Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Incarnation and the Body of Death



"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Romans 7:24-25

"And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him." - Colossians 1:21-22

I was struck by the connection I saw in the cry of Paul in Romans 7:24-25 for deliverance from this “body of death”, and the affirmation by Paul in Colossians 1:21-22 that we are reconciled through Jesus in “his body of flesh by his death”. I was also encouraged with the apparent link to the incarnation, helped by the writings an old voice from the 4th century church.

Paul does not just say “thanks be to God” in Romans 7. He also says “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. And, from other places in Scripture, we know that he does not just mean through Jesus as if through a supernatural miracle that mysteriously delivered us from a sinful body and reconciled us to a holy God. He does not just mean through an appearing or a presence. He means through a physical human body and a physical human death. The only way we could be delivered through Jesus, and reconciled, is if it happened through a human body without the sin corruption that we have. It couldn’t have happened through the Spirit, even though the Spirit is without sin. It couldn’t have happened through Jesus appearing as the Son of God only. And it couldn’t have happened through Jesus as a man if he shared any part of our sinful nature. It had to have been through God, in a body of flesh, without sin, through actual physical death. How amazing was the incarnation of the Son of God, and Him taking on our likeness! The incarnation (Christmas), is the miracle that made our deliverance possible. And then the resurrection (Easter), is the miracle that makes our deliverance actual and eternal.

Athanasius explains this idea in his classic work “On the Incarnation”. While these words are translated for the benefit of the “modern reader”, and is according to C.S. Lewis, “written so deeply on a subject with such classical simplicity,” it is still a very lofty arrangement of profound sentences. I pray that the depth and even complexity of these words would stretch your mind and fill your soul, as you contemplate the simply reality that Jesus had to come to earth as a human and die as a human to deliver us from our humanness, which was stained with the corruption of death. Then He rose from the dead to conquer that death forever! Here is St. Athanasius “On the Incarnation”:  

“The Word perceived that corruption could not be got rid of otherwise than through death; yet He Himself, as the Word, being immortal and the Father’s Son, was such as could not die. For this reason, therefore, He assumed a body capable of death, in order that it, through belonging to the Word Who is above all, might become in dying a sufficient exchange for all, and itself remaining incorruptible through His indwelling, might thereafter put an end to corruption for all others as well, by the grace of the resurrection. It was by surrendering to death the body which He had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from every stain, that He forthwith abolished death for His human brethren by the offering of the equivalent.”

“For naturally, since the Word of God was above all, when He offered His own temple and bodily instrument as a substitute for the life of all, He fulfilled in death all that was required. Naturally also, through this union of the immortal Son of God with our human nature, all men were clothed with incorruption in the promise of the resurrection. For the solidarity of mankind is such that, by virtue of the Word’s indwelling in a single human body, the corruption which goes with death has lost its power over all. You know how it is when some great king enters a large city and dwells in one of its houses; because of his indwelling in that single house, the whole city is honored, and enemies and robbers cease to molest it. Even so it is with the King of all; He has come into our country and dwelt in one body amidst the many, and in consequence the designs of the enemy against mankind have been foiled, and the corruption of death, which formerly held them in its power, simply ceased to be. For the human race would have perished utterly had not the Lord and Savior of all, the Son of God, come among us to put an end to death.”  

- Page 35, Popular Patristics Series, St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, SVS Press

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Read a Full Meal



I do a lot of reading on a given day. In my armchair at home (like Bilbo Baggins), at work, on a bike ride in front of the laundry mat in Key West. You know, whenever I can. Sometimes I worry whether I am also simultaneously doing a lot of learning. Or perhaps I am reading at the expense of thinking, and therefore not learning. This would be very bad. It occurred to me that one way for me to process my thinking and therefore evidence my learning is to share about my readings. Consider this an introduction to that.

One of my philosophies about reading is that it needs to be done in healthy-sized chunks. The internet and social media can be terrible for the mind as it applies to reading. Popcorn style reading is disastrous. This existing philosophy about reading a lot at a time, say, at least a chapter of a book in one sitting, or a chapter of Scripture instead of a couple verses, or a whole article or even page in a newspaper instead of only the first paragraph, revealed itself specifically this last weekend as I was reading a book about my favorite topic. I want to use my experience reading this book to make a point. That is, I want to help you read a full meal. How do I do that wait what does that even mean? When you read, you need to do so fully by practicing the same basic things you would do when eating a full meal: chew, swallow, and digest.

CHEW

This does not mean put the pages of a book into your mouth and bite down repeatedly. Don't be silly. What I mean is actually take in words and sentences so that they can get into your system. Just like you shouldn't just look at your food, play around with it on the plate, or smell it only, don't just look at the pictures, play with the pages, or take in the smell (old books can be distracting in this way). This sounds painfully obvious but I mention it because I need this reminder. I am a book lover, and a collector, and I do sometimes sit and admire my shelves, "tinker" through a book I want to someday read, or literally open and smell a 19th century volume of The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon (just picked up for $8 at Half-Price Books #FistBump). I digress.

The book I mentioned before is called The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a "theology" book that was quite a page turner. Sometimes, even with topics that particularly interest me, I find myself struggling to get through the pages. In some cases too much thinking is required and comprehension is difficult, so I have to go slow, which can be frustrating. Some books are so dense that to actually read them intelligibly its like you're eating your peas one a time. This is not chewing (and extremely annoying). With this book I found myself breezing through the pages because the "argument" or "thesis" that was being presented needed a lot of words to fully explain. By truly chewing the content I tasted it more keenly and enjoyed it more thoroughly.

SWALLOW

As I read through the paragraphs, I was on the edge of my seat for the point that was being built, through page after page of introductory context. It wasn't that more words were used than necessary; layers of thought had to be built before a complete point could be made, and in this case that approach worked well and was helpful for me. The length and the completeness was worth the effort, like a long meal at a nice restaurant. But I couldn't have understood or benefited from any of it without making it to a reasonable stopping point. I needed to swallow a healthy portion.

Reading is not scanning information into your brain long enough to process it and then spit it back out. It is meant to be swallowed so it can fully make it into our system. How much time do we spend reading only to stop mid-sentence, mid-paragraph, or mid-chapter? Or mid-email?? Its like the book or article is having a conversation with us and we just walk away in the middle of a story. You wouldn't do that in real life. As a society we need to improve our attention spans. Mental snacking is contributing to poor overall health. We need to swallow what we are reading, rather than swish it around in our brain for a minute or two and then spit it back out. I shudder to think of the affect on our comprehension, cognitive development, and soul growth that this has on us. For Christians, this leads to ignorance in areas where we need to be speaking life into people.

This is very convicting to me because I often falsely find my identity in what I know, and if I don't know a little about a lot I don't like where that leaves me. What I've found is the only way to know a little about a lot is to read too little about everything. Bad idea. Better to know a lot about a little by reading as much as you can about only some things. Follow? I am guilty of doing this completely wrong; scanning articles, reading parts of books only (although the table of contents can be a helpful summary). I've been reading The New York Times for a year, and I would have trouble telling you what I read yesterday. This is no good.

I admit I still go for the snacking instead of the meal. Worse, I don't even always ingest what I'm reading. Its like "eating" sunflower seeds. This is not what reading should be. We need to swallow the information and ideas that our eyes see and our brain is processing.

DIGEST

Finally, we need to digest what we read. We need to let our brain do its work and help us process, store, and use what we've just ingested. If we did it right, and fully chewed it, and swallowed it, there is a lot of internal work left to be done. The last thing we would want is to go on to something else without thinking about what we just read!

We can't expect to understand a complex subject or current event without reading and thinking a lot about it. If you read a Bible verse from a different chapter or book every day, your perspective on God and the gospel is going to be very scattered. If you read one article about the Syrian refugee crisis you probably aren't going to know that much about what all is really going on there. If you watch one episode of 24, you have no appreciation yet for how amazing it is. I digress again.

But is it possible to read a book as a full meal, especially considering the amount of time that is realistically available to read? What about the newspaper? Or the Bible? Now we're talking. Are we snacking on the Bible instead of taking it in as a gourmet meal? God forbid.

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." - Isaiah 55:2

Diligence is required. Here is my challenge: take at least a quarter of as much time thinking as you do reading, and no less. In other words, if you read for an hour, make sure you are also just thinking for at least 15 minutes in the same sitting. Start with the Bible (I am talking to myself here).

If meditation, prayer, and journaling (as a way to document what you are learning or how you are changing) results, you are in a good place. If a wandering mind, aimless searching on your phone or the internet, or the temptation to multi-task is the result, go back to reading until it causes you to think (undistracted) for at least a quarter of the time. And repeat. I think this will prove whether your reading is helping you learn and change or is just a leisure activity. Leisure reading is not bad, but there is so much more to experience. Don't move on just yet to other things. Digest it. If you didn't digest the food you ate, you would feel ill. It is the same with what we feed into our brain, only this digestion is not involuntary, so you have to consciously do it, and the negative result if often less obvious, so we don't address it.

A possible future post: "what if I don't like to read?" Ahh! I pity the fool. Not that you're a fool if you don't like to read. I'm just sayin'. You need to start reading more and I promise you will love it.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Raise Your Heads




This past Christmas I received a gift subscription to The New York Times. I have done my best to read it and keep up with the news. In college a professor said to read the paper every day, even if the stories don't always make sense, because eventually the dots will connect and it will be like an epiphany. I either misunderstood or he was crazy. It is not that easy.

Usually, I am about a week behind, but I push through and read from the paper daily. The old phrase, "that's yesterday's news" has gained new meaning for me. Indeed, it is a little embarrassing to be at Starbucks with a paper under your arm as you purchase your coffee, and the barista asks, "Will that be all? Should I include the paper?" And you respond, "Well, no, this is from my house. I can prove it with the date right here. Hey, did you hear about this Donald Trump guy? I guess he's running for President." Who knew that was not breaking news anymore? Actually everyone knew.

Which begs the question, how does everyone know everything that's going on all the time? I have been diligently reading The Times for 8 months now, and even though I'm a week behind, isn't that better than someone who's not reading any paper at all?

My wife was telling me about this story the other day where a NAACP chapter president had been posing as an African-American for years. I was like, "What? Where did you hear about that? I haven't seen anything about it in the paper. Meanwhile, have you heard about this ISIS thing? Pretty scary stuff."

Then someone told me about an incident with a lion named Cecil. My ignorance on that one is more understandable because I skip the funny papers. Must be a new character or something. Maybe I should just check out this Internet thing. So far I've been neutral concerning the net. I digress.

INTERPRET THE TIME

Dr. Richard Swenson in his book, Margin, claims, "A single edition of The New York Times contains more information than a 17th century Britisher would encounter in a lifetime." Even if an exaggeration, that is incredible. Apparently though, there is a middle ground between a 17th century Britisher (Englishman, I think?) and someone who is gaining a lifetime of knowledge daily. I don't want to be the Britisher, but I don't need to be the super-human. Balance is key.

Reading The New York Times has been a fascinating experience, especially because I consider myself extremely conservative politically and especially theologically. If you didn't know, The Times comes from a liberal perspective. The experience has made me more alert and discerning. It has also made me more compassionate and sympathetic to thoughts and people I disagree with. David Brooks (whose columns are worth the subscription) talks about a rare quality called "opposability", and defines it as the ability to hold two opposing views in your mind at the same time without going mad. I think I have developed this skill more strongly, and hopefully can see it in others as well.

At the end of the day, this experience has given me a sense of urgency to know how to interpret the present time. Jesus said to the crowds in Luke, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

John Calvin says in his commentary to 1 Peter, "Hence at the very beginning he proclaims in express words the grace of God made known to us in Christ; and at the same time he adds, that it is received by faith and possessed by hope, so that the godly might raise up their minds and hearts above the world." More on 1 Peter later.

Later in Luke, Jesus says, "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads; because your redemption is drawing near."

My conviction, then, from this experience is to know how to interpret the present time, and to raise up my mind and heart above the world. Why? Because my redemption is drawing near! How? Great question. I see a four-step approach to interpreting the present time.

START WITH SCRIPTURE

This is self-explanatory, yet I struggle with it. In the morning it is easier to check my phone or pick up last week's paper than to open the living Word of the God of the universe. Why do I do that? Don't do that. Scripture is too powerful and too important for us. Physically and spiritually we won't function long without it. We have to start there.

GET YOUR NEWS

Some people would say, in order to simplify your life, you should stop reading news, either on your phone, your computer, or physical newspapers or magazines. I am not convinced this is a good idea. Perhaps as a fast, it makes some sense. But in general I think it is dangerous and unnecessary to just give it up. And I think some people say this but still are gaining the skinny on every event in the world somehow, so the advice is hard to take seriously. When I think about "getting my news", I want to try to do so in categories. It is not possible, for me at least, to know everything about everything. But if I can know something about what is going on in my neighborhood, my city, my state, my country, and the world, I think I'll be in a good position to understand the times and be engaged in the world, so that I can love and minister well to others. Michael Lindsay talks about having "a liberal arts approach to life", which means being knowledgeable about various topics to be relatable and in a position of influence. As I read the news, what is it telling me about:

- The impoverished and afflicted?
- The economy?
- The marketplace?
- Entertainment (including sports)?
- The Church?

That is still a lot. But I think it is important and possible to be informed in all of these areas if we are to understand how to interpret the time.

GO BACK TO SCRIPTURE

This is probably the most important step, and the most difficult. The reason we need to raise our mind and heart above the world is to see our redemption drawing near. To do so, we don't want to ignore what is going on in the world, but instead interpret what is going on through the lens of Scripture, with our heads raised to the joy set before us beyond this world. Nothing will ultimately make any sense outside the lens of Scripture. People who don't go back to Scripture to help them interpret events are the same people who throw their hands up and say, "I just don't know anymore. The world is crazy." God forbid that we should be that way! Instead may we hold up the paper in one hand and the Bible in the other, pointing people to the one who came into and endured the craziness, without sin, died for our sake, and rose from the dead to give us hope.

What should I make of the events I've been reading about for the last 8 months? What does the Bible say about them? What do they have to do with the gospel? What do they tell us about eternity?

- Senseless violence of ISIS and Boko Haram
- Global migration crisis
- Earthquake in Nepal
- Riots in Baltimore
- Shootings in Charleston
- Society-changing Supreme Court decisions
- Political announcements
- Crisis in Greece
- Nuclear deal with Iran
- Climate change
- Minimum wage debates
- Free trade agreements

If I continue reading the paper as I have - the subscription has expired but is still coming so we'll see - I'm sure I would have a similar list of different events. The 17th century "Britisher" may not have gained as much information on a daily basis as we do, but he also knew that the world was a mess. "Tonight, on earth, it is total confusion", says Alistair Begg. This is the state of things. But our God is in full control, all the events in the news have purpose, and the Bible gives wisdom to help us endure and interpret them. In the process, God creates in us a longing for our redemption that is drawing near, and a passion to share this news with others. I have a lot of work to do in this area. Would you join me diving into Scripture to know how to interpret the time, so we can more effectively follow Jesus?

SEEK HELP

Finally, God has blessed this generation with individuals who can help us with this process. I will name two: Albert Mohler and Janet Parshall. There are others, but through their podcast and radio show alone, not to mention their books, they give great guidance in how to understand the events of the world from a Christian worldview. Mohler's podcast is called The Briefing, and Parshall's radio show is called In the Market, on Moody Radio. Their voices are timely, winsome, and biblical.

In summary, start with Scripture, get your news, go back to Scripture, and seek help. May God help us as we follow Jesus in this world with our heads raised.

Now, I am going to go back and catch up on my papers. I heard something about a video by a woman named Veronica who wants me to be mindful about going into the ocean. Not sure what that's about yet, but I have a trip to Florida coming up so I better be prepared. #WatchTheOceanFromADistance

"The strength of the good solider of Jesus Christ, appears in nothing more, than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behavior, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world." - Jonathan Edwards

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Grieving as a Grandson



These are the thoughts shared at my Grandma's Celebration of Life service, June 25, 2015

I am indeed humbled to be able to say a few words about and in honor of my sweet Grandma Gibson. I confess that I had thoughts prepared, and I did so because my Grandpa asked me to. Though I'm not under any illusion that this will be easy. So I'm counting on you to bear with me and even help me through it.

I thought it would be good to speak as if I'm inviting you into my own grief. In other words, perhaps my approach to grieving, spoken out loud, can help and encourage you, as you remember her with the smile that we all know she wants for us right now.

Two words immediately came to mind as I considered sharing: gratitude and hope.

GRATITUDE

I am deeply grateful to God for the life of my Grandma, and the time we all had with her.

There are infinite stories and moments that could be shared, and I really can only mention a few. My hope is that they will spur you on to remember many on your own. Don't limit yourself to just a few!

There memories are really characteristics of my Grandma represented by individual moments; characteristics represented by moments. Again, these are only a few.

First, she was others-centered. She considered others more important than herself. I know this was displayed in her selfless care for my Grandpa. For me, I'll never forget as a youngster, at the funeral of her mother - Great-Grandma Ward to us - during the service she turned around in the pew and, perhaps noticing my sad, confused, or scared face, she grabbed my hand with a smile and told me it was going to be ok. I was reminded this week that I was 7 years old at the time. Amazing love and empathy at her own mother's funeral.

Second, Grandma was joyfully content. Just a couple weeks ago, at my parents' house for a great summer day with family and friends, I remember her and Grandpa sitting on the screened-in porch, a little away from the action outside on the deck. but close enough to enjoy the presence of family with the utmost contentment. She displayed this so well because she truly was content and full of joy with life. I don't think I ever shared a meal with her where she wasn't absolutely delighted with the food and company.

Third, she was generous. She and Grandpa faithfully supported a golf marathon fundraising event for a college ministry that I have participated in for several years. I have a sweet memory of an unexpected call from her after the event last year, where she said that she received this nice thank you note from this nice young man, somewhat loosely connected to the same ministry, but somewhere overseas or something, and who obviously wasn't me. She wanted to make sure their gift to me was received. We both got quite a laugh out of the mix-up, and fortunately, I was eventually able to get it straightened out.

Finally, my Grandma was so loving and faithful. I'm sure most of us can remember a "dancing moment" with her and Grandpa, and I certainly remember a very special one at Katie and I's wedding, but more recently, I'll never forget their spontaneous dance at their 65th wedding anniversary party last year, after my dad cued up their wedding song. It was a classic tear-jerker moment.

There are so many more. I encourage you to reflect on them and write them down!

There is a book that has helped me greatly in the past as I have dealt with death and loss. It is called Death by Living, and it is about how our lives are meant to be spent, our lives are what take us to the end, and life is ultimately what causes our death. I wanted to share a few quotes because they remind me so much about my Grandma.

"Live hard, and die grateful."

"May your living be grace to those behind you."

"Drink your wine. Laugh from your gut. Burden your moments with thankfulness. Be as empty as you can be when that clock winds down. Spend your life. And if time is a river, may you leave a wake."

What a wonderful wake that is left by Ramona Gibson.

HOPE

But as we remember her with gratitude, it is still hard that she is gone. So where is the hope? Is there hope? Yes. There is...a sure hope. Because this is a celebration of life. It is a celebration not only of past life, but also of future life! I know of only one source for this hope.

I need to hear the words of the Apostle Paul, who says, "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly body is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens... So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

He continues, "For the love of God controls us, because we have concluded this: that one (that is, Jesus) has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

What a sure hope! Died for our sake. Raised for our sake.

Paul also says, "But we do not want you to be uniformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

I don't want to be uninformed about my Grandma, or myself eventually. And I don't have to be. So I ask myself out loud so that I can ask you also, Joey, do you grieve with no hope? The answer is no!

Paul continues, "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Jesus himself says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though they die, yet shall they live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

So I ask myself out loud, Joey, do you believe this? Yes, I do!

Paul also said that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Joey, do you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead? And the answer is yes, I do!

As I personally grieve during this time, my belief compels me to share. Elsewhere in the New Testament, Paul says to Timothy, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost."

And then he says, and I say along with him, "But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost of sinners, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life."

There is great hope in the eternal life offered to us! And it is an eternal life into which we will be physically raised and live together in peace and joy forever - where the dwelling place of God is with us, and where he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away. The tears, the crying, the pain, the death - all gone!

So as we reflect on the life of Grandma Ramona Gibson, and her wonderful attributes that are so worthy of imitation, my prayer is that we all may live in such a way that - like her - our life ultimately causes our death, so that then, in Christ - like her - we may come to life again.


Saturday, March 7, 2015

What Do You Think?



"You are not what you think you are. But what you think, you are." 

Said D.A. Carson at the recent THINK conference at my church. The conference was entitled: The Weeping Prophet: Jeremiah Confronts the 21st Century. His point, I think, was that it matters what you think about! Because it becomes who you are. What does your mind first go to at a red light? If it goes to the restaurant you are going to that night, you might be a foodie. If it goes to the movie you just saw, you might be an entertainment junkie. If it goes to God and His Word, you might be a dependent sinner drawn to the grace of God. Do you see? This is not an ultimate criteria, but helpful in taking your pulse. I am often thinking about new restaurants to go to, and may even be labeled a foodie. But that is not all I think about! What follows here are highlights from this conference, given to me by the Holy Spirit in a merciful evening of rest and clarity following the last session. I hope that these points can be powerful and applicable regardless of your attendance or attentiveness at the actual conference.

THE BIBLE IS ALIVE

By alive, I mean living, and active.  How can a book be living? Are we talking about like the Monster Book of Monsters from Harry Potter, the one once you open tries to chomp on your fingers, destroying the pages of itself in the process? No, no. We need better mental pictures than what movies and culture can give us. How can a book be alive? It can be so by its ability to feed your soul, on the spot, without limit, day after day and hour after hour. You can't see your soul. A doctor is not going to be able to locate it for you, and sadly, he or she is not going to be able to diagnosis when it is hungry. But you know you have it, and it needs nourishment. What kind of attention are we giving to this need? We have hungry souls! What amount of time are we dedicating to address this hunger?

T. De Witt Talmage said, "I know that young doctors, young lawyers, young accountants, young mechanics, young merchants, have but little time for general reading. If so, then spend more of that time at the fountain of divine truth from which nearly all the books have been dipped that are worth anything."

Yes! But oh, how I struggle with this. Between the free subscriptions I have randomly received to the New York Times, The Economist, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., paid ones to Harvard Business Review, Christianity Today, and then general reading in books (which I so enjoy) and blogs, all in the midst of marriage, family, work, church, and leisure, how am I going to spend necessary time in the fountain of divine truth? Carefully and intentionally, God-willing, because it is the most important thing I could be doing. But there is so much to read! Many, perhaps, do not consider this the dilemma that I do, or don't even notice the amount to be read. It has helped me to make a reading list, but even that could be improved. Tony Reinke in his book Lit! has helped me realize I can read multiple books at once, and should always be reading fiction. C.S. Lewis is famous for highlighting the importance of reading the old books, in his introduction to Athanaisus's On The IncarnationRick Warren has said that of the books you choose to read, you should read 25% from the first 1500 years of church history, 25% from the last 500 years, 25% from the last 100 years, and 25% from the last 10 years. Someone, though I can't remember whom, said that if you love to read you need to acknowledge the fact that you will never read everything you want to read, and that shouldn't be depressing but liberating.

Yet, all of this helps only with the reading that should be secondary, by a mile. Carson said, "There is nothing more tragic and damning than the refusal to listen attentively, faithfully, and obediently to the Word of God." How am I going to do this if I am spending the majority of my limited time to read on current events, business strategy, and man-spoken books?? Do I not realize what I am reading when I open the Bible?! 

Walter Maier, in The Lutheran Hour, says, "This is Christ's Word, the entire Scripture, composed by almost half a hundred writers, completed in fifteen long centuries, written under the most varied circumstances - this vision on the seashore of a lonely exile, this letter in the confines of a martyr's prison, this history on a caravan wearily jogging its way across the desert, this psalm under the starlit heavens of Judah, this song in the captivity of far-off Babylon - a book to which many men and many countries and many centuries have contributed, but which, from the creation of Genesis to the beautified visions of paradise in the Apocalypse, is pervaded with a marvelous unity, the dominating message of sin and grace, the assurance of a loving Father's gracious redemption of His children."

Carson also highlighted Deuteronomy 17:14 and following, and the laws concerning Israel's Kings, whereby they were required to copy out the Book of the Law by hand. They were not able to "download it from the cloud without the words passing through anyone's brains". How far is this from our approach to Scripture!

"A voice says, 'Cry'! And I said, 'What shall I cry?' All flesh is like grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." - Isaiah 40:6-8

The Word of our God will stand forever. 

HEALING WOUNDS LIGHTLY

"Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed. Have you not just now called to me, 'My father, you are the friend of my youth - will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?' Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could." - Jeremiah 3:3-5

"They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD." - Jeremiah 6:14-15

God is very serious about healing. He is serious about the sin that requires it, and the method and completeness by which it comes. God forbid that we would heal each other's wounds lightly, that we would minimize, cover-up, or too quickly move on from the wounds that our sin causes. God forbid that we would ultimately die because of our worldly grief, rather than being grieved into repenting, which leads to salvation, and without regret! God forbid that we would withhold or shrink the whole counsel of God in order to be accepted or unoffensive!

This is important for evangelism. John Wesley in his Letter on Preaching Christ, talked about this in the context of preaching more law until someone was fully convinced of their sin. That could be a while, you know? George Whitefield, perhaps more strongly, emphasized this in his remarkable sermon The Method of Grace:

"Before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the law of God....But further: you must be convinced of your actual sins, so as to be made to tremble, and yet you may be strangers to Jesus Christ, you may have no true work of grace upon your hearts."

More than that, conviction must go deeper, he says, to an acknowledgement of the foundation of all your sins, namely, your original sin. Then! he says, "You must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, the sin of your nature, but likewise for the sins of your best duties and performances." But then! he continues, "Before you can speak peace to your heart, you must be troubled for the unbelief of your heart." He is still not finished unlayering the conviction we need to heal our wounds completely. "Once more then: before you can speak peace to your heart...you must be enabled to lay hold upon the perfect righteousness, the all-sufficient righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ."

That is a lot of layers! We are in significant danger of healing others' wounds lightly, and our own. This is also important for daily Christian living. I remember reading John Owen years ago and lingering over his exhortation to "not speak peace to yourself before God speaks it, but hearken to what God says to your soul." I don't think I ever understood completely what this meant until reading Jeremiah, the inspired Word of God that is the food for my soul. How could I understand this apart from the Bible? How could I hearken what God says to my soul by reading John Owen? No offense to a mighty saint of God. That would be like eating a newspaper article about food rather than eating the food itself. Owen says that our peace must be "attended with the detestation and abhorrency of that sin which was the wound and caused the disquietment." But those are big words. 

Don't get me wrong, Carson, Wesley, Whitefield, and Owen are all very helpful here. But listen to the Word of our God through the apostle Paul, written to the Corinthian church a second time after calling out in them significant sin (so applicable to us):

"As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."

How do we know we have godly grief?

"For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!" The NIV says, what "readiness to see justice done."

We know we have godly grief when we have earnestness, eagerness, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and readiness to see justice done, which is ultimately about powerfully and authentically leaning into Jesus who is the just and the justifier. What a valuable lesson I need repeated to me every day! Don't heal your wounds or others' wounds lightly!

A good reminder in this effort is that the Bible is not about us. The world does not revolve around us. Seriously. Reading the Old Testament reveals acutely my focus on self. Just like the people of Israel. Just like those whom Jesus was addressing that were worried about food and clothing. I really do worry about food and clothing daily. That wasn't just a parable, you know? And I worry about a lot of other things. Reading the Old Testament also reminds me that God is a God of self-focus, so I certainly shouldn't be, because I am not God. He wants it and He deserves it. Carson said, "It is an act of great kindness and mercy that God demands Himself at the center, because it is for our improvement, not His." 

MIND RENEWAL

I am what I think. I think, therefore I am, the philosopher says. One thing about the Bible is that it includes so much actual content to be thinking about. Narratives, poetry, theology, exhortation, imperatives, and so on. Silly of me to open the Bible every morning, pray over it, consider how to specifically apply it that very day, and then move on to other things in my mind. 

My morning usually consists of making coffee, waking up my sleeping beauty, and then drinking that coffee as I read and pray and think. Then, usually, nature calls because of the coffee, and from there I shower and get ready, and drive to work. The time in the bathroom, the shower, and the car on the way to work is crucial thinking time for me. It can consist of 45 minutes to an hour in total. I'm just being real. What do I think about? 

There is not an exact formula here, but I have noticed when I lose control of my mind during this time period, not taking my thoughts captive to God, things of God, and things in His word, my whole day can be affected. This does not always mean thinking about Jeremiah and the Babylonians, say. In some cases it the best days where I am thinking about work and meetings or tasks in front me during this time, if I do so without worry but with eagerness and motivation. The worst days are when I think about this same content but do so laden with anxiety. I don't want to go to that meeting. I don't want to finish that project, and open the can of worms connected to it. Etc. See, taking your thoughts captive I don't think means only thinking specifically about what you read that morning. It could! But if the Spirit of God dwells in us, than we should be able to live with the truth of His Word in us even as we do normal things. So the challenge for me is to determine whether I am thinking normal, necessary things within the context of the truths of Scripture that govern everything. Or have I moved on from God for the day and am only thinking about the normal things? How do I know the difference? How do I know if I've moved on? One way I know is if I'm anxious instead of eager towards my day at work. Or if I'm irritable. Or if I'm adverse to being around people until I've "woken up". And so on. Do you see?

Rick Warren, in an otherwise excellent sermon called "The Battle for Your Mind" said that as a church we are teaching people too much. We are giving so much content and application that they can't be expected to process it all and have it lead to life change. Between the Sunday morning sermon, a Bible study, a weeknight class, and morning Bible reading, the amount of applications a normal Christian is grappling with is overwhelming, Warren implies. 

I disagree. In my experience it takes hundreds of pages, hundreds of truth statements, hundreds of applications, for one or two life-transforming gospel truths to stick. If it were not for the amount of content, I don't think I would discern the few ground breaking truths or applications that lead to actual life transformation and mind renewal. Maybe that is just me. But when I think about the wisdom from the Spirit and the mind of Christ, spoken of in 1 Corinthians 2, I am confronted with infinite knowledge and omniscience. I don't think the way God speaks to us through His word is by focusing on one miniature truth or application this week, and then another one next week. I believe He speaks to us through a hearty sermon on Romans 8 one week, and then an equally hearty message from Romans 9 the next week, with other study, meditation, and community discussion in between. As we drink from a fire hose of God's word through a given week, it is better to say at the end, "Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" Instead of merely, "this week I will try to think about God more on my lunch breaks."

Because, in my experience at least, God will give amazing practical application and specific mind renewing truth in the midst of your posture of dependence and awe at the depth of His knowledge and being. Even if only one sermon out of twelve has something you will remember in a year. Or one bible study out of twenty gives you a lasting spiritual nugget. You are not going to just get lucky and happen to listen to that one sermon that had the memorable point, or just randomly show up the night the bible study was really awesome. We have to have our minds open and hearts broken and ears ready during all the overflow of content, so that God can bless us with His presence and His truth in His timing.

I made a list the other day of 10 truths or application points (I'm sure I could come up with a few more with time) that I could explain as turning points in my walk with Christ. This is in more than 10 years of being a Christian. These are things that I know I will remember for my entire life, and without them I would not have the assurance, maturity, clarity, faith, or abiding union with Christ that I do today. And do you know how many sermons I've heard and books I've read and studies I've been a part of in that time?! I am so excited to put myself in the path of God's unsearchable knowledge day in and day out, and week in and week out, so that I can have maybe another dozen of these kinds of truths or application points at the end of my natural life.

"Do not be conformed, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

This type of transformation through this type of mind renewal, requires enduring more content and Biblical truth about the omniscient God of the Universe from sermons, books, Bible studies, and spiritual conversation, than our feeble brains could ever possibly handle, so that a few life-altering truths get through. 

What do you think?