The Spirit of the Lord God Is Upon YOU.

Today is the final day in our 37th week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures* today are:  Isaiah 60-63; 2 Corinthians 1.

Today, we come upon one of my favorite passages in the prophets.  In chapter 61, Isaiah says:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

This is the passage of scripture that Jesus was reading, when He got Himself in trouble in his hometown of Nazareth.  I've blogged about this passage of scripture in Luke 4 several times.  I invite you to click here to read my post entitled "Anointed," where I discuss how Christians are just as anointed as Jesus was, to do these things.  After you've read that post, click here to read another post entitled "Angels Without Wings," where I talk about a couple of homeless men who shared this scripture with me.  Instead of being redundant as I write, I'll simply ask you to check out these two articles.

Basically, Isaiah is saying that the Spirit of God allows you to reverse things, and turn negative into positive.  Poverty becomes Gospel.  Broken hearts are mended.  Captives are freed--on the outside and on the inside.  Mourners are comforted.  The faint of heart are encouraged to praise God.  Ancient ruins are rebuilt.  All because believers allow the Spirit to flow through them.

This reminds me of the reversals we find in the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

Amen 

St. Francis and the Birds

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit someone in a nursing home, and to be an instrument of that kind of peace to them.  Where there was anxiety, I was able to bring calm.  Fear hovered in the room, but I was able to banish it with love (1 Jn 4:18).  How could I do this?  Not because I am peace--but because I allowed myself to be an instrument of Peace.  

When Isaiah, Jesus, and Francis talked about reversing negativity, they weren't just saying that the Spirit of the Lord was upon them.  They were saying it's upon you as well.  Whether you find yourself in a nursing home, a church, a shopping mall, a classroom, a factory, or your own home, I hope that you'll be an instrument of God's peace.  I hope you'll remember that the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, so that you can bring light to the darkness.

*Scriptures from the ESV.

Concerning the Collection

Today is the fourth day in our 37th week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures today are:  Isaiah 56-59; 1 Corinthians 16; Psalm 70

In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Paul writes about the donations he was collecting from the Gentile churches, for the purpose of aiding Jewish Christians who were in need in Israel.  He writes:

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.  On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.  And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.  If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

There are a few principles of giving that I'd like to highlight here:

Generosity.  This collection wasn't to be used in their own congregations.  It was for the benefit of other believers--people whom the Corinthians had not yet, and most were not likely to meet.

Priority.  The collection was taken up on the first day of the week, not the last.  In that day, people were paid daily for their labor.  Taking up a collection on the first day of the week meant that the Christians in Corinth were giving in anticipation of the money they would earn as he may prosper, and not in response to money that they had earned already.

Accountability.  Paul wouldn't dream of asking the Corinthians and Galatians to hand him cash and simply trust him with it.  He asked them to put more than one trusted person from the church in charge of the money and deliver it to Jerusalem.  He offered to accompany that money and those messengers as well--but only if they think that is advisable.  

When we give our tithes and offerings in church, we need to keep those same principles in mind.  We need to give generously, supporting the work of the local church and also providing for the needs of others--even those whom we will never meet in this lifetime.  We need to make giving a priority in our lives.  Instead of giving what's left over, give in anticipation of the blessing God is going to sent your way.  When we give, we need to insist on accountability from the people who are handling that money.  We need to give wisely, to those ministries that are responsible with what they're given.

Like the Galatians and Corinthians, I hope that you'll give regularly, generously, and often to the ministries that spread God's word and give relief to those in need.  When you give, you'll be blessed.  When you give, you become a blessing to others.

Sharing Jesus with Jewish Friends

Today is the third day in our 37th week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures* today are:  Isaiah 53-55; 1 Corinthians 15; Psalm 128.  

God loves the Jewish people, and longs for them to embrace Y'shua ha Moshiach, Jesus the Messiah.  We Christians would be nowhere if it were not for our Jewish brothers and sisters, who paved the way for our faith.  God calls the Jewish people the "chosen people."  This doesn't mean that they are His favorite people, since God has no favorites.  But they were chosen to be the vehicle through whom the Messiah would come into the world.  

Unfortunately, many Jews have rejected the idea that Jesus is the Messiah--largely because of Christian hypocrisy and antisemitism throughout history.  Christians need to approach our Jewish brothers and sisters with a spirit of genuine love and reconciliation, and with the hope that they will listen to our witness about the Messiah of Israel.

In Isaiah 52-53, we see a startling prediction of the Messiah.  One Messianic Jewish teacher says he showed it to his father in order to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.  Without telling his father what scripture he was reading from, the son began to share this.  The father, unwilling to receive what was so obviously about Jesus, stopped his ears and said, "Stop reading to me from that New Testament of yours!  You know I don't believe the New Testament!" This passage makes it so astonishingly obvious that this passage points to Jesus that it's undeniable.

Isaiah 52

13 See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

53 

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Along with Psalm 22:1-21, Isaiah 52-53 gives a sometimes more vivid depiction of the crucifixion than even the New Testament gives.  Psalm 22:1-21 says:

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

Sharing Jesus with Jewish friends doesn't mean ramming Him down their throats.  It does mean lovingly introducing them to their own scriptures--their prophets and poets--who point them to a very Jewish Messiah.  It means being patient with them, and demonstrating by your love the opposite of antisemitism.  It means learning about Jewish culture, and how YOU fit in with THEM.  It means learning how to share the good news about Jesus in a way that they can identify with, rather than expecting them to accept your Gentile version of their Messiah.  It means that as you're grafted into the vine of Israel, you begin to see your Jewish brothers and sisters for what they are--family.



*Scriptures taken from the NIV.

Women Should Remain Silent in the Churches???

Today is the second day in our 37th week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures* today are:  Isaiah 49-52; 1 Corinthians 14; Psalm 69.

This past Sunday morning, I got a phone call from someone who told me that their grandmother may be interested in visiting my church for Wednesday evening Bible study.  I'm always glad to add one more to those who want to learn from God's Word with us at Bethel!  But I was shocked to hear the reason why she is interested.  At her church, women are allowed to attend the worship service, because there they simply receive the Word as it is given to them.  But only men may attend Bible study, where they are free to speak and share and learn in a give-and-take sort of way.  Women can go to a prayer group, but their church restricts group-based Bible learning to only men.  Why would they do such a thing?


That church follows 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, which says:

Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.  If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Now, before I go any further, I have to say that the point of this post is not to disparage those who believe a different way than I do.  If this system works for everybody involved (including the women), then bully for them!  But I could never feel comfortable as a member of a church like that.

My church is a member of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and while I have not attended all our churches, I daresay that you'll find none of our churches that have a practice like this.  We encourage women to participate in Sunday school and Bible study.  We have female teachers--not only for children and women, but for men as well.  This, of course, is in direct violation of 2 Timothy 8:15, which I'll talk about shortly.  

Biblical literalists might say that we are turning our backs on the Word of God, by rejecting this teaching.  Why do we reject it, if it's clearly in the Bible?

Before I answer this, I'll give you another one that we tend to reject.  It's found just a couple of chapters earlier, in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.  We read it just a few days ago.

I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.  But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.  Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.  But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.  For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.

A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.  For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;  neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels.  Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.  For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?  Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,  but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.  If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.

You'll never visit a BGAV church to find the women covering their heads out of modesty and submission to their husbands. If Paul took the idea of head coverings for women so seriously, then why do we reject it?   We believe that in this case, Paul is speaking directly to the church at that time.  He is making a sweeping statement across the churches at the time (note the last verse).  But we don't believe that this command continues to modern times.  In the Mediterranean world in the first century, perhaps this was appropriate, but it certainly isn't a general mandate to all of Christendom, and for all time.

Paul's injunctions in 2 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:23-35 closely resemble his commands in 1 Timothy 2:8-15, which is also a gender-biased and potentially offensive scripture.  It reads:

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.  I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,  but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.  For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.  But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

On 1 Timothy 2:8-15, I invite you to click here to read my article on that chapter, entitled "Should Women Sit Down and Be Quiet in Church?"

Let me restate my question earlier in this article.  Biblical literalists might say that we are turning our backs on the Word of God, by rejecting this teaching. Why do we reject it, if it's clearly in the Bible?

While we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, we don't believe that every command in the Bible is for all people, and for all time.  For example, the Jewish dietary laws in the Old Testament weren't given to Gentiles.  They were given to Jews, for Jews to keep.  When the Gentiles entered the faith, they weren't required to keep Jewish customs (cf. Acts 15:1-31).  Similarly, we believe that while God called Joshua to overrun Jericho, storming that city is not the Christian mandate today.  And we no longer stone people to death for witchcraft.  These were laws for specific people at specific times.  And Paul's advice on how to subjugate the women of the church fall into the same category.

You might say, "We no longer keep the Old Testament laws, but the New Testament commands we do keep."  Oh really?  So slaves should still submit to their masters--just because it's in the New Testament?  The truth is that everybody picks and chooses what to follow in the Bible.  

Even the most conservative Baptists I know, who believe that women shouldn't teach in the church, would never tell them that they couldn't wear braids or jewelry.  The most conservative Christians I know of are the Amish--and even they don't keep slaves.  This goes to show that nobody is a biblical literalist in the sense that they believe in keeping 100% of the Bible as if it's a law.

When we say that the Bible is God's Word to us, what we mean is that God gave us this perfect record of His revelation of Himself to humanity, in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, who received in his body the full consequence of our sin.  Jesus, who taught us how to live in a way that is pleasing to God. The Bible perfectly points us to Jesus, whose death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return are all completely true.

We say that God is the Author of the Bible--and He is.  But He used human ghostwriters, each of them with their own opinions, biases, and personalities.  We see these expressed poignantly in Paul's statements regarding women in the church.  Does this mean that God shares these biases?  I don't believe He does.  

Jesus taught Mary as she sat at His feet, in a mixed group of people (Luke 10:38-42).  He didn't require her to learn from her husband.

Jesus sent the Samaritan woman at the well back to tell the villagers about the Messiah whom she had found (John 439-42).

Jesus sent women to tell the disciples about the resurrection (Mark 16:7)--meaning that He trusted women to teach men the greatest news ever shared.

I could go on and on.  Jesus was a liberator of women.  He respected women. So when I read scriptures that take power, worth, and dignity away from women, I have to believe that what I'm encountering is not the opinion of God.  These are but the opinions of the human ghostwriters whom God used when He transmitted His perfect Word through imperfect people.  The Bible is still the Word of God, in that the Holy Spirit wanted these things included in the canon of scripture, so that we could understand the way the early church struggled with issues like gender and equality, and so that we can learn from their mistakes as well as their successes.

Sometimes we get it right, and nobody ever hears about it.  Sometimes we get it wrong, and it's recorded for all posterity.  This is the case with misogynistic words like those that came from Paul.  Don't blame God for these words--these were Paul's opinions, immortalized in scripture.  Don't even blame Paul for the way his words have been used to oppress women of the church for millennia.  Blame those who wanted to disempower their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, and used the Bible as a means to do so.

So, when you come across a passage of scripture like this that's hard to understand, how do you know whether what you're reading is from God, or from the human ghostwriter?  In this case, I'll share with you 1 Corinthians 14:26, where Paul says, "Everything must be done so that the church may be built up."  We have to ask today if the church is built up by the suppression of women, or if the church is torn down by it.  Clearly, denying women the right to teach or even to learn in a group setting cannot build up the church. Secondly, I'll point you to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, which says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

Ask yourself whether the text you're reading passes this test.  If God is love, and the text you're reading doesn't reflect a loving God, then the text is probably one of those places where you see human opinion interwoven into the message.

I have a very high view of the Bible.  So high, in fact, that I don't want to see a few of these troublesome passages get in the way of our understanding of who God is, and of the magnificent plans that God has for all of His children--both the boys and the girls.  Understanding the Bible means understanding the culture that it came from--and the specific people and circumstances to which it should be applied.  Understanding the Bible means taking its divine principles and applying them to our lives, not making laws and regulations for all believers today, out of opinions that were meant for a specific place and time.










*All scriptures taken from the NIV.