Take a Look at the Book

Take a Look at the Book

I have a confession to make. I’ve had the book for years, but I haven’t looked at it. I thought about it several times, but was “too busy” or “in a hurry.” There is really no good excuse. I just chose not to take a look at the book.

In the meantime, I chose to do what I thought was right. I had a vague memory of this rule or that, but I wasn’t sure, so I just did what seemed right at the moment. As a result, I did it one way some times, and another way at other times. For those who know and abide by the rules, it must have driven them nuts.

The book in question is Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition. The price sticker on the front says $7.95. I’ve had it a long time. The binding is quite stiff from non-use, but the red, exterior binding is faded from sunlight on a neglected shelf.

It could have helped me in writing this weekly newsletter over the years, but much more so with the Daily Encouragement emails where I make heavy use of quotation marks as I refer to Bible verses. Does the punctuation fall inside the quotation mark, or outside? I did what seemed right at the moment. But upon referring to the authority of the book, I found that commas and periods always appear inside quotation marks, colons and semi-colons always outside, and question marks and exclamation points, well, that depends (pp. 659-653).

This all could have been remedied long ago, much to the relief of my sister and my daughter. But you pretty much know by know that this is not the point. It’s the illustration.

How many people use the very same approach in living life, and choosing what to believe, and understanding what is true about humanity and about divinity and about sin and salvation? They choose what seems fitting at the moment, and if they choose differently later, well, who is to say? They know that there is a Book, the best-selling Book in all of history, and they could have taken time to look at the Book, but no, they decided to rely on vague memories or what seemed best or what was good in their own eyes. They decided that their own reason was more trustworthy than God’s revelation, or that a psychologist who asks questions is more insightful than a prophet who hears from God. As a result, they have lived foolishly, and wrongly. 

The Bible introduces us to God. It tells us about Jesus. We need to know that story. It shows humanity’s origin in the mind of God and in creation, and also our destiny in either heaven or hell. These are things that we need to know, and could know, if you would take a look at the Book. 

One day we will stand before God. Pleading ignorance to His will and ways will not be an option. He sent us a love letter in the form of the Bible, and we chose to live without Him. Take a look at the Book.

Keeping our Balance

Keeping our Balance

Keeping one’s balance is essential to prevent falling down. We do so by paying attention and by being careful. And even then, we still find ourselves on the ground at times.

Keeping balance in the Christian life also needs attention. A wise author who goes by Anonymous wrote a book called “Embracing Obscurity.” As you might guess, it did not make the bestseller list, and the author did not become famous. And that is fine, because that was not his/her aim.

I saved a quote from this book that I’ve read more than once: “We have to be intentional about: (1) remembering our roots, (2) remembering our purpose, and (3) remembering our limits.” I think of this as keeping one’s balance as a Christian in a world that would like to see us cast down. It is an approach that will protect us from pride, self-centeredness, and self-sufficiency.

Let’s review the three points in turn. How does the Christian remember his/her roots? Think back with me to Abraham, previously an idol-worshipper far removed from any promise or Promised Land. It was only because God revealed Himself to Abram and took hold of his life that Abraham “learned” faith in God and traveled to a new place and discovered the blessing of living under God’s rule. As Abraham remembered his roots, he could not dismiss the fact that his life and blessing were due, not to his own efforts, but to the grace of God.

This is true for every believer. We were all saved from idolatry. Our hearts were (and are) naturally and sinfully drawn to worship all the wrong things until we were laid hold of by Christ. The fact that He is now our Love and our Lord is due not to our own goodness or virtue, but to the amazing grace of God that saves sinners from themselves.

We are also remember our purpose, which is to serve as a representative of Christ in the world, together with other believers. We are not here to “do well for ourselves” or to “make a mark” or “leave a legacy.” Those phrases pretend that you exist and God doesn’t. No, we are here to serve the interests of our Lord. We have no “secular” tasks, since every endeavor is for Jesus, even if it sweeping the parking lot. What we do, we do for Jesus, and if we can’t do it for Jesus, then we ought not be doing it.

We also to remember our limits. We serve the Messiah, but we are not messianic ourselves. We are not professionals, or experts. We are simple disciples, learners and followers of Jesus who seek to make much of Him in our own lives and to do so visibly and with humble explanation to others. We do not care if they know our names so long as they know Jesus’ name. May we by anonymous so long as Jesus can be known.

It seems that, as we forget these things, the Christian and the Church lose their balance and fall down.

Jumping Off Your Own Shadow

Jumping Off  Your Own Shadow

One of the pleasures of riding a bike, especially in the early morning or later afternoon, is the exercise of chasing one’s own shadow. There you are, bike and body, laid out in monochrome on the road ahead, and one is actually motivated to go faster - you know, to keep up with the shadow.

So long as the sun shines, we all have one, that is, our shadow. We don’t have anyone else’s. Just ours. And, it seems to be an appendage to our body, distorted, but which also always tells the truth. We are not quick enough to get away from it, even quicker than that light in the refrigerator that the frugal man wants to be sure goes off when he closes the door. The shadow is there, so long as the light shines, and it is there whether it is front of us or behind us, whether we see it or not.

I read a story about Alexander the Great who, as a young man, even a boy, was introduced to a group of men studying a great horse. The horse had proved to be uncontrollable, but Alexander observed and then took the halter. He had noticed that the horse was afraid of his shadow, and so if he positioned the horse toward the light instead of away from it, the horse remained calm. Are we like the horse, afraid of our shadow?

Why would we be afraid? Because the shadow tells the truth. But the good thing about shadows is that there is no record. As soon as we move, it is gone. But is that true? What if someone takes a picture? Does not the picture record the shadow, even if you are out of the frame? Shadows can be recorded, and just as we, on occasion, see our shadow, God does as well, always.

The world seems to be devoted to the elusive task of erasing signs of our identities and activities. We don’t want to be tracked. We certainly don’t want to be recorded against our will. But when God created the heavens and the earth, He included something in the very workings of the world, even when He made the first pronouncement, “Let there be light,” that would include us having a shadow from which we cannot jump.

For those who are afraid of their shadow, or afraid of being investigated or tracked, the only alternative seems to be to walk in darkness. No shadow there. And that applies to men and women throughout the centuries and in every place. It applies not just to the shadow on the wall, but to the record of our souls. We suppose that if we live outside of God’s gaze, we can hide our shadow. But that is not true, is it? Listen to these verses from Scripture: 

Job 34:22     “There is no darkness or deep shadow 
    Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 12:22     “He reveals mysteries from the darkness 
    And brings the deep darkness into light.
Psa. 139:12     Even the darkness is not dark to You, 
    And the night is as bright as the day. 
    Darkness and light are alike to You.

The point is not that we should chase our shadows or seek to escape them. The point is that the only proper course is to embrace the God who sees us completely, and loves us anyway.

Life is Always about Giving Up One Treasure for Another

Life is Always about Giving Up One Treasure for Another 

The title of this post is a famous quote, oft repeated, but I haven’t been able to track down its source. It is, of course, Biblical. Hear this verse from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: Matt. 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.  The implication is that you cannot do both at the same time. Again, let’s listen to Jesus: Matt. 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.

Let’s think of a common example: marriage. When one finds a “treasure” and proposes to her, he is giving up one treasure for another. From a world-ish point of view, he once could do pretty much as he pleased. But now, in light of this new covenantal relationship, he is to be occupied with pleasing her as well, and even pleasing her before himself. Having just celebrated 45 years of marriage, that “treasure” exchange was well worth it.

From a Biblical point of view, we recognize that we are all slaves of something. Many are slaves of their own passions, often times the pursuit of money, and so that subject is already addressed the second Bible reference above. We all serve something, often our own selves. But when we meet Christ, we are re-directed to serve others before self: Phil. 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. When we meet Jesus, we find One who has done this very thing even as He provided redemption for us: Matt. 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Let me give you one more Bible illustration: Moses. God rescued him at his birth and then placed him in Pharaoh’s household in Egypt, taken from slavery to royalty. He live and grew in privilege and prosperity. But he had a heart for his people, and so he left the palace for the wilderness, entered into a long-running conflict with the most powerful man in the world, and then a life of leading an obstinate people in the wilderness for 40 years. Centuries later, the author of Hebrews says of Moses: Heb. 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. He gave up one treasure for another. The first treasure was but temporal; the latter, eternal.

One could take the quote from our title and use it to better himself/herself in this world. But that is not really the point, is it? The greater point is, will you choose the treasure that is “out of this world” more than the treasure that is bound by this world, which also serves to bind you to the fate of a world? Jesus, like Moses, left the palace of heaven to ransom or redeem obstinate people like ourselves, who would then be called “His people”, having accepted His loving leadership in our lives. 

Life is always about giving up one treasure for Another.

Short-Form Addiction

Short-Form Addiction

We know that digital communication has changed the world. It has changed our life patterns, and even the ways that our brains work. It has required new equipment built for the new technology, and we go along. No need for pencils and paper. No need for newspapers or books. No need for a Bible.

The most recent phase of short-form communication is video - a clip from a TV series; stunts on trick bikes; amateur tree- cutting fails. You can find these on YouTube and Facebook and all the others as well. I’m not personally familiar, but it seems to be how TikTok came to be. But short-form video is taking over text. And, it is addictive.

The algorithms feed you what it has figured out you like to watch, and you can spend a couple of hours lost in the disjointed stream. But at the same time, you are so immersed that you don’t know how much time has gone by until you “wake up.” And then, if you have any sense left, you feel silly for having wasted so much time.

When is the last time that you found yourself immersed in a good book? When was the last time that you were that immersed in your Bible? How often do we lose track of time in prayer? But the new “short form” has you in its grip, and it has changed your brain. We need to get it back.

For those who have been trained by “short form”s for frequent satisfaction from clever snippets, working through a book is so much harder. Reading and searching your Bible for God’s answers to your questions is difficult and demanding. Thinking about how to pray for a person with a difficult problem, and what you can do to help the situation and not hurt - and asking God for wisdom and opportunity to proceed - these are not matters of brain tease. But it was what we were designed for.

Our brains were not designed to be tickled, but worked. We need to learn how to work our brains.TV started it so many years ago. Magazines brought the glossy pictures. The theater perfected video and sound effects. But the small screen of a computer, laptop, tablet, and phone has taken us into our own little worlds where we can click and sample as though we live in a candy store, and when we emerge from that session, the lack of nutrition is comparable.

As you might expect, I wonder how this affects sermons, or more importantly, sermon-listening. I wonder how many are ready for short-form sermons - just a punchy thought or inspiration for the hour, then on to something else. And if you could put it into a 10-second video, then if you want, you could flick past it, or even, on that rare occasion, listen to it and repeat it once again, just so you could digest that whole piece of nothingness.

In the Temptation, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God did not split His words into tweets or put them into a short-form video. He spoke in context, at length, with great variety of contexts and voices, speaking to the heart and soul; to the understanding and will. But to get it, to digest it, it takes some time away from the screen. We need to get our brains back.