Category: Bible Studies

Traditionally at my congregation, Canyon View, October is our “Month of Prayer.” That’s not to say we don’t pray during the other months, but every fall, during October, we focus on the power of prayer. We actually print out a list of 31 prayer requests for our members to focus their prayers on each and every day. Our month will culminate on Sunday, October 25th as we spend the whole worship service in prayer led by our elders. It is a very special time.

As the month begins, we need to understand prayer is a spiritual battle. You will be challenged not to pray. All kinds of distractions will appear to hinder your prayer life. If you normally begin your prayers with the dawn of each new day, you will be tempted to sleep “just a little longer.” If bedtime is your prayer time, a thousand things will crop up to keep you up past your appointment and if you normally stop in the middle of the day to commune with God, you might be surprised at the number of invitations you receive for lunch.

Satan will be doing his very best to keep you from your appointment with God. Two of his favorite tricks are convincing us, “God doesn’t really listen” or he tells us, “You’re not worthy.” Yes, it’s true, sometimes it feels like our prayers don’t go any higher than the ceiling of the room we’re praying in, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t listening. At times like that I believe the communication is simply too deep for words. Paul told the Romans, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express,” (Romans 8:26). Or, think about your friends. With some friends silence is awkward. Someone must always be saying something to fill the void, but when you are with a true friend, the relationship is much deeper than that. When you are with a true friend, you don’t have to say anything. Just spending time together is enough. There are times when silence speaks volumes and so it is with God. Prayers don’t always involve words.

Satan’s second trick is the most sinister one. Satan will try to convince us we’re not worthy of God’s time. “The Creator has better things to do than listen to your petty problems. Besides, you’re not worthy.” That is not true! God loves us so much, he sent his son to save us. You believed that when you became a Christian and you are dearer to him now than ever before. Keep that appointment with God and join us in prayer!

 

“Some friends of mine at work were very excited when I told them I was a Christian, but they were very disappointed when I told them I don’t ‘speak in tongues.’ They said speaking in tongues is a sign that we possess the Holy Spirit. Am I missing something?”   — Tongue Tied

Dear Tongue Tied,

Many Christian groups still believe we live in the age of miracles and practice faith healing, handle poisonous snakes and speak “in tongues.” However, I believe the age of miracles has passed. The miracles were signs to show that the Christian message was from God. Yes, it would be nice if we could heal the blind and raise the dead, but now we live in the age of faith. God confirmed the Gospel with miracles, but to demand miracles today seems to me to be the same as saying, “Lord I don’t believe. Show me a miracle now.” The miracles were like the scaffolding that surrounds a building as it is being constructed. After the building is complete, the scaffolding is removed. Let’s take a closer look at the phenomena of speaking in “tongues.”

Open your Bible to Acts chapter two where we first find people miraculously speaking in a language they had never learned before. Dr. Luke, the author of the book of Acts, is writing to Theophilus, a Roman who is unfamiliar with these things. When Luke mentions something Theophilus might not understand, Luke is very careful to describe it. Thus, when the apostles speak in “tongues” for the first time, Luke carefully explains what that means by having the crowd ask, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?” (Acts 2:7, 8). Notice Luke uses the two words: “tongues” (v. 4) and “language” (v. 8) interchangeably.

The word “tongue” (glossa in Greek) is used three ways in the Bible (just as it is in English):

1. It describes a physical tongue (Mark 7:33).
2. It describes a tongue-shaped object (Acts 2:3)
3. It describes what we do with our tongues, that is “language.” For example, in a bad cowboy movie, the Indian Chief might say, “White man speaks with a forked tongue.” In other words, he believes John Wayne is lying.

If you would like to learn more, let me recommend a book written by one of my mentors, Jimmy Jividen. It’s entitled, Glossolalia: From God or Man? and is available from Amazon.com.

Blessings,
John

The story is told that W.C. Fields was near death and lying in a hospital. His wife came in and found him reading the Bible. “W.C.” she exclaimed, “I thought you didn’t believe in any of that stuff! What are you doing reading the Bible?”

“Looking for loopholes, my dear. Looking for loopholes!”

Many people have the idea that the Judgment Day is going to be just that: a cosmic courtroom. God will be the judge and Satan and Jesus will square off as opposing attorneys. These same people view the Bible as some kind of legal code and would be happy extracting the commandments to make obedience somewhat simpler. I can just see an angel pulling us over and giving us a ticket.

“What did I do Gabriel?”

“You just broke ordinance 10-A, ‘Skipping Bible School without a valid excuse.’”

This view of the Christian system is similar to that of people who believe God is some kind of “Great Accountant in the Sky.” On the Day of Judgment the books are balanced and if you have a surplus of good deeds you can enter the Pearly Gates but if there is a deficit, it’s the fast track to hotter climes.

So, just how good is “Good Enough”? Jesus raised the bar so high, no one can be good enough! Listen to what he said in the Sermon on the Mount:

^{Matthew 5:21} “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

And

^{Matthew 5:27} “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

You see what makes Christianity different is, it isn’t about being “Good Enough.” It’s about being forgiven. When Jesus was crucified, there was a violent criminal being crucified along side him. Here was a man who admitted he was getting just what his crimes deserved, but he asked Jesus to remember him, and Christ promised, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” (Luke 23:43).

It’s not about being good enough – Christianity is about being forgiven.

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

― Paul, Colossians 3:16, 17

“Where words leave off, music begins.”

― Heinrich Heine

Why does God want us to sing? If all we are supposed to do is “teach and admonish one another,” then it would seem a good sermon or Bible class would be far more appropriate than singing.

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”

― Victor Hugo

While a lesson appeals to our intellect, music is played with our hearts (Ephesians 5:19) and the heart is a powerful thing. You can reason with an intellect, but not so much with the seat of feelings. Perhaps that explains why we feel so strongly about our tastes in music.

My Orthodox friends love the ancient monophonic chants. And because they feel so strongly about their style of music, they believe four-part harmony distracts from the sacred texts with its unnatural ornamentation. So should we only chant?

On the other hand, my young Millennial friends long for a total immersion in the worship experience. Their ears are delighted with overwhelming explosions of sound. Their eyes watch colorful backdrops of pictures moving with the beat of the music and their whole body shakes with the tactile experience of rhythmic movement, clapping and lifting holy hands. For them, worship in song involves as many different senses as possible. Simple song is drab in comparison.

My southern Sacred Harp friends delight in camp meeting choruses and shape notes, while my sophisticated choral friends believe in offering only the best music to God. Perfect pitch, spot on timing and virtuosity are the keys to a successful performance before God. Nothing else will do.

So what kind of music does God enjoy? Chants? Stately hymns or rambunctious praise? Perhaps the answer can be found in Who God is: our Father. And I know Fathers love the music of their children especially when that music comes from their loving hearts.

Be filled with the Spirit, making melody to the Lord with your heart,

― Paul, Ephesians 5:18, 19

“Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.”

― E.Y. Harburg

 

 

Questions and Answers

Dear John,

Last week you convinced me Hades and hell are two different things. After all, they are two different words. (See the bulletin for April 26^th.) But my cousin says Hades and Purgatory are the same thing. What do you think?
Signed,
Listening N. Backrow

 

Dear Listening,

I think Purgatory is a ski resort in Colorado. The word “Purgatory” isn’t found in the Bible at all. Roman Catholics believe:

Purgatory (Lat., “purgare”, to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

 

This is wrong on so many different levels. The Catholic Church teaches that even though your sins have been forgiven by the sacrifice of Christ, you still may have some unforgiven sins that must be punished. They believe even Christians must suffer an appropriate amount of time to account for those sins. Now the good news for Catholics is, they believe some people – the “saints” – were so good they had more than enough good credits to go to heaven. As a result there are some extra credits that the saints are willing to share. Therefore, for the appropriate contribution, the priests will ask the saints to give your loved ones some of that extra goodness so your loved one won’t have to suffer so long in Purgatory. Convenient (and profitable), but absolutely not taught in Scripture.

Their justification for their belief in Purgatory is Hades – the unseen waiting place of departed souls. Since there is an “unseen world,” Roman Catholics claim that place must be Purgatory.

The foundation of this belief is common enough. Many people – perhaps most people – believe we get what we deserve. Good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. The corollary of this belief is, if you do something bad you must do something good to atone for your sin. This is known as “salvation by works” and it is totally contradicted by the Bible.

While Christians believe we need to strive to be good, we are not saved because we are good. We are saved by grace. Grace is the free gift of God (Romans 3:24). It has to be that way because there is no way we can be good enough on our own. Once we sin (and we all sin, Romans 3:23), we become a sinner and sin separates us from God.

Now consider the practical implications of this belief. Salvation by works results in a paranoid lifestyle. We are always “balancing the books” – counting up our good deeds and our bad deeds. We always worry which way the scales are tipping.

On the other hand, Christians believe since we are saved by grace, we constantly try to be good, not because we have to, but because we are grateful. Our life becomes an “attitude of gratitude.” Now let’s grab our skis and visit the only Purgatory worth talking about!

Dear John,

I always thought Hades and hell were the same thing, but in a recent sermon you said we all go to Hades – unless Jesus comes first. Can you explain?
Signed,
Listening N. Backrow

 

Dear Listening,

“Hades” is just a Greek word that means “unseen.” It is not the same as hell (Gehenna, Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28, and elsewhere). The word Hades describes either the place or the state where we will wait for the end of the world when Jesus comes again. Of course our bodies return to the earth while we wait for the resurrection, but what happens to our souls in the meantime? We wait in the unseen world: Hades.

Does Hades describe a state or a place? Many Christians think the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 6:19 ff.) refers to this unseen world, Hades. They point out that because the brothers of the Rich Man are still alive, the end of the world hasn’t come yet. That means the final judgment hasn’t happened either. Lazarus and the Rich Man are in the unseen waiting place, Hades, but they are in two very different parts. Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham while the Rich Man is in torment.

People who believe Hades is a location even have a name for both parts of this place. Jesus promised the penitent thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” (Luke 22:43). He didn’t say “Today you will be with me in heaven.” The final judgment hasn’t happened yet, so paradise must refer to the place where Lazarus is being comforted. It’s a good place! On the other hand, Peter talks about a place where the rebellious angels are waiting for judgment (2 Peter 2:4). Some English Bibles say this place is “hell,” but notice the footnotes. The Greek word isn’t the usual one for hell (Gehenna). It’s called Tartarus. Could this be the name for the place in Hades where the soul of the Rich Man is being punished?

On the other hand, some Christians believe Hades describes a state or a condition where the soul is apart from the body. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed,” that is, our body, “we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” that is, our future resurrection body. Paul continues, “For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked,” (2 Corinthians 5:1-3). In other words, to be a soul apart from a body is similar to being naked. So where does a righteous soul wait for the Day of Judgment? According to the Revelation, perhaps under the altar in heaven (Revelation 6:9 ff.).

While I believe the Bible teaches unless Jesus comes first, we will all die, I don’t believe we have enough evidence to be certain if Hades is an unseen waiting place or an unseen state. But which would you choose? To wait in the beautiful Paradise of God or to wait with the martyrs in heaven? Either way, it sounds like we can’t loose!

“Ahhh chooo!” he sneezed and someone piped up, “Bless you!”

That’s an old custom left over from when people believed sneezes were caused by demons and we needed God’s help to overcome the sniffles. Perhaps times have changed. We no longer believe colds are caused by demons, but we also rarely think about blessings either.

The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians by declaring, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV), but what does that mean? The New Century Bible changes the wording a little bit to have Paul say, “Praise be to the God.” (See the Contemporary English Version and others.) This recognizes that there are two Greek words in the New Testament translated “bless.”

We know the first one from Jesus’ Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2 ff.), where each phrase begins, “Blessed are ….” That word, makarios, has the sense “congratulations,” “fortunate,” or “happy.” In other words, if you practice this quality, you will be happy.

The second word translated “blessed” is eulogetos. It is an adjective, a description, which portrays something as “worthy of praise.” This is the interesting part: this word is only used of God the Father or Jesus. They are so fantastic that only they are truly praiseworthy. Everything and everyone else pales in comparison.

Now let’s take our new found knowledge and use it to help us understand what Paul was telling the Ephesians: God is blessed – he is worthy of praise! (Spend some time thinking about why God is worthy of praise.) God is blessed! But that isn’t all Paul tells us. Out of his bounty of blessings, God gives some of that quality to us. His blessings rub off on us through our relationship with Jesus. To the extent Jesus is Lord of our lives, we receive the blessings of God!

Still there is more. We might think about earthly blessings: a new car, a shiny new gadget – my wish list goes on and on – but the problem with earthly blessings is new cars become old, gadgets new to be replaced, and none of the possessions I might desire will ever really satisfy me. That’s why the blessings that come from God are “spiritual blessings.” They make me a better person. God’s blessings just get better and better with time. But that’s not all. These blessings aren’t earthbound. They are “in the heavenly places.” That means unlike anything else in my life, the blessings of God will travel with me into eternity! Now that’s something worth getting excited about.

Once a lady visited a coffee shop for breakfast. The place was packed and the waitress couldn’t find a table for the woman to sit at, so she invited her to sit at the counter. There was a big man sitting beside her with a steaming cup of coffee and two beautiful powdered sugar donuts. The woman stirred her herbal tea and watched him devour the first donut and wash it down with his coffee. Then he got up from the counter and left an empty mug and his plate with one, lone donut.

It was the most beautiful donut she had ever seen.  It was calling her name. It had been so long since she had enjoyed a pastry – you see she was on a very strict diet. She looked left and she looked right. No one was watching. She thought about it for another moment and then decided, “Why not?” The lady snatched the donut, bit into it and went to heaven. It was wonderful! She quickly finished it, but then the man came back from the bathroom…

Once Jesus said, “nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known,” (Matthew 10:26). I wonder how many people give in to temptation because they believe no one will ever know. How many people sin under the cover of darkness believing they won’t be caught? The test of integrity is isn’t how you behave when everyone is watching. The measure of integrity is how you act when you are alone.

Jan and I just returned from our vacation up in Washington state. We have a tiny cabin on a tiny island far away from everything. Now I know many people dream of a “simple life” far from the maddening crowd. A place where you don’t have to shave and the height of fashion is an old woolen shirt and a pair of work boots. Center Island is just that.

To get to the island you must drive almost to the Canadian border and then hire a boat to take you to the island. Our little property is a half-mile walk to the other side of the island. I emphasize walk because there are no private motor vehicles (although the community owns a fire engine, a tractor and an old pick-up truck).

The good news was, it was too cold for bugs and a tiny space heater warmed our cabin nicely. (The outhouse was another matter.) It rained two days out of three and Jan broke her foot the day before we left for the island. Despite her injury, she baked bread, cornbread muffins and homemade pizza. (She whipped up a cake from bits of leftover flour, canned peaches, and some walnuts, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone about that.) I sat on the porch (in the rain) and did the dishes.

So what did I learn sitting under the giant cedars and Douglas firs? I discovered the answer to the search for simplicity isn’t to be found on a boat or in a cabin in the woods. The answer to the search for simplicity can be discovered in the observation of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22, 23) During one of my early Bible studies, shortly after we arrived on the island, I discovered the phrase “if your eye is healthy,” in Greek, literally means “if your eye is single.” In other words, the key to simplicity is “singleness of vision” and what I discovered in my daily walks around the island is, it is too easy to become distracted. As I would walk I could easily become lost in my thoughts and when that happened I didn’t see the world around me. I didn’t notice the doe and her fawns. I didn’t see the beautiful little mushrooms growing in the forest or the eagles soaring overhead. It took a great deal of energy to focus my attention and not become distracted by thoughts of the past (“if only!”) or worries about the future (“what if?”).

I’m glad to be home. For awhile there I was afraid moss was growing on my back and I think I was actually beginning to develop webs between my toes, but the one lesson I want to cling to is to simplify my life by focusing on right now.

 

 

Things hadn’t worked out the way Naomi had planned. She, her husband, and three sons made a move they believed would provide them with a new life. Things had started well, but then one disaster after another befell her. Life had become so hard she wanted to change her name from “Naomi” (which means “pleasant”) to “Mara” (which means, “bitter.” See Ruth 1:20.)

Life is hard. The world is full of injustice. Bad things happen to good people, but is it inevitable that age sours us? How can we become better instead of bitter?

Cut bitterness off at the roots.

Some people feed their bitter roots, but the Bible teaches us to get rid of bitterness as soon as possible (Hebrews 12:15; Ephesians 4:31).

‘Fess up!

Of course that’s not always possible. Circumstances often blindside us, but Helen G. Lescheid wrote, “Coming to terms with bitterness seems to be the first step toward getting rid of it.” That’s a two-part process: (1) admit your pain, and (2) stop making excuses for what happened. How many times have you heard someone you love say through clenched teeth, “I’m not angry!” Come on! Admit it before bitterness bites you.

Become a forgiver

Here is the Christian key: Don’t let anyone tie you to the past. Stephen forgave his killers even before they threw the first stone! (Acts chapter 7) Forgiveness is liberating! But if that’s true, why don’t we forgive people? A simple answer can be, “They hurt me. I want to hurt them” or “I forgave them once and they didn’t change. Why should I let them continue to hurt me?” We forget that we have been forgiven!

So what’s included in forgiving? Forgetting for one. Let it go, but there is a time for confrontation. God doesn’t expect his children to be doormats. Sometimes we hurt the ones we love and we don’t even realize it. Confrontation doesn’t have to be hostile. In fact confrontation always has the goal of restoration. We value the relationship. Love can conquer.

Finally, forgiveness is empowering. Refuse to allow anyone to crush your spirit. Forgive and prove you are indeed a child of God!