Viral Faith

The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed.  Thomas Paine As I have been writing several different blogs pertaining to different aspects of Christianity, I have had several wonderful conversations with people who have not much experience interacting with the Bible.  This blog is for people who have not had much experience with the Bible, but are interested in a understanding how the Bible is to be approached.  I will write this in a bullet format in order to be concise: 1. The Bible is not one single book, but 66 different books written over a long period of time .  It has been collected together as sacred writings for over 2500 years.  2. The Bible assumes the existence of God and never attempts to prove it.   It is a book of faith written to a people of faith.  Certain assumptions are present.  The Bible is not to used as a text book or a proof text because it was not written for that purpose.  While it contains truth, its purp

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.  Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:24-25, NLT) We have been discussing the issue of sexuality from a uniquely Christian perspective, attempting to weed out the authentic principles found in Hebrew and Greek scriptures (Old and New Testament) from the cultural views that often seek to masquerade as Christianity.  Typically, authority in Christianity  is first found in Scripture, then in tradition (what did Christian communities before us think and practice), reason (is this logical and consistent with other principles found in scriptures), and experience (does this line up with my experience).  I previously shared (see previous blog entries on Jesus and Sexuality) that culture also plays a huge part in how we interpret scripture, understand tradition, apply reason, and experience life.  For better or worse, our understanding of tru

I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (Psalm 23:4, NLT) According to the 23rd Psalm, if you want to understand God, you must understand the role of the shepherd.  If you want to understand how Christians behave, you must understand the behavior of sheep.    The Bible describes God's role as a shepherd throughout scripture.  The role of the shepherd was to guide, feed, and protect the sheep.  Real sheep have very little mental capacity to strategize and very few tools in which to defend themselves.  It is only by following a shepherd that they can survive. The fourth verse of the 23rd Psalm shows us two of the tools used by the shepherd to protect and guide the sheep.  The rod is a short blunt thick stick with a rounded end.  It was used as a weapon against predators but also was useful in encouraging wayward sheep to stay with the herd.  The staff is a hooked bow that allowed the shepherd to pull the sheep out of di

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; (Psalm 23:4) During the warmer months, ancient shepherds in Palestine would move their flocks from the lower plains to higher grounds for more fertile feeding grounds.  This would entail literally climbing mountains with your flock.  In addition to the hazards posed by the climbing itself, the jagged hills were ideal hiding places for predators and poisonous creatures such as scorpions.  It was considered one of the hazards of the shepherding world. King David, who once was a shepherd, understood the hazards of the shepherding life as he wrote the 23rd psalm.  As he writes about God as our true shepherd he recognizes that the role of the shepherd is to guide us through some very difficult, and frankly frightening places in life.  He recognizes the inevitability of danger with his words "Even though....". God as our shepherd should inspire courage in his flock (another

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. (NKJV) When God is truly our shepherd, we allow him to guide us, care for us, lead us, and protect us.  This understanding of a shepherd may be lost on many of us, but at the time of the writing of the 23rd psalm, the vital role of the shepherd was well known.  While the 23rd psalm is one of the most frequently quoted set of verses in all of scripture, we rarely take the time to contemplate the profound impact of what it means to have God, the creator of the universe, as our shepherd. I have been reviewing the implications over the past few blogs and continue with the third verse of psalm 23, where it states that when God is our shepherd, he leads us in paths of righteousness.  The literal rending of this phrase in Hebrew is "leading in the right path".  In our current culture, we are consumed with being efficient and effective in our busy lives.  Our interpretation of this verse is oft

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. Psalm 23:2-3 (NLT) A sign reads at my local gas station "Turn off engine completely before fueling".  The concept is simple, you need to shut down to fill up.  It is both dangerous and incredibly inefficient to attempt to fill your gas tank while the engine is on. As we explore the 23rd psalm, this principle of resting and refueling is the basis of renewal.  God leads us to places of rest (rest from work, rest from worrying, rest from activity) in order to renew our strength, or as the King James version states, "restoreth my soul". Its fascinating to consider that God desires to renew and restore us on an ongoing basis.  This suggests a couple of principles: 1. We wear down and wander away .  Like sheep, we too get tired, confused, and misdirected.  This does not mean that sheep are evil and deviant, as much as they are simply being sheep.  We too, by nature, get ti

He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. Psalm 23:2 (Amplified Bible) According to scripture, humanity was made for cycles of rest and work.  The Creation story in Genesis demonstrates that even God himself, has cycles of rest and work.  It is no wonder, that when God is our shepherd (Psalm 23:1), he leads us to times of rest. Psalm 23:2 (above) reminds us of what Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe wrote: If you do not take time to come apart (from your work), you will literally come apart (life will fracture).  As we surrender our lives to the shepherding of God, he will lead us to times of rest.  These times of rest are essential for your health and your relationship with him. The creation narrative gives us a alternative story regarding rest.  In our highly efficient, high productivity modern economies, we are working longer than any generation before us (not including slavery).  Our concept of rest is to simply stop wor

The Lord is my shepherd;  I have all that I need. Psalm 23:1  (NLT) This past two weeks have been some of the busiest weeks I have had in sometime.  Yet, in the midst of doing, I have neglected being.  In the midst of working for God, I actually neglected God.  Its fascinating to me, how easily our desire to do good can be manipulated into something that actually keeps us from God.  Our distorted altruisms morph into an ambition that is really about self unless we are focused upon God. I am reminded of the simplicity of devotion this morning with the well known scripture of Psalm 23.  It simply says "The Lord is my shepherd".  This speaks to our souls on a number of different levels: 1. "The Lord" and not anything else is the be our guide, provider, and protector.  The Hebrew word is Yahweh.  God, almighty is to be our ultimate shepherd.  Sixteenth Century Church Reformer John Calvin once quipped that the heart of humanity is a factory for idols.  I find that t