Dialog

Perga is a swamp. After the delights of their preaching tour through Cyprus, Perga in Pamphylia must have seemed like the end of the world. The air was stagnant and infested with mosquitoes. To refined Jews, the pagans who lived there must have seemed a godless race. On top of it all, Paul might have contracted malaria. Their assistant John Mark had had enough. He packed up and returned to Jerusalem. Barnabas stayed with Paul and managed to get his friend inland, to a higher clime and a healthier environment. Later, Paul wrote to the Galatians who lived in the highlands north of Perga, “You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. … For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me” (Galatians 4:13-15).

 It’s easy to understand why John Mark fled home to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), and we can understand why Paul was reluctant to trust Mark after that experience (Acts 15:38). On the other hand, Barnabas was adamant about giving John Mark a second chance, but Paul was equally insistent not to. Once trust has been broken, it’s tough to regain. The dispute became so great; the two old friends went their separate ways. History tells us Barnabas and Mark went to Egypt while the Bible describes Paul’s journey with Silas and Timothy back through Galatia and on to Europe.

So why didn’t Paul forgive John Mark and let him go with them? I’d like to think Paul did forgive Mark for deserting him, but does that mean Paul was obligated to go on as if nothing had happened? Trust is a precious commodity. It must be earned. Once it has been lost, it is hard to regain.

So how did John Mark react to all of this? When he heard about the plans for a second missionary journey, did he ask for a second chance? Or was he so ashamed of his behavior he didn’t even dare to dream about going with them? Was it wholly Barnabas’ idea? After all, Barnabas was John Mark’s relative. Did Barnabas seek Mark out after he and Paul decided to split up?

How would you react if you were given a second chance? Forgiveness is a beautiful, energizing thing, but here is the point. Mark didn’t talk Paul into trusting him. I like to think John Mark worked harder and longer and became worthy of the apostle’s trust. I know Mark’s reputation was restored. Peter calls him “my son” (1 Peter 5:13), and Paul told Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Yes, trust can be lost, but our God is a God of new beginnings. Trust can be restored.  It was true for John Mark, and it can be true for you.

“Either you are or you aren’t.” Have you ever known someone who makes a decision and then changes his mind — often over and over again? Perhaps they’ve changed it so many times no one knows what they really stand for anymore. Can you imagine the inner turmoil that poor soul must be experiencing!

James, the brother of Jesus, was quite a wordsmith. He had that wonderful ability to coin new words that exactly and picturesquely capture ideas. For example, when James wants to describe a very wealthy man who visits a church service, he says the man is wearing so many rings he literally has “golden fingers” (2:2).

We’ve all heard the derogatory term “two-faced” to describe a person who says one thing and then does something else. We might say he speaks “out of both sides of his mouth” but if he sincerely means both things the problem is much deeper than that. He doesn’t know what he believes! James coined a new word for the Greek language to describe just such a person. He has “two-souls” (dipsuchos).

The word only appears twice in the New Testament and both of them are in James’ epistle (1:8; 4:8). Most of our English Bibles translate James’ new word as “double-minded” but the New Living Translation gets at the heart of the meaning by explaining this kind of person “is divided between God and the world” (James 1:8). “That man” — the person who doubts the love of God — “should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does,” (1:7 – 8). In chapter four James gives the cure for double-mindedness, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” (4:8). Come to a decision and stand by it!

Other early Christian writers began using James’ new word. The Shepherd of Hermas, writing in the Second Century observed, “But those who are perfect in faith make all their requests trusting in the Lord, and they receive them, because they ask unhesitatingly, without any double-mindedness. For every double-minded man, unless he repents, will scarcely be saved,” (Man. IX, 6). 

Clement of Rome, writing about the same time that John wrote Revelation, says Lot’s wife was a good example of a double-minded person. She wanted to be saved but she also wanted to be with her friends in Sodom “and as a result she became a pillar of salt to this day, that it might be known to all that those who are double-minded … fall under judgment,” (1 Clement 11.2).

So what’s it going to be for you — the clear sight of single-mindedness or the appalling confusion of double-minded indecision? 

Some people try to make the case that death is a good thing – it is just a part of life. I recently read a statement from a prominent pastor, “Death is a part of life. Dying is as natural as being born,” but how does the Bible talk about death?

The Widow of Nain

Only six miles from Jesus’s boyhood home of Nazareth lays the little village of “Nain,” which means beautiful and the view from there is. However, on this day, the view was anything but beautiful. A widow, dressed in black, was walking behind the litter on which rested her only son, her only hope (Luke 7:11).

If death were a good thing and only part of life, then Jesus would have comforted her with those words. Instead, Jesus raised the young man back to life and gave him to his mother.

Jairus’s Daughter

After this, Jesus returned to Capernaum. There was a desperate man. His name was Jairus, and he was an important official in the synagogue there. Jairus might have been skeptical about Jesus – perhaps even hostile. It may be that Jairus was there when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. Maybe he was there when the Centurion’s servant was healed. Jairus may have been filled with confusion and doubt, but when his daughter was torn with fever, and the outlook was death, he went to find Jesus, but he was too late. His little daughter died.

Jesus told him: “Do not fear; only believe and she will be well” (Luke 8:50).

The Curse of Adam

Death is a curse. God told Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16, 17) and that’s precisely what he did. From that day forth, Adam and Eve began to age and get sick and to die. And because we are Adam’s children, we are under the same curse. Because of Adam’s sin, death has reigned overall.

Death is Not Good

God is good, but death is evil. It brought tears to the eyes of Jesus, and saying goodbye still brings tears to our eyes. Yes, we have hope, not just that we will live again, but there is more. The Apostle Paul wrote:

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:22 – 26).

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” There is a great day coming!

The Apostle Paul tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” in Ephesians 6:13-17. Then he goes on to list what that includes: the pants of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel of peace, the shield of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit and the helmet of salvation.

A radio preacher once declared he didn’t want any “streakers” running around in his congregation. He explained those are the ones who are only wearing “the helmet of salvation.” He wanted everyone fully clothed in the whole armor of God.

I wonder if we have any streakers — people who have been baptized, but never truly developed a relationship with God? To change metaphors, they haven’t put down spiritual roots. It’s a shame how many people have never learned how to pray, meditate, fast or study. Perhaps now they are too embarrassed to ask anyone to teach them.

I can identify with those folks. I vividly remember obeying the gospel, but as I came out of the baptistery I wondered, “What do I do next?” The simple answers were “live the Christian life” and “spread the Good News,” but no one really showed me how or what that means.

The “Spiritual Disciplines” are all about growing deeper in our relationship with God. They begin with the “inner disciplines” – learning how to pray, fast, meditate and study and then they manifest themselves in the “outward disciplines” — simplicity, service, submission and solitude. Finally, there are also the “corporate disciplines” – the activities of relationship – worship, confession and celebration. But to really grow spiritually, you will want to be a part of a small group. In the company of the committed, you’ll learn how. Join a few other Christians to share stories, laugh, cry, pray and learn in an informal setting. You’ll not only learn how to put on the whole armor of God, but you’ll make wonderful new friends who really care about each other.

Some preachers might lead you to believe that nothing terrible will ever happen to you or those you love once you become a Christian. It’s as if God surrounds you with a magic bubble, but the Apostle Paul would beg to differ. Stoned, flogged, shipwrecked, beaten, and left for dead, Paul had endured the worst. He told the Corinthians:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you (2 Corinthians 4:7-12).

In the next life, we will have new bodies. The resurrected Jesus could show Thomas the scars on his hands, feet, and side. I wonder if the resurrected Paul will bear the scars of his floggings? If so, they will be spiritual beauty marks!

After announcing, “We are afflicted in every way,” Paul lists four challenges he faced and God’s blessings. I like Merrill Tenney’s translation:

squeezed but not squashed;
bewildered but not befuddled;
pursued but not abandoned;
knocked down but not knocked out.

Today we’ll consider the last couplet: “knocked down but not knocked out.” “Knocked out” literally means “to be ruined or destroyed.” The apostle forewarns us of the bruises that await the faithful Christian. For some, the bruises might be the real scars of persecution or even martyrdom. None of us will escape this earth without injury. It might be the loss of a job because your Christian ethics are not “business is business.” It could be the loss of a spouse or a child, or a friend. Perhaps the worst scars are from the knife wounds in our backs from so-called brothers and sisters. However, Paul triumphantly proclaims, we’ve been “knocked down but not knocked out.” The wounds are real, but we are not destroyed!

Do you remember the scene in Lystra (Acts 14)? Shortly before, the citizens of Lystra tried to honor Paul as a god, then surprisingly, they tried to stone him. The apostle was left for dead, bruised and bleeding, beneath a pile of rocks. The Christians gathered around. Tears filled their eyes. They began planning Paul’s funeral, but God had other plans. Can you see it? A hand starts to move. A rock rolls off the pile, and Paul is alive! They must have rushed to his side, pulling the stones away. God raised him up! Paul had been “struck down, but not destroyed.”

Has someone hurt you? You, too, have been struck down, but don’t let it destroy you! Breathe in God’s Spirit and rise above! Our God is real, and we are alive.

There is an old joke about two hikers who come across an angry bear. They run as fast as they can to get away, but one hiker stops, takes off his boots, and puts on a pair of running shoes. “What are you doing, fool!” the second hiker exclaims. “You can’t outrun a bear!” The first hiker responds, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, just you!” I wonder how the second hiker felt as his friend disappeared over the horizon? That feeling would describe the next word Paul shared, “forsaken.”

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9).

One of the saddest pictures the Apostle Paul painted was written after his trial before Nero:

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. … At my first defense, no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! (2 Timothy 4:9 – 16).

Paul was “persecuted, but not forsaken.” Listen as he continues:

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it (2 Timothy 4:17).

I’ve always felt Nero looked like John Belushi. Can you picture the trial scene? Paul is a mess. He is not under house arrest as he was before. Now he is in a dark, cold, Roman prison. Nero is probably bored with it all. He listens because he has to, but the emperor is not interested. Instead of defending himself or begging for mercy, as Paul had done before, he shares the amazing Gospel story so that “all the Gentiles might hear it.”

Where did Paul find his strength? How did he endure? Because “the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.” Are you feeling alone? (Social distancing and quarantine can do that.) Don’t despair! Don’t give up! God is with us!

I’ve got to admit, even after 45 years of preaching, I’ve never encountered anything like this. Due to the pandemic, we’ve been driven to worship online instead of meeting in our beautiful building. (Thank the Lord for technology and the internet.) Since we’re not broadcasting live, we record our worship service on Wednesday night for broadcast on Sundays. That means for the first time in all those years of preaching; I have Sundays off. It is all very confusing.

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-12).

Merrill Tenney put it this way:

squeezed but not squashed;
bewildered but not befuddled;
pursued but not abandoned;
knocked down but not knocked out.

This pandemic has left us bewildered about a lot of things! “Are we ‘forsaking the assembly’ by only meeting online?” “How can we offer hospitality when we are forced to stay at home?” not to mention everyday matters like schooling our children and working from home, but I think I’ve learned what Paul was trying to teach us in this passage. We might be “perplexed, but we are not driven to despair.” We’re not giving up! We’re looking for creative solutions.

Visiting the shut-ins during these times is hard – but not impossible! Don is confined to a care facility, but someone placed a chair outside his window, and now I can sit on one side of the glass, and we can talk on the phone and laugh when it starts raining on me. A friend told me about a man whose wife is also in a nursing home, but she’s on the third floor! He didn’t despair but called a deacon who used a cherry-picker truck in his business. (That’s a truck with a long mechanical arm used in place of ladders.) The deacon loaded the man into the bucket and raised him up to her window!

Remember: challenges are just opportunities in disguise. The Lord is helping us consider what is truly important and delightfully overcome the obstacles. 

Be a blessing (and be creative)!

Jesus was famous for telling “parables” – earthly stories with heavenly meanings. The lessons were drawn from everyday life: the parables of the soils, lamps, wheat fields, pearls, and many more familiar objects.

Here is an excellent exercise in learning to learn from the world around us. Randomly select an everyday object and then think of a way the item illustrates a biblical truth. For example, you might notice a pair of scissors. What can this simple, ordinary thing teach us about the Christian life?

• You never hear about a single “siz.” They come in pairs.
• To work, both halves must work together.
• No matter how sharp they are, they can’t work by themselves. Someone must pick them up and power them through the project.
• And many more.

The Nature of Parables

A parable simply represents a method illustration, “The kingdom of heaven is illustrated by the following situation.” Marcus Dodds defines a parable:

“At its simplest [a parable] is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to rouse it into active thought.”

That brings us to the question, “Why did Jesus tell parables?” Parables are a way of teaching the responsive disciple (Luke 8:8) because they arouse immediate interest and may cause the disciple to ponder and work out the answer. But parables are also a way of hiding the truth from the unresponsive. Remember, some people were seeking to find fault with Jesus. They also serve to harden the heart of the rebellious. Finally, parables are an excellent method of having a person judge themselves. Do you remember the story of King David and the prophet Nathan? (2 Samuel 12:1-4)

Alright! Get busy. What do these paper towels teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven? I’d love to hear from you!

“I decide what is right and what is wrong!” he said. “But what if you’re wrong?” I answered. Individualism is the new standard in our world. “What’s true for you may not be true for me,” he continued. Black and white is descending into shades of grey. What once was a perversion is now merely a preference. Conscience has been replaced by convenience. However, it’s not a modern problem. Consider these Scriptures:

• “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 12:8 – 9).
• “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6)
• The book of Judges concludes: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes “(Judges 21:25).
• “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).
• “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21)

But isn’t that painful? Yes, it can be, but it is time for us to “Do the right thing.” Abraham Lincoln once pointed out, “When forced to choose between two evils – choose neither!” There is always a choice.

“Aren’t there circumstances when doing the right thing comes into conflict with another right thing?” Yes, for example, suppose the Nazis come to the door and ask if you are hiding any Jews in the attic. What would you do? If you tell the truth (and that’s the right thing to do), the Jews will die (and murder is a bad thing).

Fortunately, most of us will never have to make such a terrible choice, but how would you make such a decision? You could play Abe Lincoln and refuse to answer. Do nothing. Some people believe there is only one truly good thing. (Most often, they teach, “Do the loving thing.”) Still, others wear wristbands with the initials “WWJD?” (“What Would Jesus Do?”) I think that is the right direction, but I wonder if I am qualified to make that decision. Do I know Jesus well enough to answer, “What would Jesus do?” Do you remember this story?

At that time, Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? (Matthew 12:1 – 4)

Most teachers would excuse the disciples with some reference to the Jewish interpretations of the Law. They say Jesus was teaching the Pharisees a lesson, which may be true, but how do we know?

Some Christian ethicists point out, it’s a fallen world, and everything is hopelessly complicated. It’s impossible to keep the Law. After all, they conclude, “We are saved by grace.”  Just do the best you can.

However, I believe we can do better! We need to recognize sin is sin. It not only alienates us from God; it is harmful to us and those around us. The Apostle John wrote: “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1b) – Praise God! – but don’t forget the first half of 1 John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

On December 8, 2020, Nepal and China’s governments jointly declared the official height of Mount Everest is 29, 032 feet above sea level. The Indian survey of 1955 had concluded Everest was 29,029 feet, but in 2005, the Chinese believed Everest was 29,015 feet. However, following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015, scientists felt the height might have changed. I won’t detail how the two governments discovered their most current information, but I believe two mountains are higher than Mount Everest.

Everest is measured “above sea level” but Mauna Kea in Hawaii measures 30,610 feet from its base (on the ocean floor) to the summit, and Chimborazo in Ecuador (20,549 feet) is taller still if you measure from the center of the earth to the summit since it is on the equatorial bulge.

After you’ve thought about this for a moment, I would encourage you to forget this factoid. You see, some of the things that we believe – have faith in – make absolutely no difference in our lives whatsoever, and that’s an important lesson. How many things do we worry about that don’t matter? Sometimes the past can be a noose around our necks. God has forgiven us, but we can’t seem to forgive ourselves. Likewise, we may worry about the future. The “What-ifs” and the “If-onlys” are deadly.

The Apostle Paul told his beloved Philippians: “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13 – 14).