how worthless is a discussion of Greek from a man who knows no Greek

How worthless is a discussion of Greek from a man who knows no Greek. It is almost as if we cannot bring ourselves to “reduce” the Bible to modern-day language.

It has to be esoteric. It has to be couched in language that is holy and “other.”

If we admit that the Bible can be understood separate and apart from the original language and a comprehensive knowledge of historical background; if we admit that the written word of God could be “reduced” to modern language totally, then we have to admit that we can fully understand the Bible:

1. Unequivocally and personally and
2. Apart from the learned interpretation of clergy.

Preachers perpetuate this by using a lot of Greek and background and encouraging the ignorant use of this same by members.

When they express fear of not saying the minutely precise meaning or when they blatantly misspell or mispronounce the Greek words, they look foolish.

Their credibility with those who have any education is limited and suspect.

(written in 1987)

judas had thought of betrayal often enough

When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”  (John 13:27)

Judas had thought of betrayal often enough that sooner or later he would investigate it seriously.

The price (the thirty pieces of silver) was not nearly enough to justify the action yet when it came down to action, Judas chose wrong.

Was it because his mind was so full of imagined rewards and outcomes? Or because he felt he had debased himself so far that he might as well go through with it?

As Jesus had said, the thought was the same as the action.

Maybe Judas felt himself trapped and couldn’t figure out how to get out of the trap.

Maybe he figured that having gone as far has he had gone, Jesus wouldn’t really accept him back.

(written in 1987)

daily java

Daily Java:

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29)

It was Freeport, Texas, about 1960. I was ten or eleven years old, riding my bike when I first met my children.

I rode by a house and a man was pulling up in his car. It was a gray convertible and he was wearing a gray suit and tie with a hat and a briefcase. Typical office worker type.

As he got out of the car, two little girls in frilly dresses came running out shouting “Daddy, Daddy.” He picked them both up and went in the house.

At that moment, I knew I would one day have children, a wife, a family. And even at that young an age, I began to wonder what my children would be like.

It was seventeen more years before Abby came along and five more before Sam was born. But it was one of those things that happens to people in the course of their lives. The child thinking one day I will be a man with a family.

That is quite a stretch for a grubby little kid on a red bicycle. But it happens to everybody at sometime in their lives: the knowledge that one day they will grow up.

The same thing happened with God. Before the world was even created, before the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters of the deep, before time even began, God knew you.

King David wrote, in Psalm 139: You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

The Lord told the prophet Jeremiah I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).

Before it all started, God knew he would have children. He knew that they would have trouble and that his own Son would have to become like them. And like a father prepares for his family, he prepared for us.

Before anything else began, he looked down through the years and saw me. He saw my goods and my bads, my strengths and my weaknesses, my successes and my failures. And he loved me.

When I saw those children running out to meet their daddy in 1960, I fell in love with my children. And before God even started dividing the light, he fell in love with his children.

daily java

Daily Java:

My heart is in anguish within me;
   the terrors of death have fallen on me.
Fear and trembling have beset me;
   horror has overwhelmed me.
I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest.
I would flee far away
   and stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter." (Psalm 55:4-8)

I am late today. I had an extreme disappointment yesterday and it colored my entire day today. I am given to depression anyway, but things like this really exacerbate the problem.

It was something someone told me that I view as a betrayal.

It is hard to overlook a betrayal, a negation of your work as a minister of God. It goes deep inside you and sits, tearing you up.

And what you want to do is run away. Of course, I guess in one way I am already, leaving here and going to Missouri as we are. But what you would like to do is just sit in a small place for a while and just do nothing. Maybe drink some coffee, but I could probably even do without that.

It hurts Ella too and that makes it worse.

But you know what I can do about it. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. And what is more is that it is none of my concern, except for the fact that it hurt us.

As the song says, I will survive. And one day happiness will come in again.

Be nice if it was soon.

some churches just have self-destruction built into their DNA

We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

There is nothing a preacher likes to hear more than the fact that a church where he has labored is doing well.

And there is nothing that hurts him more than to hear that they are doing badly.

I suppose that, as a pastor, you have to realize that the church goes its own way. You can try as much as you want to, but when it comes down to it, the church goes its own way.

And some churches just have self-destruction built into their DNA. They are going to act foolish no matter how hard you try to teach them.

I heard bad things from a friend of a church I love. A man who had split the church and had ended up driving off two ministers, sending both of them out of the ministry, is coming back to the church. He even said that he had been “praying out” the former minister.

The man’s motives were bad, his heart was rotten and his wishes were to do things his way, the word of God and the will of God be damned.

He said he had prayed to his god. And his god answered him. The only thing was that this was not the God of the universe. It was the god of this age.

So what do you do? Nothing. There is nothing you can do. You left that church and that church will stand before God itself.

But it is a crying shame that they are such cowards that they cannot stand up to a church bully, one who has a track record of driving men out of the ministry. They have already lost some and will lose more and the church will probably come to a halt.

But, by his god, that man will have his way. And his way is destruction.

But it surely hurts.

daily java

Daily Java:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

(Romans 7:21-25)The Christian life is hard, no two ways about it. But it is especially hard when you try to do it by yourself.

In 1969 when I was in the army, the first time I did 100 pushups, I got to 99 and the more I pushed on the 100th, the closer to the ground I seemed to get. I was exhausted and had trouble doing it.

That is how it is when we try to do everything in our lives by ourselves. The more we push, the harder it is to do.

When I would talk to people in jail, they would say, “Well, when I get out of jail and get my life together, then I will come back to church.” My answer: you have had control of your life for a long time now and where are you? In jail, standing in your underwear. Have you ever thought of the fact that things have not worked out with you in charge?

If we could get our ducks in a row, our stuff all together, and our lives presentable before we came to God, we would not need him nor his grace.

But the problem is, the harder we try, the more we fail. After a while, our life is littered with the detritus of failure. It is not that we have not tried, but the world is just too strong for us.

After a while, we cry out, why can I not seem to do the right things? I try and try, but still I fail.

The answer? God and his grace. He is the one who empowers, he is the one who gives strength, he is the one that enables us to live the way we want.

When we come to him and accept his grace, he gives us his power. That power gives us the strength we can get no where else.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that we float along through life perfectly capable of sinless action, like little Precious Moments angels.

But it does mean that when we fall, he will pick us up and we will try again. It means he cancels out the falling and doesn’t hold it to our account.

Our natures are just too weak. But he is strong and he will accomplish that strength in us.

picking up hitchhikers

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2)

Jay Nordlinger in his column in National Review Online called Impromptus says this about hitchhikers:

“A final thought? A friend and I were talking about this the other day. Not so long ago, this country was full of hitchhikers. People hitchhiked all over the country. Especially young people — that was how you saw the country, if you didn’t have very much money.
There came a time when you couldn’t: It was just too dangerous. Such a shame.
It is a shame, yes, that you can’t hitchhike. But you know what is the bigger shame? That you can’t pick up hitchhikers. You want to stop and help someone, give him a lift. You may even desire the company. But is it wise?”

I was thinking about that and remembered four times when it was a good idea to pick up a hitchhiker.

The first was as I was driving back to Texas from Seattle in 1987. I was driving a 1971 Plymouth Duster that was overloaded with the big UHaul trailer full of books and a motorcycle and other stuff. I was getting 100 miles to a tank of gas.

I was driving through Wyoming and ran out of gas a couple of miles from some town on the freeway. I started walking and a man picked me up and took me into a little town where the gas station was just about to open for the morning. As we rode, he said that he picked up about eight people a year on that stretch of freeway. I was grateful.

The second was in Texas as a pastor friend and I were headed to a pastors’ meeting in Abilene, TX. We were driving through the area around Waco when we saw a woman in high heels walking away from a car parked on the highway.

We stopped my Chevette and offered her a ride. She had a ways to go before she got anywhere with a phone. She debated in her mind about getting into a car with two men (both of whom were wearing suits and ties). Finally the fact that she was wearing high heels and was stranded won out over her fear.

She got into the car and sat very quietly in the back seat. My friend and I ignored her as we knew she was nervous and went on talking about something (probably some obscure Bible interpretation) until we got to a convenience store. She thanked us and went in the store. We drove off.

The third was a friend of mine who had been in jail on a false charge and was suddenly without any notice released from the jail into a town fifteen miles from home with the money he had on him at the time of arrest ($4) and his clothes. Even though his arrest turned out to be false, he had been in jail for over two years. His hair and beard was long, but for some reason a woman picked him up and took him the fifteen miles to home where we, in great surprise, welcomed him. We have no idea who she was. Since he had accepted Jesus in the jail, we figure he might have had a divine intervention.

The fourth was a man who was walking out in the middle of nowhere dressed nicely and in obvious non-walking shoes. He had been trying to make the next town and ran out of gas.

None of these people were dangerous. But with all the hitchhiker movies and such, including the 24 hour a day cable news programs, we have perceived hitchhiking as dangerous.

When I was in Germany, I knew enough French that I hitchhiked with Arabs. Most of them knew French so it was simpler, since I had not yet learned enough German to get around. In fact, young people hitchhiked all over Europe in those days.

It is a shame that something as innocuous as hitchhiking has gotten such a bad rep, but it is mostly due to our perception, not reality.

In seminary, we were talking about the Good Samaritan parable and how the man involved was beaten, robbed and left for dead. The teach made the comment that the parable told us to help others. But he had to admit, it was more dangerous today. One of us in the class asked, “How is it more dangerous today than then? The man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. Hard to get more dangerous than that.” The teacher had nothing to say.

But Jesus still said to help. Hebrews 13:2 said to do so. The Bible in general encourages us to help others no matter the problems or inconvenience to us. After all, it was terribly inconvenient for Jesus to be killed. Yet he went to the cross willingly.

Just a thought.

daily java

Daily Java:

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” (1 Samuel 16:6-12)

The old adage says don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s easy to get swayed by appearance. Something looks good so it must be. Something looks bad so it must be.

Samuel was going to anoint a new king over Israel. The old one was Saul and he had turned his back on God, so God turned from him. Saul was tall and straight and a good warrior, just the kind of king material people wanted.

Samuel came to Bethlehem and to Jesse’s house. He had several sons and one of them was going to become the next king. When Samuel saw Eliab, he fell into the trap of appearances. He just looked kingly. But then again, so did Saul. God said no.

All  of the sons came and none were the one. Samuel finally asked, don’t you have any more sons? Well, Jesse said, there is the kid. He is out in the field. They brought him and God said, this is the one. And he was the one who God called a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

A few years ago, the show American Idol had a woman named Susan Boyle come out to sing. She was plain, dumpy and absolutely not good looking. In fact, they made light fun of her. Then she opened her mouth and sang and it was totally at odds with her appearance. She went on to become one of those odd success stories of ability over appearance.

I remember girls swooning over the Beatles. John, Paul and George were handsome, but some girls was going on and on about Ringo. I said, but he’s ugly. One girl said, yes, but he is so ugly he is cute and she went on from there.

Barbra Streisand and Janis Joplin were not pretty women, yet when they sang they became beautiful. They had an inside quality to their singing that came out in their appearance.

But you take a beautiful girl and let her start cursing and all the beauty is gone in my eyes.

My wife is one of those people whose insides come out. She was always cute as a young woman, but she grows more beautiful as she gets older because her heart is pure and good. As she gets older, the inside shows more and more.

And some girls are the reverse. They have nothing but their looks and they know it. They spend all of their fortunes trying to keep those looks because they know that when they are gone, they will be empty.

A beautiful, vain and shallow girl with no real insides would be hard to live with. Sooner or later, you have to get up and put some clothes on and have a conversation. Sooner or later the sex will wear off and the life will begin and there will be nothing there.

And if nothing ever comes there, as she gets older, she will lose her beauty and become ugly. Some movie stars who were so hot in their day lose that young fresh beauty and fade into obscurity because there was nothing to replace it.

Someone once said, beauty is skin deep, but ugliness goes clear to the bone. God sees the bone, we see the skin. It isn’t that we are stupid, it is just the way we are made. We do not have the prescience God does.

God sees the inside. When viewed by the Lord’s standards, the outwardly ugly person becomes beautiful, the outwardly beautiful person ugly. When you look with his eyes, you see the real truth and value of things.

daily java

Daily Java:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. (James 1:22)

We knew a  young man named Tim who was mentally challenged. When I met him I found out that he watched Food Channel all day long he knew all of  the Food Channel personalities and could discuss them at length, he knew the shows and watched what they made.

When I asked him if he cooked, he replied, “Nope.” Meals on Wheel came once a day with a little lunch and he would eat that, in front of a really big screen TV. And what is more, he didn’t think it odd in the least that he ate a mass-prepared, unseasoned meal in a foam container while he watched professional cooks prepare very good food.

I also knew a guy who read his Bible constantly. He took notes in a notebook and could quote a lot of Bible. But two things stuck out about him. One was that I have never heard more crackpot ideas about the Bible come from anybody like they did from him. It was almost like the more he studied, the weirder he got. And second, his lifestyle reflected the absolute opposite of what the Bible said.

In other words, all of his studying did no good.

It is like listening to positive mental attitude tapes and remaining depressed. Or reading cookbooks and never cooking. Or collecting maps but never going anywhere.

It doesn’t matter how familiar you are with something, if you do not do what it says, it is worthless to you. If you do not do what the Bible says, all of your knowledge and study is worthless.

You starve to death sitting in front of a plateful of the best tasting food in the world.

Romans 10:17 says So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. Faith comes by hearing, but there has to be action, too, or all the hearing you have done is worthless.

People go to church for decades yet never become strong in the faith. That is because they hear, but they do not do.

You have to do or the hearing is no good to you. It may be great to someone else, but it will amount to nothing to you.

daily java

Daily Java:

You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. (Psalm 119:114.)

It is coming on the election season. Of course, it seems that the election season started the minute the last one finished.

But even so, there are things we can trust in and things we cannot. We cannot trust in the government because no matter how well-meaning, it is human. And no matter how hard we try and elect, it will always be fallible.

That is the problem with government: it is made up of humans. And no matter how hard you may want it to be, when you elect someone to office, they will do whatever they want. And may times, will lie through their teeth to get into the office so that they can do whatever they want.

Governments began, after all, as rebellion to God. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel had a judge, a mediator between God and his nation to judge problems. But in 1 Samuel 8, the nation of Israel came to the old prophet and judge Samuel and told him that they wanted to be like all the other nations and have a king.

Samuel warned them of how the king would treat them, but nothing would od but that they had a king. So God gave them a king. It was not in his plan.

Of course, all of the other nations of the earth that were not Jewish had governments to begin with. But the thing is a nation led by God doesn’t need a government. As Romans 13:3-4 says, the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.

That is not always as easy as it sounds. Sometimes the authorities dishonor the people of God over others on purpose.

But the point is, you cannot elect in righteousness. You can do  your best, and as a citizen of the United States of America, you can exercise your constitutional right to vote for whomever you want to vote for. But you cannot legislate anything that is godly.

Godliness only comes when you accept God into whatever situation you have. And the world, being who it is and ruled by who it is ruled by, will never accept God as their standard.

There will always be a fight over who is in control in government.

Vote for whomever you want, but remember, God alone is the one who will take our trust and give us hope. His word is true and his love is complete.

He never goes back on his word.