The rest of the story

When's the last time you heard the whole Story? Has your pastor preached through the biblical narrative lately. Please take my quick anonymous survey: I'm doing some research and would love your help. (Please click here to take the VERY short survey.)

Since the advent of Children's Church and the end of Sunday School, many children don't learn the Bible stories I grew up with. Oh, there's a Veggie Tale video and great crafts. But do they learn the story? Nope.

In one Christian university, a faculty member told me she orders Bible story books for students taking Old Testament survey. Most freshmen have very vague ideas about biblical characters. The students knew David and Goliath (as the little guy wins over a giant). They heard the names of Abraham and Moses, but knew little about their lives and spiritual legacy.

I'm plowing through scriptures like a starving person. My husband began reading great chunks of the Bible last spring. And my mom's on her fourth read-through this year. WHAT A STORY!!!

God with us. This Christmas we celebrate the coming of God among us. He clothed himself in the person of an unknown household. God chose a mom who would obey God's wishes and think deeply about raising her son. Chose a faithful husband who would provide for his family. Chose to be born in a village that overlooked a major trading route. To devoutly religious Jews.

The mystery of Good News fascinates me! God with us. Read all about it in your Bible!
*

Round and round we go...

I don't often write theology and seldom publish what I write when I'm ticked off. Today I find myself very angry about ideas from a book circulating in the churches... again. Similar reoccurring heresies pop up every once in a while, deceiving believers with half-truths and outright lies. So here goes.

I recently was given Lew White's self-published "Fossilized Customs" as a go-to book on how to serve God better. "You'll love it. It will open your eyes." Well, it opened my eyes all right. I couldn't believe the nonsense I was reading. What goes around, comes around ... including heresies. What did I think? (Note: I checked my ideas with a few theologians before writing this.)

What rubbish. By the time I'd finished the second page, it was clear that this was a rant of legalism and church-bashing, not a scholarly work. Fanciful claims appear on photo captions as well as in the text. (For example, that archaeologists have discovered 3-4 meter skeletons, supposedly the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4, and hidden the evidence. Where are the studies to prove the claims? The photographic "evidence" is badly Photoshopped.) Most stridently, the book shouts that a Saturday Sabbath is commanded by God. Obviously the author gives no credibility to Galatians 5, Colossians 3, or Romans 14, where Paul forbids arguments over the day of the Sabbath.

When I got to page 7, deriding baptism as "dunking," church attendance, and tithes and offerings as "pay pay pay," I began to steam at the sarcasm. Then I read, "Arise, shine, for your light has come!" (i.e. "My book of exposes and facts is here!") The author adds: "Soon you'll know more than your denominational pastor does." I get nauseated by arrogance and anti-intellectualism that disrespects pastors who study scriptures and feed their flocks with solid biblical truth rather than sensationalism.

The pictures and choices of illustrations are aggressively offensive and insulting and some sketches look demonic (75). The book looks and reads like a National Enquirer mixture of fact and fiction: historical customs and traditions are viewed with a sick sexual bent. The Christmas tree or a civic memorial pillar? A phallic symbol of course. Santa Claus with kids on his lap? Clearly alluding to the idol Moleck and the custom of putting children "on his lap" to offer them as child sacrifices. A snapshot of a mayor cutting the ribbon for a new building? Symbolically cutting a hymen... OK, that's enough. But you get the picture. I was offended, grossed out, shocked, and mortified that evil syncretism caused by personal perversion was presented as God's caution for believers.

The author refuses to reference the scholars or studies he disses, making up some history or ignoring facts (i.e. the early NT church - including Paul - and second-century churches already celebrated "on the first day" or Sunday. That was not a new invention forced on Christians by Constantine, as White claims (7, 80, etc.)

God occasionally used rituals familiar to Israelites from surrounding contexts to help them understand worship. Building altars with burnt sacrifices, erecting memorial pillars, etc. are only a few. Missionaries today similarly contextualize the gospel into new settings. If the book's ideas were followed to their natural conclusions, we'd have to live in Israelite tents, worship at the temple on the Sabbath, and be bound up again in ceremonies that foreshadowed the Savior. I'm grateful that the apostles put no such burdens on Gentile believers (Jerusalem Council, Acts 15).

Eve's sin was trying to acquire "more knowledge" than God gave, discerning "good and evil" beyond God's instructions. She disobeyed God by going against his instructions to leave with God the "secret things." (Note the principle of Deuteronomy 29:29). When we warp our speculations and half-truths into "facts" and claim that God has spoken, we fall into original sin.

You've probably figured out that I really get mad when someone twists the truth and harms the flock of God. I say, "Stay away!" from ANY such pseudo-scholarship. May God have mercy on Lew White's soul and keep the unwary from falling into this snare of deception.

Read more:
*Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14: 1, 5-9

*You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29 NIV

*Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Colossians 2:16-23

*I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:9-11 NLT

God speaks. Can you hear him?

Need a God-phone?

Do you ever wonder if God still talks to people? Would he talk to you? If so, how can you tune in to listen? I'm sharing a few ideas about conversing with God today. Remember that a conversation involves talking AND listening:

1. The most reliable source for God-talk is the Bible. Find direct quotes or "God said" to eavesdrop on a God-to-humanity conversation.
2. Join a good church. Don't look for fads or trendy gatherings. The best companions are found among people on the journey of faith together. Here are a few churches I can recommend in looking for such groups around Seattle: Creekside in Shoreline; Neighborhood in Bellevue; New Life in Maple Valley or Renton; and Calvary in the UW district. (Add your recommendations in comments below.)
3. Take time to hear God speak and to talk to God. That might include setting regular "let's talk!" appointments of meditation or prayer.
4. Listen to the conversations of others. Seek out friends who have a relationship with God and talk to them about their stories.
5. Watch for God at work in your workplace or community, as you meet the needs of others, and as people share life with you. He's personal and loves to interact with us. Become intentionally aware of God's presence during the day or night.
6. Take a walk in nature or a neighborhood to observe God's beauty, his sense of order and renewal, and his care for the planet and its inhabitants.

Seems like a lot of people are inventing "designer gods" to suit themselves. They set up altars of nature or "important stuff" and worship god-in-their-image. They pursue greed or asceticism, seek nirvana (the winking out of the light of life), and cover the bases (doing good or being better than the next guy).

What an unsatisfying way to live: such human-made gods can never be bigger than we are. Life devolves into a continual DIY project and self-help. Co-creators of "god-likenesses" often infringe on others' rights and expectations, too.

The apostle Paul notes that the one true God reveals himself in nature so that everyone is without excuse: God already reaches out to each person (Romans 1:20).

No matter how wonderful or weird your life has been to date, God is waiting to chat with you, to introduce himself, and be found by you. Tune in today!

Read more:

*Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and does not keep silence. Psalm 50:2-3 

*Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success. Psalm 118:25

*“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me."  Isaiah 43:10   NIV

*And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11

Moravian Prayer: Lord God, you shine forth your word and call us to express ourselves in worship to you. Cleanse us and bless us as we offer our lives in dedication to you. We love you Lord and are grateful for your unconditional love. We lift our voices to you and sing your wondrous grace. Your word amazes us, verse after verse baptizing us into your truth. With a thankful heart, we pray. Amen. 

3½ cups of goodness (and a recipe for Borscht)

Clay teaset

What do you accomplish in a day? Do you ever think about all that running around and working? Wonder if you’re leaving a mark on people or the world among all the busy-ness of modern life?

I have little earthen cups and a teeny teapot, suitable for tea in a crowded city like Beijing. I also have medium-sized china cups and saucers that remind me of our stay in England. And now – my favorite purchase yesterday – I have a 3½ cup tea mug that fits Montana perfectly.

The BBC recently mentioned the wonder of driving in Iowa for 40 miles and not seeing a soul. “That would never happen anywhere in the UK,” they exclaimed. But it’s true for parts of Montana as well.

Volunteer firefighters

The siren still goes off in Hungry Horse to call the volunteers for fires, medical emergencies, or Search and Rescue missions. The one grocery store in town and little post office suffice. And as I wrote yesterday, any news is interesting.

The days pass here, one after the other, just like anywhere else. Yesterday I walked to the post office and to the wi-fi spot (and got rained out), drove 25 miles to look around some shops, and walked to a neighbor’s for an excellent Mexican burritos and enchilada dinner. I felt satisfied, crawling into bed.

3 1/2 cups of tea goodness!

Drinking deeply from my Big Cup of peppermint tea, I felt better about the day than I sometimes did after “a good day’s work” at the office. I’d met people, talked to them, walked, and read a story aloud. I’d played with the dogs and skipped rope. I’d cooked a fine borscht soup for lunch (recipe below), freezing the leftovers for two more meals. It was uneventful, crisis-wise, and totally compelling - I'd like to repeat it again.

Such sabbaticals (of rest, not study as in academics) offer God’s respite between energized work. I haven’t heard a Great Task to which I’m called next season. I’ve considered starting a study  of Bible characters, in a public space, with whomever shows up.

But the ideas for the next season are hazy and fluid … and few. I’m loving it. For a task-driven person, such a vacation from “I should” and “I could” can only be healing and God’s kindness!

How about you? Are you accomplishing much with all your activity? Or have you bought into the culture’s hopes that busy work will still the restless soul, that external productivity will reduce the longing for internal significance?

A peaceful spot in Montana

Steal away alone for an hour, a half-day, a day, or a weekend. (If you’re married, offer the same timeout to your spouse.)

Listen for God’s stillness. Perhaps he will speak into your heart that He is enough and we are enough. Just as he made us. Just where he put us – whether that is in the frenzy of output and production that drives capitalism, in the stress and helping mode of people-care, or tucked out of sight on the back shelf, in the pause that encourages prayer and reflection.

Borscht, sour cream, and dill:
the perfect combo

Not-Your-Russian-Grandma’s Borscht Soup

Ingredients:

Meat* (vegan option below)

1-2 tbsp. oil

Onions, Beets

Savory herbs and spices

3-8 c. water or broth – the amount depends on how much soup you want

Optional: cabbage, beans, carrots, etc.

Instructions:

1.     In a non-aluminum soup pot, lightly brown 1-2 sliced sausages, 2-3 slices of bacon, OR ½ cup leftover meat in 1-2 tbsp. oil.

2.     Add a chopped onion and stir into the meat until it is translucent.

3.     Meanwhile, cut 3-8 beets into ½-¾” cubes.

4.     Fill the pot with 3-8 cups of water or broth and add beets. (I used 8 beets in 4 c. turkey stock.)

5.     Sprinkle in savory herbs to your own taste. I used 2 bay leaves; a teaspoon each of dried marjoram, parsley, thyme;  ½ tsp. each of celery salt and mustard seeds. (I chose those because they were near the stove, not for any particular culinary reason.)

Optional: add up to 1 c. each chopped carrots, sliced cabbage, or a mix of beans, Brussels sprouts, or other vegetables to taste.

Cook for ½-1 hour. You can let it sit in a non-reactive pot until the meal. Heat it up and salt to taste before serving. Options: a tbsp. of sour cream in each bowl, fresh dill on top for flavor.

Vegan option: skip the meat, brown the onions, add vegetables, herbs, and spices to a vegetable broth. Include cabbage, smoke salt, and sautéed mushrooms for a heartier taste. Vegan “sour cream” (1 cup): mix together 1 c. soy yogurt + 1 tbsp. lemon juice + ½ tsp. salt.

Leftovers freeze well.

Read more: 

*All a man's ways seem right to him, But the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2 NIV  

*Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Psalm 34:14

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 1 Peter 3:8

Moravian Prayer: In our families and in our church families, O holy Mediator, help us to reflect your love. Forgive us when we wrong those around us and restore us to your harmony and peace, in your Son’s name. Amen. 

Sweet Sunday

Sundays are my day off from studies. We headed for church this morning, talking in W's class about the nature of God as community (Trinity) among us. Ah, the sweet dance of communion with God, who points to every other member of the godhead but himself. There's no shout of "I'm the important One," but a sharing of beauty and truth and character. Only an invitation from God to us, to join the sweet pleasure of knowing and being known... and still loved.

The class is about 25 people. Some are friends, but most barely know each other, so if you've wanted to get the basics of Christian faith (whether you are a Christ-follower or curious to know what we believe), please join us. You'll be welcomed and fit right in. We meet at 9am, Cedar Park Christian Church, Bothell 98011, in the school building across from the main hall. Anyone can point you in our direction. Pour a cup of coffee or tea, grab some breakfast goodies, and c'mon in!

Rather eavesdrop online? Prefer to sleep in? Click on: Christian Thought for weekly updates or to join the conversation.

Afterwards, we picked up a few groceries for lunch, and had family and friends put their feet under our big round table (seats 11, so relatively "empty" today with 9 people.) W made Major Grey chicken with rice, and I added a few sides. Yum. We got to play with Kinsey, our first grandchild, who is 6 months old, sending her home exhausted. "She'll sleep on the way home and be ready to go," said her mom.

We love the time to visit and reconnect with others, whether at church. Tomorrow's a busy week. I have an exam Wednesday afternoon. I'd appreciate prayers, if you're willing to put it on your calendar. I'm terrified about it because it's extremely important, but feels open-ended (on tutorials, written for the dissertation). Also, I'm a newby at Skype, which is the format.

Today, I got to step away, love on God and people, and rest in God's care for us. We all need balance as the week begins. Hope you enjoyed the day, too. Blessings on you all in the opportunities and challenges of the week ahead!

Read more:
*Watchword for the Week - Trust in him at all times, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8

Jonah 3:1-5,10; Psalm 62:5-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

*God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7:29

*Christ says, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31-32

Moravian Prayer: You are the way, the truth and the life. We gather today to share your truth with each other. Bless us and enable us to discover insights about love and faith while we are together. Amen.

Worshipping Calvin. Or not.

One of this morning's blogs mentioned that the writer and a theologian met over breakfast "to discuss Calvinism." God has told us to think deeply about his ways in the world, but really... I got to thinking, why is their topic Calvin's doctrines? 

Why not meet to discuss Jesus? Or why not meet to discuss God? And see how the conversation unfolds?

Supper with Jess and Jeff, a couple of our friends, is grand. My husband and I eagerly anticipate time with them.We eat at nice places that feel like splurges because of great food. My senses of taste and texture, smell and seeing, feel heightened and we are fully sated when the evening is done. 

But it's not just that we all like good restaurants. It's not just the friendly company that stimulates us. W and I have talked this over many times before and after our visits. "We love spending time with Jess and Jeff. Isn't it fun to spend time with people when every conversation turns to God?"

Friends of W or me know we have broad areas of interest. When something takes our fancy, we read and read and read about it. We love research. For us, knowing is more than half the fun. Hence, those 30 books beside our bed... on Robert Gurney's contemporary architecture or 1 Corinthians or birch bark canoes.

Lately though, both of us are splashing through scripture, wading through the Word, and gorging ourselves on God's truth. I listen to the Bible read aloud a few times a day. W's read the Bible through many times since Spring, cover to cover. 

"What do you get out of it?"  I asked him, hopeful for a tidbit or tasty spiritual morsel. "What have you learned?"

"Ah, that's not a valid question, because that's not the point," he replied. "I read for immersion, not to learn or to look for answers or to prove a theology. I'm reading because God gave his Word to us."

Likewise, when we eat with Jess and Jeff, we're not just filling our stomachs. Without exception, talk turns to the wonders of God among us. The surprises in the world He has made. The whys and hows and wherefores that tantalize us from scripture. The riddles and mysteries and revelations that make serving Jesus an ongoing adventure!

It could be a crushing bore, except that God comes to meet us, time after time. We breathe in his presence, and adrenaline starts to flow in the lively exchanges. People at neighboring tables often lean in to listen. When we fold the napkins beside our plates, wave away desert, push the chairs in, and walk out through the foyer to the car, we're just bursting with fresh amazement at the goodness of God.

Do you cultivate friends like this? If you don't have a Jeff and Jess, get thee to church or a small group. Listen to find someone who loves God (so much that their whole life is a hunt to know Him better). It may take a while, years even, to search out those intentional and maturing disciples of Christ. Be someone like that, too. You'll rarely have a better time, or go to sleep more satiated, than after a physical and spiritual meal together! 

Read more:
*The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy. Psalm 99:1-3 NIV

*As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

*Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:1-3 NIV