Missional Mindset

This coming Sunday I will be continuing my series called "DNA: The Building Blocks of Life" with a study on Mission.

Check out this video of Tim Keller discussing characteristics of missional Christians and missional churches:

 

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments and let me know what you think.

Cultivation

I recently read a quote:

"The greatest soil, uncultivated, produces the rankest weeds"

How true is that? Lately I have been all the more impressed with the importance and great need for cultivation. In marriage, in relationships, in individuals' skill-sets and giftings, and many other areas.

Many people speak about the virtues of "organic growth," with the underlying insinuation that the best thing to do is let things grow naturally rather than trying to manipulate them. That sounds nice at first, but think it through: what happens to a garden when you let it grow "organically"? WEEDS! And the better the soil, the ranker the weeds will have the potential to be!

What God shows us, as usual, is not just a better way, but the BEST way. And His way is cultivation. Cultivation is what a gardener does; it is helping things to grow "organically", in the way that you want them to grow. Cultivation includes pulling out weeds and pruning plants, to help foster the best "organic" growth possible.

The first image we get of God in the Bible is of Him as a creator, creating good things, and doing it well. And when He creates the Earth, what we see is a garden planet, teeming with life. And God plants a special garden and places man and woman in it, and assigns them the task of cultivating that garden! Their job is to "subdue" the Earth, which rather than exploitation of natural resources, means the cultivation of them for the flourishing of LIFE.

So, God is a gardener, and He has created us in His image, and given us the task of gardening and cultivating that which he has given us. Cultivation is the means by which we are faithful with what God has given us; and as we are faithful to cultivate the things He has entrusted us with, He will entrust us with more (Matthew 25:21).

Cultivation means constant work. A lot like tending a garden. If you tend it regularly, it is not overwhelming; in fact, it is enjoyable. But if you neglect it, you are often left with great messes, and it takes much more work to get things back into a healthy state.

Cultivate your walk with God. Cultivate your marriage and family life. Cultivate your talents and giftings. Be intentional. Be a gardener and not a firefighter. Plan, build, plant, tend, water. So many people only engage when there is a crisis - which ironically is a contributing factor to the crises they end up facing: neglect and failure to cultivate can organically lead to weeds. We live in a world in which things left to themselves naturally go from order to chaos.

Cultivation is about facilitating and enabling healthy, organic growth - but growth in the right directions, and growth of the right kind. That's what we want in our lives and relationships! And it takes cultivation.

Lost in Translation

I have been studying ancient Greek for school for the past 2 semesters, and really enjoying it. I expected it to be difficult, but was pleasantly surprised by a few things that took the edge off. One was that there are many words that we use in English that have Greek roots - eg "foto" = light, so many times you can deduce meanings. Another reason Greek hasn't been as bad as I expected, is that there are many similarities between Greek and Hungarian grammar as regards verb conjugation.

Yesterday I was doing a word study on μαθητευω (to disciple, as a first person verb), and ran across this commentary of Matthew 28:19-20, which I found insightful:

Interestingly, the usual misionary terms are not employed here: ‘preach’, ‘convert’, ‘win’, and the like. A slower, lower-profile verb is used, an almost scholastic, schoolish word, ‘disciple’. To disciple means ‘to make students of’, ‘bring to school’, ‘educate’... or in modern-Enlish terms, ‘to mentor’, ‘to apprentice’. The word pictures students sitting around a teacher more than it does pentitents kneeling at an altar – an educational process more than an evangelistic crisis, a school more than revival. The word’s prosaic character relaxes and says in effect, ‘Work with people over a period of time in the simple educational process of teaching Jesus’. Only the Cosmocrator can do the big things like convert, win, bring repentance, or bring a person to decision – all authority is his, and his alone...(Brunner, F.D., Matthew: A Commentary: 2, revised edn. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004], 815)

The calling is that of teaching people the way that Jesus taught his disciples: spending time with them and teaching them what it means to walk in the way of Jesus.

 

The Comprehensive Gospel

This past Sunday at White Fields I preached on Galatians chapter 3 and how the Gospel is not just how you become a Christian, it is also the means by which we grow as Christians. The Gospel is not just the ABC of the Christian life, but it is the A-Z of the Christian life.

What often happens in the church is that we are good at preaching the Gospel of grace to the unconverted, but as soon as someone receives Jesus we give them a form of the Law - "Do this, don't do that." This is precisely what Paul was referring to when he said: "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3)

Rather than giving people the law as a means to grow, the model that Paul exemplifies to us is pointing people to the Gospel in order to change their hearts. The law aims to suppress behaviors, but that doesn't bring about the heart change which is at the root of the behavior. The Gospel on the other hand is the power of God, by to bring about fundamental transformation of the heart. If one's heart changes, their behavior will inevitably follow.

I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about this teaching. Give it a listen:

 

Should Pastors Tithe?

I am a pastor. I tithe. I'm not telling you that to stroke my ego - I'm bringing it up, because over the years I have known a lot of people in vocational ministry (pastors, missionaries and other Christian servants who live off of donations) - and the question comes up from time to time of whether or not they should tithe, since the money that was given to them to live off of is from other people's tithes and donations.

Reading through the Book of Numbers the other day, I ran across this:

So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest. (Numbers 18:28 ESV)

This was written to the Levites - the priestly tribe - who lived off of the tithes of the other tribes. They were required to give a tithe of their income, even though their income was from the offerings of the other tribes.

I also believe that as a pastor I am called to lead by example, even when no one knows about it. This goes for giving, evangelism, and a number of different areas. I truly believe that giving to the work of the Lord is not only God's way of raising money and furthering the Kingdom, it's also his way of raising kids and furthering our spiritual growth - not to mention that it is a privilege. It is a simple fact, that a ministry like the one I'm involved in is constantly struggling with the things we would like to do, but are not able to do because of our limited financial resources.

Is this the Law? I don't believe it is. You don't have to tithe. That won't affect your standing before God. But generosity is a Gospel virtue. So is evangelism. This is how the Apostle Paul encouraged people to give to the work of God: he pointed them to the Gospel.

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:8-9 ESV)

Working Hard or Hardly Working

I am teaching through Galatians these days at White Fields; it's one of my favorite books - I call it the Manifesto of Grace.
And one of the most profound statements in that letter is:

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:21 ESV)

I ran accross this quote in one of my commentaries:

The deepest heresy of all, which corrupts churches, leavens creeds with folly, and swells our human hearts with pride, is salvation by works. "I believe, that the root of every schism and heresy from which the Christian Church has suffered, has been the effort to earn salvation rather than to receive it; and that one reason why preaching is so ineffective is that it calls on men oftener to work for God than to behold God working for them.

- John Ruskin

Now, that's probably not totally true - many of the early schisms in the church, e.g. the Arian controversy, were about the nature of God and the deity of Jesus, but salvation by works is certainly a key Gospel issue, as Paul makes clear.

Excessive Worry

Do you ever worry? If you do, you're not alone.

There is a healthy kind of concern that all people should have who have taken on responsibility, but the Bible warns us against excessive worry.

 

Consider this:

Excessive worry comes when you think you are absolutely sure you know exactly what has to happen... and you are afraid that God won't get it right.

 

God's Word reveals to us who God is: loving. good. all-powerful. all-knowing. providential. transcendent. And one of the results of truly embracing the biblical understanding of who God is, is that you come to the place where you are able to rest from excessive worry because you realize that only your Heavenly Father knows exactly what you need and only your Heavenly Father has the ultimate power to give you what you need. So you come to the point where you say: "I admit that I don't know what's really best for me in the big picture! I don't know what really has to happen! Because I can't see the big picture from my vantage point. But I know that God can! And I do know that God loves me, and God holds all things in His hand and is working out His plan, and He's not going to mess it up."

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(Matthew 6:25-33 ESV)

 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

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Implications of the Incarnation

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 2:5-11

Being God, Jesus also became human. He didn't stop being God, but he took on human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) This is the great doctrine of the incarnation. And the implications of the incarnation are great.

One of the implications of the incarnation is that God met us where we are at, in order to reach us and save us. He came to us to reveal his truth to us, that we might be rescued and redeemed.

That is the model he gave us for reaching out to others in his name: an incarnational model, in which we go to people and reach out to people where they are at, not just waiting for them to come to us, that they might be saved.

Another implication of the incarnation is that both the spiritual and the material world matters to God. Out of all the religions and philosohies of the world, Biblical Christianity is the only one that properly values both the spiritual amd the material. Our God is the one God to whom matter matters. Eastern religion says that matter is an illusion; it is unimportant. In Western religion - Greco-Roman religion - matter is evil and corrupt. In atheistic thinking, the physical is the only thing that matters - and the point of life is just to do what feels good, if that is all there is to life anyway. Jesus, being God, took on human flesh, he cared for people physically and spiritually, he provided redemption for the soul, through his death on the cross, and for the body, through his resurrection as the first-fruits of those who would be raised from the dead in a glorified body. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

The incarnation means that Christianity cares about evangelism and saving souls AND about caring for people's physical needs, because God became a man, and he cares about our WHOLE lives: both the physical and the spiritual.

Another implication of the incarnation is that because God became a man, he understands you. He knows what you're going through, and you can go to him. Hebrews 4:15-16 says: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Have you been betrayed? He's been betrayed.

Have you been lonely? He's been lonely. Are you facing death? He's faced death. In fact, he died! Have you had a prayer turned down? He had a prayer turned down!

The incarnatiom means that he has been here, he knows what it's like, and he is ready and able to for you to turn to him in whatever you're going through.

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Just and the Justifier

Read this again tonight - such a wonderful text about Christ, the just and the justifier:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
(Romans 3:21-26 ESV)

Plotlines

Sometime, once I have finished teaching through Genesis on Sundays at White Fields I would like to do a sermon series on the plot lines that run throughout the entirety of the Bible.

For example, I taught a sermon a few weeks ago titled "A Tale of Three Trees", about how really the Bible, the Gospel, is a story of three trees: the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of Calvary. We started in a garden with 2 trees, but we were separated from the tree of life when we sinned at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but because of what God did for us through Jesus on the tree of Calvary we can get back to the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, as seem in the final chapter of Revelation, where it says hat no longer will anything be accursed and the leaves of that tree will be for the healing of the nations. So there it is: the Gospel - we were created for perfection, created to live forever, cursed to death and corruption because of sin, but the message of the cross is the hope of redemption and restoration available exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ.

I didn't even get to talk about a few other important trees in the Bible, such as the tree that was thrown into the bitter water of Meribah (Numbers 20) which made it sweet - another foreshadowing of the Cross! Not to mention the tree planted by the water in Psalm 1 - which ties into another amazing plot line: The River!

There was a river that flowed through the garden of Eden, there will be a river that flows from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem, where the tree of life will be. Ezekiel prophesied about a temple that would be in Jerusalem, which is yet to be built... Zechariah said that when the Messiah comes he will put his feet down on Jerusalem and it will split in half and a river will flow out of it. This river, according to Ezekiel will give life wherever it flows, and it will split and part of it will flow into the Dead Sea, and the Dead Sea will come to life with fish and other living creatures, i.e. the Dead Sea will resurrect from the dead! And actually, this was probably what Jesus was alluding to in John 7, when on the last day of the festival as they poured the pitcher of water out on the dry ground, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" He said this standing in Jerusalem, in the place where Ezekiel had prophesied that a river would flow giving life to everything it touched! How amazing is that?

There are other plot lines of the Bible: the story of the Lamb that runs throughout the Bible, the picture of the Rock which is both a foundation, a refuge and even is struck and water flows out giving life to the people. Aother is the picture of bread found over and over in the Bible, and there are more.

Are there any plot lines of the Bible that your personal favorites? Any I didn't mention here?

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Thoughts on the Providence of God

Maybe it's just me, but it has often been my experience that victories and progress are coupled with setbacks and difficulties. I used to say in Eger, that I always felt that the way the ministry moved and grew was "two steps forward, one step back". God's Word tells us that the promised land - the land of blessing and victory, the place of taking hold of the things that God has given us in Christ - is a land of hills and valleys. And in the promised land there were still battles that needed to be fought and enemies to wage war against. But of course, the important thing to remember is that the hills and the valleys were both placed there by The Lord and that he has a purpose with the hills, the valleys and the battles that we must fight. He wants to accomplish something greater than just our comfort. He wants to produce the fruit of godly character in us.

I started teaching the story of Joseph this past Sunday at White Fields. The main doctrine that really summarizes Joseph's life is the doctrine of providence. Providence means that when God seems absent and silent, that is often times when he is doing his most profound work. It means that with God, silence is not absence and hiddenness is not impotence. Providence means that God is working all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Part of Joseph's story is that he begged to not be sold into slavery in Egypt, but God did not answer his prayer. But, what we know now is that if Joseph had not gone down to Egypt, everyone would have died -including him. And even more tragically, the Messianic line would have died out. There was no way Joseph could have understood the reason why God did not answer his prayer and save him from the terrible thing his brothers were doing to him. But Joseph is exemplary because he chose to trust in the loving kindness of The Lord, and he chose to trust in The Lord. He walked by faith and not by sight.

The story never tells us if Joseph ever lost heart or got bummed out, or questioned why God allowed this bad thing to happen. All we know is that later on, when he became a powerful person in Egypt, he was able to look back and see the hand of The Lord in everything that had happened to him - both being sold into slavery by his brothers, and being lied about and wrongfully imprisoned in Egypt.

I want to be a person like Joseph who walks by faith in the providence of God. Don't you? Lord, have your way in me, and may I produce much fruit for your glory and your pleasure.

Here's that teaching from this past Sunday if you are interested:

 

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Recycling and Theology

We live in Boulder county, which means that most people here don't go to church, but everyone recycles!

We love recycling, especially since we watched a documentary about the huge island of trash swirling around in the Pacific, with plastics decomposing and being eaten by fish which then go into our food supply...

Many Christians make the case for not being concerned about stewardship of the planet because if Jesus is coming back soon, and the Earth will be destroyed, then what are we protecting it for?

However, I really like having clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, and not having garbage strewn all over the Rocky Mountains, and I'm happy to do my part. I certainly appreciate the fruits of the conservation movement in Colorado with large parts of God's majestic creation being preserved for people to enjoy, and repopulating wild animal populations. I believe that as we see in the beginning of Genesis, God created the world as a garden for man, for his use and enjoyment, and for his stewardship for as long as it was entrusted to his care.

Here's what Mark Driscoll has to say about recycling - kinda sums it up:

"We believe in recycling. We’re all for it. But you’ll die and go to hell with a green garbage can filled with newspapers if you don’t love Jesus."

 

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New Year Musings

This was originally posted on the White Fields Church Blog

New Year is kind of a strange holiday, don't you think? I mean, what are we really celebrating? We are not celebrating a great event of history that changed the world, like we do at Christmas and Easter. All we are really celebrating is that we ran out of days on our calendar, and now we need to start a new one!

But the value of the new year is that it gives us a gauge to measure by, it gives us perspective, and perspective helps us to see things more clearly. It also gives us a sense of a new beginning, a fresh start. As Christians, the good news of God's grace is that it means that every day can be a new beginning. Grace is a deep well that we can draw from every day.

I don't know if you are in the habit of making New Year's resolutions. I'm not - but instead I sit down at the beginning of each year and ask myself a couple of questions:

1. What are the things in my life that I have been doing that I need to repent of?
2. What are the humanly impossible prayers that I am praying this year?

I would encourage you to ask these questions of yourself as well!The reason raising questions like these is beneficial is because they help you to be intentional. If you don't know where you are going, it's really hard to get there!

Over the past few years I have made sure to write down my answers to these questions, and it has been interesting looking back over them and seeing how God has answered prayers that I considered 'humanly impossible' at the time I started praying them! I can honestly say that without exception, each one has been answered, and each year that has encouraged me to ask for even bigger, even more seemingly 'impossible' things. We have a big God, with whom all things are possible (Mark 10:27) - a God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20).

I believe that God has many good things in store for White Fields in 2013. May this new year be blessed for you and characterized by a great measure of grace and a closer walk with God.

Many blessings,

Pastor Nick

 

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Simply Christian

I am currently studying the Reformation in my seminary studies, and the other day I read this quote from Martin Luther:

"I ask that men make no reference to my name; let them call themselves Christians, not Lutherans. What is Luther? After all the teaching is not mine [John 7: 16]. Neither was I crucified for anyone [1 Corinthians 1: 13]. St Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, would not allow the Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I – poor stinking maggot-fodder that I am – come to have men call the children of Christ by my wretched name? Not so, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names and call ourselves Christians, after him whose teaching we hold." (LW 45: 70–1)

Amen to that Dr. Luther.

Theological Statements by Nate

Looking up at the sky the other night, Nate tells me:

"The moon is in the sky. That means that all the people in heaven are sleeping."

"God is so big, so he always has to sleep outside."

Religious Toleration

From Timothy Keller:

Theological tolerance of all religions is absolutely impossible for anybody.

If you say: "You mustn't try to convert people to your religion," as if your religion is superior, what you are really saying is: "I want you to abandon your inferior view of religious truth and take my superior view".

You are essentially saying that your view of religious truth (that all religious truths are relative) is superior to my view of religious truth (that some religious truths are absolute).

You are doing the very thing you say that I shouldn't do.

Everyone has faith commitments. Believing that someone else's faith is wrong is itself a faith commitment.

You are saying - "My view of religion is superior to your view of religion".

Therefore, to say that all religions are relative is a faith commitment - that is a religion, and it is now vying with the other ones, AND is vying for superiority.

To say that you can't judge between religions is to judge between religions. To say that you can't determine between right and wrong beliefs is to determine right and wrong beliefs.

Archeological Proof of the Kingdom of David

One thing I love about the Bible is that as time goes on, and as more and more archeological work is done, archeological discoveries confirm the historicity of the Bible.

One of the most famous such discoveries was the discovery of the ruins of a great Hittite civilization in Turkey. The Bible mentioned the Hittites as a great and powerful nation, but because no reference to them was found outside of the Bible and no remains of a great Hittite civilization had be found, the Hittites were used as an example of how the Bible was not historically accurate....UNTIL the Hittite capital and records were unearthed in Bogazkoy, Turkey in the early 20th century, and it was found that the Biblical descriptions of them really were accurate.

Another claim that has been brought against the historicity of the Bible is that there is very little historical record of the Kingdom of David mentioned in the Bible. There are records of Solomon, but very few of David, and for this reason, some have questioned whether David actually lived, or whether he was a purely legendary figure.

CNN put out this video recently about some archeological discoveries which could be proof of David and his kingdom.



I have great confidence in the Bible, and I'm sure that with time more and more archeological discoveries will be made that prove the Bible to be historically accurate.

Thoughts on Poverty, Injustice and Generosity

A few years back, someone from church came and asked me how it could be that God allows famine in Africa.

According to the Bible, there are 2 reasons for poverty: 1) Laziness and 2) Oppression and Injustice.

The Bible talks about this:

A poor person's farm may produce much food,
but injustice sweeps it all away. (Prov. 13:23)

Why is there famine in Africa?
Obviously it is not because there is not enough food in the world to feed the entire population of the world - it it because the food of the world is disproportionately distributed. The wealthy countries of the world consume much more than the poorer countries of the world.
And much more food could be produced than is being produced. Much of the farmland in Hungary and Ukraine, for example, is not used to its potential.

So, the short answer to the question - Why is there famine in Africa? Corruption. Injustice. Sin. Because being ethical is often not financially advantageous.

I just finished writing an essay for my theology studies on the contribution of the book of Jeremiah to the issues of social justice - and one thing I found when studying Jeremiah was this: Jeremiah's main claims in the book regarding social justice are 1) that kings and governments have a responsibility to provide care and justice for the poor, but 2) the responsibility to care for the poor does not rest on the government alone, but it is God's expectation that all people be involved in the cause of justice for the most vulnerable members of society.

The basic ethical demand of the Bible is to imitate God (Lev 11:44); as God sums up goodness in his own person, man’s supreme ideal is to imitate Him. Words like ‘hesed’ (steadfast love), ‘munah’ (faithfulness), 'mishpat' (justice) and 'sadaca' (righteousness) are used to describe both God’s character and his moral requirements of human beings.

The "quartet of the vulnerable" in the Bible are: Widows, Orphans, the poor, and Immigrants.

Here is a thought provoking quote from Daniel Estes:

God puts needy people on our path so that we can help to meet their needs, and so that they can be the means by which we can learn to be sensitive and compassionate. When we refuse to look at them, we become blind; when we refuse to listen to them, we become deaf; when we refuse to feel for them, we become cold and hard.

Estes, Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms p.240-241

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker. (Prov. 14:31a)

That makes me ask the question - what does it mean to oppress the poor? Other than politicians and rich people who take advantage of the poor, where does oppression of the poor end? Does it include supporting industries that oppress the poor? Is that passive oppression?

What can I do to "do justice" and care for the vulnerable?

The righteous know the just cause of the poor,
but the wicked do not understand knowledge. (Prov. 29:7)

Generosity in the Bible is a practice that imitates God's pattern of giving to address the needs of others.
Estes, Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms p.243

These are things I am thinking about lately.
I don't have all the answers yet, but I believe I am asking the right questions.

Quote for the Day - Social Justice

This week I am writing my final paper for my class on the Old Testament prophets on the subject of the contribution of the book of Jeremiah to the issues of social justice.

Studying the Old Testament prophets is something I have really enjoyed and been challenged by, and in general the message of the Bible regarding issues of social justice is something that has interested me for some time now.

Perhaps the most challenging thing in regard to social justice is figuring out how concern and care for the most vulnerable members of society works out practically in your given life and situation - but like many other things, I think that it has to begin with getting the right attitude and perspective, because once you have the right heart, situations will find you and God will bring them to you.

So, here is the quote for today:

Proverbs 14:31 says, “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker.” The God of the Bible says, as it were, “I am the poor on your step. Your attitude toward them reveals what your true attitude is toward me.” A life poured out in doing justice for the poor is the inevitable sign of any real, true gospel faith.

Keller, Timothy (2010). Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just (loc. 2113). DUTTON ADULT. Kindle Edition.

Quote for the Day

This week I need to finish two final assignments to finish my semester in seminary.

I really love studying theology, and the way the courses help me to dig deep in the scriptures and get beyond the surface meaning to get a broader perspective on what God is communicating through the scriptures.

One of the papers I am writing is about the contribution of the book of Jeremiah to the issues of social justice - something I have really been blessed and challenged by as I have studied it, and the other is on the theology of the book of Proverbs.

Here's a quote for today about the book of Proverbs:

Specifically religious language is seldom used in Proverbs - although it is present, it does not predominate. Not everything in life has to be strictly religious to be godly. Proverbs can serve as a corrective to the extremist tendency to spiritualize everything, as if there were something wrong with the basic material, physical world; as if God had said, “it is bad” rather than “it is good” when he first look on what he had made.
Fee & Stewart, How to Read the Bible for All its Worth, p.217