping us in shame and guilt. Remaining tender to God is critical, and is best done in the context of people we know and trust so well that we are unashamed to bare our souls. That is only possible when we gather often enough to build trust. A hard heart is a dying heart; we need the exhortation to keep us humble and sensitive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. May we welcome those who challenge and encourage us to stay alert and sharp, lest we neglect our great salvation.

Remembering

 May 3, 2022

“My soul longs for You, O God.” —Psalm 42:1. 

Can I honestly say this? In one sense, it is true of all of us. God has put a longing deep within us that can be satisfied only by him. We often attempt to fill that longing with other things—money, sex, power, acclaim—but they all fall short, and we keep longing, searching, hoping.

The psalm goes on to say, “When I remember (this longing); “I will remember You…” We have both individual and collective amnesia. I have forgotten so much that I have lost touch with my own soul, my deep longings. We have forgotten what we are longing for; buried them beneath all the false and futile satisfactions that never quite satisfy. 

In the beginning, God formed man of the dust of the earth, making a body into which he breathed the breath (“spirit”) of life, and “the man became a living soul.” It is the spiritual infused into the physical that creates the soul, the person in his entirety. When the body and spirit lose touch with each other, the soul is the casualty. We forget…God, ourselves, our humanity.

O Lord, remind me of who I am. Remind me of how you value the crown of your creation. Remind me of who you are, that I might long for you, remembering your great loving sacrifice. Remind me in the night of your light, and in the day of your presence at all times. Remind me, that I might long again for you…and find you nearby, where you’ve always been even when I forget.

D.V.

 May 2, 2022

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” —James 4:13, 15-16 

Often the old-time Bible commentators would pen a preface to their work, concluding with the letters “D.V.” Why were these two letters which slip by most modern readers so important as to be included almost as a post-script? Because those old authors understood something we too often forget. These letters stand for “Deo Volente,” “God Willing.” We moderns often take life for granted, assuming we will be able to fulfill tomorrow the plans we make today. We have become accustomed to being in control of our lives, and feel cheated if anything interrupts the carefully mapped-out future we have planned.

It all works pretty well until we hit a bump in the road, or even worse, find a big detour sign blocking our way. I don’t know too many people who haven’t had a few of those detours blocking the road they were on. A young woman thinks he is about to propose, but instead he breaks up with her. After a lifetime of hard work and saving, he gets a report from the doctor that sends their retirement travel plans up in smoke. A drunk driver ends the dreams of a young woman who just graduated from medical school.

At times like this, we are tempted to shake our fist at God; after all, we were doing our best to serve him. How could he do this to us?

James knew how fragile life can be. The early Church spread primarily among the poor of the day; the slaves, the sick, those society cast off. There was no safety net, no retirement plans, no health insurance. But the bottom rung of society weren’t the only ones to believe. Earlier in his letter, James spoke to those who had plenty of this world’s resources, chiding them for their condescending attitudes towards those less fortunate (James 2:1-9). 

I don’t believe we realize how much we take for granted our regular income, our jobs, our health, our homes, our security. Mother Theresa said it well: “You don’t know Jesus is all you need till Jesus is all you have.” I’ve never been in so destitute that Jesus is all I have. I may think I’ve put my complete trust in him, but have I?

I don’t think I’ve been boasting lately, but plans we’ve made have come to a screeching halt. Our son’s brain tumors have changed our daily routine. This morning, Linda tested positive, so the plans we had made to help Nate and Deb have been put on hold. To help out our other kids, we had planned to drive various grandchildren to their sports events and doctors appointments this week. Scratch that!

These interruptions are pretty minor; after all, we aren’t being targeted by Russian artillery or missiles, haven’t had our home torn apart by a tornado, and aren’t awakened in the night by gunfire outside our door. Nonetheless, we are not guaranteed tomorrow, so tonight I make plans, but always in mind are those two letters: “D.V.”

Chicken Little Theology

May 1, 2022

Pastor Brandon’s sermon this morning was taken from Acts 9:1-6, the story of Paul’s conversion. His theme was how God chooses unlikely people through unlikely circumstances for his purposes. But what really caught my attention was his text not from the Bible, but from Chicken Little.

“The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Most of us know the story; it’s a folk tale that is true to life as we know it. For the past three years we’ve listened to talking heads from every tv or computer screen crying out with rabid alarm, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” Those aren’t their exact words, of course, but their theme is identical—“The world is coming to an end! Climate Change! Racism! Covid! Democracy is in danger!—The world is coming to an end!” They prey upon people’s fears and ignorance in order to manipulate and control. 

This is not to say we do not face real problems, but I’ve been around long enough to remember when the same people who are shedding crocodile tears over climate change said the world was going to face another ice age. That was before the ice caps were going to melt and flood every coastal city. Doomsday prophets are a dime a dozen; the sky is falling. But what if we change our perspective? Instead of the sky falling, maybe heaven is getting closer.

What if all the things about which we fret and worry about are God’s way of tapping us on the shoulder, trying to get our attention? Maybe instead of perseverating over all the bad things that could happen, we should listen to God calling us to himself. Wouldn’t it be a kick in the teeth of the media moguls if instead of cowering in fear like Chicken Little, eager to bow before any of the schemes the high and mighty have for the peons of this world, we were to say, “No, the sky isn’t falling; heaven is getting closer.” 

Slaves No More

 April 30, 2022

A runaway slave sent back to his former master by the world’s most famous Christian leader is just what the skeptic ordered. Can you imagine what the media would do with such a story? This is no hyped up scene from a bloodthirsty reporter; it actually happened. Unfortunately for those who would salivate over such a scoop, there is more to the story. 

Onesimus had run away from his master Philemon, eventually making his way to Paul who sits in a Roman prison for his faith. There he is converted through Paul’s prison ministry. Paul sends him back to his master, along with a letter in which Paul encourages Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. The difference between the two is stark in its contrast and significance: A slave is valued for what he can do; a brother for who he is.

In Christian circles, we so often emphasize servanthood to the detriment of brotherhood. We describe ourselves as “servants of Jesus.” But Jesus had a different take on all this when he said, “I no longer call you servants, but friends” (John 15:15). 

Seeing ourselves only as servants leads to performance-based lives which can easily drift into blatant legalism, supplanting our Sonship in Christ. It also affects our relationships with others; we see them as we see ourselves—servants who can and should do things for us rather than as brothers and sisters who are valued for who they are as children of God. When we see people as servants, we have unwittingly elected ourselves as God.

Sonship and brotherhood on the other hand, are all about intrinsic worth irrespective of performance. Both perspectives are needed, but I think we (I) should put more emphasis on being a brother, and seeing other people way, too. 

Integrity

 April 29, 2022

Why is Paul’s letter to Philemon even in the Bible? A runaway slave makes his way to Paul in a Roman prison, where Paul leads him to Christ. Paul sends him back to his master with this letter asking Philemon to receive him not as a slave, but as a brother. This would be a pretty ordinary pastoral matter except Paul bolsters his request by leaning on Philemon a bit, reminding him that he owes Paul a great personal debt, perhaps his own salvation. If Paul were a corporation, we would call this a dunning letter.

So why did this make its way into the Scriptural canon? Perhaps it’s the very ordinariness of it, how Christian faith impacts every area of life. In verses 4-6, Paul writes that he is thankful for the reputation Philemon has for love and faith, adding these words: “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

Most of us have at one time or another encountered people who make great profession of faith until they are shown to be charlatans, fakers who behind the facade of holiness lie, steal, slander, or live immoral, ungodly lives. Paul says what we all instinctively know; that sharing our faith can be counterproductive if unaccompanied by a faithful and loving life. I am grateful tonight for the saints in my life who lived honest, quiet lives of faithful service and love, who taught me by both word and deed what it looks like to be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. In a world of costume jewelry, they are like diamonds.