Category: Bible Studies

After loading the shopping cart with all the supplies on the list – pencils, erasers, paper, notebooks, ruler, compass, rubber cement – and trying on new clothes for fall, there came the time to make the most difficult decision of all. The choice was irrevocable and you only had one shot at it. Which lunchbox would you take with you every day of the school year: cowboy, super-hero, novelty or something else? Your choice would brand you with the other kids. Were you cool or just another playground hack?

Some kids tried to avoid the decision by bringing their lunches in plain brown paper sacks. That allowed them to delay choice of a permanent pail until they could see what everyone else was carrying. It was an interesting gambit but labeled you as rather slow unless you could decorate the bag with cool sketches as you rode the bus like a wolf man or the re-creation of the entire D-day invasion.

Others opted for a practical approach and carried plain black lunchboxes – often hand-me-downs from their dads. They did contain cool thermoses with silver cups tucked inside the lids. It was all the better if the kid could grow a mustache and filled the thermos with coffee but that only happened when I was living in Louisiana. If I remember correctly, he also had a pack of Luckies rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve.

Then there was the unfortunate kid who had a Gumby and Pokey lunchbox. He tried decorating it with Snap-On Tool stickers but he wasn’t fooling anyone. School can be cruel.

Of course the most important thing was what came out of the lunch box. A sandwich and fruit was typical. Cookies never made it to lunch. They were generally devoured as soon as mom was out of sight. Pizza was good but fried chicken was better. If you had fried chicken, you always made a show of pulling it out, holding it over your head and announcing, “Hey! I’ve got fried chicken.” There followed a spate of open bidding that became a model for Wall Street traders in later life. “I’ll trade you my fruit-rollups for that drumstick!”

Some kids bought their lunch but that tended to only complicate matters. First there was the question of getting through the line without losing your lunch money. Then there was the issue of getting your tray to the table while negotiating the various chairs, legs, book bags and bullies trying to trip you up. Finally there was the issue of actually consuming USDA issued mac and cheese. No, bringing your lunch was the best option but that still left you with the difficult decision of choosing a lunch pail. What would it be?

I chose a black “James Bond” lunchbox because I was convinced it must have some secret gizmos that would pop out and protect me from that kid who looked like “Odd Job.” I never did find the right button to make that happen but it was the envy of the lunchroom and I was safe for another year.

Much later, reflecting on my old, dented lunch pail, I realized an important lesson. If we make our choices based on what we think other people think, we can never really be happy. True happiness comes from who we are, not from what we have. The only opinion that really matters belongs to God and He doesn’t care which lunch pail you have. He only cares that you share what’s in it!

The clerk looked at him and smugly asked, “ESV, NIV, NASB, RSV, NRS, TLV, KJV, American, Contemporary, Philip’s, Living, Williams, NEB…?”

Bewildered he asked, “Excuse me?”

“What version? What translation?” she replied slowly as if he was hard of hearing.

“Well what do you recommend?”

“It depends. Do you want a translation based on a critical text or the majority text? Do you want a literal translation or one that translates the sense? How about a committee version or one that has been translated by a single person?” she continued with her nose in the air as she dusted some fish license plate frames.

He stared for a moment and then picked up a black leather Bible. “This is nice.”

“Yeagh. Do you want it in imitation leather, calfskin, paper or cowhide? Pocket sized, display, study, large print, or giant print? Notes or not? Single column, double column, study margins, words of Jesus in red, maps, dictionary, self-pronouncing…” She straightened a set of Apostolic Bobble-head dolls.

“I give up. Just give me something for a 24” by 48” coffee table!”

The choices can be bewildering! So what would I recommend? First, ask yourself what you are going to do with your new Bible. If you are looking for something to read through quickly to get the overall sense of a passage, I like a simple translation like one by J.B. Phillips or Williams. For in-depth study the new English Standard Version or the New American Standard version are good choices. Because they are translated by committees, they tend not to be biased towards any particular denomination or viewpoint. If I only had one choice, I would probably use the New International Version (which is the Bible we use in our public assemblies at Canyon View).

Once you have decided on a version, you have many choices of format from electronic versions (including apps for your cell phones!) to traditional leather and paper editions. Just be sure to choose one that is easy on the eyes (I recently had to move up to a “giant” print version) and one you won’t be afraid to mark up. Yes, I believe you should mark all over your Bible. It is a tool to be used. Circle words, highlight passages, and take notes in the margin. Wear it out!

The only Bible that will help you grow in Christ is the one you will read!

 

 

A powerful motivational preacher was addressing a congregation. This was a church notoriously frugal. It was packed with penny pinchers and tight wads. They weren’t going anywhere and he was doing his best to get them motivated. He looked around the crowd and exclaimed, “The church is like the lame man Jesus healed. It’s got to get up and walk!”

The congregation agreed shouting, “That’s right! Let it walk!”

The preacher pulled out his handkerchief, mopped his brow and shouted, “This church, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel has got to run!”

The people were with him and shouted in unison, “That’s right! Let it run preacher!”

Spurred by their enthusiasm he lifted both hands high over head and cried, “This church has got to mount up on eagle’s wings and FLY!”

Amens were mixed with chants of “Let it fly! Let it fly!” But when the preacher exclaimed, “If it flies, it takes money!” the congregation settled down and mumbled, “Let it walk!”

The third of the Ten Commandments is “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” (Exodus 20:4).

Several years ago, while I was living in Korea, I visited several Buddhist temples. I vividly remember seeing their idols – carved images that reminded me of the totem poles of my youth in the Pacific Northwest. It was hard for me to think anyone could take them seriously. They looked like a fantasy decoration I would find at Disneyland but they left me with a big question: “What is the attraction of idolatry?”

Douglas Stuart has a fascinating excursus in the second volume of his commentary on Exodus.[1] He offers these nine reasons:

1. Guaranteed. Have you ever felt God was missing? Perhaps you’ve prayed and wondered if anyone was listening? If you can see the idol perhaps it must feel like you have a telephone to god. You have a connection.
2. Selfish. While idolaters ascribe great power to their gods, the one thing a so-called “god” can’t do is eat. The worshipers “feed” the god and this in turn obligates the god to grant favors. Of course many Christians mistakenly feel the same way. They believe God is somehow obligated to us by our worship, obedience and prayers. When their prayers are left unanswered they shake their heads and say, “Well, sometimes God say’s ‘No.’” They forget the sovereignty of God and the intent of prayer which is to align our will with God’s rather than force him to do our bidding (Matthew 6:10).
3. Easy. Idolatry doesn’t typically demand much more than their presence and perhaps a few rituals. It doesn’t take much to please an idol whereas Christianity has a very strong ethical code.
4. Convenient. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had to go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship. An idol is often portable and can travel with you. Of course Christians don’t even need to pack up their “gods” because they are the temple of God and possess the indwelling Holy Spirit!
5. Normal. Idolatry is pervasive. What do you trust in? What do you sacrifice for? What do you believe will help you make it through the day? There are many modern idols.
6. Logical. Idolaters are typically polytheistic. There are many gods in many places with many functions. In contrast, Christians believe there is only One God Who is everywhere and all powerful.
7. Sensual. The art of many idols is quite appealing and invites meditation.
8. Indulgent. This point requires a bit of thought. In the ancient world, eating meat and drinking wine was part of the worship service. The more you ate; the more you drank; the more the “god” was honored and the more favor you curried. The logic reminds me of an Austrian food court in Salzburg. The proceeds from the food and beer sales supported an orphanage next door. There was a large sign above the tables exhorting the patrons to “Get drunk for the orphans!”
9. Erotic. In ancient times, in their agrarian societies, their mythology portrayed a cycle of birth, life, death, re-birth. Their religion was sympathetic – in other words, if the worshipers engaged in reproductive activity, it encouraged the gods to do the same producing fertile fields on earth.

Idolatry was “normal” in the past and I suspect it is normal in the present. If an idol is something you trust in, something you are willing to sacrifice for, then there are many modern idols. Some people worship wealth. Others sacrifice for beauty, or power, or popularity or (fill-in the blank).

As Christians we must guard against anyone or anything that would dare to stand in the place of the living God we worship!

 

 

Recently I officiated at a wedding for the daughter of a boating friend of ours. The bride was beautiful (as all brides are) and the groom was a little nervous (as all grooms are). It was a large wedding and relatives had flown in from all over the country. The weather could have been better so, under the threat of rain, at the last minute we had to move the venue indoors but it was still wonderful.

The service began well. Dad walked daughter down the aisle and properly repeated his line, “Her mother and I do.” Everyone was seated and I gave the lesson. At last it was time to exchange the rings and “Repeat after me.” Unfortunately, her ring was tight and the poor groom could either put the ring on her finger or repeat after me but he couldn’t do both at the same time.

“… with my heart’s sincere affection…” I said slowly and clearly.

“…with my heart’s infection…” he repeated.

I love weddings but think about it. We don’t remember when everything goes right. What we remember are the things that go wrong.

Many years ago, I was preparing to perform my first wedding ceremony. I was so nervous I sought out the oldest minister I could find, Maurice Meredith, and I asked for his help. “Help me go over the ceremony again Maurice. I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

Maurice carefully walked me through everything as I took copious notes: groom’s family on this side; bride’s on that side; stand, sit, repeat after me. Then Maurice, with that characteristic twinkle in his eye said, “When you come to the part about exchanging the rings – if everything has gone smoothly – drop the rings.”

“What?” I looked up horrified.

“Drop the rings!” he repeated.

“Why?”

“Because otherwise they won’t have anything to remember,” he laughed. And Maurice was right. We remember the groom who fainted, the flower girl who took her shoes off, the bridesmaid who set her dress on fire.

So keep this lesson in mind this week when things go wrong. We’re not making mistakes – we’re making memories!

I was sitting at my desk typing when I had the strangest feeling that someone was watching me. I couldn’t shake it, so I got up and opened the door. No, no one was outside.  Then, as I walked back to my chair I saw him: Lenny. Lenny is a seventeen inch long, southern alligator lizard. He was sitting on my file cabinet watching me. At first it was a little unnerving. It’s not something you see every day. Well, that’s not exactly true. Lenny has now stayed in my office for the past fourteen days alternating from the cadenza to the filing cabinet and once he spent the day in my bookcase nestled among some sailing books. I often find him beside my ship models. I think he dreams of sailing away.

The whole staff has met Lenny (with varying reactions, Jane…) and I’ve grown attached to him. He doesn’t bark like a dog or shed like a cat. In fact, for most of the time he doesn’t do anything but sit there and stare at me.

That’s not to say he isn’t a good conversationalist. Someone once pointed out how the best conversationalists are first good listeners and Lenny excels at listening. He has been the first to hear many of my sermons and I love the fact that he doesn’t criticize what I have to say or offer “suggestions.” He takes James’ admonition seriously, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” (James 1:19). Likewise I have observed that Lenny supremely illustrates 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.”

I’ve learned a lot from this lizard. I especially like that, with Lenny, what you see is what you get. Some other frogs, birds and lizards might puff themselves up to make themselves appear larger than life. Not Lenny — he doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what God created. In spite of the fact that he is the largest alligator lizard I have ever seen, Lenny is a humble reptile and goes out of the way to avoid drawing attention to himself. He’s not flashy – he’s brown.

He is also highly disciplined. Jan was worried that Lenny might not have enough to eat so last Saturday she insisted we go to the pet store to buy him some live meal worms. I don’t know what Lenny sees in them but he was certainly hungry. He chomped down six worms in a single setting but after he was full, he refused to over-indulge. I haven’t been able to tempt him with a nice, fat, juicy worm in the past couple of days. I could learn an important lesson about over-eating and self-discipline from him!

Lenny grew up here at Canyon View. You’ve probably seen his cousins running through the courtyard or climbing the outside walls. Lenny performs an important, if under-appreciated, function for us. He has been catching spiders and cockroaches his entire. Lenny does his part to protect us from poison spiders. (Alligator lizards are particularly fond of Black Widows.) It’s an important job but he isn’t looking for any special recognition for his contributions. Sure, a lot of people aren’t as fond of him as I am and many would be quite content if he left and never came back but it takes all types to make up a congregation and I’m glad to know him!

 

After listening to my enthusiastic stories about the grandeur of the undersea world, my father decided to learn to scuba dive. After taking some courses in the clear, warm waters of Florida, he came to visit me in California and learn about the kelp forests for himself. I was a little concerned about him because the waters here can be cold and dark. It’s easy to become disoriented or entangled in the kelp and I kept a close eye on him as we swam out from the beach. After a last minute safety check, we started our descent.

It was spectacular! Strands of golden kelp reaching sixty feet from the ocean floor to the surface of the sea swayed in the gentle current as brilliant shafts of sunlight streamed down from above. Fish of every size, shape and color surrounded us. We were going to have an awesome dive.

Suddenly bubbles streamed out of dad’s regulator. It was free flowing and I made frantic gestures to him. “Surface! Surface!” I signaled. He looked at me and we began our slow ascent. By the time we broke the surface, I was nearly panicked. I spit my mouthpiece out and shouted, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Dad gave me a puzzled look. I shouted, “The bubbles! The bubbles. What’s wrong?”

Then he grinned and admitted, “It was so fantastic, I couldn’t help but sing!”

Worship should be that way but it often isn’t. We are pre-occupied, distracted and focused on anything but what we should be doing so here are some suggestions I hope will help:

1. Shift Gears. Early on in driver’s training, you learn to shift into a different gear when you start to climb a hill. Before we can truly worship God, we must take a moment to “shift gears” and center our thoughts on Him.
2. Discover the Power of Gratitude. “Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven.” As you are preparing for worship, take a moment to appreciate the gift of grace.
3. Drop Your Inhibitions. A lot of people are afraid of their own voice. They are too self-conscious to sing. We have so many wonderful singers at Canyon View it can be tempting just to sit back and listen but the Lord loves a “joyful noise” and who are you to argue with God?
4. Tap into the Fellowship. There is an energy in corporate worship. Have you felt it? It’s always there but sometimes our “receptors” are out of order. Reach out and tap into the power!
5. Confession is Good for the Soul. Sin and guilt make it hard to worship. Confess your sins by name and feel the power of forgiveness.
6. Be Filled with the Spirit. Paul told the Ephesians (and us) not to get drunk on wine “be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Ephesians 5:19, 20).
7. Finally, expect great things! What you receive from worship is equal to what you put into worship. If you expect the singing to be bad and the lesson to be boring, I suspect that’s what you’ll receive but if you come expecting great things I promise you’ll receive even more blessings that you anticipated.

 

Once there was a powerful corporate executive who lost his job. He was devastated. His whole life was wrapped up in his job. It not only provided for his family, it gave him his identity. The news came suddenly and he was ushered out into the street with just his briefcase.

Broken-hearted, the man couldn’t go home and face his family so, instead, he took a long walk in the park and sat down on a bench beside the fountain. As fate would have it, another man sat down on the other side of the bench who looked even more down than he did. Eventually they struck up a conversation and the new-comer told the executive, “I own a circus. My star attraction was a fierce gorilla – he wasn’t really mean but he could put on a show! People came from everywhere just to watch this gorilla charge around his cage but he died yesterday and without him, I’m afraid I’m finished.” He hung his head.

The executive, used to solving complex business problems, perked up and concluded: “Look! I might just have a solution. I’ve lost my job and you’ve lost your gorilla. Why don’t we skin out the gorilla and I can be your new star attraction dressed up as your ape?”

It was a great idea and the executive – used to ranting and raving and carrying on in the corporate world – made a splendid new gorilla. He was even better than the original and soon the crowds were even larger than before. Unfortunately, one day as the gorilla executive was putting on his fearsome show, beating his chest and howling at the crowd, someone put a fierce lion in with him. Horrified, the executive began to shout, “Help!” to which the lion replied, “Be quiet you fool! Do you think you’re the only person without a job?”

When someone comes to my home congregation, Canyon View in San Diego, for the first time, they look around and wonder, “Will I fit in? Is there anyone just like me?” Unfortunately if we are wearing our disguises, the new person will be disappointed. They might look around and only see all the perfect people and be tempted to walk away.

The problem has two sides: the visitor who can only see who we are now and not who we were “B.C.” – before Christ came into our lives; and ourselves. We’re not proud of what we were before we became Christians and we are tempted to cover up our past, put it in the closet and forget about it. Unfortunately, if we forget, we lose our basis for worship – the attitude of gratitude – and we might even be tempted to become judgmental.

I’m not suggesting we do as those who seem to glory in their past and parade their sins. That smacks of false humility. Rather we need to shift the focus from sin to the Savior. If there is a place for pride, it is not in the sinful past but in the transforming present. Remember: you don’t make butterflies by pinning paper wings on worms. The change comes from the inside!

It’s time to take off the gorilla suits.

Our New Testament was originally written in Greek and sometimes a study of the original words our English Bible translated can be a surprising source of enlightenment. The Greek word, aggareuein is found three times in the New Testament and translated with the sense of “compel” (Matthew 5:41; 27:32 and Mark 15:21).

Aggareuein isn’t actually a Greek word but a Persian loan word. The Persians had an amazing courier system. (Our Pony Express was modeled on it.) Herodotus described it:

Nothing travels so fast as these Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention; and this is the method of it. Along the whole line of road there are men (they say) stationed with horses, in number equal to the number of days which the journey takes, allowing a man and a horse to each day; and these men will not be hindered from accomplishing at their best speed the distance which they have to go, either by snow, or rain, or heat, or by the darkness of night. The first rider delivers his dispatch to the second, and the second man passes it to the third; and so it is borne from hand to hand along the whole line, like the light in the torch race…. The Persians give the riding post in this manner the name aggareion.

Herodotus 8.98

In similar fashion, it was the law under the Greeks (and later the Romans) that anyone could be compelled to provide a horse or to act as a guide to keep the messenger service going. William Barclay notes, “This business of impressment was one of the bitterest and most constant humiliations that subject nations had to endure” (New Testament Words, p. 31). Thus Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. There was nothing remarkable about this but the law was severely abused. Many soldiers simply stole the belongings, livestock or boats of the people claiming the rights of aggareion but now notice the instructions of Jesus:  “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Why?

Consider how we react when things don’t go as we had planned or if someone abuses us. We could give in to anger and so multiply the impact of the abuse, or we can smile, pick up the burden and look for the blessing.

Imagine a Roman soldier who impresses a poor peasant to carry his heavy armor. The peasant could grimace and begrudgingly count each step of the mile and not a foot more before he dumps the armor in the dirt. His day is ruined and he’ll probably resent and talk about the injustice of his experience till the day he dies.

On the other hand, imagine a Christian peasant who is forced to do the same. It wasn’t what he had planned to do but, with the words of Jesus in his ears, he picks up the load and starts down the road. The soldier is expecting what he normally got: abuse, but instead, the cheery Christian begins to ask him about his home, his family, how he is enjoying his tour of duty. All the while, the Roman is counting the steps and grins to himself as they pass the first mile. But as they go farther – a mile and a quarter, a mile and a half, a mile and three quarters – the soldier realizes this peasant didn’t forget to count. The soldier wasn’t getting something for nothing. The peasant was giving him a gift! He begins to listen more closely to what the smiling Christian says and is even grateful for the prayer the peasant offers at the end for his safety. And what did the Christian receive by going two miles? He has changed an injustice into a joyful gift and we can too!

Tom always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. It was time in the church office for that delicate task of publishing the membership directory. Of course each year new families move in, old families move on and, well, some people you’re just not sure about. So Tom and the secretary were sorting out the list. As Tom dictated the names, he would say something like,”Jones, Smith, Brown FBPO.”

Finally the secretary interrupted and asked, “Brown FBPO?”

Tom looked up and grinned. “We haven’t seen them in so long, they are members of this congregation ‘For Burial Purposes Only.'”

Ouch! But I remember calling a couple that hadn’t attended in two years and asking if they still wanted to be included in the directory? Horrified he exclaimed, “Of course! We’ll be back just as soon as the bowling league is finished!” FBPO.

So what is “membership”? You will search in vain for the term in the New Testament. The Bible says, “And the Lord added daily to their number those who were being saved,” Acts 2:47. In other words, the Canyon View congregation doesn’t decide who is a member and who isn’t. It’s the Lord’s Church and He decides who is and isn’t a member. The famous actor W.C. Fields was in the hospital and started looking through a Bible that had been placed beside his bed. His wife came in and was shocked. “What are you doing W. C.? I didn’t think you believed in such things!”

“I’m looking for loopholes my dear.”

Lest you are tempted to think having your name in the church directory is the same as having it in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they’re not the same. There are no loopholes!

“So what must I do to become a Christian/member?” Like the answer to so many questions, the answer is, “It depends.” For example, if you were riding the trolly and asked someone, “How far is Old Town station?” The answer would depend on where you were when you asked the question. So let’s find out where you are.

1. Do you believe? Not just an intellectual assent but do you truly trust God?

2. Are you sorry? A true Christian has repented of the selfish rebellion against God called “sin.”

3. Are you willing to say so? A Christian will publicly confess both their sin and their faith in Jesus.

4. Have you been baptized? Baptism, complete immersion in water as an adult, represents the death of the old selfish life and is described as the “new birth.” At that point the Bible says the Lord adds you to His Church.

“So what’s after that?”

That’s just the beginning of a grand adventure! From that day forward, we are being transformed, becoming more and more like our older brother Jesus — unless you are a member, FBPO.