The Bible in 90 Days?

An estimated 75 million adults (42%) said that reading the Bible is very important to them (the Barna Group) … but less than 50% of Americans can name the first book of the Bible (Gallup).
Among Bible readers, the average amount of time spent reading the Bible is less than 7 minutes a day (the Barna Group).
And yet, the average person spends almost 5 hours a day watching TV (Communications Industry Forecast & Report)
~Stats from Zondervan’s The Bible in 90 Days - http://www.biblein90days.com/

When I first read the above I was shocked as I’m sure that a good number of you were as well. Although soon afterward I started having mixed feelings about the concept. Part of me wants to say good, if the typical American Christian really spends only 7 minutes reading the Bible and 5 hours watching television. Then a church wide push for them to read the entire Bible in 90 days will do them good and hopefully set their priorities straight. The downside to this approach is that it is a marketing ploy that uses guilt to sell a program for a profit. As according to the website one needs the 90 Day NIV Bible, a participants guide and to be a member of a church group which needs a leaders guide and a DVD in order to read the Bible in 90 days. I’ll admit that I’m bias because my Bible translation of choice is not the NIV but the ESV, but doesn’t this seem a bit over the top to you? Especially since most Christians in this country most likely already have a Bible or two, so yet another Bible is probably the last thing that they need. It also makes me wonder what happens to most of the 90 Day Bibles after the program is over, as I could see them being set aside, making it all the more easier for one to fall into the pattern of not reading the Bible again. So I believe that using an existing personal Bible is probably a better idea. Also maybe I’m a bit hardcore when it comes to devotional ideas, the given the norm of the Bible in a year plan, I wonder how many people turn the Bible in 90 days plan into reading the Bible 4 times in a year. But I will admit that they deserve some credit for making their 90 day reading plan (actually 88 days with 2 grace days) available for free of charge on the website. So if you feel up for a Bible reading challenge I’d recommend you checking out the site and downloading a Bible bookmark with the reading plan to print out. And you have my permission not to buy anything and to use a Bible other than a NIV if you feel like it.

The Problem of Idolatry Today

This week in my one seminary class we talked about idolatry. Within the Bible, especially the Old Testament the issue of Idolatry comes up both frequently and harshly. Yet it is difficult for us to fully understand and apply those texts to our current situation today. For example, the ancient idols which have survived in Israel and later discovered during archaeological digs have not been destroyed but preserved as historical artifacts. But then again its depends upon one’s definition if those ancient idols are still idols or mere artwork. Also at the same time I think when idols are confronted today that people often go after easy soft targets like American Idol and sports to target celebrity worship. Not to say that this has not become a problem to some extent within the American Church just that it does not cut to the heart of the issue. As idols are anything that one places their ultimate hope and trust in other than God, which can get tricky at times as it can be relational. A better idol to target would be national security, in how people place or at least feel that they should be able to place their faith in the government to protect them from terrorists. Yet according to the Bible, national security is a myth if it comes from anywhere other than God - “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalms 127:1-2 ESV). I’m not saying that its wrong to protect one’s boarders, just that its interesting that the name national defense has given way to national security. Personally I’d say that defense is more honest as it states that like in sports, it makes its best attempt to keep things out but is realistic in the sense that it realizes that it is not possible to keep everything out. As compared to security which brings up the image of a secure fortress, which is again something that the Bible warns against. Just like what happened to Jerusalem, a mountain fortress city at the time of the Babylonian exile. As Judah wrongly assumed that simply because Jerusalem had not fallen before that they were safe, especially since it contained the temple of Yahweh, so there was no way that Yahweh would let His temple be destroyed by pagans right? Which goes to show that they did not learn from the Ark Narrative of 1 Samuel 4-6, where they took the Ark of the Covenant into battle under the belief that it would make it so they could not lose as God would not allow the Ark of the Covenant to be captured and carried off to a pagan temple as a defeated god, right? Thus showing that God is willing to do whatever it takes to make His people trust in Him alone and not the externals, even if it means trashing His own temple to drive home the point.

A Lament of Love

Last semester when I took a class on the Old Testament Poetic books and we had an assignment to write a lament Psalm. Laments are probably the most frequently neglected part of Bible literature today, yet the most common type of Psalm is lament. While the Psalter contains a lot of beautiful collection of praises to God, it also contains a lot of angry words uttered against God. Thus the mere fact that it is part of the Bible shows not only that God can handle it, but that He values it. As lets be honest there are times when shouting at God in anger is much more open and honest than attempting to cheerly praise God for how everything is great when it is clearly not the case. Finally, the vast majority (but not all) of the Biblical laments take a turn toward the positive at the end.

1 How long O Yahweh will you despise me? - (synonomous)
When O God will you stop tormenting me?

2 You ordained that it is not good for a man to be alone - (synthetic)
So male and female you created man

3 You say finding a wife, O Yahweh is a sign of your favor - (antithetical)
But you have caused me to be alone all of my days

4 All of my friends have abandoned me for their lovers - (synthetic)
As community has given way to dating and double dating

5 Day and night I cried out to You, to deliver me from loneliness - (antithetical)
But I have only gotten wet with tears in Your deafness

6 The light of the sun, illuminates not my search of desperation - (synonomous)
The darkness of the night, conceals not my wanderings of madness

7 Will your favor be ever departed from me O Yahweh? - (synonomous)
When will you remember man should not be alone, O God?

  Selah

8 O Yahweh, my hope in you was failing in the darkness - (antithetical)

But Your broke though with a faint glow renewing my trust in You, O Yahweh

9 Praise Yahweh who has shown favor to His servants (synonomous chiasmus)
Together we shall continue to praise Yahweh

Spiritual Lukewarmness

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
(Revelation 3:14-22 ESV)

To many Christians these verses are a source of fear and uneasiness, especially when one fears that they have become lukewarm in their spiritual walk. Whenever one talks about the issue of spiritual lukewarmness, it is only a matter of time before the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 comes up. Although few people realize that there are actually two ways of reading the passage. The first and more common way at the moment is to view the hot water as the Christians who are “on fire for Jesus”, the cold water as the lost that need to be saved and lukewarm water as the Christians who are not “on fire for Jesus” that make Jesus want to vomit. The second way and the one that I favor, is to view the passage within the historical context of the the city Laodicea. In short Laodicea was a very rich trade city build upon the junctions of major trade routes. The city was famous for its textiles, medical schools with its well known salve treating eye disease and its banks. Yet the city’s major weakness was that it was far away from any water supply, which had to be piped in through Roman aqueducts. The cold water was brought in from Colossae, which was ten miles away and the hot water came from the hot springs at Hierapolis, which were six miles away; both of which were lukewarm by the time the reached Laodicea. Thus it appears that Jesus was poking fun at Laodicea’s water supply. As the rest of His rebuke of the Laodicean church attacks what they through were their strengths, by them naked, blind and poor. So following this trend of interpretation, our next step is to take a closer look at the water. Cold water in general is used to stimulate and refresh, like washing one’s face with cold water in the morning or how nice it is to drink a glass of cold water on a hot day. Hot water has relaxing and soothing properties, as well as being useful for cooking and cleaning, like how relaxing in a hot tub sooths a sore body and lets not forget about needing hot water to brew tea. Lukewarm water on the other hand is not known for being good for anything useful. Although lukewarm water can give one an upset stomach and possibly vomiting when drank. Which goes to show why we normally chill or heat our beverages to some extend, instead of drinking them at room temperature. With that being said, I do not think the question is if should we be cold or hot as both have their uses as both cold and hot water are needed. Just like a Roman Bath has both a hot pool where people start out in to relax, it also has a cold pool to plunge into to cool down as its dangerous to remain in hot water too long despite the proven health benefits of hot tubs. Thus both are needed as it was a necessity for one spending an afternoon at the Roman baths to move from pool to pool. Also consider the typical water cooler filled with spring water, which has 3 faucets: one is blue and gives cold water for drinking, another is red and gives hot water for making tea or hot chocolate and the last one is white and gives lukewarm water yet is pretty much never used. Thus I think the point being made is that as Christians we should be useful to Jesus and His church in a way fitting our gifts, abilities and circumstances; rather than become indifferent and do nothing.

Finally the question comes up of what should one do when they discover that they have been in a lukewarm spiritual slump for a while that they are not sure how to break. To which I think the best answer is found within Luke 18:9-14: the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector praying in the temple. As simply being honest with God about with the situation we’ve fallen into and the sin of living as if He didn’t exist is clearly the best response. Especially since it wasn’t even possible to hid it from God to begin with, as He knew that we had fallen into a lukewarm slump before we realized it ourselves. As we are all stumble and fall into sin again and again as taught in Romans 7:14-25, yet God still loves us and wants us to get up again to start following Him again. In reality the worse thing we can do is that of the Pharisee and refuse to admit our sin nature by acting as if everything is fine with us spiritually, instead of being honest with God and confessing our sins to Him as He is faithful and will forgive us as taught in 1 John 1:7-10.

My visit to a food bank

On January 19^th, I visited the food pantry run by CrossPoint United Methodist church, which assists around 13 local families, around 70 people, both inside and outside of their church. The food pantry is fully sponsored by the donations of the congregation, through a combination of donated nonperishable food items and a modest budget to buy discounted food in bulk as part of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Member Agency. The food pantry works on self declaration of need, as it serves to supplemental support for anyone who claims to have a need. Which is in turn is picked out by the person in need through the assistance of one of the volunteers according to a guidelines sheet based upon family size.

I talked with Lora and Wendy, the two women from CrossPoint that oversee the food pantry outreach, both of whom were motivated through the Prophetic Scripture books but without directly realizing it. Wendy was motivated by what she called Jesus’ first sermon in Luke 4:14-21 which was centered around justice for the poor, believing that if is important to Jesus than its important to me. Lora was motivated by a Hymn in the Methodist Hymnal adapted from Micah 6:6-8, with command to do justice and love mercy standing out to her the most. Both Lora and Wendy were so caught up in seeking to help others that they struggled with answering my question of how God was blessing them through their work with the food pantry. Wendy told me about how her work with the food pantry was helping her to learn how we are all equal before God, which stands out to her as she connects with others and extends the love of Jesus to them. Lora felt most blessed by being able to take the time to listen to the stories of the people the food pantry reaches out to. An experience which she finds humbling as she learns both who they are and what gratitude is.

Overall I was very impressed with the CrossPoint food pantry, especially how it was considered just another ministry of a single parish church and not part of the wider denomination. I think the sense of local church ownership of the food pantry is a major strength of its ministry because it allows the congregation to actively minister to the real needs of the local poor in their neighborhoods. Another advantage of this hands on congregation approach, is that people tend to be more generous and motivated with their giving when they see exactly where it is going, and know that others are depending upon them. This direct social interaction with the needy causes the church to build outreach relationships with local churches in a way that presents them with a much fuller picture of the Gospel than a street preacher could ever give them. As was clearly the case when during my visit, one of the regular customers, ask one of the workers what time the church meet on Sundays. As to disadvantages, its really hard to criticize CrossPoint as I feel that a lot more churches need to be doing exactly what they are doing. But if I must be critical, I feel that their ministry might be a little more effective if they also had men visibly involved instead of just women, in order to give a more complete picture of the church.

A Judgement Oracle

This semester in seminary I’m taking a class called Hebrew Prophets on the Old Testament prophetic books. One of our assignments was to write a judgment oracle for today in English but in the style of Hebrew poetry around an issue that we feel strongly about. The assignment is not to be taken as Scripture writing but to better understand the Biblical role of prophets. As while the prophetic books include prophecies, they also express concern about the here and now in expressing strong disapproval of injustice, unrighteousness. Also the professor points out that God speaks through Scripture, therefore it is not a misrepresentation to speak out against things in God’s name which clearly go against what is written in the Scriptures. I wrote my oracle against the frequent neglect for social justice for the poor, a theme which comes up often in the Bible, yet is rarely preached upon today as often as it should be. Personally I view this work mainly as a tool to draw attention to the issue and not as a prophet of doom.

1 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
Snarling words of fury against His People

2 “Woe to you rich Christians who neglect justice,
You well-off who ignore the poor.

3 Because you have exploited the poor to live in luxury,
Surrounding yourselves with sweatshop goods.

4 You have gorged yourselves with rich foods,
But have allowed others to perish for lack of food.

5 You have guzzled gallons of fancy coffee lattes, sodas and wines,
But have neglected those in need of clean drinking water.

6 I despise your many prayers for riches,
But I am deprived of prayers on how to use wealth to bless others.

7 You were blessed to be a blessing upon others,
But selfishly you have hoarded the blessing unto yourselves.

8 Therefore, I will withdraw my blessing from you,
I will set my hand against you.

9 You have whored yourselves after consumerism and greed,
therefore, your pursuit of wealth will betray you.

10 You shall desire and shall not receive,
What you have shall not satisfy you any longer.

11 And in that day I will refuse to listen to you,
For you did not listen to the cries of the poor.

12 Therefore I will not relent,
Unless you repent!” declares Yahweh.

Biblical Food For Thought

It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:17 ESV)

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(Mark 7:15-23 ESV)

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
(Acts 10:9-16 ESV)

As Christians the Old Testament Dietary Laws often come off to us as seeming overly restrictive and unnecessary, so we normally brush them over without much regard. Sure as Christians its true that we are not obligated to keep the Old Testament Law. Yet at the same time simply because we are not obligated to keep the letter of the Law, does not mean that we are not able to learn from it. As the whole of Torah comes from God, our creator who ultimately knows what is best for us. Just like we all know that following the Biblical sexual guidelines will protect us from sexual transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. So when it comes to food, can we also assume that God knows what is best for us as well? I find it interesting that Law bans both the eating of animal blood and fat. Sure we know today that its impossible to eat meat without eating some fat, but I think its a safe assumption to take it as meaning one is avoid all visible fat when eating meat. I’m sure most churches today would freak out if it was discovered that one of their members was eating animal blood on a regular basis, and be horrified by this vampire like behavior. Yet at the same time view it as perfectly acceptable to eat visible animal fat on a regular basis with its meals. We can only speculate as to why God forbade the Hebrews from eating blood, but its a safe guess that it was a mix of the spiritual significance of holy blood sacrifice and possible health issues from eating animal blood. Although we now know that in order to maintain good health it is in one’s best interest to limit the amount of fat and especially animal fat that one eats. While I doubt its possible to strongly argue that its a sin for Christians to eat visible animal fat today, that does not mean that its in our best interest to do so. Just like the Bible speaks out against greed in both the Old and New Testaments which has traditionally been expressed as gluttony by the church in regards to greed with food. I find it interesting that today that term gluttony is for the most part no longer used by the Church today. Not that I think that we need to become more legalistic, just that God cares about gluttony because it is in our best interest to maintain or reach a healthy body weight.

A Good Christian Sex book

If anyone is looking for a good Christian book on sex, it might be worth your while to read Real Sex the naked truth about chastity by Lauren F. Winner. I’ll admit that its the first book on sex that I’ve read so I don’t know how it compares to others but I find it well written in such a way that it can benefit both single and married Christians. Her basic argument that real sex happens within the covenant of marriage, and any sex which falls outside of that is counterfeit in the sense that it falls short of what its supposed to be. The book is written in a very straightforward style which both informs and motives; and is not afraid to address touchy issues like the lies that the church has often been guilty of teaching about sex. At the same time, it does a good job of education the reader about the gray areas of issues which the Bible does not address in fully and unambiguously defined language. In these disputed areas, Winner stops short of making arbitrary in favor of explaining the different opinions that exist on the issue, such as the burning question of most singles of how far can on go before marriage. Another bit worth mentioning is that close to five pages of the book is devoted to the gray area of masturbation, which I find impressive as its a topic that few Christian writers seem willing to even mention let along take as seriously.

Sincerely Yours

Saturday night during my drive home from visiting Paula, I was listening to a Christan radio show called From the Archives which played older Christian music. A song called Sincerely Yours by Gary Chapman in 1987 stood out to me enough for me to go through the trouble of tracking down a copy of its lyrics online. The song is about a person who writes a letter to God and realizes that living life can be viewed as writing a letter to God. I find it especially interesting that it was sparked upon evaluating his prayers that increased his desire to live his life for God to keep and never throw away. So maybe there is something more to the practice of writing out one’s prayers from time to time to be reviewed at a later date.

Sincerely Yours
Gary Chapman

Lord, I take my pen to write to You a letter,
Knowing even now You know what’s on my mind;
But I think perhaps it might make me feel better
If I see myself here written in a line.
And as I close I see a phrase I took for granted,
It leaps out as I see it written there;
And as the truth of it begins to become planted,
Those two words have now become my heart-felt prayer.

Sincerely Yours,
Lord, I sign my life to You, Sincerely Yours.
With a strong and honest wish to be the best that I can be at what I am,
Without a thought for me, Lord, teach me now to be
Sincerely Yours,
Without a proud or selfish line, Sincerely Yours.
Now until there is no time, please make my life become a letter You can keep
And never throw away
I’ll write it till the day I become
Sincerely Yours.

In with the new year of 2008

For the most part, 2007 was a fairly typical seminary year as I progressed onward in my studies. Without a doubt the most notable event of the past year, was finally reaching the end to my seemly prenatal 26 and a half years of singleness when Paula came into my life. It is hard to believe in a way but I know that the year of 2008 will be a year of transition for me and that without a doubt I will have a very different life by this time next year than now. I am within days of starting my final semester at Biblical Theological Seminary before I graduate with my Masters of Divinity on May 3^rd 2008. The scary thing is that as of now I have no idea what I’ll be doing once I finish. Well at least my final semester schedule of 2 courses and class on 1 day a week starting at 1:30 in the afternoon will allow me plenty of time to be able to job search around my classes. Now if only I knew where to get started, I’m in the process of looking into a certain organization at the moment but if things do not work out I’ll have to go out and look for other alternatives. So any prayers on your part would be greatly appreciated, and as always if you have anything that you would like prayer about feel free to let me know.

The other change that I see in store for 2008 is finally getting to the point of feeling ready to start working on my book project. Ever since my first semester in seminary when I took a practical theology class called Personal Assessment and Spiritual Development and reinforced when I took a theology class called The Christian Life, I’ve felt the urge to write a book on living the Christian life. I find it hard to explain beyond saying that I’m almost comfortable saying that it is something that I have a feeling that I might be called to do on the side regardless of the nature of my vocation. As while I did not feel ready to take on the project early on in seminary, the idea never left me. Over the past year my interest in spiritual formation has greatly increased as am having an increasing desire to both grow more spiritually myself and learn the best way to help others do the same. So in the interest of making progress on what is an important goal to me and creating some accountability in the process, I share with you my spiritual formation reading list for 2008 or at least the start of it as I’m sure I’ll add other books to the list as the year progresses.

Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
The Spirit of The Disciplines by Dallas Willard
Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald S. Whitney
The Sacred Way by Tony Jones
Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli