Journibles – What a Concept!

Posted on September 30, 2010 by

Early this week, I returned from a pastors’ conference here in Michigan.  Conferences are always a great place to pick up free books and/or deep discounts on resources from the bookstores and publishers present.

At this conference, I was given a new product that has really gotten me excited.  It is called a “Journible”.  At first glance, it looks like any other pre-packaged, hardbound journal.  But Journibles are not ordinary journals.

Journibles are focused on getting their owners to hand-write the Bible.  The idea comes from Deuteronomy 17:18, which is where we find Moses saying that the king should obtain a copy of the Law of God and hand write a copy for himself when he becomes king.  The idea is that he would have his own copy and that he would know what it contained because he had taken the time to write it out.  What an amazing concept!  Even today, it is recognized by many educators that writing things down helps a person remember them far longer than just listening to or reading material.

With that in mind, the idea of the Journible was born.  The pages are pre-set with chapter and verse numbers for specific books of the Bible.  The writer simply copies the text from whatever Bible version he/she chooses into the correct place.  The way the Journibles are laid out, the Bible text is copied only onto the right-hand page, while the left-hand page is left for notes or other thoughts.

So far, Journibles are available for Proverbs, John, Romans, Galatians through 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy through Hebrews, and James through Jude.  If you are interested, the can be purchased here.

What do you think?  Is this a product you would be interested in?  Is there value in hand-writing our own copies of scripture?

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Audio Files Are Being Re-Organized

Posted on September 21, 2010 by

If you are looking for my “Audio Files” page, which contained many of my old sermons, please note that I am currently working on a new version of that page.  I was never pleased with the number of steps involved with downloading a file.  Plus, I have reworked several of the sermons as I have had a chance to preach the same passages again.

In the next few days I will determine the best way to organize and distribute these files.  I am not sure if I should just put all the files up (including multiple sermons from the same passage), or just the latest.  Just know, the audio files will return in some form.  If you have any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to comment.

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can Anything Be A Religion?

Posted on September 16, 2010 by

I read a very interesting article today that I came across on Yahoo’s homepage.  The title of the article is “NC Teen: Nose Ring More Than Fashion, It’s Faith”.

Apparently, a high school girl in North Carolina has been suspended for wearing a nose ring against school dress code.  At issue is the girl’s (and her mother’s) claim that she has the right to wear her nose ring because it is a part of her religion.  She and her mother belong to the “Church of Body Modification”.  They argue that this issue falls under protections offered by the First Amendment.

The Church of Body Modification has “a clergy, a statement of beliefs and a formal process for accepting new members.”  I guess this is the primary argument that this is a real religion.  One of the church’s own clergy defines the church as “a non-theistic faith that draws people who see tattoos, piercings and other physical alterations as ways of experiencing the divine.”

This is an interesting case.  It has really raised the question about what qualifies as a true religion.  Who decides if a religion is authentic or just a clever way for a group of people to beat the system?

One interesting thing that the article brings up is the fact that the courts have dealt with the Church of Body Modification in the past.  “…a woman was fired from her job at a Costco store over her eyebrow ring. The woman was also a member of the Church of Body Modification, but the courts eventually ruled that her religious beliefs did not require her to always wear her jewelry.”

This decision does not seem to bode well for the high school girl in this case.

Here are some of the comments posted by Yahoo! users (there are many more):

Stuart wrote: hmmmm, this gives me an idea. Can I go ahead and start my own religion and set up a clergy, get a statement of beliefs etc? My main tenent is going to be that it is against my religious beliefs to pay any taxes. What do you bet I could get more converts than this just as made up and just as phony religion?

JeanetteP wrote: nobody is forcing her to go to that school . she has freedom to choose a different school. “oh im so oppressed”. Really?! why are we wasting time on this ridiculous topic. if i join the church of violent crusades at school (not a real organization) do i get to be violent at school in the name of religion. We couldnt pray at our high school graduation because of the separation of church and state yet she gets to wear a stinkin nose ring? If i cant pray at school why should she get to wear that thing. im tired of double standards.

Lorain wrote:  Ok, this is ridiculous. First off I have 3 piercings on my face (nose, lip and micro dermal) and am SHOCKED this is getting this far. The “Church of body modification” is a joke, invented EXACTLY for this purpose. I’m sorry but some random 14 year old girl with a nose ring should NOT be tolerated in school. End of subject. We have rules and guidelines for a reason and whats next? All the kids in school, just make up a religion (or “join” this pre fabricated one!) and dress and act like you want! Please, school is for learning and building an education.  Obviously this girl and her mother are more interested in a fashion statement than an education which is sad. The “mother” should stop wasting time and just put the girl on the streets, which is where she is headed with this kind of attitude and disregard for education. Good job!

So, what do you think?  About this particular situation?  About how to determine if a religion is legitimate or simply a way for people to get their own wishes?

Posted in Church Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Luke 16:19-31 “The Rich Man and Lazarus”: What It Does and Does Not Teach Us

Posted on September 14, 2010 by

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells a parable commonly known as The Rich Man and Lazarus.  It reads:   

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ” (ESV)    

The first thing we need to realize before we attempt to understand the message of this passage is that Jesus is telling a parable.  This is not a report of a historical event.  It is a story that Jesus is using to teach a lesson.  This means that we need to focus on the main point (or points) and not the details of the story that are there to make the story work as a story.    

Some will argue that this passage is not a parable because it does not begin with the phrase “And he told them a parable…” as other passages do (e.g. Luke 18:1).  The argument is that since the text does not say this is a parable, we should not assume it is.  The reply to this argument is that you do not have to look far to find other parables that are not explicitly called parables in the text.  Just look at The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13) as examples.  Neither of these two parables are identified as such in the text, but everyone accepts that they are, indeed, parables.   

Another clue that our passage is a parable is that it begins with very similar wording as the parables appearing just before it in Luke.  The Parable of the Prodigal Son begins with the phrase “There was a man who had two sons” (Luke 15:11).  The Dishonest Manager begins with “There was a rich man who had a manager” (Luke 16:1).  And The Rich Man and Lazarus begins with “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple”.  The fact that it follows the same pattern as the parables before it, indicates that we are still dealing with a parable.  

So, since we are dealing with a parable, let us first begin by saying what this parable does teach us: 

  1.  The rich man finds himself in Hades because he failed to show mercy towards Lazarus.
  2. While the rich man ironically asks for mercy while in Hades, he is told that he will not receive any and that his situation is permanent.  The mention of a “great chasm” that cannot be crossed indicates the permanency of the situation.
  3. The primary issue that results in a person ending up in Hades is a lack of repentance.  This is indicated by the rich man’s desire for his brothers to repent in verse 30.
  4. True repentance results in a changed life.  In this case, it results in showing compassion for others in need.  The rich man had a need to repent as indicated by his lack of compassion towards Lazarus.
  5. There is no excuse for those who refuse to hear God’s word (“Moses and the Prophets”).
And, what we do not learn from this parable: 
  1.  This parable does not teach us that those in heaven and those in hell can communicate with one another.  This is a detail to make the story work as a story.  There is no other place in Scripture that indicates that there is any communication between those in heaven and hell or any ability to see into one place from the other.
  2. This parable does not teach that there is a place known as “Abraham’s bosom” where the dead go.  The ESV translates the phrase as “Abraham’s side.”  The phrase is not meant to teach us that there is another place outside of heaven and hell.  Jesus’ hearers would have understood that anyone who went to be with Abraham was in the place where those favored by God went.  If anyone was with God, it was Abraham.  To be at his side was to be with God also.  In short, he was in heaven.
  3. We do not learn that the righteous dead are carried to heaven by angels.  This point was to develop the contrast in the story between Lazarus, who found favor with God, and the rich man who did not.

So, while there are important things to learn in this passage, we should not develop our understanding of what heaven and hell are like from this parable.  We must look at other texts to find that information.

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Being a Shrewd Christian

Posted on September 6, 2010 by

Yesterday, I preached a sermon on the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, or more commonly known as the Parable of the Shrewd Steward.  The passage is found in Luke 16:1-13 and reads as follows:

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

This is an interesting passage of Scripture because it surprises us that the dishonest manager is “commended” for his shrewdness.  Jesus then goes on to tell his disciples that they are to be shrewd as the “sons of this world” are “shrewd in dealing with their own generation”.  Jesus says his followers are to be as shrewd as the ungodly in their dealings.

What does Jesus mean by this?  To be shrewd means to be artful, cunning, creative and/or wily.  In our modern terminology, we might say it means we can think outside the box.  Jesus does not say we can do unethical things, as the dishonest manager did in reducing his master’s bills.  He says we are to be shrewd in our dealings.  This point is made more clear in Matthew 10:16 where Jesus tells his disciples, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  The word translated as “wise” in Matthew 10:16 is the same word translated as “shrewd” in the Parable of the Dishonest Manager.  We learn from Matthew that while Jesus’ disciples are to be shrewd, they are also to be innocent.  They are not given license to act unethically to accomplish their task.

So, Jesus says his disciples are to be like the dishonest manager in their shrewdness, not his unethical behavior.  How do we apply that?  Well, let’s think through the task that all Christians have been given.  We are told in Matthew 28:19-20 that our responsibility is to “make disciples”.  The passage tells us that we are to do this through evangelism (baptizing) and training (teaching).  We are supposed to share the gospel with unbelievers and help fellow Christians grow in their faith.  That is the primary responsibility of the Church and every Christian.

So, we need to ask ourselves, are we shrewd in how we do this?  Does anyone look at how churches function or how Christians live and think “they sure are shrewd”?  I mentioned a few examples in my sermon on where churches fail to be shrewd (you can download audio here).  I will not mention them now, but I would like to ask you to comment on how you think churches and individual Christians could be more shrewd in our task of reaching unbelievers with the gospel and then helping fellow Christians grow in their walk.  Leave your comments below.

Posted in Bible Study, Church Issues, Gospel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hearing the “Voice” of God

Posted on August 28, 2010 by

How many times have you heard someone say “God told me to  (fill in the blank) “?  I am not talking about the crazy person who says that God told him to blow up a day care center.  It is easy to dismiss those claims as psychotic nonsense.  I am talking about the seemingly normal, everyday person who happens to be a Christian.  Most of us have probably heard someone say this.  Most of us may have even said these words ourselves.

Here is an example:  When I decided to go leave my career in technology sales and enter seminary, many people asked why I would make such a decision.  My answer?  Because I believed that was what God was telling me to do.  But how could I be sure?  It is not as if God spoke in an audible voice and said, “Tim, I want you to leave your career, sell your home and move from beautiful Ohio to the land of your sworn enemy, Michigan.”  I received no phone call from God.  I received no visions in the night.  God did not speak to me from a burning bush.  But I still believed that God was “speaking” to me and telling me that I should enter the ministry as a pastor.  I believe he spoke to me through others who encouraged me to go to seminary.  And he spoke to me by developing a desire within me to go.

But how can we be sure?  How do we KNOW that we are hearing the voice of God and not simply following the advice of others or our own passions?  After all, the Bible tells us that we are all sinful and our desires and passions are not the same as God’s.  Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, who can understand it”.  If this is true, how can we know if we are not just following our own deceitful hearts when we think we are listening to God?

To make matters worse, we not only have to deal with the deception of our own hearts, but also the deceptive work of Satan.  Scripture tells us to be watchful because our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking  someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  This would not be so bad since, while lions are ferocious and dangerous, at least we can spot them easily and stay away from them.  Unfortunately, this is not the case with Satan.  We are told that he presents himself as an “angel of light” and that his servants present themselves as “servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).  That means that we cannot easily spot trouble.  In fact, Satan and his servants can seem like they have our, and God’s, best interests in view when they “help” us.  Just look at Satan’s deceptiveness in the Garden of Eden as an example (Genesis 3:1-7).

So, we can see why it can be so difficult to “hear” God.  We have an enemy who would like to deceive us and our own hearts are untrustworthy.

Fortunately, God has left us with more than subjective ways to understand his will for our lives.  He has left us with his word.  Scripture expresses the will of God for all of mankind in written form.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  Scripture is the word of God.  It is sufficient to teach us concerning the will of God and equip us to serve him.  The best thing about Scripture is that it is not based upon subjectiveness.  It is the objective word from God.  We can have confidence in it.

What does this mean for us?  It means that Scripture has final authority in all matters.  While we may get a feeling that God is speaking to us either through our own gut or through the counsel of others, we must always test those “voices” through the voice of Scripture.  God’s true voice will never contradict what he has said in his written word.  In fact, we are told to oppose those who contradict God’s written word (Titus 1:9).

So, when we desire to know God’s will about a matter, the first place to turn is the Bible.  When we feel that God is telling us to do something, the first thing we should ask ourselves is “What does Scripture say about this?”.  Often times, there will not be a direct answer in Scripture, but there are always principles to apply to our circumstances.  This is why it is so important for the Christian to constantly study God’s word.  The more we study it, the more we are able to understand the will of God and live it out in our everyday lives.  The more we understand God’s word, the better equipped we will be to perceive the deceitfulness of Satan and our own hearts.  If we want to hear the voice of God, there is no better place to listen for it than in the word he saw fit to write down for us.  If we neglect it, we have no idea whose “voice” we follow.

Posted in Bible, Church Issues, Worldview | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Please stop saying “And a little child shall lead them”…

Posted on August 26, 2010 by

Okay, for the millionth time, I have heard someone say “And a little child shall lead them” out of context.  Today it happened on the news as I heard the story of a young boy who is raising money for a children’s charity.  The newscaster praised the young man for his efforts, which was a wonderful gesture.  At the end of the segment, another newscaster commented on the maturity and kind heart of the boy and then said to everyone watching: “And a little child shall lead them.”  In the context of the newscast, this statement meant that adults can learn from the leadership of a child.  Or, that in some way, the leadership of a child is superior to that of adults.

Now, I am not denying that this boy is a fine example to us all and that we would do well to follow his lead in being more concerned about the needs of others.  However, I am startled at how often the phrase “And a little child shall lead them” is taken completely out of context.  The original quote has nothing to do with children teaching or leading adults.

First, you have to understand that the phrase is actually a quote from the Old Testament.  It comes from Isaiah 11:6, which reads:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.

As you can see right away, the text has nothing to do with a child leading adults.  It states that a child shall lead the wolf, lamb, leopard, young goat, calf, lion, and fattened calf.  This may seem strange if we do not continue to read a few more verses to get a better understanding of what is being discussed here.  Verses 7-9 continue:

The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

This passage is a discussion of the Day of the Lord.  This is the day that Christians look forward to when Jesus Christ will remove the curse of sin from our world and restore peace to all of creation.  As a result of this peace, wolf, lion, lamb, cobra, calf, bear, and children will all live in harmony.  A child will be able to lead a lion (or a wolf, etc.) around without fear of harm.

Let us stop using this phrase as if the Bible tells us that children will one day lead adults.  It says nothing of the sort.  If we are going to quote Bible verses, let us quote them in context.  Isaiah 11:6-9 is a wonderful passage that describes what God has in store for this fallen world that has so much violence, fear and death.  It will be a world of peace.

Posted in Bible Study, Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments