Procrustes was very friendly, but he may have been the worst host of all time. He invited all passersby on their way from Athens to Eleusis to stop and spend the night at his house. He even graciously offered them the use of his famous iron bed. There was only one problem: if the guest was too short, Procrustes would stretch them out until they fit his bed and if they were too long he would simply cut them down to size.

Of course there truly is no such thing as “one size fits all” in clothing or in congregations. Churches are such a diverse lot aren’t they? At my congregation, Canyon View, we have old and young, rich and poor, people with strings of degrees after their name and those without. We speak English, Spanish, Tagalog and Texan. We love spicy food and bland. Our diversity is our strength, but it can also become our greatest vulnerability. I truly fear those who would, like Procrustes, insist we all fit the same mould.

Think about the church in Corinth (chapter 1). Some people loved listening to Paul. He wasn’t a trained orator and often talked too long (ask Eutychus), but the depth of his understanding has never been equaled. On the otherhand, there were those who loved the “Eloquent Alexandrian” Apollos. Others were entranced by the sincerity and first-hand knowledge of Peter. How did they ever get along? It should come as no surprise that the Corinthians struggled in this area. What advice would you give them? I like this oft quoted maxim from Rupertus Meldenius (circa 1627):

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”

In truth tempered by love there is unity!

One of the oldest churches in Christendom is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It is a UN World Heritage Site – the first in Palestine and Israel. Constantine the Great’s mother, Helen, was responsible for building it in 339 A.D. It was constructed over the traditional site of the birthplace of Jesus, a cave below the church.

If we were to climb down into the cave by the circular staircases on either side of the altar, we wouldn’t recognize the grotto below the church as a cave. Today it is hung with tapestries and lit with lamps. There is a simple altar and there on the floor, supposedly over the very spot of his birth, is a fourteen pointed silver star. While it is likely that Jesus was born in a cave (they were used as stables in those days), it is highly unlikely anyone would remember exactly which cave much less exactly which place in the cave was the exact location of the birth of a carpenter’s son almost 400 years earlier!

What is fascinating for Bible students is why they would choose a fourteen-pointed star to mark the place? Why not a six pointed star of David or even a five-pointed star of Solomon? If you’ve been following our suggested daily Bible reading plan for 2014 (copies are available in the foyer), last week you read Matthew chapter 1. Do you remember verse 17? At the conclusion of the genealogy of Jesus Matthew writes:

“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”

Thus the silver star has fourteen points, but even that raises more questions. Matthew was wrong! For the fourteen generations from Abraham to David, Matthew had to count both Abraham and David. The make the next group of fourteen generations, Matthew had to skip three kings and conflate Jehoiakim and Jechoniah. The last group had to include Jechoniah and Jesus to get fourteen but since it covers a period of 500 years, Matthew may have omitted a few people.

To our western way of thinking, the genealogy is wrong but Matthew wasn’t one of us. He wasn’t trying to give us an accurate genealogy at all. He was trying to emphasize Jesus is the Son of David. Ancient people used their alphabets to count with. (Do you remember Roman numerals from school?) So the Hebrew name for King David, dwd, has a numeric value: (d = 4) + (w = 6) + (d = 4) = the number 14!

Matthew is trying to emphasize to his Jewish readers: Jesus is the son of David (14), son of David (14), son of David (14). And now you know why there are fourteen points on the Star of Bethlehem.

Nearly two years had passed since Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem. Jesus was born in a manager and was adored by shepherds, but time had passed and things had settled down to a kind of normalcy. The young couple got to know each other as husband and wife. The baby wrapped in swaddling clothes was now a toddler playing at the feet of his momma while Joseph was growing his carpentry business.

Bethlehem is only about eight miles outside of Jerusalem, but it must have seemed a world apart. It was mostly a pastoral village with the rich heritage of being the “City of David,” the most famous king of Israel. Joseph and Mary were related to the former king, but so were a lot of people. Still, they knew a secret. That little toddler was destined to follow in David’s footsteps!

His parents must have followed the rumors about “King” Herod. The old despot was nearly 70, but in addition to the marvelous architectural wonders he was responsible for like the remodeled temple in Jerusalem and the fine port town of Caesarea on the coast, he had also left a wide swath of blood behind him. King Herod had killed his wife, his mother and three of his sons. In Greek the Emperor Augustus punned, “It’s better to be Herod’s pig (hys) than Herod’s son (hyios).”

Herod did not hesitate to butcher anyone who threatened his throne so when some “Magi” (astrologer/priests) arrived in Jerusalem asking about the newborn king, the old despot slyly encouraged them to find the child so he too “might worship him.”

Can you imagine the stir their arrival in the little village of Bethlehem must have caused? Can you imagine the surprise Mary must have felt when they stopped at her house with gifts for the boy? Gold, incense and myrrh – gifts for a king delivered to the home of a humble carpenter.

Now comes the point of our story. In the night the Magi are warned Herod intends to kill the child. In the night Joseph is told to get up and flee in the dark with the baby and his mother. There was no time to sell their possessions. There was no time to properly pack for the move, but God provides! The gifts of the Magi – the gold, incense and myrrh – provided the means for their escape. Joseph was able to flee before dawn with his family before the evil king could destroy the child and that is how God rescues us: just in time.

“Just in time” is the way of faith. God provided a ram to replace Isaac “just in time.” God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace “just in time” and God will save us “just in time.” It’s the way of faith.

Carlyle wrote in a letter to a friend, “Prayer is and remains the native and deepest impulse of the sould of man.”

William James wrote, “The reason why we do pray is simply that we cannot help praying.”

William Barclay wrote: “Prayer is not an acquired art; it is an instinct. In the times when life is too much for us, when we are strained beyond breaking-point, when we are tempted beyond the power to resist, when our minds are troubled, and our hearts are broken, then we pray.” And yet, the disciples felt the need for the Lord to teach them how to pray. Just as running is a natural activity that can be disciplined and developed, so we can learn how to pray.

Here are five “Laws of Prayer” that I have found helpful:

1. God knows best. The purpose of prayer is not to change God but to change ourselves – to align our wills with the will of God. Do you remember the first part of Jesus’ model prayer? “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9, 10)
2. God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. Don’t pray for enlightenment in order to skip the hard work of study. Rather, as you study ask God for understanding (James 1:5).
3. Prayer moves within the natural laws that govern life. Bad things do happen to good people. Prayer gives us the power to thrive in the midst of adversity (Romans 5:3 ff.).
4. We must be definite in prayer. Jesus warned us to avoid meaningless phrases and endless repetition (Matthew 6:7, 8). Prayer is not a mantra!
5. We must be honest in prayer. We can’t lie to God and we shouldn’t lie to ourselves. That’s why confession is such a critical part of prayer.

Recently the American secretary of state was traveling in the Mediterranean and stopped for a private consultation with the pope in the Vatican. The Secretary of State noticed a solid gold phone on the pontiff’s desk and remarked, “That must be a pretty important phone!”

The pope replied, “Why yes it is. That’s my hotline to God.”

“Wow!” the secretary observed. “That must be a very expensive service.”

“Of course. It’s $1,000 per call.”

Later in the week the American secretary was in the prime minister of Israel’s private office and noticed an identical golden telephone. He whistled and said, “I’ll bet that’s a hotline to God.”

“Why yes it is,” the prime minister answered.

The American asked, “So how much does the phone company charge you for long distance service like that?”

The prime minister just laughed. “Oh not much. It’s a local call.”

Of course that’s a silly joke. For all Christians at all times in all places, prayer is our hotline to God and it’s free. You don’t need a golden telephone or a Wi-Fi connection. God wants to hear from you so what are you waiting for?

Hugh Shira was a big man with an even deeper voice. His was such a deep bass, you would swear he was speaking from the basement. His was a voice for radio and Hugh was an avid ham radio operator. More importantly, Hugh Shira was a great Christian preacher and one of my beloved teachers.

There is a rich heritage of Christian devotional writings. Many Christians use these daily devotionals as a way to stir up their souls as they begin each new day along with Bible reading, prayer and meditation. I have found these books to be an inspiring and enriching part of my spiritual growth. This past week I was pleased to learn that one of my classmates and good friends, David Ryal, has updated and reprinted Hugh Shira’s little devotional book, My Master’s Moments. Hugh was a charter member of the faculty at the Southern California School of Evangelism in 1969 and served as the director of the school for many years.

This week I’ve chosen to reprint the first of the 60 daily devotionals Hugh and David included in this wonderful little booklet. You’ll want to read the entire set.

Taste and See

“O, taste and see that the Lord is good,” Psalm 34:8.

That God is good should be too obvious to deny, yet we are so little affected by His goodness. And that is why David wrote what he did.

What is the best way to learn if God is indeed good? David did not say, hear and know; or believe and know, but taste and know.

Whether a food is good to your taste or not is determined, not by testimony of others, but by your tasting it. Likewise, do not rely on the experience of others or the authority of others concerning God. Learn of Him for yourself.

Experience is knowledge derived from experiment. Someone can talk to you about the peace of God, the joy of service or the consolation of the Holy Spirit. You may even be moved by their passion and your confidence in the speaker. However, until you experience the goodness of God for yourself, you can not be convinced to the fullest.

To taste and to see that God is good, experience the faith and obedience of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Place your soul in the hands of God and see the truth of the gospel. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him,” as David wrote.

If you would like a copy of the whole series of devotionals, please contact:

David Ryal
P.O. Box 210
Morro Bay, CA 93443

 

 

Recently I was with a group of preachers and one of them said, “I’ll tell you why there is so much division in the church today. It’s because there are so many versions of the Bible out there. I think we need to go back to one version of the Bible” and he implied it should be the King James Version. “After all it’s the ‘Authorized Version’” referring to the words on the title page of the KJV. Of course all that means is the king of England authorized it for use in the Church of England of which he was the head in 1611.

I still use the KJV in my own study and preparation, along with a dozen other translations, but the fact is they are translations and no translation can ever convey the complete meaning of the original text. There are shades of nuance and often there are alternative definitions that just can’t be expressed in a single translation. Since our English Bible is a translation of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) originals, I think it is essential for serious Bible students to compare versions or learn some of the original language.

Of course that reminds me of my college days. Dr. Furman Kearley took me aside one day and told me, “Now John you need to remember that you don’t need to know Greek to get to heaven.” Chastised, I humbly nodded my head in agreement. Then, with a twinkle in his eye Dr. Kearley continued, “You don’t need to know Greek to get to heaven but you sure are going to be bored when you can’t talk to anybody!”

“So if I don’t know the original languages, which translation should I use?”

I don’t recommend any one particular translation for everyone to use. In the auditorium at Canyon View we typically use the New International Version because it is conservative yet easy to understand for most readers. However it is becoming a bit dated and often reflects the “male bias” common to the English language. (English speakers typically say “men” or “brothers” when we are referring to a group of people – men and women – or to Christians in general.) Some of the newer translations like the English Standard Version are more aware of that and might say “Brothers and sisters” which is actually closer to the original.

For serious Bible study, I recommend comparing several translations. I typically use the King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version and the English Standard Version along with my Greek Bible. The new electronic Bibles for your computer, smart phones, and other devices make it very easy to compare translations and even discover the dictionary meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew words. What a great age we live in!

And, yes I know a little Greek. He owns a restaurant down on the corner…

My first book, Changing Tacks: Lessons I’ve Learned from an Old Wooden Boat, is available for purchase directly from the publisher, Crosslink Publishing,  Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

The story is about my journey to forgiveness — something we all need but find very hard to accept. After 25 years of preaching and teaching, my life fell apart and I fell from grace. Like Jonah, I tried to run away from God, but inside there was a deep ache for the Lord. The gift of an old wooden boat, Santa Teresa taught me about grace and caused me to “change tacks.”

The book is a fun read. You’ll learn about the time I inadvertently went skinny-dipping and nearly lost the boat. The famous story about our shipwreck in the Sea of Cortez and how we were able to finally repair the boat and get home. Then there is the tale of my grand-misadventure down the coast of Baja California on a sinking boat. They are all in there and spaced between the adventure stories are “Sermons from Sailing” that outline some of the lessons I’ve learned and can now share with you.

Who is John McKeel?

After serving in Military Intelligence in Berlin during the Cold War and working as a professional mountain guide in Bavaria, I returned home to study ministry at the Southern California School of Evangelism. I then studied New Testament Greek at Abilene Christian University in Texas and graduated from Columbia Christian College in Portland. This was followed with a MA in Religion from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

 

A couple of weeks ago I answered the question, “Are unicorns mentioned in the Bible?” Frankly, I was surprised by the number of responses I received both from members at Canyon View and from readers on the Internet. The article generated a host of other questions that we will try to answer in the future. Let’s start with the great “Gopher Wood” controversy.

 

“In Genesis 6:14, God tells Noah, ‘Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch’ (KJV). What is ‘gopher wood’?”

That’s a great question since this is the only place in the Bible where this obscure Hebrew word is used. Most scholars (and many modern English translations) call it cypress wood. The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says:

The cypress is a massive tall-growing evergreen with scale-like leaves and is widely distributed in the mountainous regions of the Bible lands. On Mt Lebanon and Mt Hermon it grows together with the cedar and oak. Its usual height is 50 to 60 feet but it may grow as tall as 80 feet. … Cypress wood is very hard and durable and was employed by the ancients in the manufacture of idols. It is said to have been used extensively in ship building by the Phoenicians, Cretans, and Greeks.

So where did the KJV translators come up with “gopher” wood? The answer is: they didn’t translate the Hebrew word – they transliterated it! It’s a Hebrew word written in English. The Hebrew word is “go-pher.” It just happens we have an English word “gopher” too, but that refers to a pesky rodent and not to a tree.

It is fascinating to compare the different English Bibles at this point. The King James Version, along with the ESV, NASB, ASV and RSV transliterate the Hebrew text and read “gopher wood,” while the New International Version, along with the NRSV, and NCV, interpret the word as “cypress wood.”

So which translation is correct? Since we truly don’t know what kind of wood God told Noah to use, I like the versions like the KJV that transliterate the Hebrew word and put a note in the margin, but that’s just my personal preference. I’d love to hear how you feel. Meanwhile, I’ve found some other scholars who say it was “pine” and others even say it was “teak.” The important thing is Noah knew exactly what God was talking about and followed the Lord’s instructions to the letter!

A book I recommend is Warren Weirsbe’s Real Worship (Nashville: Oliver Nelson Books, 1986). In it Weirsbe writes about the wonder of wonder.

“Wonder is the basis of worship,” Thomas Carlyle. 

“Wonder is the seed of science,” Emerson. 

“Philosophy begins with wonder,” Alfred North Whitehead.

But while wonder is a priceless ingredient in life, wonder is a rare ingredient. It seems to be missing from our age of explanations and it is certainly missing from much of our worship.

“The church today is imperiled by what it thinks it understands. Most preaching focuses on explaining something and neglects to admit the things that cannot be explained,” Warren Weirsbe.

“Worship is the exercise of the mind in the contemplation of God in which wonder and awe play an important part in stretching and enlarging our vision, or in opening up our conceptual forms to take in that which by its nature far outruns them,” T.F. Torrance.

True wonder is not a passing emotion or shallow excitement. It reaches into your heart and mind and shakes you up.

“It is an encounter with reality – with God – that brings awe to your heart. You are overwhelmed with an emotion that is a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear – and love,” Warren Weirsbe.

Wonder is not born of ignorance. The more we know, the more overwhelmed we become, but where has our God-given sense of wonder gone? Perhaps it was lost when we discovered science with its recipe for everything. Maybe God was replaced by a formula. True science, or course, thrives on wonder. Albert Einstein wrote in his book, The World As I See It, “The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. He who knows it not, can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle.”

So let me call for a return to wonder. We need a new emphasis on the mystery of things. The Apostle Paul understood this when he wrote “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33, ESV). We need to recapture a childlike wonder and humility in our age!