Reasons 5-8

I want to finish up my post on the 8 reasons to read your Bible, as shared by our pastor.

My original post is here.

5.  So I can get the most out of life. (Josh 1:8)
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Sounds like a verse that Joel Osteen would quote. It is not that I do not believe God's promises, it is our interpretation of them I struggle with. Instead of Joel, how would John the Baptist interpret this verse? Remember him? The one about whom Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Mt 11:11) This man was the ultimate prophet, yet he was imprisoned and his life sold for a lap dance. I think it is a matter of perspective. I think that John did get the most out of life. I just think that most people would not interpret this statement in that manner. I have heard my pastor preach, and I don't think he would either.

6.  So I can know what is true. (Acts 17:11)
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

There is no greater tool for truth than God's word. If only we didn't let our preconceptions get in the way so often.

7.  So I can be close to God and learn from Him.(Heb 10:22)
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

I love this verse, but not sure how this snippet of a much larger section is appropriate here. Read the entire paragraph! He is talking about a life style here, not just 10-20 minutes of reading and a journal entry on the "zinger" verse. He is talking about the confidence we can now have because of what Christ has done for us, and how that confidence should change us and the way we treat others. Perhaps more appropriate would be Deut. 5:6 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." which conveys the very essence of our faith. Yet I remember a man who knew this verse and quoted it to Jesus and was then told that he was close to the kingdom of God. I find that one of the saddest verses in the Bible, because while we were told that he was close, we never know if he made it. I want to be more than close.

8.  So I will have hope. (Rom 15:4)
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Read the entire paragraph here. It is not that reading the Scriptures shouldn't give us hope, it is just that the hope should not end on us, but rather it has the purpose of changing us so that we might glorify God by how we live and treat others.

So I will end with this...Read your Bible, whether it be on a plan or not. A lover of God should want to know all that he or she can about the object of their love. In fact, if all you do is attend church, tithe, and even do read your Bible, but do it in a sense that you are fulfilling your obligation to God, then I think you need to question your love for Him and maybe even question your salvation. (You won't hear that coming out of our pulpit on a Sunday.) Selah.

Reasons 3 & 4

I want to quickly touch on numbers 3 and 4 of our pastor's reasons to read the Bible.

3.  So I will not sin. (Ps 119:11)
"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

Bible reading is a great place to start when it comes to not sinning against God. Knowing God and His ways, and seeing Him for who He truly is should keep us from sinning against Him, shouldn't it? So how come it didn't work out that way for David when it came to Bathsheba? I think the answer lies in Ps 119:10:
"With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!"
Verse 11 must be understood in light of verse 10. It is not just storing up God's Word that keeps us from sin, it is storing up His Word because of our great love for Him. Without that part, it is just a legalistic trap that will only make us think more of ourselves than we ought.

4.  So I can find comfort. (Ps 119:52)
"When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD."

Yes, there are times when I find comfort in reading the word of God. And yet, there are times when I find it down right uncomfortable too. Especially some of those red-letter words of Christ. I find comfort in a Savior who loves me and gave Himself for me. But I get a bit squeemish when He calls me to carry my cross and die to myself. Rules I can live with. But if reading the Bible doesn't make me a bit uncomfortable at times, I question if I am reading it right.

Reason 2

As I continue to blog about our pastor's 8 reasons to read the Bible, we come to #2.

Reason #2: So my decisions will be wise. (Ps 32:8)

Ps 32:8 
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Reading the Bible to become wiser is an admirable goal. I think I might have used He 4:12 or James 1:5 or James 3:17 as a proof text, but perhaps that is being picky.

Wisdom is an admirable thing. Unfortunately, wisdom is not guaranteed just because one reads the Bible. When I think of wisdom, I think of Solomon. When given the chance to have anything his heart desired, he asked for wisdom. Yet even Solomon made his share of mistakes. I think the counsel that I get from here is that with wisdom comes responsibility. We preach about change, and how we can achieve it, but change does not come just from the desire for change. Our President should be able to tell you that. Change is a desirable message, but without a new heart, change is only surface and will not last.

Our Youth Pastor confirmed this yesterday as he preached. He concluded with an impassioned plea to get on board with the reading program. Yet he also confessed his previous experiences with such plans and how they always fizzled out after a period of time.

Reading the Bible to achieve wisdom is admirable. But perhaps even more admirable is to first lay yourself at the foot of the cross. I have always liked the way the Message Bible translates Proverbs 1:7,

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

Reading the Bible is a great thing, but we must also be aware that some of the most prolific readers of the Bible were the scribes and pharisees.

Reason 1

I want to address the 8 reasons our church's pastor has given as to why one should read the Bible.

Reason 1: So my prayers will be answered. (Jn 15:7)

John 15:7 reads... "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

So is what Jesus was saying here is, "If you read my word, your prayers will be answered?" Or is He speaking of something much more demanding. He is not talking about reading the Bible, He is talking about abiding in Him and His word. ABIDING. Living, dwelling, growing in these things. Doing them, and not just reading about them.

Again I want to emphasize that I am not against reading the Bible, and some people do well with reading plans. Good for them. And some people just read.

I think it is a mistake to think that because we read the Bible, God will do a better job of answering our prayers. I believe it borders on prosperity theology. And it is selfish.

This verse belongs on a coffee cup, and it probably is on some. But it is not a proof text for Bible reading.

At least that is my opinion.

Added 1/2: I kept thinking about the Lord's Prayer after I posted this. "Thy will be done." If we always pray with an attitude of thy will be done, will our prayers ever go unanswered? So perhaps instead of praying to get our prayers answered, we should read the Bible to get a better understanding of prayer and how to pray.

Why don't I like what I see?

Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" and Peter replied, "Yeah, sure, Lord. I like ya."

This comes to mind because our church is encouraging a Bible reading plan for this year. Now, I am all for Bible reading, but it is their motivation for the plan that concerns me. Here are their "8 good reasons to listen to God daily through His Word:

1. So my prayers will be answered. (Jn 15:7)
2. So my decisions will be wise. (Ps 32:8)
3. So I will not sin. (Ps 119:11)
4. So I can find comfort. (Ps 119:52)
5. So I can get the most out of life. (Josh 1:8)
6. So I can know what is true. (Acts 17:11)
7. So I can be close to God and learn from Him.(Heb 10:22)
8. So I will have hope. (Rom 15:4)

 On the surface, these all sound like great things. But why is it I keep hearing, "Yeah, sure, Lord, we like ya." 

Like I stated already, I am all for the reading of God's word, and I think it is powerful and can transform lives. But I also know that the scribes and pharisees were very devout in their knowledge and reading of God's Word, and that didn't work out so well for them.

Jesus question holds the answer. "Do you love me?" What is our motivation for reading the Word? Is it for what I will get out of it? Or is it because I love God and desperately want to draw closer to Him? Mere obedience does not bring about change. I (try to) obey the speed limit, but that does not make me love the police. I do it to not exact the consequence.

I guess that is why I think of this passage when I heard about the reading plan. I have contacted the pastor about some of the statements I hear from the pulpit. He puts me off for months. When he finally does talk to me, he promises to pray about it and get back with me. What he does is then send me a letter saying that if I do not have full confidence in his preaching, perhaps I should find another church. He follows that up with a meeting with myself and a couple of elders. No mention is made of my questions, just a meeting to say that we need to get along and start over. I left for a few weeks, but decided that I should not allow this bullying to chase me away from a church. I now attend again, but listen to my i-pod during sermons. Although many have seen this, no one questions anything. (What elephant in the room?)

"If you love me, feed my sheep."

"Yeah, sure, Lord, we like ya."

I have really done this, and still do it!

We had been in limbo for a while, searching for a place to worship. We either had issues with doctrine or theology or both. So we tried worshipping a home, but felt something was missing.

We decided to go back where we had previously worshipped, even though we felt the preaching sucks. Really, I can't think of a politically correct word for what I hear. Like recently, two of points were that 1) We should trust the promiser and not his promises; and 2) We should focus on the relationship and not the results.

But why would I trust a promiser who does not keep his promises? Why does God make promises and swear by Himself? I need to trust His promises, not as I understand them, but as He gives them. God is completely faithful. And to tell me not to trust in His promises belittles Him.

And why have a relationship and not consider the results? Unless we go in with selfish motives and then of course we will be unhappy. One of the greatest things about a true relationship with God is the result of the changed life I have as a result. That is why I seek a relationship, because I know God is good and I trust in Him.

So what have I done to resolve my dilemma? I use my i-pod during services to listen to preachers that uplift God rather than try to sell some god to me that needs to have someone give excuses for his imperfections. Really. And the preacher has seen me with them in. And no one says a word about it. Now, I must have had them a little loud a couple of weeks ago, because the little old lady in the row in front of me looked back at me a few times, but no one has said a word in the 4 weeks we have been back. Because if you ignore the elephant in the room, it isn't there, is it?

Why go back if it is that bad? Because we have made some connections there that will likely fade if we leave, and we don't feel that we should have to give them up. Strong, gospel centered connections.

Maybe someday they will talk to me. Maybe someday I will have an opportunity to say something that will change them. I am going to leave that in God's hands. I am not seeking to create controversy, but you really can't have a controversy if one party refuses to participate. I just want to worship.

Maybe I do need to turn up the volume a bit more though.

Pat Robertson and Love

I read a few days ago a few posts about Pat Robertson's comment regarding a man who wanted to divorce his wife because she had Alzheimer's. In case you did not hear, Pat Robertson (supposedly, I did not hear the comments myself) said that the man should go ahead and divorce her.

When his co-anchor asked if this broke his wedding vows, Pat responded that vows were "until death do us part, and this is a kind of death."

Does this bother anyone? While I am sure Pat took some heat for this, is this just a non-issue for most folks. Isn't Pat just stating what our itching ears want to hear? Isn't he just stating what most of us practice in some form or another? Isn't he just stating our truth. When the going gets tough, the tough find a loophole or a justification for their actions.

• We live in time of economic crisis. Will borrowing more money really get us out of this mess?
• We see the poor and afflicted. What do we do to help them in Jesus' name? Not even a cup of cold water?
• We make vows to our spouses. We tell them we love them. But when that beauty fades or they are no longer of service to us, we cast them aside. Was not the person we loved really ourselves? As long as we get what we want, we love and stay together. Was that the vow we took?

It is no wonder that non-Christians are not affected by us. We don't clothe ourselves in Christ, we just put on a t-shirt that says, "I love Jesus because saying so gets me into heaven." Problem is, we have never read the back of the shirt. It says, "I wanted to go to heaven, but all I got was this lousy t-shirt!"

That's been my experience...

I was listening to a Matt Chandler sermon. If you are not familiar with Matt, he has a less that positive view of most of what is done in the name of evangelicalism.

In this particular sermon, he mentions how many churches are about confirmation. We confirm that what the minister says is good and right, and he confirms us through his distortion of the word. Has Matt been to my church?

I did not confirm the minister, but I questioned what he said or at least how he said it. Did he really say that good deeds plus the gospel = Jesus follower? Yup, and I have the outline to prove it. Now I am not opposed to good deeds. But they are not in needed in addition to the gospel, are they? Are they not rather a response to the gospel. I guess what bothers me most is the fine line that is walked. I cannot say that he is wrong. In some ways he is right. Faith without works is dead. But taken in context, that is not how I see him meaning it. Not when you take all of the other statements and see a bigger picture.

I can't confirm that message. But he won't either. I find it sad.

Simple Answers???

During prayer time today, our preacher asked for prayer for those in Japan affected by the earthquake. Which I think would be just about everyone in Japan, in some way or another. During this time, he confidently stated that God did not cause this to happen.

???

Does he know something that I don't know? No, I am not saying that God is laying a judgment on the people of Japan for something they did or did not do, but can someone confidently and reasonably state that God did not cause this to happen? Again, I am not saying God did, or that He liked it, but can anyone say that God did not do it?

Judges 9:23    And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,  (Who sent that evil Spirit?)

2 Kings 15:5   And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land. (Who touched the King?)

Job 2:10   But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Good question! Perhaps one that we do not ask enough!)

Job 42:11   Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold  (All the evil that who brought on Job?)

Isaiah 45:7   I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.  (Who creates calamity?)

Amos 3:6   Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?  (Unless who has done it?)

I am not saying God directly caused this, although that is plausible. But I cannot say that he didn't. I cannot pretend to know the mind of God. Nope, not me. And not any other human either. And even if God did not directly cause the calamity in this case, is He not the designer of the earth that rests on plates so that earthquakes happen?

I guess what frustrates me in all of this is putting God in a little box that we make. What if God came down and revealed "Yup, it was Me, I caused the earthquake." Would that really shake your world? Because for me, if I didn't know He was in charge, working all things for good, that is what would shake my world.