TEXTUALISM AND THE BIBLE

So, I just read this in the bible, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth,” I John 3:18.  One’s confession may be, “I just follow the Bible, or maybe  the Koran or Torah. I just want the written word, only the word.”  I read it again, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth!” I put my bible down, now what? If my confession of belief is real and  has any substance, if I practice what I just read, it will affect those around me. They will get my love!  If I have just read what I’ve read with the purpose to be right or at least more right than others, I will preach to you about  how I believe these scriptures but it will never turn into action. Instead of sensing love from me you may sense a defensive, angry and “religious spirit.” You may sense I am using the bible as a defensive weapon to make others wrong. It is very subtle!  The dynamic is called, “textualism!” I read words and because I agree with the ink on the page, I think it lives in me but this is not necessarily true. Textualism means, “strict adherence to a text!” It could be the bible or any text for that matter. A textualist is one who is well versed in a text (As pertaining to these comments, the scriptures.) It does not necessarily mean the text ever gets off the page and into one’s life. Maybe that is why Jesus said, “Unless you eat my flesh, drink my blood”…..!  That wasn’t about a little wafer and a thimble of wine! When he said this it really angered the religious leaders around him who were very  hypocritical in their religious practices. Getting my nose out of the pages and the text must take place if the words are to become life, for me and for others. What this verse in I John means to me is that talk can be as cheap as cheap religion and must morph into a genuine love and concern for others. We get it backwards when we offer to feed the hungry but insist that they attend our particular brand of church service first! How about exposing our faith by feeding them first instead of imposing our faith by making them listen to us for an hour before they eat?

For Mother Theresa, this love meant forsaking the possibility of a life of comfort and ease in her later years, fully paid for, after all, she worked so hard, she deserved it.  No, she had eaten the bread, consumed the wine and as it became her nourishment she was ruined in terms of her own comfort.  She was unable to resist the alleys and streets of Calcutta where the drunks lay in their vomit, the prostitutes in their sweat and  the cries of the suffering are heard and felt each day. It looks a little different from our Western evangelistic light shows and free hot dogs for the homeless (once or twice year,) don’t you think? It makes me feel really good to feed the homeless some turkey and dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That will hold me for another year! It makes me proud of all the good I do for others, after all I only want the “pure written word!” It also makes great promo for my church bulletin, “Look what we do!”

There are many wonderful folks in our community that are reaching out to the suffering and the hungry. They are usually not seen nor heard but the community benefits greatly by their quiet service. Their motives are not to get people into their churches but motives of unconditional love for others. I recently attended a free Thanksgiving banquet for the community hosted by The Redwood Gospel Mission in Santa Rosa. Thousands of people attended, many, many children. As I observed the festivities I especially appreciated the volunteers (three hundred of them) as I realized their love and service was what made the difference. They have truly partaken of the bread, the wine…….! Their service has become their life as they have consumed, “The Way, The Truth And The Life!” It is the way of love.

CHARACTER, CHOICE OR RESPONSE?

I just wrote a blog on character, typed three paragraphs, lost it all,  just disappeared off my screen, off Word-Press completely. I became very frustrated, thought maybe I was being punished for what I had written (residue from my childhood, ha!) like maybe it was inaccurate , etc. but in the space of time between my first writing and now I have had some amazing insights come to me regarding the issue of character. So, losing the first blog actually chiseled a new piece into my character and instead of throwing my marbles on the ground and walking away I will attempt once again to share my thoughts on the subject of “Character.”

There was an interesting article in the Editorial section of our local newspaper this morning entitled, “Bad things happen when character takes a holiday,” written by Ann McFeatters. She writes, “It was a bad week for displays of good character.”  She was speaking regarding  the accusations against Herman Cain and his female accusers. She then spoke of Rick Perry’s loss of memory in the GOP debate which has me baffled as to why that would have anything to do with his character. She then went on to mention the current mess at Penn State, Michael Jackson’s doctor and the fact that body parts of our soldiers from Iraq were incinerated and dumped in landfill. Wow, is nothing sacred anymore? She finishes her article with the final paragraph, “This was a sad week. We all lost. But maybe we learned the meaning of a trite but true saying: Character matters.”  

The writer of this article stirred me to search out what I believe to be true about the issue of character. First let me preface my definition of character as specifically an ethical issue of moral character as Ann was speaking of in her article. I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus but I fully understand why there are so many folks who have a tough time with the bible, especially with verses as found in Romans, Chapter 5, verse 4 as it says, “Suffering produces character!” But I’ve been led to believe it is a product of my good choices! What if character was not a matter of choice but rather a matter of our response to our choices. I’m afraid my bad choices in life have far outweighed my good choices. But, I am realizing it is not the amount of good choices or the amount of bad choices I’ve made that is forming character in me, rather it is my response to those choices.  I am learning how not to take pride in my good choices and to allow my poor choices to build character by responding to those poor choices properly.

Some examples for me that are profound are the following; King David, as we all know, screwed up royally, (no pun intended,) upon gazing at the beautiful woman on the roof. One thing led to another, he ends up having an affair and if that wasn’t bad enough he had her husband murdered. David had been blessed with many, many gifts. He was a mighty warrior, skilled in battle strategy and tactics, a brave man, skillful with the sword yet he was also a musician, played the harp. He was a leader among leaders. He was true greatness personified, yet he had a character flaw and it was a flaw that needed to be exposed and brought out into the light. Making it with Bathsheba and having her husband murdered was not a, “Bad character day”, the flaw was there all along and the circumstance brought it into the light. His response to his poor choices is found in II Samuel 12:20. David and Bathsheba’s offspring was ill and it says, “David went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground, eating no food. praying for the life of his son.” After his little boy died it says, “David got up from the ground!After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.” Enter character! His gifts and talents were not what made his character, his suffering and right response to that suffering are what produced character. There was something more important than him in all this.

In Luke 22:31,  Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail.” Peter’s response was like all his responses so far in the story as he says, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus responds with, “You will deny me three times.” Peter’s character was missing a key ingredient and that ingredient was faithfulness, no matter what happens. It was his utter failure that led to the formation  of character that allowed him to be a faithful man in the end and willing to die for his beliefs.

 I guess my encouragement to the readers of this blog is to see  poor choices as stepping-stones and opportunities toward building character by seeking the right responses to  failures or perceived failures. “Character,” as found in The New Testament is defined as this; Dokimasia,  [Greek]  meaning, “a testing, a proving, trial, ordeal, a test leading to proven worth.”  What if it was failures, trials, difficulties and the pain of all the suffering  that we all experience in this life that leads to proven character. I believe this is so! When David got off the ground and worshiped instead of victimizing himself he moved out of the darkness and into the light. And for me my friend, that is the definition of good character!

QUIET

“Quiet” [kwi'it]  making no noise or sound, no disturbing sound; free, or comparatively free from noise, silent, restrained in speech, manner, saying little, free from disturbance or tumult, tranquil,peaceful, being at rest, refraining or free from activity, esp. busy or vigorous activity, peaceable, motionless or moving very gently, quiet waters,  free from disturbing thoughts, emotions, mentally peaceful, a quiet conscience, said, expressed, done, etc. in a restrained or unobtrusive way, not showy or obtrusive, subdued, not busy or active, to make quiet, to make tranquil or peaceful, pacify to calm mentally, to allay doubt, fear, to silence, calm, serene, unmoving, still hush, silence, quiet rest, stillness.  Webster

“He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. He restores my soul!” Ps. 23. Enough said!

 

 

IDEAS BY ADOPTION

We all will have many, many ideas this day. Webster describes the word “Idea,” this way; “Any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness or activity, a thought, conception or notion.” I have often pondered the question, “where do my thoughts or ideas originate?” I guess it’s according to what one believes regarding theology…..or not!  Ever have an idea that pops into your mind that you are repulsed by and wonder where that came from? If one studies the physiology of the brain it is understandable how one could reduce the complexity of our thinking in strictly physical terms.  However, my thoughts and ideas do not all originate with me. You can share your thoughts with me and they become my thoughts whether I like it or not. Consider the power of advertising! I didn’t know I needed a lexus until I was told so by someone in a T.V. commercial. What I do with that idea will either take me into a $50,000 debt, or if I design my own idea instead of adopting someone elses, I will  save $30,000 by buying a Honda Civic which in my case is much more economic and practical. And, it makes my wife happy!

The way I see it, once I have an idea, I can analyze it as mine or someone elses idea that I have adopted and received as mine. This makes the power of suggestion one of the greatest powers on earth. It comes down to what I am willing to believe about life, community, relationships, vocation, marriage, myself and all aspects of life for that matter. I think we can all agree that the earth is filled with good and evil influences at the same time. What about the possibility of our minds in the struggle between good and evil, light and dark and we are constantly choosing one or the other? I work with many friends who are agnostic and even atheist, (which by the way, I don’t believe one happens to be atheist, it is a choice like everything else.) Being open to other’s ideologies instead of being negatively judgmental has helped me learn much from those who perhaps believe differently than I, as I truly appreciate and honor their opinions and insights. It helps me be clear about what I believe and at the same time love and respect them even if we don’t agree on aspects of certain beliefs.

Once I adopt an idea or belief about something, the next thing that happens is, it affects is my emotions. My emotions affect my feet or spoken a different way, controls what I do. Let me give an example; If I have come to the conclusion my life has no value here on earth and I decide to suicide, my emotions move me toward ending my life, my feet, being affected by my emotions, move toward action and death comes swiftly. For me, ideas come from me, from others, from God or from the spirit of evil (whatever you wish to think about that!) The Bible, The Koran, The Torah, and Buddahology all offer principles on how to control thoughts toward the good and not the evil.

Next time you have an especially disturbing thought or idea, consider where it comes from. If you adopt the idea, it becomes yours and you will act on it. If you are not Christian please bear with me on this. I am committed to exposing my faith, not imposing it! There is a difference!  Someone brought Eve this thought in the garden; “If you eat the fruit that is forbidden, you shall surely not die as God has spoken.”  He goes on to imply God is a liar when he speaks further, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The same voice comes to King David as recorded in I Chronicles 21:1, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel,” David adopted the idea against the promise of God to take care of His people not according to their might but according to God’s mighty power. Lies were spoken to Jesus in the wilderness but he refused to adopt the ideas offered him. I am reminded of Peter, Judas, many, many others in the bible who adopted the ideas of evil as their own. Those adoptions were rooted in pride.

We have all witnessed the destructive end of evil men who embraced ideas of evil and adopted them as their own. Osama  Bin Laden for example, and recently Moammar Gadhafi adopted ideas that violated even their own Islamic religion. Their adopted ideas led them to commit mass murder and sent them both to early graves. Remember, the adoption of the idea moves the emotions which move the feet! May we take our thoughts captive and remember a principle found in many major religious beliefs, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

Now there are some ideas that are safe to adopt! Those are good ideas no matter who ya are!

TRUTH

What little I know regarding ancient Hebrew language could probably fit on the head of a pin but I love to study Hebrew meanings of words. The English language seems almost elementary in light of Hebrew translation. Words have so much more meaning in Hebrew than the English vernacular, at least that’s the way it seems to me. Maybe it is because of my familiarity of English. In studying ancient language it is important to understand the history and culture of the people speaking the language. Classical Hebrew is a verb-oriented language rather than a noun-oriented or abstract language. The language is quite concrete in expression. Studying languages and the complexity of dialects can become mind bending to say the least. Early Greek independent city states established individual dialects of Greek (Attic, lonic, Doric). As a result of the conquests of Alexander, however, these dialects mixed together into a common tongue, a “Hellenistic Greek,” that has come to be called “Koine.” This was the common language understood almost anywhere. It is all quite confusing without adequate study of such languages.

I find it rather humorous when considering all the conversation out there regarding bible translation. Probably the easiest approach to the bible is to just discount it as a book full of error that makes it an untrustworthy study written by people like you me who often make mistakes. This is true until I really read what it says! Basically the bible comes from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages and all the particular styles such as Classical Greek, Koine Greek (language of the street,)  etc., etc. I am probably not only boring you with all of this but it is actually giving me a headache thinking about such a complex study that would require a lifetime of careful research to even scratch the surface of understanding it all.

Where am I going with all this? I have been studying the word, “Truth!” Truth is mentioned 110 times in the New Testament, New International Version of the bible, 92 times in the Old Testament.  The Greek word for “Truth,” [Aletheia]  is simply, “Most Certainly, Rightly, Truly.” The Hebrew word for truth [Emith] has similar meaning, “Truly, Correctly, Faithfully and Lasting.” Webster states it like this; “The true or actual state of a matter.”  It simply means my fingers are typing on my laptop as a fact, not negotiable, not something else, not what I make up about it, but exactly what it is! Fact! Everything around me in the  empirical  world is fact, not negotiable. My house, the trees outside, my cat, the breakfast I am about to eat is what it is, not what I make up about it, but specific. I am specific! I am not a dog (maybe sometimes,) not a cat, nor a worm, I am a man specifically. My brain is real, my thoughts are real. Ah, my thoughts, that is where the struggle is as the mind seems to be in constant flux, influenced on all sides, ever-moving in complexity and angst. I find that I believe things that are true and at the same time I am constantly learning what I have thought to be true which really is not! I find the desire to search out the more concrete truths that are most important, reliable and useful for motivation and life direction. If matter is specific, how much more  is that which created matter, the mind and intention of God and the power of His Spirit? You have been fearfully and wonderfully made….by someone else! Truth is stranger than fiction, yes?

You have probably heard it said, “We see things as they are or we see things as we are.”  One important aspect of the bible is the characters in the story. Historical evidence points to the fact that they were real people who lived their lives at different periods of time. King David for instance was definitely King of Israel and had much to say which has been recorded. In Psalm 139, at the end of the chapter David says, “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  In this prayer he was searching for truth outside himself.(The bible was written as a story, not with chapters and verses, those came later) The story was about people’s lives. One person’s life stands out above all others in the story called “Bible,” and that person is Jesus. He made one statement that sends lightning across the entire universe. “I am the way, the truth and the life!” If this is true, how can one afford to ignore it? Is it really worth the chance?  As Pontius Pilate was torn by the pressures of Rome and Israel he saw Jesus through his own paradigm of self-interest which caused him to miss the point of the truth spoken by the man to whom he asked, “What is the truth?” Even Pilate’s wife sent him a message of a very disturbing dream she had concerning Jesus that caused her great suffering. [Matthew   27:19] Pilate could only see truth as he was, even though truth was standing in front of him.

FORGIVENESS MADE EASY……LET GO!

Wow, I’m falling down on the job, haven’t done my blog this past week! In the last 5 weeks I have conducted 5 funerals, two weddings and working on a third. Today will be my first ever back to back funeral/wedding. I have a funeral at 1:00 P.M., do a quick change(so that my tie matches the colors of the brides maids dresses) and drive up north to do a wedding. What a shift in emotion and focus, I will have to keep my equilibrium. [Thank God for spell-check!]

So, on the subject of forgiveness, there has to be a simpler way than to try to like or even love someone as evidence of forgiveness. How would you know anyway, if you were truly loving? How would you measure it, by feelings? Maybe forgiveness is more about letting it go than trying harder based on feelings and emotion. Generally, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge, acute dislike, entertaining what the person did to you. The act that hurt or offended you may always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, positive parts of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you. But you may forgive even without feeling these things by letting go of the offense.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you deny the other person’s responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn’t minimize or justify the wrong. You can forgive the person without excusing the act. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps you go on with life.  If one is unforgiving, one may pay the price repeatedly by bringing anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience. One’s life may become so wrapped up in the wrong that the present is not enjoyed or realized. One who has not forgiven may feel that life lacks purpose, or one  may be at odds with their spiritual life leading to spiritual confusion, etc. Lastly, one may lose valuable and enriching connectedness with others.

I recently read an article on forgiveness and the following benefits of forgiveness were stated this way;   First, forgiveness leads to healthier relationships, second, greater spiritual and psychological well-being, third, less stress and hostility, forth, lower blood pressure, fifth, fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain, sixth, lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse, seventh, better sleep and rest at night, eight, affects my relationship with my spouse. How? Ever live with an old grouch?

For me, the best way [And I emphasize here, for me!] to let go is to place the offense in the hands of God. For the agnostic I would say, ”go ahead take a chance.” For the atheist I would say how has unforgiveness angered you toward God in a way that you deny him? God knows better than I how to deal with the one I am offended at. Another thing I practice is praying for the individual I am offended with in the same way I would want someone to pray for me. No fair saying, “I still hate him and hope he burns but I forgive him for my sake!”  That attitude continues to dwell in the realm of unforgiveness and will only burn ones heart and soul as it continues to show up in marriage and all realms of relationships. I will even begin to hate myself!

SABBATH – LIFE LIVED, NOT A DAY OBSERVED

Here goes, take a little journey with me to the la la land of imagination. Imagine with me for a moment, there is no night and day. We do not need to sleep. Life ceases to be segmented into compartments of yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Life is just one conscious continuum of an un-interrupted existence of time/space/physicality. We are born, live and die, one straight shot of life all the way through. It is always light, there is no dark, no night, just  ”now!” Today never ceases, it just is! All of life would be realized as “Today!” This of course is very difficult to imagine as it is certainly not our experience and rightly so. We would quickly die without sleep, day and night is a gift of God for our very well-being and sustains our lives while we live on this planet. It also sustains our earth.  Our concept of today is a 24 hour period of time. What if God’s concept of today is our entire lifetime? I can hear Rod Serling say it, “You have now entered into a world of constant un-interrupted present, no yesterday, no tomorrow, just today, you have just entered, ‘The Twilight Zone! ‘Total foolishness, huh? Hey, don’t laugh, Rod made a fortune with thoughts like these! If you remember Rod you are really old, or you watch a lot of re-runs!

I often wonder how God’s concept of  ”today,” differs from mine. It says in Genesis that on the seventh day He rested from His work. It’s not that He needed rest physically of course as we do, but the meaning has to do with the completion of a work accomplished, a work finished. He saw that, “It was good.” Genesis 2:1-3 says, “The heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” There is so much symbolism here it would make a good book. Without going into a lot of details, [You can study it for yourself,] seven is used often in the bible as a symbol of completeness and perfection. God’s work of creation was both complete and perfect, [after all, you are here!] and it was completed in seven days [be it literal or symbolic!]  then we read further in The Old Testament of how God chose Israel to be His people leading them to freedom, bringing His commands through Moses, etc.  The fourth command, “The seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God, in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. So to take it literally, if you visit me on the seventh day of the week you may not do anything in the way of work, I will do no work that day and neither will my cat! No mice that day! Sorry! Of course this was all a symbol of the greater reality of God’s idea of Sabbath which has more to do with us trusting Him instead of trusting in ourselves in all aspects of life. The Sabbath was fulfilled in the finished work of The Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. ALL of God’s commands were fulfilled in and through Christ!

Hebrews 4:7 says, “He fixes a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.‘ I assert the word “Today,” is used as referring to an era not a specific 24 hour period of time. Vs. 9 is filled with promise as the writer says this, “There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (People of God, pertaining to those who have placed their trust in God, the higher power!)  Vs. 10, “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” I believe this very simply means we place our complete trust in His work in our lives, we quit worrying, cease to be anxious regarding our lives, cease to strive from trying harder to be better. Jesus has fulfilled The Sabbath for us, we are now free to enjoy life led by the very Spirit Of God.

I know I am being “preachy” and this probably sounds a lot like a sermon but I want to close with this word from Hebrews 4:15, “Now we know what we have  -  Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God, let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He has been through weakness and testing, experienced it all. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”   -The Message-

My encouragement to you today? Take the mercy, accept the help, enter the Sabbath rest from your worry, your fear, your anxious thoughts, your regrets from the past, apprehension of the future. It is all in His hands, He is secure in His desires for you, He is not anxious, fearful or worried over your life.  Let Him overwhelm you today with His great love. He got you this far, He will not let you fall now! Enter the Sabbath who is Christ! Many may go to church on Sunday, Saturday and other days, even refrain from work one day a week yet never enter the true Sabbath rest because of unbelief.