Psalm 71:24
All day long I will announce your power to save. I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed those who wanted to hurt me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Twisting words has become common practice in today’s politics… or maybe we are just more keenly aware of this because of social media and the Internet. At any rate, something of a sport has been made from taking a comment and repeating it out of context in order to make a particular point. One example I noticed in the last couple of days was a post circulating on Facebook that says people are complaining about a new gold-medal Olympian from the United States, because she gives the credit to God so often. The implication is that only one particular political party is complaining about her “Christian” behavior… and the “Christians” belong to the other party (not the party that is complaining)!
Another campaign-related post showed two people praying over a meal in a restaurant and implied that a particular candidate was going to preserve our “freedom to pray if we so choose.” Is anyone really thinking about this? We can pray anywhere, anytime! This caption did not say, “…freedom to pray in a public restaurant, out loud, with our heads bent over.” Do we really believe that God only hears the prayers that make a public scene?
We like to do this with scripture verses, too. We quote the Bible in a context that suits our needs at the present time and give little to no regard to what was really being said in a particular scripture passage. I have to believe that God is not amused when we use our Christian faith to twist and shape things to suit our needs. I do not mean to single out any one political party or person here. We are all guilty… and we need to stop!
It is time to recognize that our God is so powerful and all-encompassing that He really doesn’t need us putting words in His mouth… or operating as judge and jury on His behalf. He will handle these things perfectly. And our attempts to do this for God only serve to show us up for our lack of faith and confidence in His abilities to get the job done!
Think about it… do un-believers look at these comments and think, “That’s the kind of faith I want! There’s the God I want to serve – One who depends on His children to wield justice on His behalf!” Or do they want a God who says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest. I will show you the truth and how to operate in it… and I will handle anyone who tries to shame or disgrace you.”
I am reminded of the old hymn that says, “I know whom I have believed… and am persuaded that He is able …to keep that which I’ve committed… unto Him against that day.” I am persuaded that God is indeed able to use me when I humble myself to Him… to provide me with His truth to guide me… and to handle any who would dare to try and misconstrue or exploit my witness. And I trust Him to do exactly that. Do you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” – 1883 – Daniel W. Whittle ~ James McGranahan
Showing posts with label interpreting Gods word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interpreting Gods word. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for August 4, 2012
Psalm 37:30
Words of wisdom come when good people speak for justice.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
If you watch any cooking shows or dabble in the kitchen for any length of time, you have either said to yourself – or heard someone say – “The recipe calls for XYZ, but I like to do this or that.” The recipe is not wrong… it just doesn’t work for your taste – or the palate of those whom you plan to serve. Your substitutions and omissions may improve the dish… or have little to no effect at all on the overall quality of the food (like leaving raw onions out of potato salad).
Some cooks are purists. They would never consider deviating from the recipe. Others use it as a loose guide to create something new and wonderful. And unless something goes horribly wrong, the end result is almost never ghastly!
A lot of people are using the Bible like a cookbook or recipe starter. And to some degree, this is not necessarily the wrong approach. I believe God wants us to take His word and truly dig into it… to find out what He is saying to us and how He wants us to apply the scriptures to our daily living. But some people have decided to substitute one word or phrase for another – or to pick and choose what to include and what to omit. Some have taken a particular passage literally without considering its overall context. And God’s word doesn’t work that way!
Am I saying we are should view every single word of the Bible literally? Are we to stop touching pig skin, kill a newborn lamb and never cut our hair? Absolutely not! But neither are we to twist and turn selected scriptures to suit our own agendas… or to suit our personal comfort level.
There are many excellent guides on the Internet for reading through the Bible in 365 days. A lot of them suggest that you read a passage each day from the Old Testament and New Testament – and a Psalm and/or verse from Proverbs. If you do this, you will find many verses in the Old Testament about sacrifices, burnt offerings, and ceremonial worship. You will see how God’s people showed their humility and repentance to Him by killing their best animals and sacrificed the bodies on an altar. This is outlined in great detail in the Old Testament… what, when, where and how to atone to God.
In the New Testament, the coming of Jesus changes everything. No longer do we have to kill our best calf to show repentance to God for our sin. We don’t have to perform complex rituals for atonement and purification. The focus is no longer on ceremonies and eating the right food at the right time in order to please God. In Colossians 2:20-23, we read… “You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, ‘Don’t handle this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.’? After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.”
Here’s the problem… many Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe or use for justification on any given day – much like a cook puts in or takes out the raw onions or another ingredient in a recipe. The difference between the cook and the Christian is that “selectiveness” in our faith DOES make a huge difference. Do not misunderstand me… the Old Testament is extremely important, and we must not toss it to the curb as outdated and no longer relevant. But if we go back and pick out ANY scripture passage to justify our opinion on something and do not consider its context or how it functions alongside the rest of God’s word, we may very well be operating in untruth and injustice.
How do you know what is true? How can you figure out who to trust? After all, people who claim to be faith-filled Christians are continually telling us exactly what the Bible says and how we should believe. Shouldn’t we listen? For me, the answer is yes, no… and maybe. I believe that there are plenty of fair, honest and genuine Christians who operate from a place of justice and responsibility… believers who study the scripture, communicate with God and sincerely ask Him, “LORD, what do you mean by this? What are you telling me?” I believe these people make their decisions and serve God honorably from a place of heartfelt worship and obedience. And at the end of the day, I believe these people operate fully in the love and kindness of Jesus Christ - a deep and abiding desire to love others as God loves us… to live in a way that His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness shine through… and they leave the judgment and justice to God.
Look around. These people exist. You will have to sort and sift through a lot of friends and acquaintances who claim to be Christians but often behave in a way that is anything but Christ-like. Finding honest, sincere, wise and genuine Christian friends and mentors will be worth the effort. You’re not seeking someone who thinks like you do… you’re seeking the truth. The “Christian recipe” calls for heavy measures of love, kindness, compassion, wisdom in the LORD, integrity, loyalty, sincerity, and honesty, among other things. This is one recipe we don’t want to alter!
I want God’s truth for my life as much as the next person. I am continually seeking His direction. My prayer is that I would always offer others the truth… and an example of living faithfully in the wisdom and commandments of Jesus… with a heavy dose of justice and fairness. I’ve had a few epic fails in the kitchen… but when it comes to “cooking for Jesus,” I want to offer a solid dish… don’t you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Words of wisdom come when good people speak for justice.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
If you watch any cooking shows or dabble in the kitchen for any length of time, you have either said to yourself – or heard someone say – “The recipe calls for XYZ, but I like to do this or that.” The recipe is not wrong… it just doesn’t work for your taste – or the palate of those whom you plan to serve. Your substitutions and omissions may improve the dish… or have little to no effect at all on the overall quality of the food (like leaving raw onions out of potato salad).
Some cooks are purists. They would never consider deviating from the recipe. Others use it as a loose guide to create something new and wonderful. And unless something goes horribly wrong, the end result is almost never ghastly!
A lot of people are using the Bible like a cookbook or recipe starter. And to some degree, this is not necessarily the wrong approach. I believe God wants us to take His word and truly dig into it… to find out what He is saying to us and how He wants us to apply the scriptures to our daily living. But some people have decided to substitute one word or phrase for another – or to pick and choose what to include and what to omit. Some have taken a particular passage literally without considering its overall context. And God’s word doesn’t work that way!
Am I saying we are should view every single word of the Bible literally? Are we to stop touching pig skin, kill a newborn lamb and never cut our hair? Absolutely not! But neither are we to twist and turn selected scriptures to suit our own agendas… or to suit our personal comfort level.
There are many excellent guides on the Internet for reading through the Bible in 365 days. A lot of them suggest that you read a passage each day from the Old Testament and New Testament – and a Psalm and/or verse from Proverbs. If you do this, you will find many verses in the Old Testament about sacrifices, burnt offerings, and ceremonial worship. You will see how God’s people showed their humility and repentance to Him by killing their best animals and sacrificed the bodies on an altar. This is outlined in great detail in the Old Testament… what, when, where and how to atone to God.
In the New Testament, the coming of Jesus changes everything. No longer do we have to kill our best calf to show repentance to God for our sin. We don’t have to perform complex rituals for atonement and purification. The focus is no longer on ceremonies and eating the right food at the right time in order to please God. In Colossians 2:20-23, we read… “You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, ‘Don’t handle this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.’? After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.”
Here’s the problem… many Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe or use for justification on any given day – much like a cook puts in or takes out the raw onions or another ingredient in a recipe. The difference between the cook and the Christian is that “selectiveness” in our faith DOES make a huge difference. Do not misunderstand me… the Old Testament is extremely important, and we must not toss it to the curb as outdated and no longer relevant. But if we go back and pick out ANY scripture passage to justify our opinion on something and do not consider its context or how it functions alongside the rest of God’s word, we may very well be operating in untruth and injustice.
How do you know what is true? How can you figure out who to trust? After all, people who claim to be faith-filled Christians are continually telling us exactly what the Bible says and how we should believe. Shouldn’t we listen? For me, the answer is yes, no… and maybe. I believe that there are plenty of fair, honest and genuine Christians who operate from a place of justice and responsibility… believers who study the scripture, communicate with God and sincerely ask Him, “LORD, what do you mean by this? What are you telling me?” I believe these people make their decisions and serve God honorably from a place of heartfelt worship and obedience. And at the end of the day, I believe these people operate fully in the love and kindness of Jesus Christ - a deep and abiding desire to love others as God loves us… to live in a way that His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness shine through… and they leave the judgment and justice to God.
Look around. These people exist. You will have to sort and sift through a lot of friends and acquaintances who claim to be Christians but often behave in a way that is anything but Christ-like. Finding honest, sincere, wise and genuine Christian friends and mentors will be worth the effort. You’re not seeking someone who thinks like you do… you’re seeking the truth. The “Christian recipe” calls for heavy measures of love, kindness, compassion, wisdom in the LORD, integrity, loyalty, sincerity, and honesty, among other things. This is one recipe we don’t want to alter!
I want God’s truth for my life as much as the next person. I am continually seeking His direction. My prayer is that I would always offer others the truth… and an example of living faithfully in the wisdom and commandments of Jesus… with a heavy dose of justice and fairness. I’ve had a few epic fails in the kitchen… but when it comes to “cooking for Jesus,” I want to offer a solid dish… don’t you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for June 24, 2012
June 24 ~ Acts 2:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Scripture taken from the The King James Version present on BibleGateway.com, which matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.
This morning I visited my grandmother at her Assisted Living Facility. She wanted to go outside and sit on the porch, but it was already 93 degrees in the shade, so I suggested we go to the dining room. “Would you like to hear me play some hymns?” I asked. “YES!” she said enthusiastically. I positioned her beside the piano in the dining room and began to play some of her favorites. Soon, several residents had joined us, and one lady sang virtually every hymn I played. She sang strongly and knew all the words. I tried to play each hymn through at least twice to give her time to really recognize it and sing along.
As I played the hymns, I considered how some of them remind me of Holy Communion, as they are often played during this service. “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds,” and “Faith of Our Fathers” come to mind as some of the “Communion hymns” I recall. So I asked my grandmother, “Would you be interested in taking Communion again?” The answer was “Yes!” and I talked with her and a table-mate, who belongs to my church, about receiving Holy Communion.
When I rose to leave, a man at a nearby table motioned for me to come to him. He asked, “If you are going to have Communion, are you going to serve it once a week, like the Bible says?” Another man at his table looked at him, perplexed, and said, “Where does it say that in the Bible?” The first man said he didn’t know the exact verse, but the Bible says that they gathered once a week at the church to “break bread.” “What else could that mean?” he asked. Man #2 and I almost simultaneously replied, “… to share a meal!” I can’t repeat what Man #1 said to that, but it was not nice… and he was not happy! I wished them a good day and left, feeling like I might have started a religious World War III!
After I got home, I did some Google searches for Bible translations of the phrase “break bread” – and the Greek meaning of these words. I discovered several websites that address this very question, but I particularly liked this one… http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx168.htm ... check it out if you like. I don’t know the author, Al Maxey - a Church of Christ pastor in New Mexico - but he addresses several verses in Acts that refer to the breaking of bread. He notes that many newer translations have decided that this means “Holy Communion.”
But Maxey concludes: "Thus, are we reading back into the text what we want it to say, or need it to say, in order to fit our practice?!" Sadly, I think that is very often exactly what is taking place…we impose our theology upon the text, rather than drawing our theology from the text.
The blunt reality is -- and many seem very reluctant to face this -- we simply have insufficient data with regard to the phrase "breaking bread" to insist upon any one interpretation or practice over another. Yes, we all have our personal convictions, and that is good. We have also embraced certain traditional practices based upon those shared convictions, and that also is fine. What we must never do, however, is assume that all those who differ with us are godless wretches with dishonest motives and darkened hearts who are bound straight for the torments of hell. This is the perspective of militant factionists and sectarians, and does not reflect the spirit of Christ Jesus. We need to rise above such ignorance and ignominy.
We are children of God ... we can do better than that! Love demands it; Unity demands it; our Witness to the world demands it. May God help us all to live and love outside the guarded gates of our dogma, for when we do so we enjoy the blessings of the expanded parameters of God's household of faith. ‘Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread’ (1 Cor. 10:17).”
I could not say this any better. We twist and turn the words of the Bible to suit our needs and our circumstances… and “breaking bread” is the tip of the iceberg! And as Rev. Maxey says, we are not serving as the hands and feet of Jesus by doing this! I honestly don’t believe that God is keeping a count of how frequently we take Holy Communion… particularly in comparison to how we behave the rest of the time! This experience reminded me to check my own thoughts and actions and see where I might be putting my desires and influences on God’s word for my life, rather than truly hearing what He is saying to me. I probably should do this more frequently… and I would invite you to do the same.
©2012 Debbie Robus
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Scripture taken from the The King James Version present on BibleGateway.com, which matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.
This morning I visited my grandmother at her Assisted Living Facility. She wanted to go outside and sit on the porch, but it was already 93 degrees in the shade, so I suggested we go to the dining room. “Would you like to hear me play some hymns?” I asked. “YES!” she said enthusiastically. I positioned her beside the piano in the dining room and began to play some of her favorites. Soon, several residents had joined us, and one lady sang virtually every hymn I played. She sang strongly and knew all the words. I tried to play each hymn through at least twice to give her time to really recognize it and sing along.
As I played the hymns, I considered how some of them remind me of Holy Communion, as they are often played during this service. “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds,” and “Faith of Our Fathers” come to mind as some of the “Communion hymns” I recall. So I asked my grandmother, “Would you be interested in taking Communion again?” The answer was “Yes!” and I talked with her and a table-mate, who belongs to my church, about receiving Holy Communion.
When I rose to leave, a man at a nearby table motioned for me to come to him. He asked, “If you are going to have Communion, are you going to serve it once a week, like the Bible says?” Another man at his table looked at him, perplexed, and said, “Where does it say that in the Bible?” The first man said he didn’t know the exact verse, but the Bible says that they gathered once a week at the church to “break bread.” “What else could that mean?” he asked. Man #2 and I almost simultaneously replied, “… to share a meal!” I can’t repeat what Man #1 said to that, but it was not nice… and he was not happy! I wished them a good day and left, feeling like I might have started a religious World War III!
After I got home, I did some Google searches for Bible translations of the phrase “break bread” – and the Greek meaning of these words. I discovered several websites that address this very question, but I particularly liked this one… http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx168.htm ... check it out if you like. I don’t know the author, Al Maxey - a Church of Christ pastor in New Mexico - but he addresses several verses in Acts that refer to the breaking of bread. He notes that many newer translations have decided that this means “Holy Communion.”
But Maxey concludes: "Thus, are we reading back into the text what we want it to say, or need it to say, in order to fit our practice?!" Sadly, I think that is very often exactly what is taking place…we impose our theology upon the text, rather than drawing our theology from the text.
The blunt reality is -- and many seem very reluctant to face this -- we simply have insufficient data with regard to the phrase "breaking bread" to insist upon any one interpretation or practice over another. Yes, we all have our personal convictions, and that is good. We have also embraced certain traditional practices based upon those shared convictions, and that also is fine. What we must never do, however, is assume that all those who differ with us are godless wretches with dishonest motives and darkened hearts who are bound straight for the torments of hell. This is the perspective of militant factionists and sectarians, and does not reflect the spirit of Christ Jesus. We need to rise above such ignorance and ignominy.
We are children of God ... we can do better than that! Love demands it; Unity demands it; our Witness to the world demands it. May God help us all to live and love outside the guarded gates of our dogma, for when we do so we enjoy the blessings of the expanded parameters of God's household of faith. ‘Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread’ (1 Cor. 10:17).”
I could not say this any better. We twist and turn the words of the Bible to suit our needs and our circumstances… and “breaking bread” is the tip of the iceberg! And as Rev. Maxey says, we are not serving as the hands and feet of Jesus by doing this! I honestly don’t believe that God is keeping a count of how frequently we take Holy Communion… particularly in comparison to how we behave the rest of the time! This experience reminded me to check my own thoughts and actions and see where I might be putting my desires and influences on God’s word for my life, rather than truly hearing what He is saying to me. I probably should do this more frequently… and I would invite you to do the same.
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for May 2, 2012
May 2 ~ Ephesians 4:14
We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Please pardon my rather gross analogy today, but when I was teaching kindergarten, a fellow teacher used to tell our 5-year-olds, “Stop picking your nose… you’ll poke out your eye!” Apparently, many of the children believed she was telling the truth. Of course, as they grew older, I’m sure more than a few figured out that this truly would not happen. But the young students, eager to trust their teacher, took her admonishment to heart!
So many of us are like children when it comes to our faith… but not always in a good way. We trust others to tell us God’s truth instead of discovering Him for ourselves. We take the word of men and women – often well-meaning souls – who have decided that “this is what it says in the Bible,” which translates into… “this is what you ought to believe!” So some of us grow up in our faith believing certain interpretations created by man are actually literal scripture references. Sometimes we discover the true word of God in these situations and change our way of thinking… and sometimes we cling to these falsehoods and make them part of our own witness.
We can’t put words in God’s mouth… and we cannot merely accept the word of other “teachers” about what He says. We have to dig deeply on our own and discover God’s message for us. We can stay children who fear poking our eye out, or we can grow up and get to truly know God and what He desires for us.
It’s up to each one of us to decide whether we will stand in confidence that we have heard from God… or whether we will let others toss us about like the wind. Where do you stand today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Please pardon my rather gross analogy today, but when I was teaching kindergarten, a fellow teacher used to tell our 5-year-olds, “Stop picking your nose… you’ll poke out your eye!” Apparently, many of the children believed she was telling the truth. Of course, as they grew older, I’m sure more than a few figured out that this truly would not happen. But the young students, eager to trust their teacher, took her admonishment to heart!
So many of us are like children when it comes to our faith… but not always in a good way. We trust others to tell us God’s truth instead of discovering Him for ourselves. We take the word of men and women – often well-meaning souls – who have decided that “this is what it says in the Bible,” which translates into… “this is what you ought to believe!” So some of us grow up in our faith believing certain interpretations created by man are actually literal scripture references. Sometimes we discover the true word of God in these situations and change our way of thinking… and sometimes we cling to these falsehoods and make them part of our own witness.
We can’t put words in God’s mouth… and we cannot merely accept the word of other “teachers” about what He says. We have to dig deeply on our own and discover God’s message for us. We can stay children who fear poking our eye out, or we can grow up and get to truly know God and what He desires for us.
It’s up to each one of us to decide whether we will stand in confidence that we have heard from God… or whether we will let others toss us about like the wind. Where do you stand today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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