Wednesday, May 30, 2012

"This is what I got out of this"


There is this brother who comes into the store on his break and talks with me. He came in the other night while I was counting cigarettes and couldn’t talk. He asked for a piece of paper and wrote on it “Zec 11:1-3.” And then proceeded to talk about having recently read it and what he got out of it. And he got a lot! I was counting away so he didn’t have my full attention, but I confess, I did not understand what he was talking about. When I got through counting, I read the passage, using – you guessed it – my Nook. I understood it even less! Here is the passage:

1  Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2  Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3  There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

First, I want to commend this brother. He views the Bible as a living book, one that is ready to speak to him every time he opens it. And he expects God to speak to him and reveal things. I appreciate this lively faith. But, and I have spoken to him about this, I am concerned about how he approaches the Bible. I know he is fairly well established in the truth, but the Bible seems to him to be a collection of almost disconnected oracles that speak different things to different people at different times. His favorite introductory expression is, “This is what I got out of this…”

I have to confess, this troubles me and is a completely different approach to the Bible than I have. I believe, if we wish to properly understand a passage, we must try to understand what the writer was attempting to say and how the original readers would have understood him. In other words, this is first of all an objective matter, not a subjective one. A “What did he mean?” thing and not a “What can I get out of it?” thing. Oh, there is a place for “What can I get out of it?” but that should come after I attempt to ascertain what the author said. This is of course, hermeneutics, the science of interpretation.

So, what does Zechariah 11:1-3 mean? I am not ashamed to admit, I have no idea! The prophets often use trees in their prophecies and it would be helpful to be more familiar with this. But, he gives a clue – he mentions shepherds. So, and this is always helpful, let’s read on. Perhaps there will be something I do understand. I am comforted by this: I may not understand these verses but I am sure I will get the big picture.

In v 4-6 He mentions the flock. Thus far he has mentioned shepherds and the flock. So, this is something about the people and their leaders. Zechariah seems to be speaking and acting as the chief shepherd, and he disciplines some shepherds under him. He had taken two sticks and named them Beauty and Bands. Then,

10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

Here is something significant. The covenant is broken! Wow, significant and somber.

12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.
13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
And prophetic. Zechariah is payed but God says He is (ultimately being) rejected for 30 pieces of silver. And this brings us to Jesus. How in the world can I find Jesus in Zechariah 11? Because we know from Ezekiel that a Good Shepherd is coming and in John 10 Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. And we are also told that Judah betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus and the cross.

And speaking of Jesus in Zechariah – He is to be found a lot in the remaining chapters! (And quite often in the preceding ones as well.) Just a few:

12:10  …and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced…
Jesus crucified. For me. Now, here is something I understand and can dwell on!

14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh…
2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…
3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations…
4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…
5  …and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.
This is totally amazing! The LORD (Yahweh) shall go forth and His feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives. This is Jesus. And who is Jesus? Jesus is Jehovah!! Amen!

14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth…
Maranatha!

I confess again, I don’t understand the trees of 11:1-3. But there is so much that is clear that follows and surrounds this that I can meditate on – Jesus.

Is this brother wrong in his hyper-spiritual approach? I think I will refrain from such a final word like wrong. But I believe he is being incautious and opening himself to error. The Bible means something when it speaks. You can’t approach the Scriptures with such a subjective view, because if it means something different to every person each time they read it, then it means nothing at all. Well then, what about the trees? When you don’t understand one part read on to the parts you do understand. And it didn’t take us long to get to Jesus. And the cross. And His coming. Hallelujah!

In other words, you don’t need a hyper-spiritual approach to get something out of Zechariah. Just let the Word of God say what it says and you will get blessed and rebuked and blessed and chastised and blessed and warned and blessed. I still don’t know about them trees, but I have been so blessed reading about Jesus in chapters 11-14 and my joy has been renewed.


and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee

JESUS!!!!!!!!

Monday, May 14, 2012

The Love of God


Contemporary preaching seems to overlook and neglect the righteousness and holiness of God, so the subjects of sin and judgment are passed over or denied altogether. Because of this I have written a few times about the judgment to come. But is judgment all I think about? No. The love of God is the sweetest theme of the Bible.

How can we know that God loves us? I believe there are three ways we can know this. They build upon each other. They are (all comments in quotes are by Adam Clarke, the great Methodist preacher and theologian):

1. We can know God loves us because He says so
John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Amen! This verse alone is the Gospel.

For God so loved the world— “Such a love as that which induced God to give his only begotten Son to die for the world could not be described: Jesus Christ does not attempt it. He has put an eternity of meaning in the particle “so”, and left a subject for everlasting contemplation, wonder, and praise, to angels and to men. The same evangelist uses a similar mode of expression in 1 John 3:1: Behold, WHAT MANNER of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.

Let the reader attend to the following particulars.
First, The world was in a ruinous, condemned state, about to perish everlastingly; and was utterly without power to rescue itself from destruction.
Secondly, That God, through the impulse of his eternal love, provided for its rescue and salvation, by giving his Son to die for it.
Thirdly, That the sacrifice of Jesus was the only means by which the redemption of man could be effected, and that it is absolutely sufficient to accomplish this gracious design.
Fourthly, That sin must be an indescribable evil, when it required no less a sacrifice, to make atonement for it, than God manifested in the flesh.
Fifthly, That no man is saved through this sacrifice, but he that believes, i.e. who credits what God has spoken concerning Christ, his sacrifice, the end for which it was offered.
Sixthly, That those who believe receive a double benefit:
1. They are exempted from eternal perdition-that they may not perish.
2. They are brought to eternal glory-that they may have everlasting life.”

2. We can know God loves us because He sent His Son
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

But God commendeth his love.— "God hath set this act of infinite mercy in the most conspicuous light, so as to recommend it to the notice and admiration of all."

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

In this was manifested the love of God— "The mission of Jesus Christ was the fullest proof that God could give, or that man could receive, of his infinite love to the world.”

3. We can know God loves us by the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our heart
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
John uses two different words for know. This one refers to a knowledge grounded in personal experience. I am told God loves me, and I believe it. But beyond that, I know it, I have experience of it. How?

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  

Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts— "We have the most solid and convincing testimony of God’s love to us, by that measure of it which he has communicated to our hearts. There it is poured out, and diffused abroad; filling, quickening, and invigorating all our powers and faculties. This love is the spring of all our actions; it is the motive of our obedience; we love God because he first loved us; and we love him with a love worthy of himself, because it springs from him: it is his own; and every flame that rises from this pure and vigorous fire must be pleasing in his sight: it consumes what is unholy; refines every passion and appetite. And we know that this is the love of God; it differs widely from all that is earthly and sensual. The Holy Spirit comes with it; by His energy it is diffused and pervades every part; and by his light we discover what it is, and know the state of grace in which we stand. Thus we are furnished to every good word and work; have produced in us the mind that was in Christ; are enabled to obey the pure law of our God in its spiritual sense, by loving him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and our neighbor as ourselves. This is, or ought to be, the common experience of every genuine believer."

My first encounter with this love of God was the day I was born again. I had believed in Christ and called on His name at my house and was on my way to church for the evening service at First Baptist Church Donelson, TN. A song was playing on the radio, “Were You There?” The last stanza was:

“Were you there when he rose up from the dead? Sometimes it cause me to shout glory . . .”

When they got to “causes me to shout glory” the love of God was shed abroad in my heart! At that moment I knew that if I had been the only lost person on the planet, Jesus would have died for me!!

Amen and Amen!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Two questions that will make you laugh (at me)


It rained a lot yesterday. Around 10:45, when I was getting ready to go to work, I heard crickets. And I wondered, “When crickets start singing after a rain, does that mean it won’t rain anymore that night?” Well, y’know what? It didn’t rain again last night. Hmmm . . .

----------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve been thinking about this next one for a little while, so last night I asked two different police officers this question: “I know that if I am caught in public with any amount of marijuana I will be charged according to the amount I possess. BUT, what if I have two or three plants in my yard just for my personal use – is that a crime also?” The answer both times was, Yes.
So, it would appear that the very existence of the plant in South Carolina is against the law. When I told one of the officers that he said it was that way in the entire USofA. I corrected him, “Some states allow the growth and use of ‘medical marijuana’. He immediately replied, “With a license!” I said, “License or no license, it’s not against the law in every state.”
Just a question I had been pondering – this does not mean I have some growing or am thinking about growing some. From what I’ve read it's difficult to grow anyway :-)

As I was discussing this with the second officer, a high school kid comes in and asks him, “Why is it against the law for you ‘fake arrest’ me for a prom photo?” Imagine that, interrupting my serious question and discussion with a stupid question!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Weeds, plants, and all things wild




I posted this picture on facebook and was informed that this was not a plant, it was a weed. Of course, a weed is a plant, just not a desired one. But you see, a plant is a plant you want to keep and a weed is a plant that should be pulled, plucked, trimmed, cut down or otherwise destroyed immediately. If not sooner.





Last year, I had the same reaction to the plant on the right. What is wrong with me that I do not recognize and respond appropriately to the existence of a weed? By the way, this plant grew to be more that 6'5"! Is that not cool?

Before I answer, let me explain – I do recognize a weed. And when I encounter plants growing among my flowers and choking them, I pluck, pull and remove them. So why not these? The answer is simple: I am utterly fascinated by life. Plants growing profusely, abundantly, largely (largely?), and where they should not be able to grow. I have a plant (OK, a weed) that comes up in the middle of the driveway; not in the cracks where two sections come together, I have them as well, but in the middle of the concrete. And I love it! I am fascinated and impressed all at the same time.


Look at this. On the left is the one growing at the culvert, near the road. On the right is the one that grows by the house. I don’t know what they are, but they come back every year and their tenacity has won me over.






I love the little flowers in the grass – yellow, white, and purple. They are so small yet I find them so beautiful. When I mow the yard, if they are there, I mow around them. Except dandelions. I cut them down or pluck their heads off!

I love the wild growth of plants. Mary and I disagree / fuss about this on a regular basis. Take a look at this grass. Mary sees, “Cut this down yesterday. If not sooner.” I see, “Wow, how tall will you get?”

I will never win “Yard of the week or month” because I love it when my bushes are full and unkempt. And I let things grow nearly as tall as they can get. In fact, I want to see how tall they can get. When I first grew coleus, I was regularly chided and chastised – “They are not supposed to grow like that. You are supposed to cut/trim them so they grow as a bush.” But I liked the wildness!


I appreciate a neatly trimmed and well groomed yard. I know it looks nice and that the vast majority of people want their yard that way. And I cut the grass – even though I like to see it reaching for the sky and going to seed! But I prefer the wild woods. When I kayak, I like to go back where the plants and trees are wild, large, and unfettered by anything but the competition for soil, water, and sun. I am fascinated by it. It is life. Wild. Untamed. Unruly. Free.

I know what a weed is. I know that most of the pictures in this post are photos of weeds. And if they were taking over my yard, hindering my flowers, or choking my garden, I would attack them. But these aren’t. And so instead I am mesmerized by them – How tall will you get? Will you flower? What does your flower look like? Last year's 6'5" giant had very ugly flowers. Soon as they appeared I cut it down, lest it propagate. And when I cut it down, boy did it stink!

I am fascinated and enthralled by life. It is tenacious. It is persistent. Our house in York had trees all around and the gutters were always full of tree refuse. I was obviously a little slow getting to it once and when I got up on the roof the end of the gutter at the downspout was full. And a tree was growing! In my gutter! Is that not totally awesome?? It had absolutely no chance but it was going after it with all its’ might. Wow!

I will cut the weed down. Soon. But meanwhile, I am enchanted by it. Spellbound by life. I love it when my yard has an almost wild look. Almost like we are about to be overrun by . . . LIFE!

Friday, May 4, 2012

The pastor preached from Malachi


As I mentioned in my last post, Mary went to church last Sunday. When she got home I asked her, “What did the pastor preach on?” She said he preached from Malachi 2:10-17. So, using the Bible on my Nook Color, I turned to this passage and read it out loud and Mary shared a little about what the pastor said about this. As I read it this is what struck me.

2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.

Later, I re-read the entire book. This is not the first or only time God told them He would not regard or receive their offerings or worship. If you think about it, this is a hard word. Imagine if at the end of your church service someone stood up and said, “The Lord just told me, ‘Your worship is not acceptable or pleasing to me.’”

As you read the book it is easy to see that things were not going well in Judah. They could tell they were not being blessed by God as they should have been. In 3:11 we read, And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. This was serious.

God had told the Jew many times what to do when they were not experiencing the blessings of God – they were to seek Him. In Joel we read, Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God and Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? All this was in the back of my mind and

So, my first thought was: They are doing exactly what God had instructed them to do in just such a situation. Yet He says, he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. This is scary. You do what God tells you to do and His response is, “This is not acceptable.”

Why is this?

Read the rest of this prophecy. Here is a brief summary of the issues God had with them:

Their sacrifices and attitude toward God’s worship 1:7-8, 12-14
The priests were corrupt 2:1-9
The family was falling apart – rampant divorce 2:10-17
Their giving 3:8-12

Or, as He sums it up in 3:5
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

They thought if they followed the proper form they could have God’s blessings - no matter how they lived. And God said, “Nope. No way.” What did God want? He wanted repentance. A change of mind and heart. A change of heart that showed up in how they lived. A synonym for repentance in the prophets is “return unto me.” It is even found in Malachi 3:7 Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. And God was gracious to point out to them the areas they needed to address. Yes, pray and weep. But also fix those areas that are broken. Put yourself in a position to be blessed.

This is Old Testament, right? Today, don’t we just say have to say, “Sorry, sorry, sorry” and God is obligated to bless us? I mean, if we have to change the way we live that’s salvation by works, right?

This is a tough question. This was spoken to God’s people, the Jews. It’s like a word to the church. I’m afraid that too often we tell Christians, “It doesn’t matter how you live or what you are doing, come just as you are and worship the Lord and everything will be OK.” But God says, “No. Pray, seek God, worship – Yes – but start working on those areas that are broken.” We have to put ourselves in a position to be blessed. I mean, how can God bless me when there is known sin in my life?

We are all probably familiar with that wonderful verse in Isaiah: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Amen. But let us not forget that the very next verse says, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

But back to the question, Is this just Old Testament? No. John preached: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. And so did Paul: repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. And Jesus counseled the church in Ephesus, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. This seems to be a principle with God. You don’t have to fix everything before you come to Him but there must be repentance – a change of heart about the way you have been living, a repentance that moves you to call upon the Lord and that motivates you to turn away from sin.

I can still remember when we used to go on Lay Witness Missions. One time a young man had heard the teaching and remained afterward to talk with the speaker. The speaker explained the Gospel and then asked the young man if he wanted to accept Christ. The fellow said, No. When asked why he explained, “If I do that I’m gonna have to change the way I live and I’m not ready to do that.”

That’s what I thought about when I read this passage. A sobering word of God.