We Are the Problem

Malachi 3:6-12

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it”

The people of Israel were not tithing like they were supposed to so God put them under a curse.

Then God proposed a test. He said start tithing like you are supposed to and then see what I will do for you.

Interesting… a test. Could the same thing work today?

- are we attending like we should?

- are we giving a financial offering like we should?

- How is our participation at church?

- Are we making any sacrifices to God at all in our abilities? our time?

- Are we respecting our parents?

- Are with being the kind of spouses we should be?

- Are we good employees/employers?

The list goes on and on. Accept God’s test and according to his promises he will open up the flood gates of Heaven for you.

Maybe the problems in our lives are because of us.

What do you have to lose? Give it a try.

Tips on Reading to the Congregation

Nehemiah 8:8 “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read” The reading of God’s word and teaching others from it can be done with “clarity” and “meaning” which implies that it can also be done with obscurity and ambiguity. Of course the details are not specified but here are some of my thoughts. When reading to others don’t sound like a mindless drone but rather add some emotions and expressive body language. Vary the tone as you read. Use some dramatic pauses. Also when reading to others take some time to explain what words mean. Illustrate what you’re reading with stories and anecdotes. Use some figurative language (similes and metaphors) The key to reading for others is so that you can hold their attention so that they can understand. Years ago I was in a private Bible study with someone who knew nothing about the Bible. One of the readings contained the word “manna”. Afterwards the readers thought I was talking about a Manta Ray. Obscure and ambiguous. I failed. In the middle school class I recognize that the prepared material uses words that my students have absolutely no comprehension of what those words mean so I substitute with words they do understand. Know your audience. If I’m listening to someone who just drones on and on I get distracted and start yawning or think its time for a bathroom break. Be good smart readers of the word and respect your listeners. Make God proud.

Marriage, Divorce and Living Together

Malachi 2:13-16, states that God with holds blessings from those who do not keep their marriage vows and resort to divorce.

“You weep and wail because God no longer pays attention to your offerings…”

That also implies that those who are faithful to their marriage vows are blessed and receive blessings and joy and honor and all good things. He pays attention to you and enriches your lives together.

God states in these verses that He himself witnessed the wedding vows and that in that vowing God makes them “one” And the making them “one” was so they could have “godly offspring”

God concludes the section by saying he hates divorce and by implication he loves marriage.

In our day and time many young men and women live together and even produce offspring with no wedding vows… they are not married.

What are the implications of that?

- no blessings associated with marriage and vows to each other.

- the offspring, sans marriage vows, are not “godly offspring”

I suppose every marriage has rocky spots from time to time. Don’t take the shortcut of divorce as a solution to hard times because the times will just get harder for you. Work out your problems and stay true to your vows and God will be happy with you.

The ones who live together and produce ungodly offspring without marriage (you are not “one”) don’t even begin to realize how much better their lives would be if they invited God into the relationship. If nothing else do it for your children because they are innocent and deserve better.

Live and walk by faith and you won’t be sorry.

The Agony of a Lost Child

One of the most devastating things for a parent is to raise a child to be a Christian and then see that child reject Christianity once they leave home.

Let me also suggest that the same scenario can also be a blessing. As humbling as that event is and the associated feeling of “where did we go wrong” we can be blessed by having a wayward child.

How so? because that spiritual tragedy can transform us into being more compassionate for others in the exact same situation. And that spiritual quality of compassion is exactly what is needed among leaders in the congregation. We learn through pain.

Sometimes when we have children who have never wavered in their faith it can foster a sense of spiritual arrogance and spiritual superiority (whether intended or not)

Some feel that if an Elder has a child who falls away that the Elder must resign his position because he has failed in leading his own family and therefore cannot lead God’s family.

Contrariwise, in my opinion, he becomes a better Elder because of the wayward child… more humble, more compassionate, more prayerful in agony and doubt. To judge an Elder in that situation would be like “twisting the knife” to make him feel the pain more exquisitely.

Peter apparently had no children (that we know of) who fell away. But Peter did himself “fall away” when he rejected our Lord and Savior.

Jesus did not give up on Peter and choose another disciple to replace him because Peter needed to fall away to curb his spiritual arrogance and become the humble leader he was destined to be.

If Peter could fall away even for a short time then anyone can. Jesus lifted Peter up out of his spiritual agony. Can we do any less?

Questions and Observations Concerning the Canon of the Old Testament

I’ve been doing a little study on how we got the canon of the Old Testament. Of course it was a work in progress as the nation of Israel progressed over the centuries… a thousand years or so.

First the “Torah" (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were accepted as the “Old Testament”. Around 3,000 years ago. Then over the course of time the “Prophet’s” and “Other Writings” were included into the Jewish canon of the Old Testament.

The final canon of the Old Testament was determined by Jewish Rabbi’s in the second century AD and adopted by Christians into the Christian Bible.

Here is my question… why would Christians accept a canon of the Old Testament as determined by a cursed people who God had rejected?

Perhaps we should let Jesus determine the canon of the Old Testament. If so he only quoted or alluded to 24 of the 39 accepted Old Testament books.

If we let the whole of the New Testament define the canon of the Old Testament then there are 12 books of the Old Testament that are never directly quoted from in the New Testament… those are Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Obadiah and Zephaniah.

If we let the writings of early church Fathers identify the Old Testament canon then the list of books goes far beyond what is currently accepted.

Whether we let Jewish Rabbi's, Jesus, New Testament writers or early church fathers determine the canon of the Old Testament...

The study of the canon of the Old Testament and how we got it is a very interesting study and in my opinion vital to the development of the Bible student. As lovers of God and as Christians lets study everything we can but especially what Jesus and the writers of the NewTestament considered important enough to reference.

Concerns with the Book of Job

I have some issues with the “Book of Job”. Many experts believe that Job was written after the captivity and its purpose was to encourage the captive people. Here are my concerns…

First the idea that God would even negotiate with Satan and allow Satan to persecute the faithful. That negotiation makes God complicit with Satan’s actions. That’s a big deal.

During Jesus’ 40 day fasting and trial with Satan, Jesus didn’t give an inch and confronted Satan with scripture like “It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” God could have used that very same scripture with Satan.

Secondly, God had promised the faithful that he would reward those who kept the covenant with prosperity, numerous descendants, freedom from disease, abundant crops and livestock. The inspired text said that Job was “perfect and upright turned away from evil”

If so, Job should have never experienced those curses and woes because Job held up his end of the bargain. He was perfectly righteous.

Thirdly, if God gave permission for Satan to persecute Job and kill/murder his family. God then bears some responsibility because Satan could not have done what he did without God’s permission.

Fourthly, that Job’s beloved family and his feelings for them could be assuaged by God by simply replacing them with others.

These issues cause me to wonder about the veracity of the Book of Job. Especially when I consider 1Timothy 1:4…

“Neither give heed to (jewish) fables and endless genealogies…”

Is God truly a negotiator with Satan, a covenant breaker, complicit with murder and cavalier when it comes to replacing families?

Or could the “Book of Job” be a Jewish myth designed by men and accepted by Jewish Rabbis to give captive and persecuted Jews hope?

Loving Each Other and How to Build Social Relationships

This morning in our middle school Bible class we talked about “loving each other” which obviously implies a social relationship.

I identified for them one of the greatest impediments to social relationships… the iPhone. The other day I walked by our waiting room at work and all the people were staring at their iPhones and not engaging with one another.

We have been talking about how to meet visitors and other strangers and how to get to know them better. I asked one of the students how he would greet a stranger. He said he would shake hands and introduce himself. That certainly is a start but is the bare minimum of greeting.

- shake hands… not the cold fish hand shake but a warm and vigorous hand shake like you mean it. show a little emotion in your facial expressions, certainly a smile (not a sardonic grin) but also emotionally react with other facial features as they are engaging you. People love emotions and are a way of connecting.

- As you are talking use your hands and employ body language. Non-verbal communication can be impactful. Uncomfortable talking? Don’t know what to say? Ask questions and let the other person do the talking. People like to talk about themselves.

- Don’t be afraid to add a little humor. Sometimes I can’t understand what people say when they tell me their name so I just make up a name that sounds like what they say. One of Lauren’s friends introduced himself to me and I thought he said his name was “Dave” I said… do they ever call you “Super Dave” Turns out his name was not Dave after all but I still call him Super Dave.

- Sometimes when someone is about to introduce themselves to me I say something like… I’m pretty good at guessing names… let me give it a try. Is your name “Barney” That certainly takes away the predictability of a greeting.

- Or sometimes I try to guess what someones occupation is just by looking at them. I study on it for a few seconds and say… Mortician? If someone gives me a hard hand shake I’ll ask them if they milk cows for a living.

- If they respond by asking me what my occupation is I might say something like “Internationally famous brain surgeon” or “Used carpet salesman” However most people are not socially developed and won’t do the favor of asking what your profession is.

- above all one needs to have confidence and become the master in all social situations and look at those situations as a challenge. Of course that only comes with practice and experience.

We “love each other” by caring enough to try to get to know each other and by learning about each other. I asked my class to share with each other one thing about themselves. We have one who loves to play basketball, one who loves cats, one who likes to draw pictures of deer, one who plays soccer and one who loves reading.

My goal in the middle school class is to not only teach the Bible but also to build up their relationships with each other and me. Not the social relationship with an iPhone.

Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet

Consider how Jesus taught about service…

- He didn’t tell them to wash each others feet. He demonstrated it. A picture is worth a thousand words.

- He didn’t assign the job to his least favorite disciple (Judas) to punish him and he didn’t assign it to the disciple He loved (John). He also didn’t assign the job to Peter to learn humility because he was going to teach it to Peter in a different way. He did it himself.

- Jesus even washed the feet of perhaps his greatest enemy… Judas. And I’m guessing that he thoroughly washed Judas’ feet. What an unforgettable lesson to demonstrate to us all to “love” our enemies.

- Consider the timing of this event. He could have washed their feet at any time during his ministry but he did it just prior to his betrayal. Extremely impactful and burned into their memories.

Actions can be more powerful than words. Whatever lessons you may want to teach (respect, love, hospitality, truthfulness, forgiveness, dedication, hard work) demonstrate them first in your own life.

Words without actions are like a car without wheels… they won’t ever leave the garage.