Life in God's Image

In April 2021 our denomination passed a new resolution (#21-08) on Human Dignity, specifically addressing prior resolutions regarding abortion. The new resolution says in part:

“Be it, therefore resolved that this delegate body affirms that all human beings are made in the image of God and thereby possess unassailable dignity and worth according to the design of their Creator, irrespective of their race, gender, abilities, age, social class, or the circumstances of their conception…

“Be it further resolved that we mourn the loss of any human life, especially under murderous circumstances, and that we mourn all suffering caused by unjust discrimination…”

If we are to take this resolution seriously, I believe we also need to apply the same reasoning to the topic of capital punishment.* Many Christians justify the death penalty based Scriptures such as Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image,” and Romans 13:4, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” At one time, I would have counted myself among them; however, further study has changed my mind. In particular, I found the arguments in Shane Claiborne’s book, Executing Grace, to be compelling. Although I don’t have room to include all the pages of quotes I pulled out, here are some of his points.

The Old Testament law was actually a limit

“Here’s the key: the ‘eye for an eye’ law was intended to be a limit to retaliation—not a license for it. The goal was to stop the cycle of violence rather than validate or escalate it. Prior to the Old Testament laws and the guidance of God, there was unregulated violence… There are laws of mandate and laws of limitation. Mandate means you must; limitation means you can. …The punishment should never exceed the crime… The fact that it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right” (ch. 4).

Scripture moves us toward life and love

“Throughout the Bible there is a movement away from violence, toward ‘beating swords into plows’ (Isa. 2:4), transforming the instruments of death into tools that can cultivate life. The climax of this is the cross” (ch. 3).

“Jesus takes us even farther. Return evil with good. Do not fight fire with fire. Jesus admonishes us not to engage in retaliatory violence at all—not to take an eye or a tooth or a limb, ever. In essence, Jesus brings us a new law… and he does it without negating the old law, but by moving beyond it. In replacing ‘an eye for an eye’ with ‘love your enemies,’ Jesus teaches us to wear evil down with love” (ch. 4, see also John 8:1-7).

The early church was against death in any form

“[Ron Sider in] The Early Church on Killing… points out that the early Christians had a consistent ethic of life when it came to abortion, capital punishment, military service, and other issues. For the early Christians, people were created by God, made in the image of God, and no mortal had the right to kill another person; not even Caesar had the right to take life… No Christian writing before Constantine in the fourth century argued that there is any circumstance under which a Christian may kill” (ch. 6).

The death penalty is racially biased

“Eight in ten lynchings that occurred in the United States from 1889 to 1918 occurred in the South. Now (since 1976) eight in ten executions are in the South. In other words, the places that were most inclined to unofficial execution by lynching a hundred years ago are drawn to official execution today… To this day, even though African Americans make up only 13 percent of the nation’s population, 42 percent of death row inmates are black, and 34 percent of those executed since 1976 have been black” (ch. 8).

Wrongful convictions and executions are more common than you may think

“[About] one person for every nine executed has been proven to be wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, and later exonerated and released from death row… A recent study estimates one in twenty-five folks on death row has been wrongly convicted and is likely innocent, reminding us undoubtedly that innocent people have also been killed” (ch. 11).

There are better ways to deal with violent crimes

“The U.S. legal system is designed as an adversarial one… prosecution versus defendant. The model seen in scripture and attempted in many communities throughout history and around the world is, in contrast, communal… Restorative justice is… about humanizing harm rather than systematizing punishment. It is about being concerned for all people—victim, offender, and community” (ch. 13).

“It is a well-established fact that it costs more to kill someone than to keep someone in prison for life” (ch. 14).

Christians and others are working for change

“In 1996, 78 percent of Americans were in favor of the death penalty for people convicted of murder… A 2013 Pew study shows that that number had dropped farther, to 55 percent” (ch. 7).

“Pope John Paul II [revised] the Catholic stance on the death penalty to say even more strongly that in contemporary society we have sufficient ways to render someone ‘inoffensive’ without executing that person and ‘without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself’” (ch. 10).

“[In 2015] the National Association of Evangelicals… issued a new resolution on capital punishment. Their pro-death penalty statement had not changed since it was written in 1973—until now” (ch. 14; see NAE site).

From my perspective

Jesus did modify the application of the Old Testament law, but the question is how much? Did He intend for death penalties to be entirely removed? Does the role of governing authorities sustain the right to put people to death for the lives that those people have taken? Even if they have that right, is that the best solution available?

One thing that is alarming to me is that the United States is one of only a few First World nations (along with Japan and Singapore) that has not abolished the death penalty, and in 2020 ranked 6th in the world in the number of executions—behind China, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (per Wikipedia). In many countries, religious activities are reason for capital punishment, and yet Christians are often strong supporters of the death penalty in the U.S. That is incongruous to say the least.

Our legal system has many problems. Wrongful convictions and racially biased sentencing are significant. We live in a culture that is increasingly anti-authority, and laws are broken with impunity. We need law enforcement (and Christians serving there) to deter the increasingly anarchic atmosphere. But the death penalty is not a solution. Killing people in order to prove that killing is wrong is not going to lead to a more righteous or just country.

I don’t believe Christians should be involved in seeking or carrying out the death sentence. We of all people should realize that as long as there is life there is hope for repentance and salvation of all men. Some of those executed have become our brothers and sisters in Christ before they died. To claim we are pro-life should not simply mean that we are anti-abortion. Every person is created in the image of God, and therefore denying anyone the right to live is an affront to God. If those who conduct executions are, in Claiborne’s words, “haunted” by the requirement to take lives, shouldn’t Christians also be haunted by supporting such a system? Death originated with Satan’s deception of Adam and Eve. Should we not be instruments of life in any way we possibly can?

“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one Man Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).

*A.C. Resolution #81-35 on Capital Punishment concluded, “A study of the Bible does not resolve the debate, thereby leaving the issue to individual conscience and interpretation.” Considering that our Declaration of Principles has a statement that “our influence should be used against” war, I would contend that we should also be using our influence against capital punishment.

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

What's Your Choice?

Last week’s “You’re Not Crazy” podcast reflected on Galatians 2:11-21, where the Apostle Paul says that he had to confront Peter for hypocritically drawing back from the Gentiles when Jews came to visit. The podcast leaders commented:

Ray Ortlund- “What if thousands of our churches across the country right now are nullifying the grace of God as Peter did without even realizing?”

Sam Allberry- “Let’s face it, he did it by who he ate with and who he didn’t eat with. Something as seemingly innocuous as that can actually contradict the gospel.”

That is convicting enough on its own. What daily choices are we making that nullify the gospel by implying that certain people are beyond the reach of God’s grace and that certain sins are unforgiveable? Who have we chosen not to associate with out of fear, prejudice, lack of love, or some other motivation? What misperceptions are we creating among those who are watching us?

Then if anyone needs more to think about, TGP posted this article, Should Christians Relocate to Conservative Areas? As Christians are vacating California and other blue states in droves, what does that do to the witness of the Church in those areas? As citizens of the heavenly Kingdom we are already exiles in a foreign land, so how appropriate is it for us to seek out like-minded people as our neighbors? What’s driving our choices?

A related choice is schooling. Even though I’m not a parent, I hear quite a few debates about Christians sending their kids to private school vs. public school vs. homeschooling. As a child, I wanted to go to a private school (mostly because of bullying) but was not allowed to. Looking back, I can see how I was challenged to live out my faith in public schools in ways that ultimately (though painfully) made me stronger and hopefully influenced other students as well. I don’t know what I would choose if I had kids, because the world is increasingly hostile to the public exercise of Christian beliefs.

We all have hard choices to make for ourselves, our families, and our churches. The question is, are we prayerfully weighing those decisions against Scripture? Are we choosing what’s easiest or what’s best? Are our choices based on worldly wisdom or God’s wisdom? Are we serving God’s Kingdom or our own agenda?

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” (Deut. 30:19-20).

Faithful Christians may come to different conclusions on a variety of life choices, because there are different people and circumstances to consider. But whatever we choose, we need to be sure we’ve sought God’s perspective and not just that of our friends and family. God is the only one who knows every detail of our lives perfectly.

“Choose this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15b).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Crumbs of Manna

As I’m reading through Exodus again this spring, I started thinking about the Israelites gathering manna six days a week for the duration of their wilderness wanderings. How long did it take them each morning to pick up about two quarts of the fine flakes for each person? (Multiply that by the 600,000 men plus women and children mentioned in Exodus 12:37!) Certainly, there was grumbling about the inconvenience and lack of variety, along with groaning about aching backs.

The manna foreshadowed Jesus. “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). The Israelites couldn’t just stock up for a month or stop gathering the manna. They needed the daily grace of God’s provision for them. We too need God’s grace every day for forgiveness, sanctification, and maturity. Jesus taught us to pray for our “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We receive God’s provision through Jesus’s death on the cross and His intercession for us, as well as through Scripture, prayer, and gathering with the Body of Christ on a regular basis. We can’t just accept Christ as Savior and expect to live and grow in our faith any more than we could eat one meal and expect it to last a lifetime. The provision is there if we will make the effort to gather it.

It’s curious that Exodus reports, “They gathered [manna], some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (16:17-18). This is reminiscent of Jesus’s miraculous feeding of five thousand with five loaves and two fish in John 6, the act that preceded His statement that He is the Bread of Life. The crowd followed Him because they wanted to be filled without expending any effort and without understanding that Jesus wanted to give them something far better than daily sustenance.

In our consumer-oriented society, how often do we settle for a few fringe benefits of faith rather than digging deep for our daily nourishment from the Bread of Life? How many in our churches expect to be spoon fed when (or if) they show up?

Let us press on to maturity, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14). Let’s make it our constant practice to gather manna daily from God’s word and through interaction with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Replacing Darwin

This post is for my science-minded friends, though I think others may enjoy it as well. I just finished reading Replacing Darwin: The New Origin of Species, by Nathaniel T. Jeanson. (It almost makes me wish I’d continued my biology studies after college, but God had other plans.) Jeanson shares a lot of research that has been done in the years since Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species (1859), and his conclusions point strongly to a young earth model that aligns with Scripture. The following are just a few quotes to illustrate his argument.

“Like the 18th century, the scope of species diversity in Darwin’s day was a fraction of today’s variety. In 1859, the scientific community had no knowledge of the majority of species we have now documented… Since 1859, we’ve had time to reevaluate his picture—much more time than he had to propose and appraise it… Furthermore, the Internet makes information sharing faster than ever before” (ch. 1).

In 1865, “Gregor Mendel… solved the paradox of family trees… One of the first discoveries that Mendel made was the discrete nature of genetic information… Mendel’s experiments demonstrated the fact of particulate inheritance rather than blended inheritance… Together, the discovery of unit factors, of dominant and recessive traits, and of the segregation of genetic information began to define clear rules for the ways in which traits behave each generation… For reasons unknown, Darwin appears to have been unaware of Mendel’s work. Conversely, for equally unknown reasons, when Mendel died in 1884, his discoveries died with him, not to be resurrected until the turn of the century” (ch. 2).

“Prior to the 1950s, Mendel’s unit factors had been renamed genes… The origin of traits now seemed to be just a matter of understanding the origin of genes... By the late 1960s and 1970s, the first complete DNA sequences—the genomes—from various species were trickling in… In the 1960s, DNA was detected elsewhere—in a different sub-cellular compartment termed the mitochondria… When Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species, he had no knowledge of the genetic processes… No one had any idea how many DNA differences divided species. In fact, the DNA sequence of our own species wasn’t solved until 2001” (ch. 3).

“If Darwin had no knowledge of genetics, how could he write a book on the origin of species? …Fossils don’t directly record genealogical relationships… Similarly, geography doesn’t directly record inheritance… Finally, anatomy and physiology have a nonlinear relationship with DNA sequences… The problem with inductive reasoning is that there may be multiple explanations for an observation” (ch. 4).

“Over the last few years, one of the most critical genetic observations came from analysis of DNA sequences, not between species, but within species… In the parent-offspring pairs... the offspring contained DNA sequences that could not be traced to either parent… [They] didn’t just document the fact of mutation. They also measured the rate. Since the reported units of measurement from these studies were mutations per generation, these experiments naturally had implications for the timescale over which DNA differences arose… The mtDNA [mitochondrial DNA] findings contained in this chapter called into question the entire foundation of the evolutionary timescale… [The] millions-of-years paradigm rests on the assumption that rates of change have been largely constant. Yet, in the field of genetics, the assumption of constant rates of change… yields a 6,000-year timescale, not an ancient one” (ch. 7).

“Unlike mtDNA, nuclear DNA has been much more difficult to compare across species… Too few results have been obtained to see a general pattern of what precise percentage of nuclear DNA differences are preexisting, and what percentage are due to mutation… [The] results that have been obtained thus far for the YEC [Young-Earth Creationist] model suggest that the majority—if not the vast majority—of nuclear DNA differences in species were preexisting [i.e. created at a point in time]” (ch. 8).

I’ll leave you to read the details for yourself if you’re interested. (I would recommend getting the physical book so his charts can be seen correctly.) You can also check out the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis. I’ll close by saying that his arguments have gone a long way in changing my own interpretation of our origins from a generally theistic evolutionary position to a more literal reading of the Creation narrative in Scripture. To use Jeanson’s analogy, we simply do not have all the pieces of the puzzle yet and we can easily misinterpret the picture from the pieces we do have.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it... Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:6, 14b).

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© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Cover photo courtesy of Amazon.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Truth and Error

I’ve been reading the three epistles of John, and it struck me how blunt he is about the false teachers that were creeping into the early church. He repeatedly points to signs of the truth. Here are just a few:

“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV).

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9).

“No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

“If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).

“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God...” (1 John 4:2-3a).

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9).

John obviously thought that false teachers were a significant danger to the church, and he warned the believers to be on their guard. I think we can tend to be guilty of “chronological snobbery” (to use C.S. Lewis’s excellent term) and think that we are immune to that danger. Obviously the early church didn’t have all the Scriptures compiled and Christians didn’t have multiple copies of the Bible sitting on their shelves, so they didn’t have a quick reference for orthodoxy. But on the other hand, they also didn’t have access to billions of books, podcasts, blogs, and Facebook posts that claim to be proclaiming truth but could be based on anything from rumor and innuendo to the so-called prophets of other religions. If anything, we need even more discernment to sift through all the information that bombards us every day.

All around us there are people who claim to have some kind of relationship with God, and they may even claim to know Jesus Christ, but they aren’t pursuing righteousness and living in the light. There are those who say they are Christians, but they do not love others as Scripture commands. Even within the church there are many who are “cultural Christians” but don’t have true faith. Although the image is alarming, I think there will be a long line of people to whom Jesus says, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23), because “The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many” (v. 13).

In our culture of tolerance and acceptance, we may unwittingly be allowing heretics to preach their own gospels in our churches and homes. We each need to seek truth in God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate discernment in us. Only when we know well the One who is the Truth can we be free from the deceptions that the enemy throws our way.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16a).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Recently while reading through Luke 8 I noticed how the headings that editors have added to the text can actually distract us from the continuity of the text. Verses 4-21 have a common thought, yet many Bibles break it up into multiple sections.

Verses 4-15 talk about the seed being sowed. In this and in the parallel passage in Matthew 13, Jesus explains that He is talking about how people respond when they hear the word of the kingdom. Those who truly hear the Word are those who act on it and bear fruit. Verse 16 at first seems to be a new thought, but really is just an example to illustrate what He has just said. Those who are hearing and are bearing fruit are lights shining in the darkness. If we’re hiding the light, we are failing to obey what we’ve been told. Then in verses 19-21 Jesus reiterates that those who hear His word and do it are part of His eternal family.

The question I’ve been asking myself is whether there are things God has told me to do that I am not doing. Am I really listening to what He has to say? I’ve been convicted on that this week in one particular area. I had made a decision based on human logic and didn’t really seek God’s will. It seemed pretty straightforward at the time, but there were unexpected complications that made me reverse the decision. What I heard from various Scriptures was “Are you going to trust Me with this?”

In the Bible there are many references to hearing and listening. The book of Proverbs alone has more than thirty admonitions to listen to God and His wisdom. “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Proverbs 1:5 ESV). We all tend to hear what we want to hear. We listen to people who affirm our preconceived notions, while often ignoring those that challenge us.

We need constant exposure to words of truth. As Jimmy Needham wrote, “You cannot love [God] with all your heart, soul, and mind without a steady diet of Scripture.” I would suggest that should include both reading and listening. We need to see the words on the pages of our Bibles, but we also need to hear it taught and explained in the fellowship of a local church. I am continually surprised by the statistics of how many people who call themselves Christians don’t read the Bible and/or don’t participate in weekly worship. Some of them may one day hear the dreaded words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). If we aren’t hearing and following, can we really say that we know Him?

As we prepare for a new year, perhaps we all need to make a greater effort to hear and heed what God is saying to us. We may discover we’ve been tuning Him out more than we realize.

“This is my beloved Son; listen to Him” (Mark 9:7b).

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Praying Scripture

In the newly formed women’s group for our church, we watched the movie War Room and talked about prayer. Several years ago I received a bookmark of Scripture-Based Prayers to Pray for Your Pastor, and I’ve used that regularly ever since. I’ve also collected other such prayers as I’ve read through the Bible. Here are some suggestions to get you started praying Scripture for yourself and others.

1. I pray that You will make ______ worthy of Your calling and that You may fulfill his/her every resolve for good and every work of faith by Your power, so that You may be glorified (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).
2. I pray that You will fill ______ with knowledge of Your will in wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that he may walk in a manner worthy of You, fully pleasing to You and bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:9-10).
3. I pray that ______ would put off the old self with its practices and put on the new self in Christ—kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:9-10, 12).
4. Lord, strengthen _____ by Your Spirit, that he would know the breadth and length and height and depth of Your love (Ephesians 3:16, 18-19).
5. I thank You for the faith of _____ and the joy and comfort he has been to me, and I pray that the sharing of his faith may aid others in knowing every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ (Philemon 4-7).
6. Father, thank You for ______ and his partnership in the gospel, and I pray that his love would abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment, that he may be filled with the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:4-5, 8-11).
7. I pray that You would make all grace abound to ______ that his needs may be supplied so that he may abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).
8. Sovereign Lord, I pray that You would keep ______ from stumbling so that You may present him blameless before God with great joy (Jude 24).
9. I give thanks for _______ and he work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Christ. May he continue to be an example for others to follow (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 6).
10. Lord, enable _____ to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that his labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
11. Let _____ stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God (Colossians 4:12).
12. I pray that ______ would know that You alone are his rock and salvation and fortress, that he will not be shaken (Psalm 62:2).
13. Comforter, I pray that _____ will be able to lie down and sleep in peace, knowing that You alone make him to dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8).
14. May ______ abide in You so that he may bear much fruit (John 15:4).
15. Lord, keep _____ from fear because You are with him. Let him not be dismayed, but strengthen him and uphold him by Your hand (Isaiah 41:10).

I’ve shared this link before, but it’s worth repeating. Nancy Guthrie gave this list of things to pray for in the midst of suffering. It is not always God’s will to heal or to remove suffering, but He will always use it for His good purposes.

• To put God's glory on display (John 9:3)
• To make the life of Jesus evident (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)
• To live out genuine faith (1 Peter 1:6-7)
• To cause us to depend on him more fully (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
• To reveal hidden sin or keep us from sin (2 Corinthians 12:7)
• To experience that Christ is enough (2 Corinthians 12:9)
• To discipline us for holiness (Hebrews 12:10-11)
• To equip us to comfort others (1 Corinthians 1:3)
• To make us spiritually mature (James 1:2-5)
• To make us fruitful (John 15:2)
• To shape us into Christ's likeness (Romans 8:29)
• To share in the suffering of Christ (Philippians 3:10)

Perhaps this can refresh our efforts to pray for one another and see how God may answer.

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Letters from Mugwort

I’m currently rereading C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters so thought I might add to the tradition of “advice from a devil.”

Dear Milquetoast,

As you are beginning your career and have been assigned your first patient, stick to the basics of what you’ve learned in Training College. There are a few principles to undergird your work, and these can often be inculcated through simple thoughts:

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” As the patient looks at the hypocrisy of Christians around him, he’ll begin to feel superior to them and believe he can do better on his own than in any kind of faith community. If he does happen go to a church, be sure to remind him of the flaws of those standing next to him. They don’t even have to be big issues—something as simple as singing off-key or wearing a stained shirt may be enough to distract him from the meeting. It doesn’t take much to discourage most people from attending church services on a regular basis. Also, don’t forget to suggest to him that the church is a place to go to and nothing more. Certainly don’t let him get too cozy with Christians who actually follow the Enemy. Small groups can be either helpful or harmful. It depends on who participates and what they do, so be careful there.

“The Bible is full of errors.” We don’t mind if a man reads the Bible occasionally, but we don’t want him to make a habit of it. It’s best if he reads it through a lens of scientific and philosophical criticism, and not with any desire to learn or apply the words of our Enemy. Provide him with biased reference materials so he doesn’t accidentally find any truth or accuracy in what he reads.

“My thoughts and prayers are with you.” While it is true (as Cousin Screwtape said) that we don’t particularly want our patients to pray, it is not always bad to allow them to pray provided their prayers are thoroughly vague and meaningless. Phrases like “be with them” or “bless them” are usually safe. It makes the patient feel righteous for “interceding” while giving no real benefit to the subject of his prayers.

“Forgive and forget.” This is one of those twisted ideas that Christians love to misapply, believing it to be the instruction of our Enemy. It is an excellent tool for heaping shame and guilt on those who have been hurt by someone else, when they find it hard to let go of the pain. The more you can get your patient to focus on his distressing feelings, the less likely he is to remember that forgiveness is a choice, not an emotion. It’s always helpful to stir up bad memories just when he starts to feel any charity toward the person who hurt him.

“God helps those who help themselves.” I’m not sure who first used this phrase, but a lot of people have tossed it around as being our Enemy’s words. The beauty of it is that it puts all the burden on the person to guide his own life, and he will make decisions based on what is best for himself, with no risk of him consulting our Enemy for direction. Throw in the occasional “blessing” to reinforce his choices, like receiving a promotion at work, and he will gladly keep himself at the center of his life. (A similar phrase, “God blesses those who serve him,” can similarly be warped to turn the patient toward self-righteousness.)

With careful application of these phrases and diligent watch over your man’s choices, you will soon be granted more patients to work with and more souls will add to your account. I expect great things from you.

Your mentor and cousin,

Mugwort

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Here I Stand

When I was younger, I did not enjoy reading history or biographies, but these days I find myself turning to biographies quite frequently. Somehow fiction just doesn’t compare with real life. I just finished the 2017 biography of Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas, and I would highly recommend it. I learned a lot that I hadn’t read before or had long since forgotten. (Dr. Rosell may decide to revoke my grades in his church history classes at GCTS.)

I knew that Scripture knowledge was lacking among the laity because they didn’t have the Bible in their own language, but I didn’t realize that the clergy weren’t much better. Metaxas writes:

“It was a plain fact that no one was really entrusted with reading the Bible itself, so that monks and even priests and theologians were typically kept at one or more removes from it... In contrast with his frenetic and passionate Bible reading, Luther said that the other monks did not read their Bibles very much or at all... Strangely enough, once a novice actualy became a monk, he was no longer allowed to keep his Bible. At that point, he must limit himself to only reading scholarly books” (52-53).

In his many debates, Luther’s opponents seemed to be more concerned with upholding the authority of the Pope than with seriously considering what Scripture had to say about an issue.

“Duke George himself had a private conversation with Luther... he easily solved the thorny theological question of papal authority by gruffly declaring, ‘Whether by divine or by human right, the pope is still the pope!’” (171).

“For many in attendance [at Leipzig, Johannes] Eck’s quoting [Matthew 16:18-19] to prove his point was as though he had shouted ‘QED,’ and raised his hands in triumph. Eck then said that to deny this most basic of doctrines was to side with the Bohemian heretic Jan Hus, who a century earlier was condemned at the Council of Constance and burned at the stake” (174).

In addition, I hadn’t realized the extent of papal power over secular authorities. There is a reason it was called the Holy Roman Empire. Luther wrote:

“In name the empire belong to us, but in reality to the pope... We Germans are given a clear German lesson. Just as we thought we had achieved independence, we became the slaves of the craziest of tyrants; we have the name, title, and coat of arms of the empire, but the pope has the wealth, power, the courts, and the laws. Thus the pope devours the fruit and we play with the peels” (186).

In the modern Western world, it’s hard to imagine the a world without national and personal independence. We value our freedom of religion and freedom of expression, but this a bit of a historical anomaly. Most nations and most time periods have simply not had the freedoms we enjoy.

“Many historians have put Luther forward as the first to put ‘individual conscience’ before the authority of the church and empire. But ironically, he was not at all asserting the freedom of the individual to do as he pleased. He was asserting the freedom of the individual to do as God pleased—if and when the church or state attempted to abrogate that freedom. Luther was asserting the modern idea of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience for the first time in history... Luther called upon every Christian to cease the petty obedience to church that was nothing when compared to the freedom and joy of actually obeying God” (221).

Martin Luther wasn’t perfect and he got some things wrong, but I have to admire someone who took a stand for what he believed Scripture taught even though it got him condemned as a heretic by the official church and put him at risk of being burned at the stake. Many today would rather be popular than theologically correct. We can easily choose to let people hold onto lies that will bring eternal condemnation rather than risk our reputation before men.

We have benefitted from Luther’s work: we have the Scriptures in our own language; we have a multitude of churches to choose from; we can join in musical worship of many different styles; we have the right to disagree with theologians, and many other freedoms. So what will we do now?

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Outside In

For the past several days I’ve been thinking about the way God has worked in my life to make me more like Christ. There was a long period of time (probably most of my life) when I thought that my biggest sin problem was behavioral. I thought if I could just master the bad habits I would feel good about my growth in faith (I’m still working on that). But then I began to realize that even if I could avoid the outward behaviors, I still thought about them and desired to do them. As Jesus clearly said, behaviors come from the heart (Matt. 15:19).

So I figured if I could clean up my thoughts and pray for heart change, I would be all set. (I’m still working on that too.) But I’ve also found that some of my thoughts are rooted in wrong beliefs. There are areas where I have chosen my interpretation of Scripture based on what I want it to say and what requires the least amount of change in my life. Just this week I was convicted by my pastor’s sermon that God has complete authority over His creation, and it is not my right to decide what I think Scripture should mean. God’s Word doesn’t talk in terms of “fairness” or “rights” when it comes to stating what is best for us. Sam Allberry made this comment:

“God’s commands are not arbitrary… David says in Psalm 19 ‘The commands of the Lord are radiant.’ His commandments are radiant because He is. And so when we can see His goodness and radiance through what He says, it doesn’t mean we find it easy to live by His ways, but we start to want to.”

God’s Word is only wondrous and radiant to those who are willing to submit to it, and I find that He brings new facets to light only when I’m ready to hear it, believe it, and act on it. When I refuse to submit to the Word, my heart is hardened until some later date when God arranges things (sometimes painfully) such that I have no other options. There have been multiple times when I’ve had to repent and say, “OK, God, I was wrong because I didn’t want to submit to Your Word. I wanted to do things my way and I convinced myself that was okay.” And often those times have come as a result of the Word of God being preached clearly and boldly in a way that I can’t ignore the Spirit’s promptings.

I know that those who argue with God (even unknowingly) will eventually lose the argument. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32 ESV). This is not a one-time event, but an ongoing experience of abiding, learning, and finding freedom.

Alistair Begg made this comment in a sermon on Daniel 9:

“When God is really at work in this kind of heart, the mature Christian ‘o’er his own shortcomings weeps with loathing’ …The longer I go in my Christian life, the more I’m aware of what a sinner I am… The nature of sin confronts me far more today than what it did before, driving me again and again to the Gospel.”

We often grow up with an idea that behavior is all that matters, and if we can act like good Christians we must actually be good Christians. Some nominal Christians never get beyond this point. As we mature we begin to realize that behavior isn’t everything and that God is concerned about our hearts. He doesn’t just want to change our actions but our thoughts, our beliefs, our priorities, and everything that is contrary to His perfect will. His process of sanctification is unending, and each step leads to another step, and another, and another. I sometimes wonder what the next step is for me, but then decide that it’s better not to know. Surrender comes at the end of a battle, not before it starts. What I do know is that He is the Good Shepherd, and He will take me through each valley to greener pastures if I will just follow Him.

“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” (Psalm 19:9 NIV). “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law” (Psalm 119:18 ESV).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. 

Standing Firm

Lately I’ve been thinking about Truth; not just facts but Scriptural truth as taught and personified in Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed for His followers, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17 ESV). Biblical truth matters for all who call themselves Christians, and yet there are so many ways in which Christians fail to cling to the truths of Scripture out of fear, conformity, or ignorance.

In today’s news, Lifeway will probably stop carrying Eugene Peterson’s books because of his recent comments that he doesn’t think homosexuality is wrong: “…it’s not a right or wrong thing as far as I’m concerned.” For someone who considers himself a theologian and a Bible translator to make such a statement is baffling. [Update- Peterson has since retracted his statements.] Yet there are many who agree with him for one reason or another. When those who proclaim to be Christians can’t even agree on what the Bible actually says, our witness in the world is greatly hindered.

Ed Shaw, a person who experiences same-sex attraction, wrote in Same-Sex Attraction and the Church:

“We have a plausibility issue: what the Bible clearly teaches sounds unreasonable to many of us today. And so it is (not unreasonably!) being rejected all over the place. A few high-profile leaders in our churches have already broken ranks…” (21).

“But what helped me was that, back then [the 1990s], embracing a homosexual lifestyle was clearly a no-go area for an evangelical Christian like me… The parameters set out for me were crystal clear—celibacy and a daily battle to avoid even a hint of sexual immorality in what I thought or did (Ephesians 5:3)… And although I found the consequences of that clarity immensely hard, the lack of ambiguity was incredibly helpful. It made the choice I’d taken seem plausible” (25-26).

Whether we’re talking about homosexuality, marriage, the sacraments, the nature of God, the structure of the church, or any other matter addressed in Scripture, we should be clear about what the Bible says and how it should inform our beliefs and actions. Then from the solid ground of Scripture we should have no fear in stating our beliefs.

It seems to me that fear is a driving force behind a lot of people who are bending to cultural norms. I understand that we don’t want to cut off opportunities for ministry and sharing the Gospel, but I think that we are presuming too much about our own ability to convert people. Only the Holy Spirit can bring someone to repentance and faith, not any human effort. Trying to sugarcoat Scripture is not sharing the Gospel. If a clear statement of the truth of Scripture causes someone to pull away, then it is still in God’s hands to soften their heart. If the seeds we are trying to plant are not grounded in Scripture, then they shouldn’t be bearing fruit anyway, and I don’t think God will allow them to bear fruit if it compromises His Word or His sovereignty and glory.

Jesus came as the embodied Word of God (John 1:1-14), and because of the Spirit’s work in the early believers we have the written Word as our foundation for faith and practice. The Word matters because it is the Truth of God. If we choose to abandon the truths of Scripture we might as well stop calling ourselves Christians, because it is not Jesus Christ we are representing but ourselves. Jesus repeatedly stated the importance of abiding in the Word:

• “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
• “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples… If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:7-8, 10).
• “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul reiterates the fact that only God can open the eyes of the blind. Our responsibility is to be true to the Word of God:

“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (4:2-5).

May we not be tempted to tamper with the Word, but “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Truth and Error

Last week I stopped by the library to pick up an autobiography that had been referenced in another book I was reading. I didn’t know much about the author, but I recognized her name as having written some Christian articles. However, after reading about 80 pages of her book I’d had enough. Yes, at one time she was a conservative Christian writer, and she probably still considers herself a Christian, but she has adopted some very unorthodox beliefs. The book started out with her discomfort with the patriarchal heritage of culture and of Christianity in particular. Some of her concerns are quite valid, and I’ve experienced similar frustrations with figuring out where women are supposed to fit in church leadership. But her solution was one I cannot accept, as she embraced a rather radical feminism. I won’t even dignify her position by sharing her name here. If I’d read the book reviews on Amazon first I never would have picked up the book.

As it turns out, this experience dovetailed nicely with the discussion in our Sunday school class today from 1 Timothy 4:1-5. Verse 1 (ESV) states: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” I’m sure this woman didn’t start out by adopting heresy. She started with the good intentions of questioning what she’d been taught and wondering if that was truth. Her first error came in her understanding of Scripture. She stopped reading the Bible as God’s authoritative Word and started reading it as a collection of stories written by men and full of male dominance. She read it through the lenses of her own feelings and discomfort rather than examining her own feelings through the lens of Scripture. She essentially started defining truth for herself rather than letting God’s truth define her. She also started turning to non-Christian and pseudo-Christian sources to explain her own experiences. Her belief system started to adopt beliefs out of Greek mythology, Native American tradition, mysticism, and various other sources. It seems like her “theology” took in anything that made her feel empowered as a woman, regardless of whether it was Biblically correct or not.

This is the kind of “departure from the faith” that the Apostle Paul was warning about in the first century, and it is increasingly prevalent in our culture today. People are looking for whatever “truth” will make them feel better about themselves and will help them identify their place in the world. Even many who call themselves Christian are only in it for the parts they like. Whenever the teaching gets uncomfortable or convicting, they will move on to something else that makes them feel warm and cozy.

Another book I’ve started reading is Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant andExtreme, by David Kinnamon and Gabe Lyons. They share many statistics on what U.S. adults think about Christianity, evangelism, and other religious activities. It’s clear that few people want to accept that there is any universal truth at all, much less that any one religion can point to Truth. For most people, religion is only valuable in so far as it reinforces their own desires and feelings. That also ties in with today’s sermon from 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. If pleasure is the goal and master of life then we will be slaves of our bodies, and it’s not surprising that our culture is now legalizing whatever feels good. That is the next logical step when there is no ultimate authority who can tell us we’re sinning with our actions or attitudes.

In a recent sermon, Alistair Begg quoted the old saying “God said it, I believe it, that settles it,” but he rightly pointed out the flaw in that statement. It should say “God said it, that settles it, therefore I believe it.” Those of us who do still claim the Bible as authoritative and who call Jesus our Lord and Savior need to be careful to give God preeminence in all things, not just the parts we like. There are some things in Scripture that make me uncomfortable, but I have no right to remove them. There are also some areas that I think have been misinterpreted by various denominational traditions, but it is not my place to tell them they are wrong. They will be held accountable for their beliefs and actions on the Day of Judgment just as I will be. Some who claim to be Christians have wandered so far from the true faith that they will be surprised to hear Jesus say “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).

May we not be among those who make a shipwreck of our faith (1 Timothy 1:19), but train ourselves for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7), that by testing we may know the will of God (Romans 12:2) through the Word of God.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.

Chew on This

Last night I read Amos 8:11, which at some point I had underlined in my Bible: “‘Behold the days are coming,’ declares the Lord God, ‘when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’” (ESV). While this prophecy had an immediate application for Israel in that age, I think we can see some signs of the famine today as well. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

The difference now seems to be that people don’t know they are starving. Like a person dying from lack of a certain nutrient, they don’t know how sick they are. They are filling up on spiritual junk food. Many who go to church don’t realize that they are not hearing the words of the Lord. The message sounds nice and makes them feel good, but it has no nutritional value for spiritual growth. Many others go to church and take in good content, but they never allow it to digest and take effect in their lives. They never move beyond their need to be spoon-fed.

I’ve heard “sermons” that had no scriptural content. I’ve heard others that I’m still chewing on long afterward. I don’t want to find my spiritual growth lagging or declining because of a famine of the Word. One necessary “treatment” for this condition is getting into the Word for myself. An article today on the Desiring God blog asks, “What if you had to pay five dollars every time you read your Bible? What would your Bible budget be this month?” I suspect most of us would come in under budget every month. Studying Scripture regularly not only contributes to spiritual growth, but it protects against the lies and fluff that are promulgated from so many sources.

The other essential ingredient is to pray both for the people preaching or teaching the Word of God in my local church and for my own receptivity to the Word. I know there have been many times when I have attended church prayerlessly and have gotten nothing out of the message. Sometimes the person behind the pulpit has not delivered the Word, but I have been equally guilty in not hearing the Word. If there is a single sentence of Scripture shared, there is something worth thinking about. The rest of the sermon may be meaningless babble, but God’s Word is never empty (Isaiah 55:11) and is always profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). Prayer may not improve the way a message is delivered, but it can certainly change the way I listen. Alistair Begg said this week,

“I can preach the same sermons if you would pray harder and they will be ten times more effective… Because for a meaningful preaching event, you need an expectant, praying preacher, and you need an expectant, praying congregation. And when the expectations meet at the throne of grace whereby both preacher and listener are looking to God rather than one another then suddenly there’s a divine chemistry that takes place there.”

That is a convicting thought. How many church members would be strengthened by prayerful listening to the Word of God? How many churches would be greatly improved by just a few more people praying for their pastor? How many church conflicts could be avoided if people chose to pray rather than complain?

Lord, forgive me for taking Your Word for granted. Forgive me for settling for spiritual junk food. Forgive me for failing to pray consistently for myself and for my pastor. “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law… I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life… I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments… Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me” (Psalm 119:18, 93, 131, 175).

© 2016 Dawn Rutan. 

Worthy Prayers

For some time now I’ve been using the Scripture-Based Prayers to Pray for Your Pastor card that was put together by Terry Teykl. I’ve added to that a list of prayers mentioned in Paul’s letters. Paul’s prayers are packed full of theological details, and could take a year-long sermon series to unpack and work out. Two of these are:

• 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV) – “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Colossians 1:9-10 – “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

What caught my attention this time around was the declaration that it is God who makes us worthy of His calling and enables us to walk in a worthy manner. In and of ourselves, we have no ability or innate good that would make us worthy of God’s holy purposes for our lives. He is the one who calls us to follow Him and gives us work to do, and He makes us worthy to do it. It’s mind-boggling if you think about it very long. The best analogy I can think of is an inventor taking a pile of scrap metal and creating an android out of it. But unless you work on the starship Enterprise or on Tatooine, you can’t have an intimate, growing relationship with an android. God created us for much more than that.

Not only does He make us worthy, He gives us fruitful work and enables us to do it in a manner that will bring Him glory. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “This is my job and I’ll put in my hours every week to earn a paycheck, but it doesn’t ultimately matter.” God’s calling does have ultimate significance, whether it’s a calling to be a pastor, teacher, mother, construction worker, or bank clerk. There are ways and opportunities for everyone to glorify God and bear fruit for Him, though that may look different in each type of vocation.

If nothing else, these verses make me want to consider what “every resolve for good and every work of faith” should look like in my life and in the life of my church. That’s a type of strategic planning that is often overlooked. Just dealing with the weekly routine keeps us all pretty busy and distracts us from setting priorities and seeking God’s direction. I also know that just trying to pray consistently and coherently is a challenge before we even get to the point of figuring out how to pray more biblically and in line with God’s will.

It’s ironic that we are made worthy to enter the presence of the Creator of the universe, and yet most of us would say that we are not good at praying. Our church is in a season of learning about prayer and joining together in prayer. My hope is that this won’t just be another passing interest, but would change the way we pray, serve, fellowship, and worship together.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

© 2015 by Dawn Rutan. 

ABCs of Praise

The following is an experiment in finding Scriptural reasons for praise through the alphabet and came up with two sets, of which I’ll just share one. I challenge you to come up with your own list. All Scriptures are ESV unless otherwise marked.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore. –Psalm 125:2

Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. –Psalm 121:4

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. –Matthew 11:28

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. –Psalm 37:4

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. –James 1:17

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you… –Deuteronomy 4:31

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. –1 Thessalonians 5:18

He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. –Job 5:11

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. –John 14:18

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. –Hebrews 13:8

Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. –Psalm 100:3

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. –1 Corinthians 13:7

Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty! –Psalm 93:4

Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. –John 9:32

O my Strength, I will sing praises to You, for You, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. –Psalm 59:17

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! –Psalm 148:1

Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him… For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. –Luke 15:22, 24 NIV

Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered. –1 Chronicles 16:12

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! –Revelation 7:10

This is my comfort in affliction, that Your promise gives me life. –Psalm 119:50

Uphold me according to Your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! –Psalm 119:116

Victory belongs to the Lord. –Proverbs 21:31

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. –Matthew 25:13

EXALT the Lord our God; worship at His footstool! Holy is He! –Psalm 99:5

You are the Lord, You alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships You. –Nehemiah 9:6

Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. –Isaiah 1:27

Sitting at His Feet

Yesterday I was thinking about a difficult situation and enlisting the support of those I know will pray about it. Later that evening I was reading the Bible and just happened to be in 2 Chronicles 20. The prophecy of Jahaziel jumped out at me:

“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed... for the battle is not yours but God’s... You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf” (15,17 ESV).

That was precisely the assurance I needed to hear at that time. But it made me realize—as often as I read the Bible, and even though I believe it is all God’s Word, most of the time I don’t really expect to receive specific answers to my needs here and now. Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). I’ve usually assumed that meant primarily that Scripture is useful in establishing general principles for life. While I’m sure that much is true, who’s to say God can’t use the Bible to answer specific questions in the modern world? I’m not going to get into arguments over dispensationalism because I don’t think any of us understand God well enough to know what He will or will not do today.

I can think of other times that God has used a timely piece of Scripture to calm my fears and remind me that He knows and He cares. Perhaps it’s a bit presumptuous, but I would like that to become a daily event. I suspect that my cynicism is a greater hindrance than God’s willingness. He wants to be known by me far more than I am inclined to seek Him.

I’ve started reading Wayne Cordeiro’s The Divine Mentor: Growing Your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior. He suggests that the Bible is full of mentors eager to teach us what to do (and not to do) and to encourage us in our journeys. Cordeiro comments on our need for Scripture:

“Jesus is claiming [in John 15] that as you remain in Him and His words remain in you, there will be an obvious activity of the Father flowing through your life. Your desires become the Father’s desires. Your heart becomes the Father’s heart. And everyone will be able to see that Father at work through you... The Father’s main tool for pruning you—and so helping you to enjoy a deeply satisfying, productive life—is the Word of God. The devil knows that if he can keep you from the Word, you’ll simply dry up” (p. 56).

If nothing else, I hope that reading this book will raise my expectations of meeting God and hearing from Him in His Word. “Only by sitting with the Divine Mentor will we ever get to know Him intimately and become able to recognize the voice of an imposter” (58).

The writer of Hebrews stated:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (4:12).

Since that is the case, I don’t want to read the Bible as if it is merely a historical narrative or a top ten list of lifestyle suggestions. It’s not even enough to find faith for salvation and hope for heaven. I want to encounter the Living God in the Living Word, and I intend to pursue that to the best of my ability and by the grace of God. This could be a dangerous endeavor. It’s easy to read a book and not let it make any impact. (How many of the 166 books I read in 2014 do I even remember?) It will require an investment of time and energy and even the risk of being disappointed. But it could well have rewards I haven’t anticipated. I’m certain to find wisdom, direction, encouragement, nourishment, and greater fruitfulness for the Kingdom. There’s no telling what else God may decide to do.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21