Category Archives: Religion

While Shepherds

While is an interesting concept, have you every though about it?  Its an abstract concept, like zero , that probably wasn’t formally enunciated until well after the invention of written language, even though everybody sort of knew about it.  While means that when certain conditions exist other stuff is happening.  It gets even more complicated to think about when you realize that the two elements (the certain conditions and the other stuff) may be dependent or independent of each other

While is very important in computer programming.  Here is an example of a while loop in the C language.

int x = 0;
while (x < 5)
{
printf ("x = %dn", x);
x++;
}

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What is Our Heritage?

Our advent theme this week is Bethlehem and the person is Joseph.  Bethlehem and Joseph represent, among other things, Jesus’ heritage.  Matthew is the book that speaks most of Joseph and does so very briefly even then.  One of the things that is often overlooked in this account is that the genealogy  Matthew gives in the first 17 verses is not just the genealogy of Jesus.  Better yet it is not even the genealogy of Jesus, but that of Joseph.

Think about it.  Joseph was Jesus’ adopted father and yet Matthew traces Jesus back through Joseph.  Why would he do such a thing?   The answer I think most likely is that Matthew intends to present Jesus as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah.  This is important to Matthew because even if Jesus is a Messiah, if He is not the Jewish Messiah of Hebrew scripture, then God has been foresworn.  So Matthew is very careful to present a case in a very Jewish context to support Jesus as the Christ of prophecy.

As such this is not so much a literal genealogy (its that too) but a story of God working through those who were faithful to Him throughout the generations of Israel.  Because of that he does some things a Genealogist of his day wouldn’t do. A number of the known kings of Israel, descendants of David, are omitted.  It would be usual not to include all Royal relatives in a genealogy.   Notice also the inclusion of women: Tamar, Ruth, Rahab and Bathsheba, highly unusual in a patriarchal  culture.   Matthew is not just connecting Jesus through his adopted father, Joseph, to Abraham and David, he’s doing something more.

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Prophecy, When We Least Expect It

During this advent season I’d like to use some traditional but underused themes for the Sunday’s of the season.  Traditionally the Days (and their corresponding candles) have been named for Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.  But there is also an additional traditional name for each day and candle — Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherds, and Angels.  It is this other usage I intend to be following this year. We will also be linking our discussion to specific people from scripture.  And our first discussion is Prophecy and its role in our lives as taught by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

Expectations are funny things aren’t they?  They totally shape how we respond to what happens in our lives.  An event can be either good or bad, life changing or ho hum depending on our expectations.  Prophecy, biblical prophecy, is all about God setting our expectations.  A baby born to peasants in a cattle stall in the middle of nowhere is not an earth changing event.   Unless you’re expecting it to be the Son of God in which case it is an earth changing event in every sense.

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Thanksgiving in Prayer

This week I’d like for our discussion to be a little more reflective than usual, a little more devotional if you will.  What I’d like us to consider is how to thankfully pray.  We all know the old aphorism that “life is not about thanksgiving, it’s about thanksliving”.  That is we should not be giving thanks at specific times but our entire attitude, our entire way of life should reflect our thankfulness to God for the great gifts he has given us.  This was sort of the topic last week, that we should live, out of thankfulness to God, in such a way that others give thanks to God for what we have done.

But there are also times when specific, active thanks are in order.  No other time is more fitting to give thanks than when we are at prayer.  So the first question that comes to mind is when do we pray?  This is another one like the thanksliving thing.  Scripture is pretty clear that we are always to be prayerful.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “pray without ceasing”.  We are to pray in the ordinary moments of our lives as well as the extraordinary.  But some times are more focused than others, sometimes our internal dialog with  God is more overt, more intentional.  What then, how are we to pray with thanksgiving?

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Why Thanksgiving?

Over the next two or three weeks I thought it might be a good time to discuss thanksgiving.  You’ll note that is in lower case because we are not talking about the Holiday loaded with Turkey, Tryptophan and Touchdowns, but the act of giving thanks.  Today in thinking about thanksgiving we want to ask; what is its purpose and what is our part in it?

Here is a logical chain to consider.

  1. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”  Everything that is or was in the world belongs to God, by right, as the Creator.
  2. We, no less than any other part of all that is, are part of God’s creation, therefore
  3. We are God’s possessions, His chattel.
  4. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”  Not only are we God’s by right of creation, to the extent we are Christians we are His “new”creations.
  5. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works”.  God created and then recreated us to do Good Works.
  6. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  So the purpose of good works is to produce thankfulness among people directed toward God.
  7. Thankfulness brings honor and glory to God which is;
  8. The entire point of creation in the first place.

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Yet Another Wedding

The bible is replete with examples of weddings and references to weddings or marriage.  And when there are no actual weddings under discussion they seem to be a favorite form of reference, particularly when used by Jesus, to describe the relationship between God and his people.  This week we are going back in Matthew, prior to the Olivet Discourse we discussed last week to a parable told by Jesus regarding a royal wedding.  This is another in my series of highly unpopular and disquieting parables (at least for me).

This particular parable in Matthew 22:1-14 and is sort of the darker, more sinister and brooding twin of the parable in  Luke 14:15-24.  It seems to me, like all good preachers, Jesus had a set of preacher stories that he told when he talked and modified them each time to fit his audience and/or make a particular point.  In the text from Matthew, the story is pointed indeed.

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What Work Should the Boss Catch Us Doing

The last time I led our discussion we talked about the last few chapters of Matthew 24, and Jesus discussion of the coming of the Son of Man.  Our conclusion was that, since the time of His return was known only to the Father, we should stay busy about the Father’s work, like the slave in the parable was busy tending to his master’s business while the master was away.  But just exactly what is the Father’s business?  What should we be busy doing and how should we go about it?

First a brief word on the passages we have been reading.  It is known by bible scholars as the Olivet Discourse, the Olivet Prophecy or the Little Apocalypse.   It is found in all of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, 24 Mark 13, and Luke 21) and in Matthew it is the last of 5 Discourses of Jesus.  In all three recountings of the discourse begins with someone commenting on the excellence of Herod’s temple in some form.  Jesus tells them clearly of the coming destruction of the temple (which occurred in 70 AD at the hand of the Roman General (and later Emperor) Titus, who sacked the city and burned the temple to put down a revolt by the Jews.  All this was recorded in minute detail by the Roman/Jewish historian Josephus.)

But Jesus’ comments about the temple were only prologue, meant to move peoples’ minds from the reality of the there and then to the reality that was to come.  From the reality of the Kingdom ruled by Herod, and ultimately Caesar, to the reality of the Kingdom of God.  And so in addition to the end of the Temple He spoke of the coming of the Son of Man and the end of the world as it has been known.

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Let the Boss Catch You Working

Last week Bruce led us in an excellent discussion of the first chapter of Revelation.  I admitted that I don’t like Revelation, but not because it bothers me like James does.  James bothers me because it points out the flaws in my life.  It says to me,”So, you have faith in God.  Prove it by how you live.”  It is definitely a portion of scripture, for me, that cuts sharper than a two edged sword.

Revelation, on the other hand, bugs me not because of what it says, but because of what everyone says about it.  It is one of those portions of scripture that everyone has an opinion on and are willing to fight over.  Are you pre-trib or post-trib. Premillennial or postmillennial?  Just what do all the symbols in the book mean?  And it drives me nuts because most people are reading the book to find out the answer to one question: when is Jesus to return and what will be the events leading up to His return.

So is this kind of attempt bad?  Well not per se, its just a waste time.  Let me be clear, all scripture is valuable, including the parts that make me feel uncomfortable or bugs me or that I find just plain boring, and this applies to Revelation.  The problem does not lie in Revelation, it is in us.  Jesus knew this and he had the answer to the problem.  Frankly the answer is more of the same sort of stuff I find unsettling in James.

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Measuring Correctly

Most things in life are about measurements. We make them all the time, almost without know we are measuring.  How much gas is left in the car?  Do I have enough in the 401k to retire?  How long until the lesson is over?  4th down and 1.  How much does it cost?  What time is it?  Our life, whether we like it or not, revolves around measurements we make every day.

Sometimes the measurements are complex and sometimes they are simple.  Some times we are the ones who are being measured.   Just before I took my solo flight my flight instructor said to me,”There are two kinds of people in the world, those who can land and airplane by themselves and those who can’t.  We’re about to find out which kind you are.”  I was about to be measured, and with a potentially harsh measuring stick.

Sometimes we are measuring others.  If we interview someone for a job or are considering hiring a contractor we are measuring to see whether this persons skills match our requirements and the price we are willing to pay.

Regardless of what we are measuring, the critical factor is using the right measuring device.  It won’t do to use a ruler if you want to know something’s weight.  Had my flight instructor given me a written test of flying he would not have been able to answer the critical question — could I land the plane by myself.

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Shameless Audacity

αναιδειαν  is the Greek word we are focusing on today, its usually transliterated as anaideia and pronounced an-ah’ee-die-ah.  Thayer and the the NIV translate it as shamelessness or impudence, or even shameless impudence or audacity.

Americans today know about shamelessness, audacity and impudence.  We see it in our politicians who lie to our faces; who say one thing and do another.  In athletes who’s on field heroics are exceeded only by their lack of discipline off the field.  In our entertainers who live lives of immorality that beggars the imagination and then have the temerity to lecture us on how we should live.  Oh yes, we of all people should be able to recognize shamelessness when we see it.

So when Jesus tells us it should be our practice to act with shameless audacity, how do we respond?  I think we are caught aback and, mostly, don’t know what to do.

We are looking at Luke 11:1-13.  These are wildly famous verses, many of them well know in the culture at large and not just among Christians and they contain the heart of Jesus’ teaching on prayer.  In context the verses start with Jesus praying and his disciples asking him to teach them to pray.

Implicit in that request, at least to me, is the request for Jesus to teach the disciples to pray as he does and with the results he gets.  In response he gives us what is usually called the Lord’s prayer.  I like Luke’s version.  Its short, its emphatic, it is not quiet and imploring, it is intimate and familiar.

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