Just Like Us

John 6:1-21

2012-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Read John 6:1-21

Please note the time of year in verse 4. We've jumped another year and are into the third year of Christ's ministry. This is the beginning of the end, I guess you could say, or for us, the beginning of eternity. This is where John spends the majority of his focus.

So, let's pick up with the next Passover. This time, rather than being in Jerusalem, Christ stays in Galilee and ministers to the people there. I believe he did this to prove a point that it's not about where you are to worship so much as your heart. Anyways, this is the big miracle and the only one that all four Gospel writers included in their accounts. This is the feeding of the 5,000. Obviously this is an important miracle if all four writers made the effort to include it. But why? Well, this miracle was performed int he presence of many more people than any of the other miracles that Christ performed. This was a miracle of creation, while all of the other miracles, with the exception of turning the water into wine, were miracles of restoration.. This was also a picture of Christ and foreshadowed Christ as our Bread of Life, who was broken for us.

So, here's a little background. This miracle was just following an exhausting preaching tour of Galilee and took place right before the Passover Feast. It was time to rest.

(Just a quick side lesson that we can take from Christ here. First of all, there's nothing wrong with needing to take a break in ministry. Secondly, even as he was resting, we see Christ was ready to serve the Lord. And lastly, Christ was not only ready, he was willing to stop his rest in order to serve. Just some food for thought)

Anyways, this miracle, as I mentioned earlier, was taking place near the time of the Passover. John includes the time of the miralce on purpose. John really wasn't too terribly concerned with timing, so when he takes the time to mention is in his account, take note. He records this time in order to mark the timing in Christ's minsitry. In addition, he was probably emphasizing the fact that Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb.

Moving onto the story. Christ is ministering to these people (5,000 men alone!) and he stops and asks Philip where they could buy enough bread to feed them. Now, Christ already knew what he was going to do, so why did he stop to ask Philip? It was probably to test Philip's faith and trust in Christ. However, we see in verses 7 and 9 that both Philip and Andrew still aren't quite getting it and still thinking of Christ as a regular man. They forgot that they were working with God and focused on their circumstances instead of who they were with.

So, let's look at the Miracle itself. After testing Philip and Andrew, Christ takes the bread and fish and performs this incredible miracle. And in this miracle, Christ reveals His sovereignty. Christ knew what he would do and that he was totally in control despite the circumstances around him.

In addition, we see that this miracle required man's obedience. Look at verse 10, can you imagine what was going through the disciples' minds when Christ said "make them sit"? They must have thought "why? We don't have anything to give them. We're going to have a mob here!"

We also see God's orderliness here. This might seem a simple point but, we see the people being seated into groups. This way, Christ was able to monitor who was being served and still needed food to prevent a riot.

This miracle also reveals Christ's omnipotence and the fact that he took what seemed like a lunch only enough for a boy and used it to accomplish His purposes. This miracle also shows the blessing that comes from serving. The disciples obeyed Christ and served the people and in the end there are left 12 baskets of food left, enought for each disciples.

Lastly, this miracle reveals Christ's sufficiency, but we will talk about this more specifically this week. We will also talk about the other miracle (walking on water) mentioned in this passage.

A Sermon on Deity

2012-02-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Read John 5:17-47

So, because of the Jewish Leaders' persecution of Jesus after healing the lame man, Christ stops and gives seven proofs of his right to heal the lame man on the Sabbath and four witnesses of his right, ultimately pointing to the fact that he is God.

Let's look at Christ's Deity shown in His...
                      1. Service
                      2. Will
                      3. Intelligence
                      4. Power
                      5. Honor
                      6. Power to Give Life
                      7. Sovereignty to Send Men to Heaven/Hell

           1. Christ's Deity as shown in His Service (verse 17-18)
The phrase "my father" that Christ uses here means more than what we mean when we say "God our Father." Christ is literally saying that He is God's Son, and the Jews recognize this. Christ saying "and I work" shows that he does the same thing as his Father. In other words, Christ is saying that he does the same thing that God does.

           2. Christ's Deity as shown in His Will (verse 19)
When Christ says that he can do nothing by himself, he isn't saying that he is helpless. Rather, he is saying that He can do nothing of his own self. Or, you could say that He and the Father are of the same will (verse 30). If we look at other passages of the Bible, we see in Luke 2:49 that Jesus explains that His Father's business is His priority, in John 4:34, Christ says that He is sustained by doing God's will, and Luke 22:42, Jesus explains that His Father's plan is more important than His physical desires. All of this says that Christ and God share the same will.

            3. Christ's deity as shown in His Intelligence (verse 20)
When Christ says that the Father shows him all things, he is meaning that there are no secrets between them because they have equal knowledge. Another thought on this, why would God discuss "all things" with a man? He isn't going to do that! He would only reveal His will completely to Christ.

            4. Christ's deity as shown in His Power (verse 21)
Christ is basically laying out here the fact that he has the same power and right to heal and raise whom He will. He has all of the same rights and privileges of the Father. They key phrase that is used here is "to whom he will." In other words, we might have the ability to harm someone, but we don't have the right to do that. Only Christ as the power to do as he pleases.

            5. Christ's deity as shown in His Honor (verse 22 and 24)
Because Christ is the judge of all men, he deserves the same honor and glory as the Father does. In other words, he is equal with God.

           6. Christ's Deity as shown in His Power to Give Life (verses 24-26)
Christ demonstrates here that he is equal with God in His power to save the lost and to provide eternal life.

          7. Christ's deity as shown in His Sovereignty to Send Men to Heaven and to Hell (verse 27-29)
Verse 27 seems to echo verse 22 here and we see that because God has given the Son the ability to judge, that all should honor Christ. In addition, the Father has committed all judgement to the Son because is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. In other words, because he walked on earth as a man and lived a perfect life, he is the only one who has the right to judge all.

So, not only does Christ give these seven proofs of His deity and equality with God,, but he also stops and just to really back himself up, provides four witnesses of His deity as well. (In standard Jewish court, two witnesses were all that were required, so Christ was in overdrive here.)

Witness #1: John the Baptist (verses 32-35)
John was a witness and testified that Christ was the true Messiah.

Witness #2: Christ's Own Works (verse 36)
His miracles, specifically the seven John records, that demonstrate different aspects of Christ's deity.

Witness #3: The Father (verses 37-38)
God showed Himself and His "endorsement" of Christ at Christ's Baptism.

Witness #4: The Word of God (verses 39-47)
When Christ says "you search the Scriptures," he's basically pointing out the obvious and saying, "come on, you should know this!" They were searching the Scriptures for doctrinal and practical truth, but missed the real deal. People do this today. They can know the Bible, and yet never really know Christ.

The Pool of Bethesda

2012-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

          The past blogs have been about Christ's first year of ministry. However, John obviously left out a lot of Christ's life. For example, we just ended in John 4 with Christ ministering in Galilee a few months after the Passover in Jerusalem. Now, we're in John 5 and Christ is back in Jerusalem for the next passover. So, before we go onto John 5, let's reference the other gospels to know what was going on in between. So far, we know that Christ performed his first miracle at the Cana Wedding in A.D. 29, he has cleaned out the temple in A.D. 30, he has met with Nicodemus and the woman at the well and has performed his second miracle by healing the nobleman's son.

          So, here is what else was going on after all of the above. (Side note, remember, the phrase "after this" represents a gap of time) Christ went from Cana to Nazareth where he was rejected in His own town. He then moved onto Capernaum where he officially called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples. He healed Peter's mother-in-law, he led the four disciples on a preaching tour of Galilee, he healed a leper, a man who was sick from palsy (the guy lowered through the roof), he called Matthew to be His disciples, and "after this," Jesus comes to Jerusalem, beginning his second year of ministry.

So, now read John 5:1-18. At this feast, Christ makes the effort to reveal his deity to his followers. This is the third miracle that Christ performs. This is near the sheep gate of Jerusalem. There were twelve gates that led into the city of Jerusalem and the sheep gate was one of them. This was the one that the sheep were led through to the city to be slaughtered for sacrifices. There was/is a pool close to this gate called Bethesda. This word means "house of mercy." This pool had a sort of awning type structure built over to protect the lame and the sick who came to the pool to be cured of their problems. This pool was cut from a solid rock, is about 55 feet long and 12 feet wide with a flight of steps that go down into the water. It was common tradition that when the water in the pool stirred, it was an angel stirring the water and the first person to get into the water would be healed. This is why the sick and lame would gather around the pool and wait there.

           Christ is at the pool and while there, he speaks with a lame man, who tells Christ his problem. Notice that Christ doesn't rebuke him for his spiritual ignorance here. Instead, he shows his own power, his compassion, and ultimately, his deity. Because this miracle takes place on the Sabbath, this miracle shows Christ's power over time here, proving to the Jewish leaders that he is all-powerful and not held to the time constraints of man.

            We can also learn about salvation here. If you look at the man and have him represent the condition of the world, it creates a beautiful picture of salvation. First of all, the man was physically weak and couldn't even save himself if he wanted to, just like we can't save ourselves either. Secondly, he was lame and couldn't go anywhere for salvation, and we can't go anywhere but to Christ for our salvation. The man couldn't even use his hands to pull himself down to the pool and we can't use our works to save ourselves. The man was waiting at the pool, hoping for a miracle, and many in the world are still waiting for a Messiah. Following along the same lines, the man did not recognize Christ for who he was and many in the world have not recognized Christ even today. Lastly, the man needed help. He didn't really need the water; he needed Christ, just like we don't need anything else in the world but Christ.

After all of this, Christ was persecuted for helping a man and changing his life! This is a good reminder that sometimes we will also face persecution for sharing Christ and changing people's lives. Isn't it reassuring to know that our Savior has walked the road before us?

Christ's Ministry in Samaria and Cana

2012-01-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

Read John 4:31-54.

Let's look at the disciples....

In this passage, they miss the opportunity to see a woman converted and to see Christ in action, modelling how to witness to a non-believer. Where were they, you ask? Well, they were off looking for food because they thought that's what Christ needed most at the moment. Sometimes it's easy to get distracted by the physical things in life. Now, did they know what was about to happen? Who knows? But, they missed it all the same.

Verses 32-33 show us the spiritual immaturity of the disciples at this point in time. Even though they were Christ's disciples, they still didn't quite get it. They hadn't yet learned the reason for ministry. They still didn't understand that as they gave more of themselves to God, they would be blessed in return. The cool thing is, if you look at the later epistles, they had grown spiritually in the Lord.

Okay, Christ doesn't leave them in this spiritually blind and immature state. He takes the moment to teach them. In verse 35, he rebukes them and begins to teach them about spiritual vision. In verses 36-38, he teaches about the blessings of witnessing.

Now, let's look at the Samaritans in verses 39-42. First of all, these people are desperate!!!! They believe the message of a woman who the majority of them looked down on as well. These people were hungry for Christ. This is a great example of how God uses the weak to draw the mighty to Him. In the end, we see that the Samaritans were so hungry and are so filled by Christ that they beg him to stay with them.

We're going to switch gears a bit and look at another miracle. This is miracle number two. Christ has decided to move on from Samaria, where a spiritual revival has taken place and moves onto Galilee, a spiritual wilderness, where he received no honor or welcome. This doesn't phase Christ and he continues to minister to those willing to listen. As Christ comes to Cana, it seems almost as if John is comparing and contrasting the first miracles with this one. Take a look at the water into wine miracle and compare it to this miracle and see what kind of similarities there are. We will look at this week the individuals of the passage, so for now, just enjoy this miracle of Christ and see what you can take from the passage.

Christ and the Woman at the Well

2012-01-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

Read John 4:1-43

Christ is on the way to Samaria. Why? He's left Jerusalem because, just like in John 2:24-25, Christ as fully God (deity, right?), knew what was going on around him. He knew of his growing popularity among the common people. He knew of their desire to make him their political King. All in all, the people still didn't get who Christ was, so it was time for him to leave Jerusalem.

So, onto Samaria. Samaria is located between Judea and Galilee. Just a little background, Samaria was used after the nation of Israel split into two parts (Israel and Judea), to be the capitol of the northern kingdom of Israel. The people of Samaria were not even around until after the captivities. During the Assyrian captivity, the Assyrian king conquered Samara (the capital of Israel) and repopulated it with heathen people, who eventually intermarried with the Jews left behind and eventually adopted many of the forms of Jewish worship. The Orthodox Jews looked down on these Samaritans and would avoid them at all costs. Until now, when we see Jesus, an orthodox Jew, go directly through Samaria.

Let's talk about the Samaritan woman. She had many strikes against her. First of all, she was a Samaritan. Second of all, she was a woman--women were not valued at this point and Jewish men did NOT talk to women in public. Thirdly, she was an adulteress--the lowest of the low--this is why she was going to the well in the hottest part of the day--everyone hated her, even her fellow Samaritans.

We've seen how far apart and sinful Samaritans and Jews are. So, what can we learn about Christ from this passage?

Well, we see his humanity. Christ had grown weary (vs. 6) and he looked like any other Jewish man--she recognized him as a Jew (verse 9). We also see his deity. He offers her eternal life (verse 14), he is omniscient (verses 16-18), and he claims his deity (verses 25-26).We also see Christ's dedication and urgency to do God's Will. Verses 34-35 show us Christ's heart and a deep, determined desire to do God's will. In fact, as we know, Christ was willing to sacrifice all. Lastly, we see Christ's concern for His disciples. He wanted his disciples to have the same burden for souls as he did. Thought here, if we claim to be Christians, then we claim to be imitators of Christ and need to have his same burden.

So, a few final thoughts that we can take from Christ about Evangelism. He gives us the ultimate model for how to witness.

1. He stirred her curiosity (verse 7)

2. He made her face her need (verses 13-15)

3. He made her see her sin (verses 16-18)

Some final thoughts about Salvation that we can take from this passage:

1. Salvation is a gift

2. Salvation brings everlasting life

3. Salvation is for whoever will believe

4. Salvation is not related to race, wealth, or intellect

A Radical Idea

2012-01-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

Read John 3:1-21

This is one of my favorite chapters in John. I guess because often I identify with Nicodemus and am convicted when I read this passage, asking myself, "would I feel the same way as him? Would I come to him in the same way?"

Just a little background to get a better grasp on the chapter....

Christ has just cleansed the temple of the money changers and animal sellers. It is the spring of A.D. 29 and it is around the time of Passover.

Nicodemus is an interesting character. He was a member of the Sanhedrin ("a ruler of the Jews"). When he comes to Christ, he displays both cowardice and courage. We see his cowardice in the way that he comes to Christ at night. He came to Christ in secret because he didn't want anyone else to recognize him. He had a lot to lose if he was caught talking to Christ. He could lose his place on the Sanhedrin (a group of 70 of the best and brightest Jewish rulers of Israel), he could lose his financial wealth, and he could lost his place of honor among his peers. Not to make excuses for him, but I can see where he was coming from.

We see Nicodemus's courage by the fact that he still became a follower of Christ despite what he would have to overcome. If you jump to John 7, we see Nicodemus defending Christ to the Sanhedrin. And in John 19, he helped to publicly ask for and bury the body of Christ. These show us just how much salvation in Christ and change a person and their values. But more on that later.

So, Nicodemus comes to Christ and says that he recognizes that Christ's miracles show that he comes from God. Christ's miracles were radically different from anything they had ever seen before. Maybe Nicodemus was recalling the passages of Scripture that he knew so well and recognizing them coming true in Christ.

However, obviously Christ knows Nicodemus still doesn't quite believe, because he gives Nicodemus this line about being "born again," referencing why he, Christ, was on earth. You can imagine what went through Nicodemus's head at this point. "Huh? Maybe this guy has lost it."

Well, we can see the importance of Christ's use of this phrase in this passage in three ways, and eventually, Nicodemus gets it too:

1. This was the first message that Christ discussed publicly, i.e. not with his disciples.

2. Jesus uses the phrase "truly, truly" to emphasize the importance of what was said.

3. Jesus is giving the answer for how to get to heaven.

So, what's the nature of this "new birth"? Well, it is not a physical birth. That's what Nicodemus thought Christ meant at first. Which is why Christ follows up with this phrase about being born of water and then of the Spirit (and yes, we have now managed to bring the subject of "birth" up in our blog as well). Water represents the physical (I'm not going to go into the details) and Spirit is spiritual. This can be tied to Romans 8:8, which tells us that the flesh cannot please God and we HAVE to have this new birth of the spirit to be with God.

This birth is NECESSARY. There is no other way to heaven! Not only that, but it is IMPERATIVE. Christ doesn't say, "if you want to" or "if you feel like it." He says "You MUST be born again." However, Christ does provide for this new birth. 3:14-18 explains that Christ would die on the cross for man's sin so that man can be born again. And the best part, there's only one requirement. We have to believe in Christ. "To believe" literally means "to trust, to rely upon, to commit oneself to totally." That's it! Simple, right?

And of course, we have the most known and "googled" verse in this passage that makes it clear that this message is for everyone (John 3:16). All they have to do is "be born again."

A few final questions:

1. Have you been like Nicodemus before this passage, or after? Have you been courageous or cowardly about Christ?

2. Practically, what would being courageous for Christ look like today?

3. How often do we let our knowledge of the Bible and Christianity get in the way of the simple fact that all we have to do is be "born again"?

4. If you were in Nicodemus's shoes, how would you have approached him? How would you have reacted to this radical idea of being "born again"?

Conversion Experiences

2011-11-15T13:52:00.001-08:00

Read John 1:35-51

In this part of John, John focuses on the disciples' conversion experiences, specifically five of the 12. John demonstrates in this passage that first of all, conversion experiences differ, and secondly, the different instruments that God uses for witnessing.

We can learn a few lessons from this passage on sharing salvation. First of all, when sharing Christ with others, we see from this passage that different personalities need different approaches (we will look at this more closely in a bit). We also see that only the Holy Spirit can effectively lead us in witnessing. In addition, we see that no method or system works every time. Ultimately you have to seek discernment from the Holy Spirit for each time you are witnessing.

The first two men mentioned in this chapter heard a preacher (Andrew and John), Simon and Nathanael were brought to Christ by other individuals, and lastly, Philip was found by Christ himself. Looking at these five men's experiences, we see God's instruments for witnessing. First of all, God uses the preaching of his followers, secondly, he uses the personal work of individuals, and sometimes, even if the first two are present, he uses circumstances to draw his people to him. We also see that Christ's way of addressing these men who became followers of him varied according to the individuals' needs and personalities. For the first two men, he tested their motives by asking them "what do you seek?" He let Peter know that He knew all about him but would transform him. He simply commanded Philip to "Follow me." And he spoke a gracious word to disarm Nathanael.

Now, when I taught this in class, I took time here to discuss their own salvation. So, before we dig farther into each of these men's conversion experiences, I will share with you some of the applications we discussed in class. After we discussed salvation and I gave the students a chance to write their conversion experiences, we discussed some signs of salvation. First of all, upon meeting Christ, we see that the disciples wanted to be with Jesus all of the time, which is a sure sign of salvation. In addition, we discussed that sometimes your interest and desire for Christ may wane, but that we have hope in Christ and the fact that He will not let us go.

*OK, Let’s look at how Christ met His disciples’ specific individual needs.*

Looking at John 1:40-41, we see the conversion experience of Andrew. In this passage, it says that he is one of two who heard a preacher (this preacher was John the Baptist). We assume that this is John the Apostle because the writer does not give a name. In this passage however, looking at Andrew, we see that he is satisfied with Christ and has so much joy in Christ that he immediately needs to share it with others ( a sure sing of his salvation). If you think about it, we tend to advertise the things we enjoy. So, if we are satisfied in Christ and enjoy our relationship with Christ, it is only natural that we will have a desire to share Christ with others.

Next, look at John 1:42. In this verse, Christ empowers Peter. Obviously, in this brief conversation with Christ, we see that Christ was aware of Peter's personality and his strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps Peter was thinking, "I can't follow him. I'm too weak; I curse, lie, and cheat; I'm only a rough uneducated fisherman." However, we see Christ calm those fears by telling Peter, "You shall be called Cephas," which translated means rock. Christ is demonstrating the fact that He can take a man who would be considered unfit and make him into one of the great leaders of our church.

Moving onto John 1:43-44, we see the conversion experience of Philip. If we look at Luke 19:10, we see that Philip was a doubter. However, even despite the fact that Philip had doubts in life, we see that the simple command of Christ's to "follow me," rang with so much authority and power for Philip that he simply followed Christ in blind obedience. In fact, he then sought out Nathanael, who we will come to in a minute. The incredible part of this passage is that Philip had not met Christ before, yet he left everything to follow this stranger upon Christ's simple command. Not only does this demonstrate Philip's blind obedience to Christ, but Christ's power and influence (Mark 1:22 states that Christ "taught them as one that had authority, and not as scribes.").

The last one that we will look at is Nathanael in John 1:43-51. In this passage, Christ sees Nathanael and declares him to be an "Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Guile means to be "open and honest." Now, backing up, when Philip comes to find Nathanael, Nathanael is sitting under a fig tree. In 1 Kings 4:25 and Micah 4:4, the fig tree is used as a place of safety. This is symbolic because Nathanael is called away from the security of the fig tree to the greater security of Christ. Of course, these is a lesson in here for us in the fact that we need to learn to leave the security of our money, homes, popularity, etc, to follow Christ.

Not only does the fig tree represent security, but it was also the traditional place of mediation for devout Jews and rabbis. Because of its great shade, it was a most comfortable place to meditate on the Old Testament law. Obviously, Nathanael was a very devout Jew. So, when Philip came to him speaking of the Messiah, Nathanael challenged Philip and said, "can there be any good thing that comes out of Nazareth?" Philip, being new in his faith, handled this doubt/question well by simply taking Nathanael to Christ. When he does meet Christ, Christ answered Nathanael's objections by displaying omniscience and omnipresence, demonstrating that Christ knows all about us, including our hearts.

Reflection: Can you identify with any of these men's experiences? How did you come to know Christ? How is your life a testimony of God's instruments of witnessing?

The Forefunner of Christ

2011-10-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

Read John 1:19-34

Let's set up the story here.

Character One: John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin and was born six months before Christ. As an adult, he preached about 30 miles from Jerusalem in the wilderness of Judea. John had two purposes in preaching. First of all was to bear witness of Christ (verse 15) and second, was to reveal "the record" about Christ (verse 19).

John had an unusual way of living. We know from Mark 1:5-7 that he dressed in camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist.He also had an unusual diet of locusts and wild honey. Yummy, right? We also see that John was very humble. Even as the Jewish leaders confront him, he doesn't make great claims for himself or try to draw honor and glory for himself.

Character(s) Two: When the word Jews is used in the Gospels, it is generally meant to refer to the Jewish religious authorities.

There are two different types of Jewish authorities that we are going to focus on here.

The first is the Levites. They were of Jewish descent, most specifically from the tribe of Levi (one of Jacob's twelve sons). They were God's chosen servants and were called specifically by God to serve as his priests and/or workers in the temple. However, by the time of Christ, they were not the devoted followers of God that you would imagine a called servant of the Lord would be. By the time of Christ they had become calloused, cold-hearted, and self-righteous. They were obsessed with tradition (think "Fiddler on the Roof") and were no longer following God out of devotion, but out of duty and routine.

The second group of Jewish authorities that we will focus on are the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a group of men who emerged during the four hundred "silent years" before Christ's birth (between Malachi in the Old Testament and Matthew in the New Testament). These men believed that because Israel did not follow God's law, this was the reason why they were taken into captive in the Old Testament times. So, they believed that to return to the true nation of Israel, they needed to bring Israel back to God by strictly following the Old Testament Laws. Was it such a bad idea that they had? What are some examples that you can think of that can be used to illustrate the Pharisees and Levites as described here?

Now, in this passage, the Jewish leaders approach John with five questions to figure out just what this crazy man was doing and preaching to their people. What are these five questions and how does John answer them? Why do you think they came asking John these questions.

Let's look a little more closely at the Spiritual Condition of the Jewish Leaders. They are suffering from three different spiritual "ailments". The first one is Spiritual Ignorance. Isaiah 40 gives a complete prophecy of John the Baptist. In fact, it is almost verbatim in its description of John. So, the Jews should have known and recognized John as the prophesied forerunner. However, they still come and ask him "who are you," hinting at the fact that they don't recognize him even there.

They also suffer from Spiritual Pride. They come to question him because they are afraid of the power that John might have and the fact that he might steal their job. It's almost like they're saying, "who do you think you are to tell men to repent? You aren't one of us!!!! You don't have the right religious education and training, like us!" So the question becomes, did John have the right to baptize? Why? Well, John stands his ground under their pressure and confesses, first who he was, and second, he didn't deny who he was or what he was doing. He knew that he was called by God and in the right.

Lastly, the Jews are suffering from Spiritual Confusion. After questioning him and hearing his answer, they still ask him if he was Elijah ('that prophet"). Now the reason they ask him this is because at this point in time, the Jews believed that Elijah, who if you recall, had not dies but had been lifted up to heaven in a whirlwind (1 Kings), would come back to earth. So, they were thinking he was truly Elijah. As an interesting note, we see that the disciples weren't confused in Matthew 16:13-14. They knew exactly who the true Christ was, and they didn't have the educational background!

Enough about the Jewish Leaders. Let's look at what John does to place Christ in the spotlight despite the blindness of the Jewish Leaders. First of all, John calls himself a voice. This is very significant. If you remember in the beginning of John 1, Christ is called the Word. Think of it this way:

1. The Word exists in the mind before the voice utters it--Christ, the Word, had existed before John, the voice, came to announce Him.

2. A voice is heard, not seen. In other words, as we see in this passage, John didn't put himself in the spotlight, but continued to point to Christ.

3. The Word remains after the voice is silent. Even after John was silenced, Christ remains.

OK, continuing with what John did to place Christ in the spotlight. The second way is that he exalted Christ. Verse 25-27 move the spotlight from John to Christ. John even goes so far as to say he is not worthy enough to untie Christ's sandals. Why would this be a significant statement?

We see on the next day in Bethabara, or "Bethany beyond Jordan," that John continues to exalt Christ and place him in the spotlight as the Lamb of God. This is when Christ's baptism takes place. It occurs the day after the Jewish leaders had publicly questioned John. In fact, we see in verse 30, that John refers to the questions of the day before and then reveals that Christ was the very man they were looking for. However, they weren't really looking for Jesus as we know him. They were looking for a prophet, Elijah, a king. They didn't want the spiritual Savior that Christ represented. And this sets us up for the constant battle between Christ and the Jewish leaders as they reject him and all that he represents.

So, the question becomes, who do you line up with most in this story? Who can you identify with the most?

If you line up with John, what are you doing to exalt Christ and put him in the spotlight?

If you line up with the Jews, which Spiritual Condition are you struggling with the most? What can you do to escape Spiritual Ignorance, Pride, and/or Confusion? How can you help others who are struggling with these?

Christ's Incarnation: Wrap Up

2011-10-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

OK, let's wrap this puppy up!

We've talked about Christ's incarnation and what is means, we've talked about Christ's glory. Let's talk about the purpose of Christ's incarnation. There are three parts to this. Christ's incarnation is meant to reveal the nature of God, the grace of God, and the truth of God.

God's Nature (John 1:18)

We've already talked about this, but until the incarnation of Christ, men had never seen God in the flesh. They had seen many aspects of God, such as the theophanies of the Old Testament, the handiwork of God in creation (Romans 1:20), and they had read about Him in the Old Testament. But now, God wants us to know Him personally! We're able to have a relationship with Him now that we had never been able to have before!!!! In this verse (18), John says that Jesus has made Him known. The verb used here means "revealed", "interpreted", or "made known." This gives us a clue as to why John calls Christ "the Word." Think about it: through words, we make our feelings known. In the same way God makes his feelings about us known to us through His Word (check out Hebrews 1:1-2).

God's Grace (John 1:14, 16-17)

In the Old Testament, man experienced God's Law and Justice. However, God was gracious still. What are some ways that we know of that God was gracious to man in the Old Testament? So, how does the incarnation reveal Christ's grace? Well, God didn't have to send Jesus to begin with. We most certainly did not deserve it. In fact, man did not even want God's love and grace! Yet, despite our rejection of Him, God still sent His son. And this is how the incarnation reveals Christ's grace.

God's Truth (John 1:14)

What's another way to think of God's truth? Maybe this will help. God loves us, but His truthfulness will not let Him overlook our sin. Sin has to be punished. So, Christ came to be punished for us. Christ's agony on the cross reveals not only the grace and truth of God, but also these three things:

1. The awful consequences of sin

2. God's hatred of sin

3. The consequences that we must pay if we refuse His substitute

So, wrapping up John 1 (and I promise we will move quicker through the other chapters), we see both the importance of Christ's preexistence to prove Christ's deity, but also the need for Christ's preexistence to help us see and personally experience God. So, why do you think John packed this much into John 1?

The Incarnation: Christ's Doxa

2011-10-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

Take a look at John 1:14 again to refresh your memory.

We wrapped up last time with talking about the parallels between Christ and the tabernacle. The last one talked about how the tabernacle was the center of Israel's camp and how Christ should be the center of our lives. Continuing that thought process, if Christ is the center of our lives, we should see His glory, just like Israel saw the Lord's glory resting on the tabernacle. The Greek word used here for glory is the word "doxa." This word means literally "to seem." This is referring to the lofty reputation that a person has in another person's eyes. So, in this case, a man's glory is his reputation.

OK, so if glory here means reputation, then how can we "behold Christ's reputation"? Isn't that something internal? What does this mean????

Well, glory in this context means more than a person's reputation. It means that when we behold Christ, we are basically viewing God's reputation...in other words those attributes that God alone possesses and can reveal. So, in the midst of discussing Christ's incarnation, John still takes the time to make another reference to Christ's deity. Almost like he is saying, "Christ is a man, but wait, don't forget he's God too!!!"

Let's take a second and look at these attributes and how Christ is the only one as fully man to live up to these attributes. If you recall from Christianity 101, sin is our failing to measure up to Christ's perfection. In other words, God is holy and anything that we do that is unholy, we are sinning.

God is omnipresent (or everywhere at once) and whenever we try to hide from Him, we are sinning. God is omnipotent (or all powerful) and whenever we fail to trust Him, we sin. God is merciful and whenever we are unforgiving or seek revenge on others, we sin. God is patient and whenever we are impatient, we sin. God is sovereign and whenever we try to run our own lives, we sin.

WHEW!!!! Talk about conviction! We see how we fail to measure up to God in this idea of God's glory being His reputation and we see how desperately we need a Savior. Which is why (I think just from looking at this test with fresh eyes) John takes the time to reference not only Christ's deity, but the fact that He was fully man so that we would know that we are not walking this human life alone. We have an advocate whose reputation (His doxa) is flawless and can represent us to His Father. What wonderful peace we can find in this!!!!

To wrap up this week, look at Ephesians 1: 6 and 12. Look at what "we are saved to the praise of." Kind of changes the perspective in light of Christ's doxa, doesn't it.

Questions to ponder:
1. Which of the above attributes of God convicts you the most? Why?
2. What does this idea of Christ's glory/reputation mean to you?

The Incarnation of Christ, Part 1

2011-09-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

OK, to save this blog from getting very long, I am going to divide it into three parts. This first part is going to focus on comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of the appearances of God in the Old Testament and the Incarnate Christ in the New Testament.

So last week we focused on the preexistence of Christ and what it means to the Christian faith and Christ's deity. Now let's talk about his incarnation. John doesn't actually reference the historical circumstances of Christ's birth. In fact, the only reference he makes is in John 1:14, where John says "and the Word was made flesh." Literally translated, this means Christ literally became flesh. So, why does John take the time to reference this? What's the big deal really???

Well, we talked a bit about this last week, and from my understanding of scripture (and of course, what was already studied for me), this is significant because this is the first time that God (who is Spirit) became flesh, or became human, and walked among us. This is why Christ is called "Immanuel" or "God with us."

It's important to recognize the fact that Christ took on flesh and became fully man because we do have other occurrences of God appearing to man throughout the Bible. Before Christ was born, God appeared to man in visual forms, but not in a human, fleshly body. These are called "theophanies." We know of at least seven occasions that God did this. However, at each of these instances, He did not appear in a fleshly body.
Here is the key to all of this and why it is important to make these distinctions. The incarnation means that God did not "dwell" in a human body. Rather, it means that He became man, what He was not before. But, it's important to remember that He did not cease to be all that He was before.

All right, now that we've established the fact that Christ was God walking among us, let's talk about John's choice of words. In verse 14, he says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." The word that John uses for "dwelt" here literally means "Christ tabernacled, or pitched his tent" on this earth. In other words, John wants to give the image of a temporary living quarter, or that Christ only lived here for a temporary man (33 years).

This translation reminds us of the tabernacle in the dessert and we can draw some parallels between the tabernacle of the Old Testament and Christ "tabernacling" (yes, I think I just made up a word, but you get the picture) in the New Testament.

For example, the tabernacle was a temporary thing, as was Christ. Now hold on, before that is taken the wrong way, what I mean is that Christ was only on this earth for approximately 33 years. Interestingly enough, the tabernacle was only used for about 35 years in the desert.

Moving on, we know that the tabernacle was God's dwelling place (check out Exodus 25:21-22). And of course, we remember the definition of "Immanuel", or "God With Us," meaning that Christ dwelt among us.

The tabernacle was where God met man. In the Old Testament, God told Moses how to build the tabernacle and said He would meet man there (again, Exodus 25:21-22). Today, Christ is the meeting place between God and man (John 14:6)

When God told Moses how to build the temple, He directed that it be placed in the middle of the Israelite camp. In the same way Christ should be in the middle of our lives. Going along with this thought, it says in the Old Testament that God's glory rested on the Tabernacle. In the same way, when Christ was walking among us, we beheld his glory.

Now, hold that thought on glory for next week. We're going to focus on Christ's glory and what it means for us and dig into some of the original Greek and meaning of the texts. For now, here are some questions for you:

1. Why do you think that John focused on Christ's incarnation if he is trying to prove Christ is God?

2. What are some of the theophanies of God that we see in the Old Testament?

3. What does Christ's "tabernacling" mean to you and how can we keep our focus on him in light of this idea?

The Preexistence of Christ

2011-09-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Now, let's dig in and get some meat out of John. Read John 1:1-18

We're talking Christ's preexistence, i.e., his eternal nature, this week. Why is this so important to John that he addresses it in the first 18 verses of his Gospel? Because he wants to firmly establish that Jesus was much more than just a man, he was God, the Messiah, the Christ! So, he takes the time to set his readers straight first off. The curriculum I used said it this way, "John offers no argument, apology, or explanation for what he said about Christ's preexistence." I like that. A "take no prisoners" kind of attitude.

So, verse one. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." By saying "in the beginning," John is saying when all things began. In other words, Christ was present already when all things began. The actual Greek word that John uses for "the Word" is the word "logos," which literally translated means "thought" or "expression." Look at the beautiful picture this creates. Jesus was God's Word to us, expressing who God is and what He wants to do for us. He was God walking among us.
Sticking with verse one, the phrase "the Word was with God" literally translates that Jesus was "face to face" with God. This is very key. Remember our previous discussion about Gnosticism and Docetists? John was needing to establish for His readers that Christ was more than an idea in God's mind before the world began. In other words, "if Christ was facing God," then if God saw Christ, Christ must be more than an idea in God's mind. He was God participating in the creation of the world.
Jump onto verse 3. "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." The Greek word used here for creation is the word "egeneto" which means "came into existence." In other words Christ brought into existence something out of nothing, or "ex nihilo." Why does John take the time to talk about Christ bringing something into existence? Because he wants to establish Christ as Creator, as being part of God's work, not as being a part of God's mind.

Remember, all of this is to establish Christ's preexistence. OK, going on....
Here is what other parts of the Bible has to say about Christ's preexistence, to support John 1:
Look up John 8:58. The key phrase here is "Before Abraham was, I am." What's wrong with this sentence? That's right, the tenses are all wrong. Christ starts in the past tense and then moves onto the present tense. We're not supposed to do that in the same sentence! Jesus must not have paid attention in Hebrew class. OK, he is God. So why does he switch up tenses? He is creating this wonderful picture for us of the fact that even 2,000 years before that time, he is present. In other words, he lives outside the realm of time. 2,000 years ago, He is now, and 2,000 years from now, He already is! This is also one of Christ's claims to deity.

Look up Exodus 3:14. This is where the whole "I AM" phrase comes into play that is recorded for us. A little food for thought here. After Christ says the "I AM" phrase in John 8:58, the Jews try to stone him. In light of Exodus 3:14, why would they try to stone Christ?

OK, look up Micah 5:2. This was written several hundred years before Christ's birth. Yet, Micah foretells of one who would be born then, but has existed "from of old." All of these support the fact that Christ has existed from before the beginning of time and support John's opening chapter.

So, Christ preexisted. So what? Why is this an important part of proving Christ's deity? Let's look at some more scripture. Look up 1 John 5:11-12, Colossians 3:4, and Galations 2:20. What do these verses say that would implicate that Christ's preexistence is important enough to discuss first thing?
Think of it this way: In these verses we see that when we trust Christ, we die to ourselves and Christ becomes our lives. So, what kind of life does Christ have? Therefore, what kind of life does every believer in Christ have? That's right, eternal life. Only one who has always existed could provide eternal life. And here's the key: because Christ was, is, and always will be, and is in us and is our life, we CANNOT lose our salvation once we are truly saved!!!! CANNOT!!!!!!!!!!! What wonderful hope that is for us! And that is the key for why we must believe in Christ's preexistence, and why John starts with Christ's preexistence. Our eternal security rests entirely on the fact that Christ lives forever and is GOD!!!!

Questions for thought:

1. What is the form of Christ's preexistence? Think about this one and we will discuss this one.
2. How did and will people respond to Christ's preexistence?
3. In today's world, we might not be fighting Gnostics or Docetists, but we do have some worldview that we have to deal with that deny the preexistence of Christ. What might those be?

The Geographic and Political Situation of Israel during Christ's Ministry

2011-09-06T04:40:00.000-07:00

Next week we will be getting into John 1, but just to give you a little more background and to set up the book of John, let's look at what the geography and politics of Israel looked like around 30 A.D.

Location and Size of Israel:

Israel is a small country. In fact, it is 390 miles long and ranges from 30-80 miles wide. To give you a perspective from our part of the world, it is about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Also, an interesting side note, Israel, when you look at a map of the world, it is roughly in the middle of the world. Coincidence or not?

The Perfect Country:

Climate:

Israel has every type of climate imaginable. It has snowy Mount Hermon, which is a popular Israelite ski spot, and then the tropical Dead Sea region. In fact, you could go skiing in the morning and then hit the beach in the afternoon!

Crops:

On the plains of Sharon, you can find crops of oranges and bananas. In Galilee, you can find grapes, cucumbers, and almost any type of vegetable imaginable.

As far as land is concerned, the country of Israel really is the perfect country. In fact, it makes sense why the area is called "the land flowing with milk and honey."

Christ's Itinerary:

Here is just a quick overview of Christ's itinerary through the book of John. Notice how much land he covered.

John 4:1-5—From Jerusalem to Galilee through Samaria: about 50 miles through hills
John 4:43-46—From Samaria to Galilee: about 40 miles through hills and coastal plains
John 4:54-5:1—From Galilee to Jerusalem: about 90 miles through coastal plains and hills
John 10: 40—From Jerusalem to beyond Jordan: about 20 miles through hills and the Jordan Valley
John 10:40-11:1-17—From beyond Jordan to Judea, Bethany: about 18 miles through hills and the Jordan Valley

John 11:54—From Bethany to Ephraim: about 25 miles through hills

Political Divisions During Christ's Time:

There are three major areas in Israel: Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. Remember, John focuses most of his gospel on Judea. Now, Rome is ruling Israel at this point, and the Roman government divided Israel into three political areas. As we look at these divisions, try to tuck them in the back of your mind for future reference when we talk about the people Christ ministered to in these areas. It will help you understand why he said what he said and did what he did.

We have Judea and Samaria, which is made up of broken hills and valleys and was good for grazing herds and flocks. Seven different men ruled this area during Christ's lifetime.

We have Galilee and Perea, which was heavily wooded in some areas during this time, received a great amount of rain and run-off from nearby Mount Hermon (about 25 inches annually), and was a rich and fertile land. Herod Antipus ruled this area.

Lastly, we have Iturea and Trachonitis, which is in the northern Galilee area. Trachonitis was northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Because the Itureans were nomads, we don't know an exact area they lived in, but are able to narrow it down to this area around the Sea of Galilee. Philip ruled this area during this time.

Now, there is one more area I'm going to include because we will discuss it. It is not a Roman province, but was under Rome's partial control and/or influence. This area is called Decapolis and was made up of 10 Greek cities.

OK, here's a bit more geography and then I have a great illustration to share with you. These are the break down of the geographical divisions of Israel. If you look at a map of Israel, you can draw five vertical lines through Israel to create these areas. Again, tuck these in the back of your mind for future reference when looking at Christ's ministry. Here is a quick rundown of them:

The Coastal Plains
1. It is along the Mediterranean Coast to Mount Carmel
2. It ranges from 6 to 20 miles wide
3. It contains some of the richest soil in the world
4. A large part of the most desirable land in Palestine is in this area

The Shepelah
1. Found between the Coastal plan and the central hills is a series of foothills called the Shepelah
2. It has rolling hills
3. It has low hills at 500 to 1,00 feet high
4. It is suited for growing olives, grapes, and grain
5. It is also suited for pastoral farming activities
6. It once served as a buffer zone between the Philistines and the Israel.

The Cis-Jordan Hills
1. This area is commonly associated with Israel’s history
2. Most of Israel’s cities and people are located in this area
3. The hills range from 1,500 to 3,000 feet high.
4. The elevation increases to the north, and the hills become the Lebanon Mountains in northern Galilee
5. The mountains rise to an elevation of 10,000 feet

The Jordan Valley
1. It stretches from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea
2. It represents only a small section of one of the most remarkable geographic depressions on the earth, which is fully known as the Afro-Arabian Rift Valley
3. This rift is responsible for creating the Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea in Israel
4. Due to the constant moving, between 200-300 earthquakes occur here daily!
5. Although the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are only 65 miles apart in a straight line, the Jordan River winds through this area for more than two hundred miles
6. The Dead Sea is about 1,292 feet below sea level and 1,300 feet deep
7. 6 million tons of water flow into the Dead Sea every day from the Jordan River
8. The Dead Sea has no outlet, so the water evaporates during the day, leaving behind minerals—the Dead Sea is one of the greatest mineral deposits in the world.

The Trans-Jordan Hills
1. These hills and mountains lie on the other side (east of the Jordan River)
2. It is a high plateau that rises gradually from north (about 1,320 feet high) to south (higher than 3,940 feet)

Hopefully this helps you gain a better understanding of the area and peoples that Christ was ministering to and of the politics he was facing.

OK, here's the illustration I promised (actually, I want you to think about it, see what you come up with, and then I will share with you what I see). Look back at the description of The Jordan Valley. Think about the Dead Sea. How could we use the Jordan River and the Dead Sea to describe some Christians?

This picture isn't the illustration, I just thought it was funny!

The Purpose of John's Gospel

2011-08-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

Last week we discussed the gospels in a big picture and the portrait of Christ that they paint as a whole. This week we will be focusing in on John and the specific reasons he wrote his gospel. He had three specific emphases that we touched on a bit last week, but here they are again:

1. To prove the deity of Christ.

2. To cause men to believe in Christ and live.

3. To supplement the Synoptic gospels and supply the details that they do not mention.

Now, in writing his gospel, he had two purposes in mind. Check out John 20:30-31. According to these verses, why did he record what he recorded? Now look at John 21:25. Did he record everything that Jesus did? So, why did John include certain facts that the other gospels did not and omit others that the other gospels included?

Exactly, he wanted to choose only the facts that aided his purpose. So, here are some of the big facts that he did include (Please note that we are going to dig deep into these as we progress through John, so this is only a quick "shout out" to them).

Miracles of Christ:

John records SEVEN key miracles (remember, we know that Christ performed at least 40 and John says that there aren't enough books in the world to record all Christ did, so this is a small number)

1. John 2:1-11: Water into Wine

2. John 4:46-54: Jesus heals a nobleman's son

3. John 5:1-27: Jesus heals a lame man

4. John 6:1-14: Jesus feeds the 5,000

5. John 6:15-21: Jesus walks on water

6. John 9: 1-41: Jesus heals a blind man

7. John 11:1-57: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

Of course, Christ's resurrection is also a miracle, but we put that one in a whole other ball park)

Each of these miracles shows Christ's power over the universe in a different way.

1. Water into Wine: Power over the Creation

2. Healing the nobleman's son: Power over space/distance

3. Healing a lame man: Power over time

4. Feeding of the 5,000: Power over food

5. Walking on water: Power over natural laws

6. Healing a blind man: Power over physical laws

7. Raising Lazarus from the dead: Power over death

So, looking at these seven miracles, why do you think John chose only these seven? Think about these, and let's move onto the next set of facts that John included in order to prove his point.

Words of Christ:

John records the eleven times that Christ uses the particular phrase "I AM." Why is this phrase so important that John would take the time to include this in his gospel? These eleven uses reveal fourteen different things that Christ claimed to be.

1. John 4:25-26 “I AM the Messiah”
2. John 6:35 “I AM the bread of life”
3. John 8:58 “Before Abraham was I AM”
4. John 9:5 “I AM the light of the world”
5. John 10:7 “I AM the door of the sheep”
6. John 10:11 “I AM the good Shepard”
7. John 11:25 “I AM the resurrection and the life”
8. John 13:13 “Ye call me Master and Lord”
9. John 14:6 “I AM the way, the truth, and the life”
10. John 15:1 “I AM the true vine”
11. John 18:5 “I AM He,” meaning Jesus of Nazareth

Why do you think John chose to focus on these eleven particular phrases? Before we finally get into the purpose of John, here are the last set of facts that John chose to include in his gospel to support his purpose.

Testimonies:

John recorded the seven testimonies of different people who testify to Christ's deity. Here they are:

1. John 1:34—John the Baptist: “This is the Son of God”
2. John 1:49—Nathanael: “Thou art the Son of God, the King of Israel”
3. John 6:69—Peter: “We believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of God”
4. John 10:36—Jesus: “I am the Son of God”
5. John 11:27—Martha: “Yes Lord, I believe thou art the Christ, the Son of God”
6. John 20:28—Thomas: “My Lord and my God”
7. John 20:31—John the Apostle: “These are written that ye might believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God.”

Remember, I said John used Christ's words more than his own? Take a look at number 4, there is one example of John doing just that.

So, let's talk purposes. John has two. Purpose number one, to cause men to believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:31). Purpose number two, to show us how to obtain life through His name (John 20:31).

Purpose #1: To Cause Men To Believe That Jesus Is The Christ.

The word "Christ" means "the anointed one." It is also the Greek word for Messiah. It was important to John to prove that Jesus was the Christ/Messiah because the Jews, the ones that God promised a Messiah to, had rejected Christ as the Messiah. They had been looking for him for 2,000 years, studying the prophets for every detail of what the promised Messiah would be like. And yet, when Christ came to earth, they rejected him. I can't help but wonder why? If they new the prophets frontwards, backwards, and upside down, how could they explain Christ away so easily? The answer is that they were spiritually blind. More than that, they (speaking of the leaders) were morally corrupt. No longer did they want a spiritual leader. They were the spiritual leader, so when Christ comes in saying they are "white washed tombs," they lost all credibility and power with the people. Not only that, but they wanted a political leader who would be their pawn and overthrow the Romans and revive Israel as the great country of David's and Solomon's days. They didn't want to bother with spiritual revival. So John had to re-establish for the Jews and the world that Christ was the Messiah, despite the fact that the very men who should have recognized him rejected him. There's purpose one.

Purpose #2: To Show Us How To Obtain Life Through His Name

John wrote his gospel in such a way as to draw a response from the reader. He wants us to not only believe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, but he also wants us to put our faith in Him. Look at John 20:31; he makes it very clear that he wants each person to make a choice. Not only to believe that Jesus was the Christ, but to believe in Him and place our trust in Him.

So, those answer emphases 1 and 2. Now for emphasis 3. John also wrote his gospel to supplement the synoptic gospels, to cover and explain parts that they did not. He wrote his gospel after the other three, so it makes sense that he uses his to wrap up any loose ends. His gospel does parallel the other three, but he also includes details that are not found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. In fact, the majority of John deals with Christ's Judean and Jerusalem ministry, while the other gospels only mention one visit of Christ to Jerusalem during His ministry, and that was for His death! So, obviously, being a Jewish man, Christ couldn't have only visited Jerusalem once. We, therefore, look to John for the other times that Christ visited Jerusalem.

Jewish Feasts:

John centers his gospel on major Jewish feasts. For Jewish feasts, it was both tradition and a requirement that all able-bodied, Jewish men travel to Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts. So, John uses those feasts and Christ's visits to Jerusalem to anchor his gospel and provide his reader with a timeline. The four feasts that we are going to overview this time are the four Passovers that occurred during Christ's ministry.

Passover #1: "Lord of the Temple"

John 2:13-22

Go ahead and read the passage. This event tells us a few things about Christ. First of all, it demonstrates his courage. Why? Secondly, His strength and power. Again, why? This is one of the first major events John records and he starts off with a BANG! Picture what this event looked like and put yourself in the shoes of Christ's followers and the on-lookers. How would you have felt? What would you have thought about Christ?

Passover #2: "Lord of the Sabbath"

John 5:1-17

I want to discuss this one more, so after reading it, try to think of why the title "Lord of the Sabbath" fits Christ for this passover.

Passover #3: Christ did not attend this one

John 6:1-15

What do you think Christ was proving by not attending this Passover? Why do you think John recorded it anyways?

Passover #4: "Lord of Life"

John 18-19

This one is an obvious one. This is the recording of Christ's Last Supper, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. we will spend the last several weeks of this study digging deep into this passage, so hold off on any major study of these chapters for now.

Again, this is a lot of material to take in. This week we will also go over a quick overview of John's timeline, but for now, just meditate on each of these ideas that John presents and think about how each one proves his point. And, like last week, after reading all of this, ask yourself the question that is at the heart of John's message,

"Who is Jesus Christ to you?"

The Background of John

2011-08-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

OK, here goes....

Last week I said that John is my favorite gospel and I have to say again, after looking over my notes, it really is my favorite gospel! And I'm not alone. John's gospel is considered the most loved gospel of the four gospels.

When I go to heaven, the two disciples I want to meet the most are Peter (I mean, really, how many of you can identify with his "foot in mouth" approach to life? I know I can!) and John. John's passion and love for Christ are seen throughout his book and I am so excited to share with you what I have learned. Please don't judge me too much in my writing or teaching. I really hope to just share with you everything that I have learned.

As we approach this gospel, please keep in mind that the gospel of John is completely unique. It is truly John's defense for who Christ is, starting with John 1 as his "thesis statement", the rest of John presenting his points/arguments, and ending with John 21 as his "closing statement," with John ending with "This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24). I LOVE THAT STATEMENT!!!! It's like "Bam! Just prove me wrong!" Or, in the words of a favorite TV show, "Lawyered!"

So, take a big breath, because there is a lot to pack into "the background" of John, so this blog will be a long one. Before I try to dig into that, here are some fun facts about John.

*Although the deity of Christ (we will get into this more later) is the theme of John, the name Jesus is used more often than the name of Christ.

*The word "believe" is used more than 100 times in the book of John, while the other three gospels combined use it only forty times.

*The word "faith" does not occur once in the book of John.

*The idea of eternal life appears 35 times in John, but only 12 other times in the other three gospels.

*The other gospels are considered "historical" gospels, while John is considered to be a "spiritual" gospel.

DATE:

The date of writing for John has been much disputed over the years. We know that it was the last gospel to be written. There have been some who have suggested as late as 150 AD, some 90-94 AD, and others 85-90 AD. Most recent discoveries now suggest that John as probably written around 80-90 AD. In fact, the oldest surviving copy of any portion of Scripture comes from John's gospel!

AUTHOR:

Of course everyone assumes that John is the gospel writer, but here is how we definitely know that he was the writer. If you read John 21:20-24, it says that the author of the gospel is "the one whom Jesus loves." Luke 6:14-16 tells us the names of all of the disciples, and these names also appear in John, with the exception of John's name, so we deduce that this "is the one whom Jesus loved." We also know that John was Jesus' cousin, the son of Salome, Mary's sister. John was most likely very young when he followed Christ, probably in his teens.

ROLE:

Let's talk about John's gospel's place with the other three gospels. The word gospel means "good news". The concept of a gospel is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (go ahead and look that one up). A gospel, to be considered the good news of God, must contain three elements. What do you think they are? We will talk about this one this week.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all considered to be "synoptic gospels." The word synoptic comes from the Greek words "syn" (together or alike) and "optic" (to see). Basically, it means that they "see alike." Their goal in writing was to present the straight, historic facts. John, however, is an evangelistic gospel. His goal, rather than just presenting historic facts, was to cause men to trust Christ for salvation (remember the thesis paper idea?).

THE FOUR GOSPELS IN A NUTSHELL: Again, to get a good grip on John, we need to understand his purpose and it helps to see the purpose of each gospel writer. I love how they all fit together like a puzzle.

A Portrait of Christ:

Each Gospel writer had an "agenda" of sorts. He wanted to display Christ in a certain light, focusing on certain aspects of Christ's walk on earth.

Matthew: Christ as King

Mark: Christ as Servant

Luke: Christ as Man

John: Christ God

I love how each of these covers the opposite of the other, covering the full portrait of Christ when viewed all together.

Prominent Words:

These are the words that are found most often in each gospel. Do you see how each of these words line up with the portrait each gospel writer sought to display?

Matthew: Fulfilled

Mark: Straightway, or Right away

Luke: Son of Man

John: Believe

Audience:

Each gospel writer had a certain audience in mind when writing, which also explains why they sought to portray Christ in a certain role. After seeing who they wrote to, why do you think they sought to portray Christ in that specific role?

Matthew: The Jews

Mark: The Romans

Luke: The Greeks

John: All people

(we will look at in more detail this week why he wrote to all people)

Emphasis:

Each gospel writer focused on a certain action of Christ during his time on earth. Again, notice how each of these lines up with the portrait of Christ the gospel writer was presenting.

Matthew: Christ's Words

Mark: Christ's Works

Luke: Christ's Humanity

John: Christ's Deity

Outstanding Sections:

These are the specific actions that each gospel writer focused on, following from what was mentioned above. Why would these impact each people group?

Matthew: Christ's Sermons

Mark: Christ's Miracles

Luke: The Details of Christ's birth and crucifixion

John: Christ's claims to deity (both words and miracles)

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS:

OK, as we wrap up the background of John, here are some characteristics that set John apart from the other gospels:

~John emphasized evangelism, not history.

~John only recorded seven miracles.

~John focused on Judea rather than on Galilee

~John used Christ's words about himself more than he used his own words.

I know, this is a lot to read and take in. So here are some questions to consider this week:

1. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: What are the three elements of a gospel?
2. Why do you think John is the most loved gospel?
3. Why do you think each gospel writer focused on the above categories? What parallels can you see?
4. John presented through his gospel who Jesus Christ is to him. After presenting his thesis and argument, his question to us becomes "Who is Jesus Christ to you?"

We're One, but We're Not the Same

2011-05-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

We are all in situations where we have to deal with other Christians and, sometimes, these situations can be difficult to navigate. Your boss is kind of a jerk, but he’s a Christian jerk, so you can’t just write him off—you have to work toward unity. A teenager says something offensive on Facebook, but you can’t unfriend him because you’re his youth leader—you have to gently confront him about it. I’m not saying we can or should be careless with our secular friends and co-workers, not at all! I’m just pointing out that it’s different. There are different expectations when everyone is a believer and, every now and then, it’s good to think about how we deal with each other.

Ephesians 4 is kind of like an Oreo cookie for Christian living. The cookies are practical words written to teach the early church (and us) how to have unity in the body of Christ. The creamy filling is a description of what our hearts need to be like in order for us to have this kind of unity in the body.

For this week, I’d like you to read all of chapter 4. It’s kind of long, so you might want to get a glass of milk. As you read, take note of the practical cookies Paul is throwing down from verses 1-16 and from 25-32 and jot down some of the things he tells Christ’s followers to do so that we can have unity in the body.

What makes this chapter in Ephesians different from the way James dispensed practical wisdom is Paul’s progression. Beginning in verse 17, he lays out what we were—Gentiles with hard hearts and darkened minds. Then we heard about Christ and we became new, righteous and holy. What made us new wasn’t that our behavior changed, it was a change in our hearts. What other descriptions of the Gentiles does Paul give? How does he describe the transition from Gentile to child of light?

Now that we are children of light, living with new hearts, we are to play nicely with the other children of light. As we work daily to preserve peace and unity within the body, we are growing and building the body, with the ultimate goal being verse 15, “…we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Last Call...

2011-04-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you have read the last two chapters in Isaiah you know that it concludes with a discussion of two groups:
1) Those who are humble will be saved
2) those who will not be saved because they rebelled the Lord.

Isaiah was talking to a remnant of God's people who had been faithful. Who understood that without him they were nothing. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."

He was also talking to a large group of people who thought they were covered. They "offered sacrifices in the gardens and burned incense on alters of brick" He says these people are, "a smoke in my nostrils" Basically they are annoying. They are not good for anything. " They have chosen their own way and their souls delight in their abominations; so I will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread."

The important thing to note about these closing words are that Isaiah made it clear that the saving was going to be for everyone. This is what He is saying in 65:1. Paul used this argument in Romans chapter 10:19-20. God opened up the doors of salvation to all mankind. In a big way Romans ten is the best commentary on Isaiah 65. I will not try to write a better one.

Chapter 66 is about the birth of a new nation. The definition for those who God calls, "His People" is changed in the light of what Christ is going to do. It's not about sacrifices and following the law. It's about a contrite heart. This isn't new. David understood this a hundred years before Isaiah spoke to the people. He said, " You do not delight in sacrifices or I would bring it..the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you do not despise."

There is more that I am chewing on about picture painted in 66 but I haven't finished chewing on it and I don't know yet how to put it into words. So before I make a bigger mess of things I will just leave it at that.

Check out the homework in Joy's post and we will see you Thursday night!

Season Finale--Homework

2011-04-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

It’s our last week with Isaiah! Katie will be bringing you some commentary to go along with your reading of chapters 65 and 66. My job is to give you some homework.

As we’ve been working through Isaiah, we’ve run into certain themes over and over—for instance, God’s judgment. We’ve seen these themes apply to Israel as Isaiah is writing and to us in the present and to the future establishment of Christ’s kingdom.

So, for each of the themes below (and others if you think of any), try to find a verse from any part of Isaiah that represents the theme. To the best of your ability, determine how it applied to Israel, or applies to us or to both.

Creation
Redemption
Judgment
Justice
Messiah
God’s glory
Restoration
Comfort
Outsiders (other nations, non-Israelites)

If I were to continue with my example judgment, I would reference Isaiah 65:6-7 which says, “’See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps—both your sins and the sins of your fathers,’ says the Lord.” He was talking to Israel, specifically to the people who had broken His law and promising them that their sins wouldn’t go unpunished. This verse can also apply to us because it shows us that God takes sin seriously and demands that sin be punished. It also speaks to a coming judgment. I could keep going, but hopefully you’ve got the idea.

Our vision for Thursday is a discussion of these themes, where and how we see them playing out and what they teach us about God’s character and His plan. We are also envisioning chart paper, maybe a chalkboard. So please come ready to discuss!

Also, one last piece of homework. Respond to this question in one sentence: What have you learned from Isaiah?

Isaiah 63 & 64--Finding Balance

2011-04-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

Scripture has this amazing power to bring our lives back into balance. We swing from extreme to extreme, but God’s word is true, steadfast, unchanging. This is why we can trust it to ground us when we find ourselves drifting too far to either end of the emotional spectrum.

On one end is the dark place. In this place we pity ourselves, we can’t imagine anyone loving us or any reason why they ever might. Sometimes we stop by this place for a few hours in the middle of the week, sometimes we bring our tents and camp in this place of despair for a season. Unloved. Forgotten. Abandoned. Persecuted.

Isaiah’s audience was camped out in this place of despair as their nation crumbled around them. They believed God had turned His back on them and left them to be swept up by their enemies. The opening verses of Isaiah 63 paint a very different—and gruesome—picture. God has not abandoned His people and left their fate in Edom’s hand. Instead, He reveals a Messiah who will fight Israel’s enemies with His own hands, who will trample them and destroy them, soaking His own garments with the blood of His enemies.

When we are feeling downcast and defeated, that same Messiah will fight for us. He declares us worthy, precious, loved.

The other place we go is to the mountaintop of arrogant pride. From this vantage point we can see how badly others are screwing up. We can appreciate all the great things we do. We are successful. Competent. Independent. Of course God loves us, what’s not to love?

Israel was guilty of this too. They were unrepentant, proud. They went through the motions of worship and sacrifice, but their hearts were hardened. And so Isaiah 64:6 brings us the oft-quoted reality check:
“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

As impressive as Israel thought its worship was, as great as we think our actions are, God sees filthy rags. And that’s our good acts.

God’s word is the fulcrum that keeps us balanced between these sinful extremes. It tells us we are loved and worth fighting for. It reminds us that we haven’t arrived, that our ultimate redemption has yet to come and that it is completely out of our control.

1. The Holy Spirit is mentioned a couple times in these chapters. What do we learn about Him from them? How can His work keep us balanced?

2. Of these two extremes, which one are you more likely to camp in? Think about why and about what truths can pull you back.

Isaiah 61--Waiting for the World to Change

2011-03-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 61 and Luke 4:14-28

A friend told me today that her brother and his wife are expecting a baby. A few years ago, this brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After extensive chemotherapy, his life, and his MRIs, are back to normal. To top it all off, there is now an against-all-odds baby on the way.

When we hear stories like these, we sigh and we think of our God who gives us beauty for ashes; the God who softens painful memories by leading us to good ones. We think about our Redeemer.

And yet, some of our brothers don’t have miraculous baby stories. Sometimes our brothers lose three babies, only to lose four more the following year. Sometimes it seems like God gives us ashes for ashes. I hate to tell my sad story again, girls, but this is where I was when I fell in love with Isaiah 61. I was among the grieving, the mourning, the desperate. I wondered how God could leave us empty-handed and broken-hearted twice. I was waiting for my Redeemer to come.

On a much larger scale, Israel had to wonder the same things. During Isaiah’s ministry, the northern kingdom fell to Assyria and was sent into exile. The southern kingdom watched and waited for Assyria to keep on marching and take it as well. Judah would eventually fall to Babylon, and more of God’s people would be exiled. They would languish in a strange land, waiting for redemption. They would return, rebuild the temple, only to be taken over by the Romans—all the while reading this text in their assemblies, waiting, wondering when their Redeemer would come.

So imagine that day in Luke 4. The carpenter’s son goes into His hometown synagogue. He unrolls the scroll, finds the place He’s looking for and reads,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then, He sits down and tells His audience, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Can you imagine? Just reading it makes my heart soar. I want to yell, “That’s my Jesus!!” The Sabbath crowd in Nazareth reacts differently. What they’ve been waiting for—for generations—is in their midst, but they don’t realize He is the One Isaiah proclaimed. They’re looking for something that matches their idea of redemption—a great political leader, an overthrow of the Romans—not the carpenter’s son.

I have my own plans for redemption too. I want the divine quid-pro-quo. If my suffering is loneliness, I want fellowship. If my suffering is loss, I want gain. If my suffering is injustice, I want cosmic lightning bolts to strike my enemy.

But God’s picture of redemption doesn’t match mine. God’s plan to redeem His people is much grander than the daily tit-for-tat I often long for. God’s plan came to its apex when Jesus died. It was by this act that He freed the captives and released the prisoners. When we are broken-hearted and desperate for redemption, we don’t have to wait for our Redeemer to come. We can point to the cross and know that redemption is done.

At the same time, we also hope and wait for the year of the Lord’s favor; for the ultimate redemption and restoration we will experience when Christ returns. Some stories will have happy endings in this life, some will not be resolved until His return.

Knowing this, how do we wait for the Lord’s favor? Where should we place our hope in the meantime?

What were the Israelites hoping for? Why did they miss Jesus when He was sitting in their synagogue? What can we learn from their example?

Walls of Salvation and Gates of Praise

2011-03-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

Today I do not want a palace. I do not want golden rings, diamond earrings, or a new shirt from J. Crew. Today I crave peace, I yearn for righteousness, and I am dying to just be like Jesus. I feel keenly the need for gifts that are eternal.

Reading Isaiah 60 I start to question God's promises-- of herds of camel, silver and gold, the wealth of nations, captives, and people that bow before me. As valuable as these things are, I cannot help but think that I'd far rather have the house of wood and stone, with a peaceful chimney poking out of it, than all of the bronze doors and silver pillars to adorn a castle (ref. verse 17).

Then I read it again. "Although you have been forsaken and hated," and I realize I have not necessarily been forsaken by man but by my own wayward heart, hated not by man but by the ways of the world, "...with no one traveling through," and I realize that a desolate pride roars through the halls of my heart like a vagrant wind carring debris and dead leaves, "I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations," and here the Voice crescendos and tells me that my soul will be full of the wealth of my God.

Isaiah is not promising an earthly kingdom to all the generations to come, but rather a spiritual kingdom. Ladies, this is not a promise of what is to come but of what IS. This is Jesus speaking to my marrow and telling me that while I bask in the sunshine it could be taken away and still His holiness would fill me. "The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."

Meditate on that, sistas.

Some further thought...
1. Read verse 20, "Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end." Is this a promise for the future, or is it a promise for now? Think about how Katie has encouraged us to consider Heaven being a present reality.

Isaiah 56:9-59: Savage Grace

2011-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.” ~Isaiah 56:21

This is the crux, the converging of two roads. In Isaiah we witness the cosmic, raw, and savage dance between our sin and God’s redemptive hand. To read it is to open up deep wounds in our hearts, and to accept it is to cry out much like Eustace did when the scales were ripped from his dragon body. It is simpler to reconcile these two contending themes when we understand God’s ultimate goal: His restored relationship with us via our understanding of His majesty.

What is it that makes us unable to look at our own sin? Do we not joke with each other about our imperfections constantly, even gloat about the ways in which we are imperfect? Read Isaiah 56:11. “…They have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.” I think perhaps looking at our sin is much deeper than looking at our flaws, looking at our sin is acknowledging that there is more wrong with us than simple failures. We can gloat about not getting the laundry done right because ultimately it says nothing of our heart, and we can mock ourselves for being lazy because at the end of the day we know weren’t really that lazy.

If, however, we read Isaiah 57:11, “Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied, and did not remember me,” we are called to account. This is the true nature of our sin, not our everyday failings but the fact that we fear something, anything, more than Him.

God knows how we are, He knows us and He takes us in anyway. It is more than acceptance that which He offers, it is welcome. We must understand our evil nature to understand how truly welcoming He is. When I cry out, “Lord, take me as I am,” it is not a humble request but rather a desperate and foolish begging.

Enter Isaiah 58. Once we understand how profoundly messed up we are, the notion of being righteous is a bit laughable. Read verses 1 & 2 and notice the “as if”. The prophet continues, describing what the Israelites call fasting and honoring the Sabbath, and makes Israel see that even in these rites they are failing. The truth stings like a hornet—you aren’t all you are cracked up to be.

Can there be an “and yet”? I have to accept that after stripping me of all my self-esteem there could be something left to be hopeful about. Most days I can’t accept that, and I continue to strive for His approval of my own accord. Isaiah 59 contains the most beautiful reality, but it is also painful like hydrogen peroxide in its sizzling purge of our iniquity.

“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.” ~Isaiah 59:16.

God takes care of it. He sees our ugliness, he sees our failings and our futile striving for righteousness, and He sends a Savior. The hardest and most precious truth is this: You don’t have to save yourself, in fact you can’t. But God, as Isaiah says at the beginning of Isaiah 59, hears and understands. He comprehends our struggle and takes care of it. Do I accept that?

In summation/application:
1. Separate your emotions from the truth you read in Isaiah. First figure out how this makes you feel… what is your gut response to Isaiah 56-59? Second, what is the reality? For instance, do you feel deflated and sad yet recognize the grand gift? Sometimes our emotions are deceptive and hide from us the reality that is written in the Bible.

2. Read Isaiah 57: 1-13. What title does your Bible give this section? What are the idols being described?

3. Read Isaiah 59:12-15. What truth is lacking? How has it stumbled?

4. Read Isaiah 59: 21. What is the promise? Why is it good?

Isaiah 55

2011-02-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

It has been a really hard day. Alden's had that tummy bug that going around and has spent most of today making that horrible wining noise that makes me want to jump off the balcony. He has had two naps both about thirty minutes long. When I finally got him down this evening I went into the bathroom turned on the shower sat on the floor and cried. In the midst of crying I realized that I have to post this week. So I pulled it together and here I am.

I know these eight verses very well because I always made my 7th graders memorize them. We had hand motions for the whole thing. They especially liked the part where we pretended to sipped wine daintily and then chugged milk and wiped our face with our sleeve.(Verse 1) But I as much fun as we had with this passage I tried to really point out it's importance as well.

These verses are OUR story. Those of us who are not Jewish(I think that's everyone in our study) are the ones Isaiah is addressing. We are those "endowed with SPLENDOR" I have to say that's not how I felt twenty minutes ago sitting on the floor in the bathroom. Go ahead and read through the 13 verses of this amazing song.

In these verse the Gentiles are urged to come and seek and worship. That is so fitting to where I am right now. There is no better place to come when the day has made you weary. We can sit at the feet of Jesus not because of our Labor but because of his Love. He freely pardons us despite our race.

In verses 8-9 he talks about how God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. How have you seen evidence of this in your life? How has God's plan surprised you lately? (That doesn't have to have a positive answer, be honest, he can take it.)

There is a beautiful picture in the rest of the chapter of what God's word does in our life. Read 10-13 again. I feel kind of like this is Isaiah's version of Louis Armstrongs, what a wonderful world. You know, "I see tree's of green, red roses too, I see um bloom for me and you, and I think to myself...what a wonderful world!"

I have had times in my life where I felt like that song was playing in the background but the beauty in what Isaiah is saying is that no matter where we start that if bring our hearts to the Word it will transform of thinking to see things the way God does. To understand that he is working out all things for the good of those who love him.

I love all the grace that we learn in studies these days and how important it is not to turn our relationship with the Lord into a todo list. But although the guilt of not spending time in the word daily shouldn't shame you into doing it, the transforming power for life should. This is the stuff ladies. This is where the changing happens. It's how we get from the bathroom floor to the song of worship.

Me personally, I'm going to go out in joy, led forth and peace and listen to the music of the trees because I have been endowed with splendor. It's nice to know that's not something I am just saying but the miracle of the word.

Read through 56:1-8. I'll have some questions when we meet.

I apologize for how late this post is. Look forward to seeing you Thursday!

Taking back His bride

2011-02-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

Please read Isaiah 53 on your own.

Everyone loves a good song. Music, rhythm, dance are all things that are written into our being. Isaiah was all about the music. He referenced singing or song over thirty times in his book. Chapter 54 is a song, a love song to be more specific. It's about the restoration of Israel.

God had set up for his people a theocracy. He was their king. He handed down the law and asked his people to obey it. Of course they couldn't obey it and they couldn't stand following something they couldn't see so first they tried to make an image of God and then they asked for a king.

In Samuel chapter 8 the people come to Samuel and ask him to appoint a king to rule over them because they feared his sons and they wanted a king "such as other nations have." The Lord told Samuel, "Listen to all the people are saying to you, it is not you they have rejected but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." Samuel lays out for the people all the terrible things that a king will do to them. Read 1 Sam 8:10-18.

Even after they have heard these things they still asked for a king so they could, "be like other nations with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." God gives them what they ask for and the kings do all that He said they would.

God talks about how they are going to cry out to him but he isn't going to listen to them (1 Sam. 8:18). This is what He is talking about in Isaiah 54. God talks about how yes he was angry and he hid his face but that is in the past. Just as he will never again flood the earth, he will never again hide his face from his people.

Now the LORD is taking back his bride. She whored herself out to kings, idols; in general, she sold out to the ways of men. Nonetheless, God will have her back. “For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected…” (54:5-6).

God is treating her not as a divorced woman who is shamed and despised, but as a woman who was rejected as a young bride and now mourning as a widow. Instead of giving Israel what she deserves, God is giving her a fresh start and a new hope.

Application:
1. Read the first verse. How can it be that a barren woman should rejoice? What is God communicating by saying that a “desolate” woman has more children than one with a husband?

2. Read verses 7 and 8. Does this image of a wrathful God compete with the image of God you have in your head? How do we respond to the fact that He is at once wrathful, vengeful even, and loving and compassionate?

3. Do you tend to think of yourself as one deserving judgment or one deserving sympathy?

Hindsight is 20/20

2011-01-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

How often do I forget the way God has moved in my life? How often, as an adult, have I cried out in frustration and shaken my fists at the God I believe in? There is a pride that comes with age, this is the dark secret they do not tell you, a pride that comes along with the wisdom of age and it is dangerous like a cancer. Believing fiercely that I have a handle on my circumstances—that I perceive them as they are and that my emotions are appropriate to the moment, I often become desperately frustrated or even angry that God is not swooping in to fix it, change it, or tell me I am right.

In Isaiah 49-52 we see the prediction of the coming Messiah as God’s promise to redeem Israel, a call to the Israelites to rise up and prepare for His coming, and a prediction of the “Servant’s” suffering. Woven through all of this is a reminder of God’s goodness in the past to His people.

When I read through these passages the first time the thing that jumped out at me was Israel’s blindness. They will not look to the past nor hope for the future, but only seem to complain about the present. "The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me," (49:14). I want to be angry with them and point my finger at all the passages that remind these silly Israelites of God’s provision, but the truth is I identify with them. Just two nights ago I was laying in bed telling God that amidst all of his chiding and guilt tripping it would be nice to just hear that I am loved. Girls, I cannot tell you how often God has reminded me of his love for me. Nonetheless, the other night I was tired and my feelings were hurt and in the moment I felt justified.

My heavenly Father must sigh patiently, for I know He is patient, but I imagine it is a long sigh quietly breathed out through parted lips. He refrains from rolling His eyes at me and instead the Holy Spirit reminds me of old and new blessings. This is what God does in Isaiah as well. As you read through chapters 51 and 52 find these reminders. Of what does Isaiah remind God’s people? Can you think of other miracles or signs he had already given them in their past?

The incredible gift of being God’s own is the promise, the hope of the future. Whenever I get so overwhelmed with my own self that I can’t see past the swirling tornado of selfishness that stretches up further than I can see, God reaches in and shakes me. Then He reconfirms His commitment to work in me. I feel those carpenter’s hands molding me and making me new. I am reminded of the ultimate end, and the purpose for which I am here. All through Isaiah 49-52 is promise. Chapter 49 is a beautiful depiction of Jesus, can you see it? If you don’t at first then you will understand the Israelites’ plight. Then there is the description of restoration, where God holds nothing back. This kind of passion almost makes me uncomfortable. “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine,” (49:20). Not only is God’s love immense and capable of redeeming a wayward people, it is also fierce and almost feral. I don’t want to run off on a tangent, but another question arises here. Am I willing to be loved with untamed and uncut passion?

Finally, at the end of this selection, there is the mention of . “…[My servant’s] appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness…” (52:14). I hear these words from Isaiah like a quiet whisper, the overlooked prediction that sums up the restoration and future glory of Israel. We know from the New Testament that Jesus was rejected. Why?! In heaven’s name, why are they not ready for him? Read John 25-33, where we hear a summary of all that is said here in Isaiah.

You are an Israelite if you think about it. You are the one to whom He has poured out promise on promise, you are the one who wants to focus on here and now. You are a critic, a skeptic, and you and I have to recognize that as we think about these truths in Isaiah.

Conclusion:
1. Where has God already moved mightily in my life that I tend to overlook?
2. What things do I complain to him about now that are largely of my own doing?
3. What hope have I in my own future and how should I redirect my focus from present complaints to future glory and gratefulness for what has already been done?

"I AM" strikes again...

2011-01-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of what's left of a temple where the Babylonians went to worship Nebo. Their god of wisdom and writing. This isn't what it looked like when Isaiah was writing chapter 46 but it's the picture he saw in the future and described to his listeners. We split up chapter 45 and 46 so you need to go back in your mind and note that they really go together. In chapters 45-48 Isaiah explains that God is greater than our enemies. Specifically the Babylonians. They already know that the Babylonians are going to come and destroy Judah but now they are getting to see the happier part of that story. In the end God is going to rise up someone to overthrow Babylon and restore the Temple.

In chapter 46 there are two verse of prophecy followed by eight verses where God once again establishes his authority, reminding his people who he is and why they should listen.

46:3 I have upheld you since you were conceived, carried you since your birth
46:4 I will sustain you to the end of your days and I will rescue you
46:5You can not compair me to anyone, there is no one that is my equal
46:6-7 No one has ever been saved by something they created
46:8 You have rebelled
46:9 I am God there is no other
46:10 I can tell you how it ends before it begins because I am the author of life, therefore my plans never fail.

In the last part of the Chapter the Lord once again explains his plan that ends with the ultimate goal: "I will bring Salvation to Zion, My splendor to Israel"

Question: In verse 12 who are the "stubborn hearted, those far from righteousness"?

Chapter 47 is more of the explanation of what God is going to do to Babylon.
Chapter 48 describes the stubbornness of Israel.

Read both chapters. Note God's tone in both chapters. After reading these what would you say is the basis for the different fates of these two peoples. On the one hand you have people who will be destroyed and on the other people who will be saved. What is the difference in between them? Knowing God is the same yesterday, today and forever, how do your conclusions make you feel about your own salvation?

P.S. I wrote out a long thing about how Cyrus leads to Jesus but somehow it got deleated after working on it for the past two hours...so just come ready for a good dose of history Thursday night. :)

All By Myself

2011-01-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Read Isaiah 44.

Throughout the Old Testament we hear God telling Israel, His chosen people, to be holy. Israel had its own laws and restrictions that were given by God for the purpose of keeping them from being like the outsiders living around them. As Isaiah is prophesying about the coming exile—a time when the Israelites will be forced to live among foreigners, when they will be the outsiders—he gets specific about some of the ungodly behavior they will encounter.

In verses 6-23, Isaiah describes those who make and worship idols. I’m always pleased when scripture is a little sarcastic and this passage gets a little snarky. A man takes a tree and with half of it he makes a fire, then makes some bread, then thinks to himself, “What should I do with the rest of the wood? I know! I’ll make an idol and worship it.” God wants His people to see the futility of worshiping something they create, how absurd it is to bow down to something they could use for kindling.

It’s as if God is saying, “That’s not a god. I’ll show you God.” God wants Israel to be different from the idol-worshiping culture around them because He is different from the idols men worship.

1. As you’re reading verses 24-28, write down some of the qualities of God that are described; attributes that distinguish Him from the other loser gods.

One quality I don’t want you to miss comes in verse 24,
“ I am the LORD,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself”

Did you catch it? Everything God has done, He’s done by Himself. He is not dependent on the arm of the blacksmith. He doesn’t need us to get things moving here on Earth. God is independent. We weren’t created because He was lonely. Like Israel, we were created by Him to be separate, to reflect His glory.

Just like the Israelites, we Christians are supposed to be distinct. We are called to be different because our God is different. It is no small thing to live a life that glorifies God and to resist the temptations offered by our culture. But we have an advantage the people of Israel didn’t have. In verse 3 God promises to “pour out” His Holy Spirit. Our ability to worship God doesn’t come from our strength or creativity; it comes from His Spirit that He chose to give us. By Himself.

2. Verse 28 is pretty epic. Why is it significant that Isaiah was talking about Cyrus?

3. These chapters of Isaiah have already showed us many attributes of God. One thing God is not is passive. Read chapter 45 and list all the things God is actively doing.

Peace for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.

2011-01-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

(For some reason the spell check isn't working...I'm afraid you are just going to have to enjoy my creative spelling)

It's a new year, but seeing as we have not finished the great work of Isaiah are not moving on to a new book. We are however, skipping ahead just a tad.

Maybe it's my 27 years of wisdom or the fact that I am turning into my mother but New years is hardly ever a happy time anymore. I can't stop myself from thinking, what crap is going to hit the fan this time around.

I know this is not a good attitude, and the past week while I have been battling these thoughts the Lord has pushed me past, "In this world you will have trouble" to "take heart, for I have overcome the world". So I believe that it is perfectly fitting to skip forward to Isaiah chapter 40. Where the setement is the same, "Take heart for our God is always greater than our ciurcomstances and our fears."

Isaiah chapter 40

Step one: Think about the horrible things you fear...take an honest look at the nightmares you drum up in your mind on a daily baisis. I won't throw out any here because I don't want to make generic shalow examples that we can all relate to an therefore give us all an excuse to ignore to real deep personal ones.

Once you have noted some of these demons in your closet open up the word of God and turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Read through the chapter slowly considering all the claims that Isaiah makes about God. He is the one encthrowned above the circle of the earth, and it's people are like grasshoppers.(40:22) He does not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.(40:28)

What Judah needed was a good old reminder of how Awesome their God was. They also needed to be reminded that although he was awesome, he is also personal. He is ready to give strength to those who put their hope in Him. They did not know what tomorrow would bring but they did know that they would not be alone.

Now that you have some time for the warm fuzzies it's time to get down to buisness.

The next two chapters continue to talk about God's character and the peoples sin/chooseness/createdness. Despite the clear representation of God's people as complet failuress as far as the law is concerned Isaiah paints a picture of who they are as the redemmed. God's faithfulness is a clear theme but so is his might and ultimate power over creation. (One thing to note is all of the refences to creation and the fact that his people are a part of it.)

I don't strugle with the mightness of God as much as I used to. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom..He is not a tame Lion...I get it. :) But reading through these chapters this week and studying the pictures of God's people as a part of creation I was suprised at how I don't think about myself that way. Not that I don't understand that I was created by God...but I don't really factor that into my identity. I feel because we people all have souls and we were made in his image that we are seperate from that ultimate plan for everything that he had before he spoke the world into existance. By seperating myself and making myself more importaint than a noraml part of creation I take me out of the comfort of his soverignty.

I am not really explaining this all so well, so I am going to lead you in the direction of the scrpture give you some questions to answer and I will see you, my fellow created beings on Thursday. :)

Try to take the time to read through 40-43. I know a lot of these chapters we have read a millon times but try to read them with fresh eyes.

1.Find five verses that create pictures of who God is.

2. Is there anything that you have read that scares you more than comforts you?

3. Throughout the passage there are several references to reasons for God's mercy on his people. There is a clear understanding that the people the people were created by Him for HIS glory and because of his mercy they would be his "witnesses".

a. What refrences do you find that talk about why God created his people?
b. After so many amazing pictures of the mightness of God, what does it mean to you that you are part of His creation?
c. Does the fact that you are God's creation created for his glory make you feel differently about the worries you have about the future?

I'll close with a good one for the new year. See you Thursday.

"Forget the former things, do not dwell in the past.
See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not precieve it?>
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 43:19

Isaiah 11--My Heart Will Go On

2010-11-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

I’m not going to lie. I loved Titanic. I still get a little shmoopy when I hear My Heart Will Go On. One of my favorite scenes is when Jack is dining in first-class with Rose’s entourage and the unsinkable Molly Brown. He gives this little speech:
I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count. Then they all raise a toast "to making it count." *sigh*

Movies, books, music—they inundate us with the idea that we need to make every moment count because this is all we get. You will never be younger, freer, more alive than you are right now, so go ride a bull! And, I admit, I’m easily seduced by this way of thinking. I get caught up in this world and I forget that God promised a new Earth, a better Earth, and that I have citizenship in that kingdom.

Isaiah 11 describes the new order that the Messiah will put in place. First, politics will change. The strong trees of leadership will be sawed down, a tender sprig will sprout up, and this little Branch will rule us all. The weak will rule over the strong. The humble will dethrone the proud.

Nature will change. We have many good mothers in our group who cringe at the thought of their sons sticking their hands in a snake’s nest, but on the new Earth, nature will be back in balance. We won’t fear shark attacks or spider bites or, gulp, birds touching our hair. We’ll live in harmony with nature the way God originally intended.

And that’s what hits me—we aren’t living as God intended. We take for granted that deer will dart in front of our cars and that politicians are not trustworthy. We only know the ways of this world and we don’t have enough of an appetite for the next one.

But God promises us a better world, one with a ruler who is infinitely loving and reliable. One who cared enough about this broken world to come down and do something about it.

I told you all last week that I love finding places in the Old Testament where God shows His plan for the Gentiles (aka, you and me). In Romans 15:12, Paul quotes Isaiah 10,
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”

Are we hoping in Him? Are we hoping in the One who, 700 years before Christ came to Earth, prophesied about saving us? Are we hoping in the One who, 2000 years before we came to Earth, was raised on a cross to save us? Are we living for the moment, or are we living for eternity?

Questions:
How does our American ideal of “making it count” contrast with living from an eternal perspective?

How does Jesus exemplify a person who was living for eternity? What do we see Him doing that we can apply to our lives?

What are you most excited to experience in the new Earth?

A writer's heart

2010-11-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

In Frederick Buechner’s sermon The Good Book as a Good Book, (from the compilation of his sermons entitled A Life in Sermons), he writes:

God is not to be seen in space because in space he is not seeable any more than in La Comédie Humaine Balzac is seeable. But he can be heard. God’s words can be heard because words move forward not through space through time, and although time cannot be inhabited by eternity, it can be impinged upon by eternity the way the horizontal can be impinged upon by the vertical. God is known in the Bible as he speaks—speaks to an thorough the prophets and patriarchs, the priests and poets, speaks through the mighty acts he works both in the history of Israel and in the small histories of men and women when their ears and lives are in some measure attuned to him, or sometimes even when they are not. The Bible is the Word of God—the word about God and God’s word about himself—and it is also the endless words of God, the unanticipatable and elusive self-disclosures of God to countless numbers of people through the medium of what in Hebrew is called dabhar, which means both word and deed—the word that is also a deed because it makes things happen, and the deed that is also a word because, through it, is revealed meaning.

This is one of many ways in this sermon Buechner brings to light the impressive, (though that is barely expressive enough), artistry of the Bible. It is good literature for it is both intriguing and ambiguous while at the same time accessible and clear. In Isaiah 18 it is possible to get lost in the vagueness—“I will remain quiet… like shimmering heat in the sunshine. (18.4)” Nonetheless, the message is clear enough: The LORD is coming and he will have all peoples at his feet.

Isaiah 18 follows a laundry list of “prophecies against” in which Isaiah makes clear the war path God is preparing to march on. Mighty nations are prophesied to blow away “like chaff” and “tumbleweed”. Cush I found, after substantial digging, is an Ehtiopian nation. They are known by their relationship to this nation of “people tall and smooth-skinned” which is universally feared and apparently unfamiliar, as their speech is “strange”. Cush, it seems, relies on these fearsome warriors and, I would imagine, takes comfort in the fact that these alien allies strike fear in their opponents. The LORD will have none of this arrogant reliance upon fearsome humans. He is, after all, more fearsome than them all. Nonetheless, He waits.

Wesley comments on verse 18.4, in which God’s presence is compared to “shimmering heat” and a “cloud of dew”. Wesley notes that both of these atmospheric qualities incite growth, so God is not inhibiting the growth of these nations, but watching as quietly as dew and as stealthily as sunshine as his creation grows… and then he cuts them down.

What fascinates me is the beauty in this passage. The poetic qualities, the metaphor and rhythm and the glorious denouement of gifts being brought to the glorified LORD, it is all so perfectly scripted to bring you to the edge of your seat with anticipation at what this lion-like God will do.

I, for one, do not appreciate the craftsmanship of the Bible often enough. I read it as a duty and as an obedient saint, but often not to get lost in its story. This passage reminds me of the artist’s heart of our LORD and helps me understand what it is about Him that is irresistible.

Follow up questions:

1. When you read the part, which in the NIV reads, “All you people of the world… (18.3),” are you roped in? Have you fully accepted that this passage is not just for Cush, but for you as well? Do you recognize your part in the unfolding plot? What is it?

2. Why does God wait until “the flower becomes a ripening grape” (18.5) to cut off the shoots, to prune them? What is the significance of His waiting? Do we dare guess what He was waiting for?

3. The people “tall and smooth skinned” are not well defined in commentaries other than having some kind of allied relationship with the Ethiopian Cushites. Why are they the ones who are used as an example of being humbled before the LORD? Why does Isaiah include them in his prophecy as those who will bring gifts to the LORD?

The only sign that maters.

2010-10-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

When Isaiah asks is Ahaz wants a sign he acts as if he is too spiritual for that. In reality he felt he didn't need a sign because of his contract with Assyria. Perhaps he was feeling that God helps those who help themselves, but in this attitude he missed out on the hope, and grace, and freedom that comes from the only sign we need from the Lord. His Son.

Because it was obvious that the king was not going to listen, Isaiah address the rest of the next five chapters to the house of Judah. Like most of the prophecies in the Bible there was an immediate fulfillment and an impending one. Isaiah, whose first wife dies after the death of their first child was born married again. His wife had a son they names Immanuel and before he was old enough to become a man the Lord had delivered his people from the hands of Israel, Samaria and Assyria.

We see in chapter 8 that this boys other name means "quick to plunder" this is a sign for Israel that they will be destroyed but also for Judah that in the end Babylon will come and judge them as well.

Isaiah's other sons name was, "Shear-jashub" which means a remnant shall return. (see 10:20-22,11:11-12,16) It was imperative that the remnant return because God's promises still had to be fulfilled. He promised David that he would have a son that would reign on the throne forever. If God's people are completly destroyed this would be impossible. Therefore God's plan was of course to bring back a few, and through that few send one that would save the world.

This is of course the point of Chapter nine. (Note Zebulon and Naphtali= Galilee. Where Jesus focused most of his ministry and also the area most devastated in the downfall of Israel) One of the most beautiful things about 9:1-7 is that we too are waiting for it's completion. It brings us great hope not only because Jesus has come but mostly because HE IS COMING AGAIN! This is the light at the end of every dark place in your life.

Read through 9:1-7. Take it one verse at a time. First consider what the verse meant to the original audience and then think about the church today as a whole and finally yourself personally. If you need to brush up on things like "Midian's defeat" do a little digging.

Make sure when you get to verse 6 that you think about each of the child's names individually. This was not just a poetic list for the sake of literary excellence, each name is significant.

See you Thursday night. :)

Isaiah 7:1-9 Who you going to call?

2010-10-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

Chapter seven opens during very difficult days for the kingdom of Judah. Assyria's threat was growing very strong and on top of that Judah had refused to be allies with Israel (The northern Kingdom)and Syria. Judah's king Ahaz was not looking to God for hope in this time of trial, instead he felt that if he befriended Assyria he would be safe. So he made a treaty with Assyria. (2 King 16:5-9) Ahaz was making all his decisions out of fear. He actually took a Gold offering that belonged to god and sent it to pay for security from Assyria.

Chapter seven of Isaiah is a message God gave to Isaiah to reassure Ahaz that even if what he considered was the worst (the fall of his kingdom) happened, the Lord was still in control and was working out His ultimate plan to save a remnant of His people.

In verse two God tells Ahaz to "take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted." He reminds him that the kings of Israel are but,"two smouldering stubs of fire wood" Ahaz has a choice, to trust in the Lord and find peace and rest, or follow his own path to destruction.

Isiah spoke this message to Ahaz in 734 bc. In 732 Assyria destroyed Syria, and in 722 the destroyed Israel but they NEVER destroyed Judah. In fact by 700 bc Asyria was it'self a thing of the past. They were nothing but smoldering stubs of fire wood.

David understood what it meant to trust in the Lord. How the Lord was always a stronger fortress than anything else on this earth. In psalm 33 he wrote,

"16 The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope for His loving kindness,

19 To deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.

22 Let Your loving kindness, O LORD, be upon us,
According as we have hoped in You.

What is it that you are counting on to get you through your day? Is it your bank account, or your family, or your new haircut, or that chick-fil-a milkshake? Do you think that plans that you have so carefully laid out will save you from the fray? Unless your hope is in the Lord, all your work will be in vain. Isaiah 7: 9b"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

I am not going to go on into verse 10 this week because I feel like this is a really good place to rest. What are we resting in. We are all walking, or crawling through something right now. And I guess I just want us to look carefully at each day and ask ourselves where does our hope come from?

Week 3: Sneaky Sin

2010-09-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 5 is a litany of woe oracles aimed at six different sins. Like last week’s oracle against vain women, this chapter is speaking directly to the Israelites, but the sins and consequences are strangely familiar.

Beginning with verses 8 and 9, Isaiah condemns people who exploit others. In his time, this looks like wealthy land owners buying up the houses and fields until there is not much left for anyone else. As a result, God promises a bad return on their crops and desolation of their fine homes. During Uzziah’s reign, Judah experienced great economic prosperity, but it would seem that there are many who are now abusing their wealth. Isaiah warns that the time is coming when God will shut their economy down.

Another side effect of prosperity, it could be argued, is laziness and indulgence. In verses 11 and 12, Isaiah speaks against those who spend their time and money getting drunk. They throw amazing parties, but have no interest in the Lord. As a result, these people who are reveling in their excess will soon have nothing, “…their men of rank will die of hunger and their masses will be parched with thirst.”

The people have become so confident in their strength and in their economic standing that they are no longer ashamed of their sin. In verses 18 and 19, Isaiah describes people who carry their sin around with them like oxen pulling a plow. They sarcastically provoke God to hurry up and send His judgment (essentially telling God to put His money where His mouth is). As we know, God did use Assyria and Babylon to bring about judgment on His people.

The next verses really caught my attention. Verse 20 condemns those who call what is evil good and what is good evil. They, literally, relish sin and disobedience while they mock righteous obedience. The note in my study Bible says, “When people do not carefully observe the distinction between good and evil, destruction soon follows. It is easy for people to say, ‘No one can decide for anyone else what is really right or wrong.’”

Verse 21 calls out the arrogant, while verse 23 focuses on those who deny justice to others.

What I notice about all of these sins is that they are sneaky, insidious sins. While all sin is rooted in the heart, some are more obvious than others. We usually don’t have a problem identifying and opposing obvious sins: murder, adultery, abusing the defenseless. With these six sneaky sins, though, I think what was happening to the Israelites is the same thing that happens to us--the line between wrong and right was getting smudged. Take, for instance, the drunkards mentioned in verses 11 and 12. It could be argued their behavior wasn’t hurting anyone, that they were just having a good time, so why was it wrong? Verse 12 tells us their hearts were wrong, their partying was an extension of them having no respect for God. Another reason is because they were so caught up in having fun that they stopped working, allowing famine and hunger to creep in.

For us today, the list of obvious sins is getting shorter. Like verse 5:20 says, we, too, are guilty of calling evil good and good evil. Our lines are smearing. We see Christians responding to sin in unappealing ways. There are the public embarrassments who bomb clinics, burn Korans and hurl hate speech. Then there are those who are so afraid of being offensive that they offer hugs and donuts, but sidestep the Truth.

We are called to live between the two extremes. To call evil evil, while being living testimonies to God’s mercy. It’s important that we do this, because we know what happened to Isaiah’s audience—God didn’t take their sin lightly, He judged it. God promises to judge our sin too, be it subtle or flagrant. We need to continually return to our Savior in repentance, and if we love our society, we need to be pointing others to Him as well.

Rather than answering questions at the end of this study, let me encourage you to spend some time this week comparing the Israelites of Isaiah's day with the Christians of ours. How do our responses to drunkenness, arrogance, greed, laziness, injustice and relativism stack up to Israel's response? To God's response?

As an interesting side note, I share with you an article I read this summer about why Christians our age don’t care about Proposition 8.

Week 2 Putting the Woe in Wo-man

2010-09-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Early in the school year, I got an e-mail from my boss telling teachers to fix our websites. In an attachment was each teacher’s name and what was wrong with her website. There it was in black and white, “Walters—has link to March lunch menu.” If the e-mail had been generic, I probably would have kept my website on the backburner, but when I was told specifically what to fix, I got right on it. The fact that someone knew exactly what was wrong and put it in my face (or my inbox) lit a fire under me.

In the same way, Isaiah doesn’t do generic with the people of Judah. Return, repent, be renewed. According to my study Bible, these are the three things we hear Isaiah repeating throughout his prophecy. His words challenge the people to turn from specific sins before the judgment that is coming.

As I read through Isaiah this summer, I was always surprised when the sins of Judah were not all that different than my sins, or the sins that permeate this culture I live in and love.

For instance, Isaiah 3:16-4:1 is a specific prophecy directed at the women of Judah. Their sin, be it manifested by flirting with their eyes or by tripping along with mincing steps, was placing too great an emphasis on their outward appearances. In a time of imminent destruction and oppression, they worried about their bangles, headbands and purses. Sound familiar? They placed too much value on these possessions and wound up with nothing.

I can’t help but think of Heidi Montag and her ten plastic surgery procedures in one day. I want to point at her and say, “She’s got issues with her appearance. I’m doing just fine.” But then, there are days when I force myself to the gym because I’m convinced my pants won’t fit if I don’t (and you thought I was just super-committed!).

When Isaiah issues the call to return and to repent, he is not just talking to Judah. He is telling all of us. And when Isaiah predicts their ultimate salvation, we can pin our hopes on the same Savior.

For the women of Judah, just when things are at their most desperate (4:1), he lays out God’s plan for their ultimate renewal.

“’We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!’ In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious...”

At the time of Judah’s destruction, God was planning to protect a remnant under the shelter of His glorious Branch. They would be people marked by their righteousness, not by their physical appearance. In the same way, what marks us as godly women is our character, not our finery. Of course, we know this. We’ve heard the message more times than we can count, haven’t we? We need frequent reminders, though. I, especially, need to be reminded that the beautiful and glorious Branch of the LORD transferred His beauty to me.

As we begin studying Isaiah, as we see the specific sins of Judah laid out in black and white, it’s important to remember that we are just as likely to sin in the same ways, and to need a reminder to return and repent. There is a strong temptation to shake our heads at the foolish Israelites who kept missing the point and to distance ourselves from this text that was written so long ago. But if we overlook our sins, we overlook our Savior—the beautiful and glorious One Isaiah promised would come.

1. Draw a picture of the kind of woman Isaiah describes in chapter 3. Draw another woman who represents the appearance-obsession of our present day. How are these women similar? How are they different?

2. In your prayer life, is it your practice to repent of specific sins, or to repent in broad strokes? How can Isaiah’s judgment of Judah’s women inform our prayer lives? How will this affect our view of Jesus?

Isaiah 6

2010-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

The first five chapters of Isaiah are a picture of a court room where God's people are asked to give an account of their actions. We are going to go back and look at those chapters but this week we are going to skip ahead to chapter six. I think that it would be easy for the people to be a little upset about all that Isaiah has said about them in the introduction to his book but in chapter six he backtracks and shows that before he went digging specks out of their eyes he did some serious demolition on the house in his own. Isaiah's own sin disturbed him so greatly that he wanted to die, but in the year Uzziah died something happened that changed everything.

With the death of the king uncertainty filled the hearts of God's people. Although Uzziah wasn't the best king spiritually the people felt safe under his care in a world where nations were falling to the Assyrians right and left. It was in this time that Isaiah was reminded that whoever held the thrown on earth would come and go but the true ruler of Israel does not come and go like shifting shadows.

Isaiah 6:1-4

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

This is an amazing picture. The Lord in all his glory being worshiped as He ought. No one is defaming Him, no one is exercising their will to not believe, no one is calling him a liar or calming he is not powerful for this or that and NO ONE is trying to say he doesn't exist. I love this picture! I can't imagine anything greater than a world where the truth is so bright that nothing else can possibly exist.

Dwelling on the Holiness of God's can affect us in two ways.
1) We can be encouraged and filled with the comfort of knowing that with the perfect unchanging Holy God on the thrown we have nothing to fear and
2) With the perfect unchanging holy God we, as sinful broken powerless people have everything to fear, because we do not deserve to live.

Isaiah saw the holiness of God next to the corruptness of himself and reacted accordingly.

" 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

And then of course the Holy, LOVING God revealed to Isaiah His perfect plan for removing his sin and taking him as His own.

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

And so Isaiah is free to worship the Lord without fear. It is here that Isaiah is telling the people that he too has sinned but his sin has been taken away by his Lord and that is why he is writing this book. He explains exactly what the Lord called him, or rather saved him to do.

9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."

11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
And he answered:
"Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

So if you were Isaiah would you be like, YES SIGN ME UP! There isn't a lot of encouragement here. Isaiah's ministry will actually cause some people to be even more hard hearted, deft and blind to the truth. Rather than make things better, his ministry is going to end in failure and he knows that from the very beginning. But this isn't chapter one of Isaiah it's chapter six. We already know that ultimate "failure" has not stopped him from following God's call. He did not ask what the task would be and THEN say he would go, he said he would before he even knew what God would ask. Because it wasn't about him. He saw the Lord in all his glory and his sin was taken away. That was all that mattered, that he be like those surrounding the throne continually calling out to the world to take notice that, "Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty and the whole earth is filled with his glory!"

1) Why would God close the peoples ears and hearts if it meant the destruction of his nation?
Is this sarcasm? (Verse 9-10)

These verse are quoted six times in the new testament, Matt.13:13-15,Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10,John 12:40, Acts 28:25-28, Romans 11:8. Read a few of these and consider the context in which they are quoted.

How does this close minded attitude apply to the church today?

2) How does the symbolism of nation as a tree being cut down bring hope? (read verse 13)

3) How real is the holiness of God to you? Does this make a difference in the way you live your life?

Big Finish

2010-05-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Read James 5:12-20

When I first looked at the final verses of James, I read a commentator who pointed out that James’s final words are, “Don’t swear. Instead, pray. Keep bringing each other back to Truth.” Reading that discouraged me. He might as well have said, “Potato salad. Emeralds. Ford Mustangs”, those three things seem as cohesive as James’s advice.

So, I put my Bible study stuff away, did something else, and came back to the list.

Do not swear.
Pray instead.
Keep bringing each other back to Truth.

And it hit me. He’s talking to people who are suffering, people who are being ostracized and bankrupted because of what they believe. What James is giving them is practical advice for sufferers.

When times get tough, our natural response is to throw up our hands in frustration. We speak out of that frustration, “I swear, if you interrupt me one more time….” “God help me if I have to come down there.” “Oh @#$%!” When we swear, we make ourselves bigger than God by treating His name carelessly, irreverently. Remember, all along, James has been talking to us about humility.

The irony is that, God’s name is what we should be calling when we’re struggling, but not in a potty-mouth tirade. What James tells his readers (and us) is that, when things are bad, pray. When your circumstances are hard, submit yourself to God. And don’t just submit, but expect Him to act and watch for things to change.

There have been times of suffering in my life when I could not stop praying. Maybe no one else would listen to me, or maybe I was just so attuned to my need for deliverance, but I spoke to God throughout my bad season. There have been other tough seasons, however, to which I’ve responded with complete prayerless-ness (my present school year, for instance). Times when I am so overwhelmed and defeated, I can’t articulate a prayer. Thankfully, James tells us we don’t have to pray alone. It is good to share our burdens and to allow others to help carry them.

The other good thing about sharing our sorrows with each other is that it deepens our relationships. As we become closer to other believers, and they see us suffering, they can speak Truth into our lives. We know them, we trust them, and they have “earned the right to be heard.” This is the accountability James steers his readers to as the letter ends.

When a friend is suffering, we can remind them of what is true: You are persecuted, but not abandoned. You are in the hands of a loving God.

When a friend is in bondage to sin, we can help turn them back to what is true: Are you honoring God with this choice? Is this behavior having a positive effect on those around you?

What stands out to me in this conclusion is that our Christian life, though challenging, is not meant to be lived alone. Difficult, frustrating things are going to happen. When they do, we need people to pray with us. When our sin is leading us astray, we need people to call us on it and to steer us back to the Truth.

People just like us.

1. It’s a bit more involved than our usual questions, but I think there’s great value in reading some of Elijah’s account (1 Kings 17-19). In what ways was he just like us? How can that be an encouragement to us?

2. What are some true things you could say to encourage a suffering friend?

Patience James 5:7-12

2010-05-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

In this passage James used three different examples for patience in suffering.

The agricultural theme has been cooking throughout the book of James. In 1:18 James referred to believers as the "first fruits". In 1:21 he tells us to "humbly accept the word planted in us" and in 3:18 we learned that Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. Given these references it seems fitting that the first example James should use when talking about patience in suffering is that of a farmer.

5:7 See how the farmer waits for the land to yield it's crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

What exactly is James talking about? Is it the suffering the church was going though due to persecution or perhaps it was something else. What if what he was saying was actually the suffering that came from waiting for the harvest of righteousness in their lives. Although they had been implanted with the Word it was still in the process of growing.

So many of our daily struggles come from that "not yet" part of our salvation. We are saved but we are also in the process of being saved. We must trust that the Lord will be faithful to complete it. This takes patience, patience like that of a farmer who plants his seed, cares for his seed and trusts that the rain will come and a great harvest will be the result.

The second example the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

The prophets have always astounded me. They preached the word of the Lord, the people ignored them and the people were judged anyway. I am sure that many of them wondered at times what the point even was. But most of the prophets did not just talk about Judgment all the time they also talked about a day of mercy. They talked about the gift of God that would take away the sins of the world. Although none of them got to see Jesus they spoke about him constantly. And they believed that when it was time God would bring the harvest. They had patience through their suffering caused by others sins.

The third example was Job. Job suffered not because of his sin or really others sins but ultimately because of a strange contest between God and the devil for his heart. James references Job and then simply says, " you have seen what the Lord has brought about". In the end the patience of Job to wait for the faithfulness of God paid off. He saw the Lord faithfully grow back all that was taken from him because "the Lord is full of compassion and mercy".

Do the three examples help you understand the suffering in your life better?

Why do we struggle with patience when we know the Gospel?

How can we practice patience in our lives?

Week 11 - Rich or Poor?

2010-04-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

(Read James 5:1-6)

At times I am overwhelmed with how much life costs. I want to host students and friends in my home, but it costs money to buy groceries. I know I’m called to share the Gospel with students in the Triad, but it costs money to put gas in my car so I can get to all the different campuses. I really enjoy buying gifts for people, especially when I see something that just really makes me think of someone in particular. But those gifts cost money. And then there are things that I “have” to have – water, shelter, clothing.

Many aspects of the Christian life are all about living in the midst of a dichotomy. That’s the whole essence of living in this world, but not belonging to this world. As an American Christian, our wealth (or perceived lack thereof) is an additional dichotomy in which we must live. I look at what others have – maybe it’s a certain car or house, or the newest tech gadget – and I feel poor. I feel like I’ve given up wealth in answering the Lord’s call to be a missionary (or a teacher in many of your cases). And then I feel a bit prideful – proud that I’m willing to give things up to follow the Lord.

However, the flip side of this dichotomy comes when I’m exposed to the billions of people in the world who live with much less than I do. I’ve been to areas of the third world where people have 2 outfits only. They wash the one they’re not wearing by hand and wear these outfits for many days in a row. I’ve seen people who don’t have a car or a house, and have never thought about any tech gadgets. Yet, often these very people are the most satisfied in their circumstances and life. Do they worry about money? I can’t say that for sure, but there is something about a lack of money that causes one to be more content with the things in life that will last beyond the moment.

James confronts the rich in these verses. And my gut reaction is to think that doesn’t apply to me. I’m not rich. Or am I?

He confronts businessmen and wealthy landowners. Maybe we can’t identify exactly with these roles, but we can identify with the behaviors of each that he calls out for judgment. James confronts the accumulation of materialistic wealth that he sees going on. He talks about how the wages of those who work the land are being withheld. And James calls out the self-indulgent actions of those to whom he’s writing – saving up gold and silver. James even opens this section by talking about the “miseries” that will come upon the wealthy who place their faith in their wealth.

And I think that is what it all boils down to – where are we placing our faith? In the light of the American dream, I am not rich. However, my wealth must come from knowing Christ and recognizing the riches of things that eternal – His Word and people’s souls.

Questions

In v.4, James mentions the “cries of the harvesters” who haven’t received their dues. Who have you cheated in order to fund your lifestyle?

Why do we tend to love money, regardless of how much, or little, we have?

One interpretation of “righteous person” in v.6 is those who are one of God’s forgiven people (i.e. believers). This train of thought led me to the focus on where we are placing our faith. Would you agree with this take on a “righteous person”? If not, what is your understanding of this verse?

Written by Michelle

2010-04-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

I was probably seven or eight. I was singing with a children’s choir that met on Sunday evenings. The church’s adult choir met after the kids were done rehearsing. They needed some of the kids to turn pages for the instrumentalists accompanying the grown-up choir. I assured the choir directors that I had my parents’ permission and took my place beside the guitarist, ready to turn pages for him. That’s when my dad showed up. My dad would eventually become a beloved member of this adult choir, but on that night, they only knew him as Joy’s dad. I was there without his permission and he was not a happy man.

You see, turning pages and staying out past bedtime, that was my plan. My father’s plan was not the same. Twenty-some years later, I remember that night pretty clearly: his disappointment, my shame, the realization that I could not do what I wanted without consulting my parents.

Years spent in church and in Bible studies have taught us that we can’t be spiritual eight-year-olds. We cannot make our plans and then inform God. “Lord, I am going to be a missionary”, or “Lord, I am going to be a successful writer.” We get this, so James must be talking to other Christians in chapter 4, verses 13 through 17.

Not so fast.

James has been talking about humility, and these verses continue the discourse. Here, James is confronting the attitude his readers had about time. His readers owned their time. They were deciding where and how to spend it. They chose what important tasks would “make the cut” and which things they were simply too busy to do. Sound familiar yet? When we fill our days from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM, we are being arrogant. When we squeeze in one more commitment, we make ourselves more important than we are. We believe the committee meeting can’t go on without us. The wedding shower won’t be as much fun if we don’t plan it. No one will tutor this child if we don’t. “Who do you think you are?” James interrupts, “You are a mist.”

The Bible frequently points out that man’s life is nothing without God (see Psalm 90). Instead of treating our days like they are ours to fill and spend, James tells us to humbly submit our time to God. Without Him holding us up, we blow away. He is our support and our substance. He gives us our days. It is pretty common in Christian circles to hear each day spoken of as a gift. “Thank you, Lord, for this day…” But I have to wonder if I would wake up with a groan if I really believed the day was a gift. Would I stand in the shower reciting my to-do list?

James wanted his readers to recognize God’s provision of their days, so that they would move from self-sufficiency to God-dependency. It is not enough for us to recognize our dependence on God’s will. James would also have his readers actively doing God’s will. This is the thrust of verse 17. You know you need God, you know what He wants, now go do it.

1. Can you think of a me where your “to do” list, and “the good you ought to do”
clearlydidn’tline up? Which one won the battle for your time?

2. How can you leave your heart open to God’s will for your life in regards to your time?

3. How does the reality that you are a mist change your way of thinking about your “to do” list?

Week 9--Humbling Ourselves

2010-04-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Read James 4:4-12

Naboth had a vineyard. It was right next to King Ahab’s palace. One day King Ahab decided that he wanted a vegetable garden, and he didn’t have a good place for it, so he told Naboth that he would give him a really good price for his vineyard. God had told Naboth not to sell his vineyard to Ahab because Ahab was an evil king so he refused to sell it.

We know the rest of the story right? (Read 1 Kings 21 for a refresher). Ahab goes home and pouts about the vineyard until his wife Jezebel promises to get it for him. Jezebel sets up Naboth for a crime he didn’t commit and has him killed, then she goes back to Ahab and tells him to get out his garden hoe and start his precious garden. When Ahab is out looking over his new garden, Elijah shows up and tells him that God is going to have him and his family killed because of his actions.

And then, King Ahab, the one that Kings describes as the most evil man ever, humbled himself in the sight of the Lord. He turned his laughter to mourning and his joy to gloom and God saw and He changed his mind.

What we see in Ahab’s story and in our own lives, is that “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17). God responded to Ahab’s humility and spared him death-by-dogs, but He did carry out this punishment on the rest of Ahab’s family. We are spared punishment because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and all that is required of us is a turning. If we turn toward Him, He will come to us. If we humble ourselves, He will lift us out of our gloom and mourning.

James’s audience would recognize the language of verses 7-10 as a description of coming to the temple to offer a sacrifice. Coming near to God would be, literally, coming to the temple. There would be actual rites of hand-washing and purification required before fellowship with God could be restored.

When I compare what was required of a faithful servant of Yahweh in the Old Testament with what is required of believers on this side of the cross, I am humbled. Jesus truly did the work for us, all that is left for you and me to do is believe—and even our ability to do that is a gift from God! I would like to think that being part of this amazing fellowship with God and recognizing that none of it rests on me would cloak me in humility. I should be able to relate to others as one who has received much and who has been forgiven much. But I don’t.

Instead, I leave my posture of humility and go sit in judgment over others. James’s readers were guilty of the same thing. Instead of recognizing our lowly places beneath the true Judge, we set ourselves above the law and judge others; we say bad things about them and we think less of them.

James wants his readers (and us) to live in fellowship with God and with each other. The only way this radical community can exist is if we live humbly, submitting ourselves to God and to each other.

If God's grace is big enough to move Ahab to humility, I feel like we might have a shot.

1. What other people in the Bible have a story like Ahab’s, an account where their humility caused God to lift them up?

2. Can you think of any requirements of worshipers in the OT that really stand out? (Think of some of the wild things in Leviticus you’ve read). How does being free from those requirements inform your life as an NT believer?

3. The NIV translates verse 4:11 differently than other versions, using the word “slander.” How is slander different from speaking evil against someone? Why might that one word make a difference when studying this section?

Week 8 Two kinds of wisdom

2010-03-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had a little "situation" with a student and a parent. The student was saying one thing and I was saying another and the parent was upset and it was a big mess. I was so stressed out about this situation because I KNEW THAT I WAS RIGHT! And that was all I could think about, the fact that I was right and that he was wrong and how can I make this parent see my righteousness. It was after about three emails back and forth and many long conversations with my mother( as a sympathetic fellow teacher) and my husband, (the captive audience) that it hit me. My sole focus in trying to work this thing out was myself. And there's the rub.......

Read James 3:13-18

After James completes his first look at the dangers of the tongue he moves on, or I would say, builds on his argument through talking about two different kinds of wisdom. "worldly wisdom" and wisdom from heaven. Wisdom is the source we use to make decisions, both large and small in or daily lives. Some might think of it as reasoning, but we do it daily without even realizing that we are doing it. It becomes more evident of course when making bigger decisions like: how to take care of our money, or career choices, or how to be involved in ministry, but it's just as present in our daily attitudes and thoughts about smaller things like, how we spend a Friday evening, or whether or not there is time for the gym today. What I am trying to say is James 3:13-18 is actually a lesson on how to discern the will of God, and who doesn't want to take a minute to talk about that?

"Discerning God's will for your life" is one of those big Christian catch phrases we like to throw around but we don't often use it in the normal everyday living of life. You use it when you are graduating from college and you need to know what's next, or when you are assessing whether or not you are ready for the responsibility of a family. Every once in a while we will use it when trying to decide what ministry to be involved in at church. But it doesn't often get used when we are thinking about how we treat the people around us or our daily activities and how we spend our time.

When making those smaller decisions, do we consider them to be influenced at all by wisdom? The truth is they all are, the question is really what KIND of wisdom is motivating us? Let's break the two kinds down in a way that we teachers understand...

Take a second make yourself a little chart. (you thought I was going to do all the work for you...) Read through Verse 3:17 and write out the motivations of Heavenly wisdom. Now read through 3:14-15 and write out the motivations of Worldly wisdom.

Now outline the results of both kinds of wisdom. Worldly results 3:16 and 4:1-3. Heavenly results are 3:18.

Take a look are both lists.

On a daily basis how often are we motivated by the wisdom that comes from heaven? How about the latter?

When we think about the problems in our lives, how many of them are a result of following "worldly wisdom"? If we were to change our way of thinking about, look at them through the eyes of heavenly wisdom, would the situation look different?

Back to my situation with the parent. I realized that in my selfish ambition I had made the situation so much worse. If instead I had used Godly wisdom and submissively spoken to the parent admitting that I hadn't spent the time to explain what needed to be explained to their student this would never have been a problem in the first place. Also, in my selfishness I forgot that my motivation for teaching is not myself, it is actually the growth of my student, and by defending myself my student was not growing. Instead they felt uncared for and unimportant. When I stepped back and looked away from myself I saw clearly the wisdom I had used was not from heaven.

When our motivations are driven by envy and selfish ambition the result is always death. However, because there is a good work that God has planted in is there will be Godly wisdom motivating us towards deeds that are done by that wisdom and those deeds lead to, "a harvest of righteousness".

What does a harvest of righteousness look like in your life?

Week 7--A Restless Evil

2010-03-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Every morning in February my students read a passage about a famous African American as part of their morning work. The other day, as I was getting ready to go over the work with them, I said, “Take out your passages on Arthur Haley.” The students looked confused. I said, with much condescension, “Yes, Alex Haley. You read about him this morning. His name is at the top of the paper.” One bold soul said, “You said Arthur Haley.” My response was, “Well, I have Arthur Mitchell in my desk, I got confused.”

I didn’t laugh. I didn’t apologize. I defended myself and moved on. The reason why is simple: I needed to keep the upper hand in my classroom. If I admitted I was wrong, I might have lost control. At least, that’s what my pride tells me when I find myself in situations like these every day.

It’s easy for teachers to become proud. They are the center of attention. The expectation is that everyone will listen to them (and woe to those who don’t!). Ideally, teachers have all the answers—they have authority. What an ego trip!

And so James begins chapter 3, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

James recognized the dangerous way teachers dance with pride. His readers would want to be teachers—they were respected and admired—but James warns that teachers are subject to stricter judgment. As it should be. If I can get an attitude about Alex Haley, imagine the pride that would come with being an "expert" in the faith!

The opening verses of chapter three lay a foundation for one of James’s major themes: humility. We should be humble, because we all make mistakes. A lot of these mistakes are caused by a tiny part of our bodies, our tongues.

James goes on listing small things that have big influences, culminating in verse 8, when he calls the tongue “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” But we don’t even need to read as far as verse 8 to be overwhelmed—verse 2 does a fine job, “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man…” All those in favor of giving up and being imperfect say “Aye.”

Why should we try to tame this uncontrollable little beast? The answer is in verses 11 and 12. Salt springs cannot produce fresh water; grapevines can’t bear figs—unless something miraculous happens, unless the One who created them steps in. Our tongues are restless evils, but sometimes, we say the right thing. When this happens, it is a tiny miracle, a reminder that we have Supernatural help dwelling inside us.

Questions:
Have you had a tiny miracle recently, wherein you were able to say the right thing at the right time? Describe.

Why is gossip such a common sin for women? What are some practical ways we can “tame our tongues” and avoid gossip?

In Matthew 15, Jesus says, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'” If our unclean talking comes from our unclean hearts, how can we clean them up?

Week 6 - Working Out Your Faith

2010-03-01T00:11:00.000-08:00

Read James 2:14-26

“Like rain on a cold window, these thoughts pattered against the hard surface of the incontrovertible truth, which was that he must die. I must die. It must end.”

Reading the words above, one might think they are a modern-day description of Jesus’ thoughts as He approached the end of His life. But one would be incorrect. These are the thoughts of Harry Potter near the end of his own 7-book story. And these few lines neither explain nor spoil the story. Few, if any, people would look at a few lines of a novel and claim to understand the whole story. Yet we do this quite often with Scripture, and today’s verses are probable victims of such reading.

It is easy to read this text as James saying that works are the essence of faith. Our desire for laws, rules, and checklists of how we should act would actually enjoy this call to action. If there is a specific way that a Christian acts, then we can know who the Christians are just by watching. And everyone else can know that we are Christians just by seeing us live out those expected actions. It’s so much easier to have a checklist of required works than to deal with heart change and the unquantifiable idea of a relationship with God.

We have to remember that James is the half-brother of Jesus. Everything James writes is influenced by living with His Savior, by seeing Jesus live out the faith & deeds conundrum in perfection. Being the practical man that he was, James is revealing the bare bones of the vine analogy in John 15. Jesus is the vine in which we, as believers, are to abide. When branches are living healthily with their vine, the branches produce fruit. James breaks down this flowery (pun intended) analogy.

Our belief must inform the way we live. A mental ascent to the story of Jesus will not produce works, just as a branch cut from one tree and glued onto another will not produce fruit. However, if we truly believe the Gospel, we must act out of that. We are compelled by God’s grace! The Word implanted in us will bloom into works that reveal our faith.

James is in no way disputing the truth that Paul sets forth in Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” James is offering a complement. Jesus’ sacrifice alone is the only basis for our justification. And that justification is demonstrated through our actions. Faith and works.

Questions:

Do you tend to err more to the side of “I am saved by faith alone, no works are needed” or “My works demonstrate my faith – they are necessary” as you think of your spiritual life?
In verse 16, James writes of someone who reacts to a cold, hungry person with the well-wish “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.” In what ways are we guilty of meeting the needs of others in this way rather than allowing our faith to bloom into works?
Reflect on the fact that both Abraham, a religious ‘insider,’ and Rahab, an outsider, are said to be considered righteous by their works.

Week 5--Playing Favorites

2010-02-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

Read James 2:1-13

When Katie, Michelle and I were discussing this passage, I was assigned the task of finding out what it meant to James’s readers. What we read as a scenario about a rich man and a poor man walking into a church might have meant something entirely different to the original audience.

It is helpful to know that James’s readers were, for the most part, peasants. If you were the eldest son of your family you might have owned a plot of land. All the other siblings would be involved in trade. As the poorest members of society, and as religious outcasts, it would be common for rich people to drag these believers into the secular courts.

So what is James’s sermon on favoritism all about? The two theories that prevail are:
1. This is an illustration about two men walking into a synagogue. Early church Jews hearing this letter from James would have been worshiping in a synagogue. The believers would have catered to the wealthy man because his money would help support their congregation.
2. The passage is a reference to a church court proceeding. Both men are believers; the other church members are to settle their dispute. By seating the wealthy man in the front and making the poor man sit on the floor, the people would have violated Jewish law and, without hearing a word, would have sided with the rich man.

Regardless of how you interpret the illustration, James strongly decries showing favoritism to the wealthy man. He states that favoritism is contrary to the guiding law of Christ’s kingdom, to love your neighbor as yourself (v. 8-9).

While preparing to write this, I’ve been thinking about favoritism and today’s Church. I don’t think we are as likely to make decisions about people based on wealth and poverty as James’s readers were, but we have other categories for people, don’t we? We’re more comfortable with people we perceive as being “just like us.” While I’m not saying friendship and comfort are bad things, I wonder if they ever become an impediment to ministry and if they ever oppose Christ’s command to love our neighbors.

So that we can keep tracking with James and his audience, though, let us consider an instance of outright favoritism. Think of a celebrity whom you really admire. Imagine that person walks into your church on Sunday morning. Through another door comes a family of refugees. It’s time for the greet-your-neighbor part of the service. Whose hand are you going to shake?

I know what I would do. I’d climb over three rows of people to shake hands with Bruce Springsteen. I would promise myself that I’d meet the refugees the next week. And I would go away feeling all right. After all, it’s not like I killed anyone.

James’s readers must have been a lot like me (perhaps all of us?), because after verse 9, he begins to talk about keeping the whole law. If we stumble at one point, for instance by showing preference to the Boss, we are guilty of breaking all of God’s law.

Because we are law-breakers, we are subject to judgment. James tells his readers to let the awareness of this coming judgment shape the way they speak and act. He does not tell them this to scare them into submission, but rather to point them toward freedom.

At the root of favoritism is the question, “What’s in it for me?” If we only see relationships in terms of what they can do for us, we will be mired in the present and judged in the future. On the other hand, if we are really living in Christ’s freedom, there is no need to play favorites. If we are confident in Christ’s acceptance and in His provision, we will be free to reach out to all kinds of people—not just the ones who can give us something in return.

1. I glossed over verses 5-7. Spend a few minutes pondering them, perhaps thinking of some present-day applications of them.

2. What are some categories we use to group people in our “assembly”? How have you seen these labels be detrimental to relationships and ministry?

3. Have you ever been on the wrong end of favoritism—the guy sitting on the ground? Describe the situation.

4. It would be nice to stitch “Mercy triumphs over judgment” on a pillow; doesn’t it sound nice? How would you relate it to the rest of this passage, or to the theme of favoritism in general?

Week 4 - Getting Practical

2010-02-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Read James 1:22-27

Have you ever had that moment when you look in the mirror and wish you could change everything you see? You look a little pale. Your eyes are bloodshot. Your lips are a bit too thin. And your eyebrows are a bit too thick. Is your nose too big for your face? And are your ears uneven? You’re starting to develop wrinkles. Yet you still have acne. This is not what you bargained for at all. And you can’t really fix any of it without outside help – prescriptions, surgeons, professional help. So, it’s easier to just walk away from the mirror and forget what you’ve seen. At least that’s often my reaction to being confronted with things I don’t like, but can’t easily fix.

Is our spiritual life so different? We read that it’s foolish to look into a mirror and forget what we’ve seen. And in the comfort of Bible study, as you read about the foolishness of being exposed to the Word which brings life and walking away to forget what you’ve heard, the truth of that statement is obvious. But what about when the ‘rubber meets the road,’ when you’re confronted with an opportunity to be obedient to Scripture? Just like that outside help needed to fix the physical problems we see in the mirror, we need some outside help. We need Christ. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit who lives within us as believers and who enables us to be “doers of the Word.”

As Scripture takes root in our hearts and begins to bring forth life, we can no longer be confronted with those imperfections without desiring change. We desire to be obedient, to walk in-step with our Savior. We can no longer deceive ourselves that there is nothing wrong. The Word has adequately achieved its purpose – revealing our sin and giving us an opportunity to seek that outside help (i.e. forgiveness and change) from the Lord that we so desperately need.

What does it look like to be a “doer of the Word?” A doer refuses to live in that place of self-deception – denying there is a disconnect between what a follower of Christ should be and what her life currently looks like. A doer works to bridle her tongue (oh, there’s more coming on that as we continue on with James). A doer shows mercy and love to the oppressed, to the “widows and orphans” of her sphere. A doer avoids being stained by the world – she is shaped by Scripture, not by culture.

As we walk with Christ, let us strive to not only hear the Word, but to be doers.

Questions:

*When you look in a mirror, what do you see and wish to change? What about when you look into the spiritual mirror of God’s Word?

*Can you think of other characteristics of a “doer of the Word?”

*Who are the “widows & orphans” in your sphere? What can you do practically to ease their oppression?

Quick to Listen...

2010-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to
listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does
not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get
rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 1:19-21.

I volunteered for this passage because it has become very evident in
the past few weeks how relevant these verses are in my life. The need
for this truth to be accepted and practiced is great.

A couple weeks ago I walked into my bedroom ready to crash and sleep
for as long as the little man would let me. My husband was standing by
my dresser studying one of the many pictures that desperately need to
be dusted. He picked up the picture, taken eight years ago, of the two
of us sitting on a bench looking every bit as young as we were. I
asked him what he was doing and he paused, looked up at me and said,
“I was just thinking about how weird it is that if I saw the girl in
this picture walking toward me in the mall I wouldn’t know who she
was.”

Now, before I got married, my sister gave me some advice. She said that
James 1:19 was the most important verse for a happy marriage. She told
me to remember that often what we hear and what the other person is
really saying are not the same thing. I don’t often remember this
advice in time, but because of God’s grace at this time, I did. Instead
of ripping his head off and throwing it out the window, I sat down
slowly and looked at him, waiting for him to hear what he had just said,
and hoping there would be some explanation.

He continued by telling me he had been standing there looking at all
the pictures of us, starting as young teenagers in high school and
moving through college, our wedding and then of our new little family
complete with dog and child, and he couldn’t believe what a blessing
it was to have such an amazing history with the person he was going to
spend his life with.

My sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

How different his thoughts were from where my mind had jumped when he
first started what he was saying. And I couldn’t help thinking how
much we miss in relationships because it is so easy to be SLOW to
listen and QUICK to speak. It’s a dangerous place to be.

For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

I have been thinking a lot about man’s anger. Where does my anger come
from? Nine times out of ten it is pride. My rights have been disturbed
or I feel misunderstood or overlooked. The point is my anger comes
from the moral filth and sin that is so prevalent in my life. I’m
either fighting my own battles that don’t need to be fought, or I’m

taking up the offenses of others and calling it righteousness.

I’ve taken to asking myself when I feel the anger boiling up inside,
“why am I angry?” There IS such a thing as righteous anger. But so far,
since starting this little exercise in growth, it has always been man’s

anger. The result of giving in to that anger is not life, it is

death.

“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth” The hope here
is that Word he planted in us. It is there, it was planted in us the
day we took our first steps as God’s children. But like a seed that
has to have time to grow, the word does not turn into the mature
finished product it’s going to be overnight. It takes time.

These three little verses have been so convicting to me but freeing at
the same time. Yes there is stuff to clean up in my life, but the Word
has been planted. And as I accept it, as I look to the Lord for the
patience to listen quickly and speak slowly, I will taste the delicious
fruit of all He has created in my life.

Questions:

1. What makes you angry?

2. How do you personally deal with anger? What does it do to your life?

3. How do we go about ridding ourselves of moral filth and the evil that is
so prevalent? Is that something that we are even doing or is God
doing it? Also what does “humbly accepting the word planted in us”
look like?

Week 2--The Journey Continues

2010-01-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

Read James 1:1-18

James begins by telling his readers to consider it “pure joy” when they face trials and temptations. For these believers, the trials were not necessarily life-threatening, but they were frustrating. They faced social rejection and boycotts. Having been brought up in traditional, Jewish homes, these new converts to The Way would face rejection in their closest relationships.

I think of those of us who have non-Christian families. Fun occasions like birthdays and Christmas always carry with them the sting of rejection. The people who should know you best don’t know you completely. The people designed to accept and support you question the very ideology that shapes you. The audience of James’s epistle was living in this tension.

Living in this dynamic surely tempted them to become discontented. “Lord, I chose You. I chose this Way, but my circumstances are not good! What are You doing? Where are You?”

Further compounding their suffering was a radical departure from the sacrificial system in which they’d always trusted. In the good old days, if you will, they could see the animal on the altar, a tangible reminder that their fellowship with God was restored. Faith in Christ meant they no longer had this act of atonement and restoration. Their new action was to continually place their trust in Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of their sins. In so doing, James encourages them that their faith will become mature and complete.

For James, the remedy for the world’s trials and temptations is a dose of godly wisdom. Because their trials are ongoing, their prayers for wisdom must be continuous as well. He reminds his readers that, “God…gives generously to all without finding fault…”. In other words, the believer shouldn’t be afraid to repeatedly go to God for wisdom. He will not respond with, “You again? What did you do with the wisdom I gave you last week?!”

We are bent on instant gratification. This is revealed in our prayer lives when, after praying for something and not sensing any response from God, we stop praying for it. In my prayer life, there are very few things for which I pray continually—especially if I am not seeing results on my timetable. After years of praying for my brother and sister-in-law to have children, I am tempted to gloss over praying for them. Surely God knows I want this by now, right? Why keep beating the drum?

Perhaps this is why James’s next admonition is to ask God for wisdom without doubt. The doubt James describes is not doubting that God can fulfill the petitioner’s request, it’s doubting God in general. It speaks of a deeper, internal crisis of faith. After seasons of crying out to God and not seeing the results we had in mind, we can be lured into self-pity. And from this pitiful place we begin to ask the deeper, darker questions, “Is God really God? Can I really trust Him? Is He really there?” (Note that these are the same questions that got us tossed out of Eden!)

Another encouragement James offers his audience: their humble position in this life is actually preparing them for a much higher position in the life to come. It is this faith in eternity that allows James to call their present trials “pure joy”, because they are being refined for the joy to come. In contrast, those who seem to have it all in this life will be humbled when the end comes.

When we take our eyes off eternity and compare ourselves to those around us, it is easy to cry, “the wicked are…always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in vain I have washed my hands in innocence.” (Psalm 73:12-13) We are tempted to doubt God’s control, His goodness, and His particular concern for us.

Knowing this, James exhorts his readers not to give temptation a foothold.

When Shannon and I started a garden at school last year, we did not agree about putting down mulch. She wanted to cover everything with mulch. Always wanting to save money, I persuaded her to simply mulch around the plants and leave much of the soil exposed. When we came back to school after summer vacation, the garden had been completely overrun with weeds. The weeds had grown around the plants we’d planted, making them almost impossible to uproot. Spraying them with weed killer would have killed our good plants along with the weeds.

Temptation is the weed in our life’s garden. If we are not prepared, even vigilant, against resisting it, it will destroy the life around it. Once we let temptation in, it’s really hard to get it out. And, like the weeds in my garden, temptation doesn’t just stay in one place, it grows and spreads, reaching from temptation to desire to sin to death.

In contrast, God, through His word, gives us life. Our lives are designed to bear the best of the harvest, not to be overrun with weeds. James tells his readers they were created to be the firstfruits of God’s creation—a familiar image to his Jewish audience (Deuteronomy 26:9-11).

In this section, James makes it clear that God is the Creator of every good and perfect thing. He is not to blame for our temptations, or for the resulting sins. Sin is already rooted in us and it is our yielding to temptation that allows it to grow.

Like the readers of James’s epistle, we face rejection and disappointment. We, too, have a choice. We can choose to keep our eyes on the world around us, dwell on how much better everyone else has it, and eventually find ourselves in soul-killing despondency, or we can ask God for wisdom, bank on our eternal inheritance, and live fruitful lives.

1. What is the difference between discontent and living with an unmet desire?

2. Is it a sin to be discontent?

3. In what situations are you most inclined to pity yourself? How would godly wisdom make a difference in each of those situations?

4. I used the metaphor of weeds spreading through a garden to describe sin’s infiltration and eventual destruction of our lives. Now, when I see my garden, I’m also reminded of a spiritual principle. Create your own metaphor for James 1:14-15 that will help you remember the pernicious effects of sin.

5. My usual response to the testing of my faith is to doubt God and grab for the reins, not to persevere; but James says the testing of our faith develops perseverance. How do you see this at work in your life?

Week 1 - The Dig Begins

2010-01-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

Each Biblical book is written in a specific literary form. The book of James is an epistle, or a letter. Each epistle contains basically the same elements. Knowing this helps us to see the way the book is organized.

Elements of Biblical Epistles

1. name of the writer

2. name of recipients

3. greeting

4. prayer, wish, or thanksgiving

5. body of letter

6. final greetings and farewell

We have to keep in mind that when we are studying an epistle it really is a letter written to a specific group of people. This is why it is important to know who wrote the letter and to whom they were writing. While scripture is God’s living word to all of his people, knowing the original purposes is very helpful in understanding what the letters are really saying. To that end, we now give you “James: The Basics.”

Author

James was written by a guy named James. (surprise, surprise) But just who was this James? He was the brother of Jesus. James lived with Christ during His “Pre-public-ministry” years. There’s definitely some room for sibling rivalry in that relationship – how do you attempt to live up to Jesus? He was a leader in the Jerusalem church. The early church fathers knew James as “old camel knees.” This nickname is an allusion to his great focus on prayer, the ultimate combination of faith and works. Finally, James was executed in 62AD.

Date Written

James was written within about 15 years of the crucifixion. Some sources date the book as early as 42AD, while others believe James was written in the later 40s. Regardless of the specific date, there is consensus that James was written prior to the apostolic council held in Jerusalem in 49AD. The book contains no mention of the council, which would have been important to a leader in the Jerusalem church such as James.

Audience

Jewish Christians were the audience to whom James was writing. These believers had been scattered because of persecution and were most likely part of house churches outside of Palestine. James is writing to encourage these believers to press on in their faith, to live a life transformed by their knowledge of Christ. It appears that conflicts have entered the churches and are leading to some wavering commitment between worldly things and true faith. James writes to combat this conflict.

Literary Features

Because the original audience was Jewish Christians, there is a Jewish style of reasoning evident throughout the book of James. Also, James frequently reflects on the law of Moses, or Torah, throughout his writing.

Though James begins in the style of an epistle, the remainder of the book takes on characteristics of a collection of wisdom sayings. This has caused some commentators to refer to James as “the Proverbs of the New Testament.” The book contains many directives, showing that James is more interested in action than in mere belief. He writes in a way that meant to persuade his readers to actively live in a way worthy of a life-transforming Gospel.

Another really important fact in studying an epistle is beginning by reading the entire letter. Much like finding a place on a globe helps you understand better where it is. Each passage of the letter will make more sense when you know it in the whole of its context. So take a little time to read through the whole letter of James.

Questions:

After reading the letter what are your first impressions on themes in James?
Why is it significant that Jesus’ brother believed that the Gospel should transform the lives of those who believe?
James was known as “old camel knees.” If someone were to give you a nickname based on your spiritual life, what might that name be? What nickname would you desire?

Welcome!

2010-01-09T09:39:00.002-08:00

Welcome to the official blog site of Thursday Night Bible Study! Studies and questions for the week will be posted here on Sundays beginning January, 24th!

It might be a good idea to bookmark this site, or add it to your dashboard (for you Google types).

We'll be studying James this spring. The name for this blog and its URL come from James 5:17, "Elijah was a man just like us." What better way to start off a women's Bible study? Enjoy!