Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

1. Does your church prioritize the individual or the organization
2. Guarding your marriage, or dissing women?
3. A video  interview with Rachel Held Evans regarding her womanhood project
4. Gracenomics small group material (WARNING: autoplay video on page)
5. Ethical lessons from the Challenger explosion
6. A review of “Story, Signs, and Sacred Rhythms: A Narrative Approach to Youth Ministry”
7. Arguments against reading scripture in context
8. The eloquence of the King James Version
9. The value of obsolescence
10. How to ditch your cell phone
11. The problem with positional leadership
12. Ways leaders can build trust
13. Reasons to commit your goals to writing
14. Don’t believe your momentum
15. Do for one what you wish you could do for all

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of, or agreement with, the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

Isaiah 64:1-2 Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence– 2 As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil– To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Isaiah 64:8-9 But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. 9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.

We are all sinners. We are all failures. None of us are able to live a worthy life on our own.

But I am not on my own. I have turned my life over to Jesus. My sins are forgiven. My failures are turned into victories.

Shape me into a new creation. Break the cycle of destruction in my life. Fill me with the breath of your Holy Spirit.

Help me to share your love to other people. Help me to help others break the cycle of destruction in their lives.

Purify by Richard Hearns

Isaiah 52:9-13 Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. 11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD. 12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. 13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

What does the phrase “The LORD has bared His holy arm” mean? Is it that the world can see God in this world? God has rolled up his sleeves and done a saving work? God is active and visible?

My other question: what is the difference between the Lord and the God of Israel in verse twelve? The Lord goes out before, but the God of Israel is the rear God. Is this a reference to the same being, thus suggesting that God is encompassing Israel? Is this a reference to two separate persons of God (two parts of the trinity)? Is this a reference to chronology; God working in the past and in the future?

I do not have the answers to these questions. This is a perfect time to go pull out some commentaries and look at how other Christians have responded to this passage.

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
By David Platt
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

David Platt is a pastor with a passion to spread the Good News of Jesus to the entire world. Platt asserts that Jesus is someone worth losing everything for; however, the willingness to lose everything for Jesus often flies in the face of the American Dream. The American Dream is predicated on moving from uncertainty to certainty, from need to plenty, from want to wealth. Giving up everything for Jesus is the opposite. Platt writes, “Ultimately, Jesus was calling [his disciples] to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation.” Rather than giving up all we have to follow Jesus, Platt sees modern Americans forming Jesus into their own image so they can maintain their desired lifestyle.

To combat the desire to morph Jesus into the American Dream, Platt sets out a challenge which he calls “The Radical Experiment”. The radical experiment challenges Chritians to take one year and 1) pray for the entire world, 2) read through the entire Bible, 3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, 4) spend two percent of your time in another context, 5) commit your life to a multiplying community.

Radical is an amazing book that I cannot recommend highly enough. I found to be encouraging, invigorating, and challenging. My hope is that you will read this book, take it seriously, and commit to Platt’s Radical Experiment for one year. It will change your life.

Christians who are not staunch Calvinists may have issues with chapter seven. In this chapter, Platt sets out to explain why it is necessary, within a Calvinist theology, to share Christ with all the world. He does a good job of working through this from a Calvinist construct. However, as a non-Calvinist reading this passage, I found the arguments unnecessary. Fortunately, an Armenian, such as myself, can skim this chapter and not lose the power of the rest of the book.

The only other criticism of the book is directed more at Platt’s editor. Platt repeatedly uses the phrase “begs the question” improperly. This may be more of a personal pet peeve, but it was such a common occurrence that I did find it distracting.

Go out and buy this book, read it, and then put it into practice.

Book Description from WaterBrook Multnomah

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU?

It’s easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily…

BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple–then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment –a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

Deuteronomy 27:15-26
‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

People take about the Ten Commandments, but nobody ever spends time talking about the Dozen Curses (that would be an awesome name for a rock band).

Is this list of cursed activities specific to the time and context of the Nation of Israel, or is this a universal list of cursable offenses. It seems to me that this list is a good list to use when discussing cultural relevance.

I do find it interesting that fully a third of the curses deal with sexuality. Of course, just over a third (five of twelve) are related to issues of justice. The rest have to do with honoring God, parents, and the law.

The final cursing is to the one “who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.” This seems to be echoed in the New Testament statement that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). It is not enough to merely know what God is calling you to do; we must act on what God is calling us to do.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. 14 “You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 “You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 16 “For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God.

Don’t deceive your fellow Christians in any way; they are your brothers and sisters.

Don’t deceive non-Christians in any way; your job is to invite them into the family.

Deuteronomy 24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.”

The law has repeatedly emphasized that the community as a whole is responsible for the actions and well being of the individuals; however, this passage notes that no single individual is responsible for another person’s actions.

The whole community was responsible for the actions of each member of that community and each member was responsible for his or her own actions.

In today’s church I believe the body is responsible for each individual in the community (inside and outside the church); but, no single individual bears that responsibility. Our churches must focus more on this responsibility of caring for others.

The Pareto Principle states that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. What can we do to more evenly distribute our workload? Only by using the talents and abilities of the unengaged 80% can the church fulfill its mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with all of their community and all of the world.

Deuteronomy 22:1-2 “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. 2 “If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him.”

We, as Christians, are called to proactively look out for the needs of our fellow Christians. We are to seek out needs and meet them before others ask. Just because we will not anticipate all needs does not mean we get a pass from anticipating what needs we can.

How often have I failed to help out a fellow Christians just because I don’t know them? If they are my brother or sister in Christ, then we are family and I need to care for their needs. Fear is a poor excuse to not care for family.

Don’t wait for their prayer request; don’t wait for an email or phone call alerting the church body to a need. Look for those in the family who are in need and meet those needs.

I am horrible at this and I need to be better. The first step is recognizing my failure. The next step is letting go of my self-centeredness and start caring for my Christian family.

Deuteronomy 21:1-9 “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 “It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 “All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 ‘Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. 9 “So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Each member of the community of God was responsible for what happened within their community. This corporate accountability is a recurring theme throughout the law of God. In this case, the blood of the murdered man is on the hands of the community. The community, as a whole, is required to seek forgiveness from God and must atone for the sin.

There is also a level of corporate accountability within the church of today. Each of us, individually and as a church body, is responsible for the community in which we live. We are responsible for caring for and ministering to the people in our towns and cities. We are individually and corporately responsible for the well-being of all the people in our towns and cities.

We as Christians need to be meeting the physical needs of the people in and on the edges of our secular community; otherwise their blood is on our hands.

We as Christians need to be meeting the psychological needs of the people in and on the edges of our secular community; otherwise their blood is on our hands.

We as Christians need to be meeting the spiritual needs of the people in and on the edges of our secular community; otherwise their blood is on our hands.

Deuteronomy 15:9-11 “Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. 10 “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. 11 “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

The poor are with us still, and it is still our responsibility to care and provide for those in need.

Our hearts should not be filled with thoughts such as: the government will care for them so I do not have to, or if they would just make an effort they would not be poor.

These base thoughts are counter to what God has called us to do. We are to care for those in need regardless of whether we feel they deserve it or not.

We need to give and not let your hearts be grieved in the giving because what we do we do for the Lord. God will bless our work. God will bless us. It is okay if people take advantage of us, because the one they are truly taking advantage of is God. Let God worry about it.

Put all of your energy into caring for others needs, whether they deserve it or not.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

False prophets are not a new thing. One of the easiest paths to power is to claim supernatural knowledge from God. I think it is fair to be suspicious of anyone claiming to speak on God’s behalf (this would include pastors). Blind acceptance can and will lead to a horrible outcome.

God does not work in secret and God does not reveal his plan to only one person. If we can learn anything from the Bible it is that God reveals himself over and over again. If someone claims to be speaking a word from God, it is not wrong to wait for God to confirm that word. A degree of cynicism can be good.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Picture of the week (found with no attribution)

Have a great weekend!

Numbers 32:1-25 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that it was indeed a place suitable for livestock, 2 the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 “…4 the land which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.” 6 But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here?…16 Then they came near to Moses and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; 17 but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 “We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance. 19 “For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.” 20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this…this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD. 23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out…25 The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands.”

We are not alone. A God centered life is not a life of “every-man-for-himself”. We have a responsibility to be sure that the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of others are met.

The tribes of Gad and Reuben discovered the land that God was blessing them with. They were excited with this discovery and wanted to live in God’s blessing. But God was still in the process of bringing about the blessing for the rest of Israel. Gad and Reuben had a responsibility to work for God in bringing about the blessing of others.

When we discover the blessing that God has set aside for us, it is not an excuse to stop doing the work of God in other peoples lives.

When we wallow in our own blessing and ignore what we have been called to do to bless another, then we have sinned against God.

The meanderings are a little late this weekend as I spent all last week at the Cornerstone music festival. See if you can find me in this photo  from the Flatfoot 56 show (the theme at the show was “Shark Week”). I’ll be posting on the festival sometime; until then, here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great week!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Numbers 8:5-7 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. 7 “Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.”

It never occurred to me how much a purified Levite would look like a Buddhist monk.

Numbers 8:19 “I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.”

That’s how Aaron (who was not of the tribe of Levi) and the tribe of Levi are connected. I never knew that.

Numbers 8:23-26 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. 25 “But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. 26 “They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”

I like that ministry retirement plan. Contemporary churches need to look harder that that passage.

“A large crowd followed [Jesus], because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.”

For the most part Jesus did three things while he was on Earth: he preached repentance, he entered into relationship with those around him, and he cared for those in need. These are the same three things the Church is called to do. We need to be sure that our church communities have a healthy balance of these three activities. If we are not preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ AND living lives in relationship with the lost and the saved AND caring for the needs of others, then we are failing. i need to consciously align myself with people who will enable US to meet all three needs.

“‘Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.”

This is very similar to the commandment in Deuteronomy and the Gospels to love God with all you heart, mind, strength, and soul. Let’s break it down:

Love the Lord your God and…
1) Walk in his ways
2) Keep his commandments
3) Hold fast to him
4) Serve him with all your heart and soul

With this instruction the Joshua blessed the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

This weekend may you walk in the ways of Jesus, keep his commands, hold fast to Jesus in all your circumstances, and serve Jesus with all your heart and soul.

“However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, ‘The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.’ So according to the command of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers.”

The takeaway I get from this story is that the Lord was more concerned with caring for all of the people than with conforming to the social norms. God’s goal is to take care of God’s people, society can figure itself out.

“Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the LORD said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years…’”

In every life and in every ministry there comes a time when God leads us to prepare for a future in which we will not take a part. None of us will live for ever and we will all leave behind people who are dependent upon our legacy. We can not continue in a ministry forever and no ministry should be totally dependent upon one person.

In those times when it is the beginning of the end, listen to how the Lord is leading you. What steps are you called to take to prepare for that which will come after you. The beginning of the end is no time to stop listening to God.