Blueprints of Eden

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The beginning of a new year and a new Bible reading plan can bring much excitement and hope as Christians gear up to read through the Bible. The first couple of months, the reader gets to take in some interesting stories through the books of Genesis and into Exodus—famous stories that even those unfamiliar with the Bible would know. It’s captivating reading (outside of a few genealogies). Then comes some ancient laws in the middle of Exodus when the people of Israel reach Mount Sinai. The reader thinks, “Okay, I can get through this.” But out of nowhere, the reader’s hit with Exodus chapter 25. Of the next sixteen chapters, thirteen contain blueprint designs for a tent along with uniform clothing patterns. Not exactly text that the typical reader will find intriguing.

As a summary, chapters 25-31 of Exodus contain the plans to build the Tabernacle as well as the design of the uniform for the priest. Chapters 35-40 repeat the blueprint plans as the Israelites follow through with building the tent. Even though the tent itself is highly important to the people of Israel as this is where God would dwell in their midst, it seems kind of redundant (and boring) to go into that much detail. So, what’s the point of having thirteen chapters of plans dedicated to this tent structure?

It is helpful to go back to the beginning. Genesis starts with a seven-day creation story and narrows down to the land of Eden. There are some details in these two chapters to take note of:

  • God dwells with Humanity in Eden
  • Trees are prominent in the garden
  • Fruit is in the garden
  • There is a three-tiered element to the garden land (the land, region of Eden, garden in Eden)
  • Adam and Eve will work the garden1
  • Rivers flow out of the garden
  • Beautiful stones are found in the garden
  • After Adam and Eve disobey, they are exiled to the east2
  • Cherubim with a flaming sword protect the entrance to the garden

With these details in mind, elements of Exodus 25-31 may start to stand out. It is as if God is having them build a little replica of Eden in the middle of his people. The tabernacle is also a three-tiered space, guarded by a flaming altar with cherubim on the doors of the holy space, facing east.3 Within that space are items made from precious stones and wood.4 Depictions of trees and fruit are hung on the walls and made into ceremonial elements, with a basin of water, too. Add to that a seven-day ceremony that was held to dedicate the tabernacle and priest.5

God did not give Moses random blueprints to build the tabernacle. He was modeling the Garden of Eden where God and humanity dwelt together in a full and complete relationship. The relationship Adam and Eve had with God in the garden before Genesis chapter 3 was an experience God wanted to provide to his people once again through this tent. Of course, there were some stringent regulations about how that played out, but God was committed to bringing his space and humanity’s space back together in totality. The tabernacle was a constant reminder of God’s presence among the Israelites and his covenant with them.

The tabernacle was the portable version of the temple King Solomon would later build in Jerusalem. If you read the description of the temple blueprints in 1 Kings 6, many of the same garden imagery is used once again. It is another depiction of God’s commitment to restoring his creation as it was in the garden.

The role of the priest of the tabernacle was also significant. Israel was called to be a nation of priests to all the word.6The priest worked in the tabernacle and, later, temple as a mediator between God and humanity. Israel was called to do the same to the world around them. Unfortunately, Israel continually rejected God’s covenant, so the temple itself did not serve its ultimate purpose, nor did the priest or the nation of Israel.

When John starts his Gospel, there is an instructive verse in chapter 1: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”7 The “Word” is a reference to Jesus, and the word “dwelt” is the Greek word for “tabernacled.” From the very start of his narrative, John claimed Jesus was the space where God and humanity are in full relationship, just as they were in the garden and as the tabernacle/temple represented. A few chapters later while Jesus taught at the Jerusalem temple, he pronounced he would destroy the temple and in three days raise it up. His audience was very confused. The narrator then jumps in and tells the reader Jesus was talking about himself.8 Jesus saw himself as both the temple and priest—the place God dwelt and the mediating priest between God and humans.9

When Jesus ascended into the heavens, he told his followers to wait for the Holy Spirit so that God’s presence would fill a new kind of temple, Jesus’ followers, both corporately and as individuals.10  This has major implications. Now instead of one tent or one temple or even one Jesus on the earth, God’s dwelling presence is now within followers of Christ—followers collectively known as the body of Christ that will spread out and proclaim the good news of Jesus all over the world. Christians, with the same vocation as the priest mediating in the tabernacle, are to be walking around as little Eden spaces in the world.11

Exodus chapters 18-25 may seem redundant, overly detailed, and boring, but they point both backward and forward to God’s redeeming of creation and humanity through Jesus. And it is Jesus who empowers his “body” to be the images of God though his indwelling Spirit, proclaiming, modeling, and calling all creation into a new Eden.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:15 and Numbers 3:7-8 use the same Hebrew word for the priest’s work
  2. Genesis 3:24
  3. Outer court, Holy Place, Holy of Holies
  4. The Hebrew word ‘ʿēṣ’ is used for trees and wood
  5. Leviticus 8:33
  6. Exodus 19:6
  7. John 1:14
  8. John 2:21-22
  9. Hebrews 4:14
  10. Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8
  11. 1 Peter 2:5

How Should We Fast?

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Why Should We Fast? listed several OT narrative situations when people responded by fasting. We observed that fasting serves as a means of intensifying our awareness of our dependence on God and intensifying our prayers.

Considering what we see in the experience of Israel when it comes to fasting, we can discern some things that can both encourage us to fast and guide us as we do so.

When and why should we fast? Generally, when we identify a specific need or situation that requires a season of intensity in prayer. For example:

  • Whenever you care deeply about a situation that is out of your control. If fasting serves to increase urgency and intensity, what is going on in your life or another person’s life that needs God’s intervention? Maybe a ruptured relationship, maybe the need for protection in the midst of conflict, may in a big decision that must be made when you can’t predict the outcome. We can fast and pray on behalf of someone who gets a bad diagnosis, who has a big job interview or a big test. We could fast and seek God to move in the life of the people on our Top 5 list.
  • When you need to go to God in grief, in a season when tragedy has occurred – in your life or someone else’s. In these seasons fasting acknowledges our utter dependence on God for life and acknowledges his will is sovereign and good.
  • When you need to confess sin and commit to a life of repenting from sinful actions.
  • Whenever you want to intensify the focus of your prayer.

How should we fast? In ways that make it possible for us to feel the physical longing that remind us of our mortality and dependence on God. We can fast privately about personal situations, and we can join in fasting seasons with the church or with other communities of faith (such as our small group). Fasts can be:

  • Private, about personal situations.
  • Corporate, in response to a call of the leadership of the church or to a group of faithful friends.
  • Spontaneous, for a short time, maybe just one meal, as we pray for God to work when we are surprised or overwhelmed.
  • Strategic, planned ahead of time and practiced for a specific duration or rhythmic periods. (i.e. One day a week for a month; one evening a week; every morning for 30 days.)
  • From food, to be reminded of our spirit need by our physical hunger.
  • From habits or cravings, a fast from media, exercise, or work can serve to break patterns of mindless indulgence and replace them with intentional devotion to God.
  • With urgency and intensity, utilizing the fasting season to focus our minds and hearts on being in God’s presence.

One thing Jesus makes clear us that fasting should be discrete, in the sense that the point is to intensify our interaction with God, not to make an impression on other people. (Matt. 6)

We can still fast in community, in response to the call of the church, but we need to always remember fasting is just a vehicle, a tool, it is not an objective.

It is important to understand that the practice of fasting does not make a person more “spiritual” or somehow more acceptable to God. The prophets point out that fasting (like any other religious action) in the absence of willing obedience and the pursuit of Godly character in other parts of our lives is a waste of time (Isaiah 58, Jeremiah 14; 36). Fasting can be a productive discipline when it is accompanied by true repentance or desire to turn to God in worship and obedience. When we have pure motives for why we fast we have great freedom to do it in a variety of situations and with different things.

After my survey of the Old Testament narratives about fasting I had a real sense of personal conviction. Partially because I hadn’t ever taken the time to consider what there is to learn from how and when the people of Israel fasted. But also because it made me wonder why I am not more often so broken, desperate, repentant to employ a season of fasting to intensify my prayers for the lost, the sick, the sinning.

But God is gracious, and I have learned, and I will use fasting as a gift God has given to draw me close.

Why Should We Fast?

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Why fast? What is the point? When should I fast and for how long? These are legitimate questions, because for many people the practice of fasting is unfamiliar and for some maybe even seemingly unnecessary. Depending on your faith tradition, fasting may not even part of your experience in church. So, when there is a call to fast you respond with some reluctance or even resistance, because we don’t understand the meaning and purpose of it.

This describes my personal experience. I have done seasons of fasting, sometimes in response to a call from the church and sometimes on my own initiative. But honestly my fasting in community was done more out of a desire to submit to the leadership of my church than a genuine commitment to intensely focus on my need for God’s intervention in my life or someone else’s. I have also fasted as a kind of muti purpose “I’ll do something spiritual and maybe lose a few pounds” effort. Unfortunately, both of those approaches miss the true motivation and objective of entering a season of fasting.

We shouldn’t let ourselves settle for an uneducated view of what a productive fast is and why we do it. The Bible speaks about fasting often enough that we should let it teach us how to engage in the practice in a meaningful way.

What does it mean to fast and why should we do it?

The Hebrew term used for fasting is part of the family of words that mean to weep, to morn, to deny oneself. In the Hebrew Bible people often fasted in response to a crisis or a tragedy. Fasting was both a personal and sometimes corporate expression of grief and often an expression of regret and repentance – (at least among the faithful.) Sometimes fasting was observed as part of seeking God’s favor and protection in the presence of a threat, so it was a response to fear.

The practice of fasting from food has its roots in the knowledge that we are both physical and spiritual creatures. The experience of being hungry connects our physical dimension to our spiritual need. Simply put, during a fast the gnawing sensation of hunger in our stomach serves as an unignorable reminder of our desperate need for God’s provision for all things in this life and for life beyond.

Our problems and failures and circumstances are not just physical or earthy in nature. They are reflections our mortality. They represent reminders that we are fragile and temporary creatures. The practice of fasting is intended to remind us of our humanity and physical limitations. Few things can connect us to our dependent nature than going hungry.

Through fasting we leverage a season of hunger to heighten our awareness and focus on the greater ways we need God’s grace and mercy. The need for food represents our need for God’s provision of forgiveness, healing, help, strength and faith.

You can see this almost universally in the narrative texts that describe situations in which fasting was employed by the people of Israel and the early church. The following sample texts are representative:

1 Samuel 7 – Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness God had allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Lord. In the process of it’s potential return to Israel the prophet Samuel commanded Israel to rid themselves of idols and return to the Lord. Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah and they fasted and confessed their sin.

1 Samuel 31 – After king Saul was killed the Philistines took his body and displayed it as a trophy to humiliate Israel. When some valiant men of Israel recovered his body, they buried it and fasted for seven days in grief and remorse, for Saul and for the situation in Israel.

2 Samuel 12 – King David fasted over the sickness and death of his son by Bathsheba. His fast was in grief and desperation for the life of his son, but also in knowing his sin was the cause. He fasted in repentance and hope that God would forgive him and spare his child.

Ezra 8 – Ezra proclaims a fast in seeking the Lord’s protection on the remnant of people returning from exile to Judah.

Ezra 9 – Ezra fasted in disappointment and broken heartedness over the unfaithfulness of people who had intermarried with foreign, idol worshipping people.

Esther 4 – Mordecai fasts, laments, and weeps upon learning of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews. Esther asks that all Israel fast as she prepares to do the unlawful and enter the king’s presence to ask his favor.

Daniel 6 – King Darius fasted all night in anguish and guilt for unjustly having Daniel put in the lion pit.

Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 – David describes fasting in anguish, seeking God’s intervention and relief from the relentless torments of his enemies.

Acts 13 and 14 – Luke records church leaders fasting before sending out missionaries, and as part of committing men to the responsibility and burden of eldership in the local church.

If you read the referenced texts and the different situations that call for fasting, you see the motivation include seasons of grief, tragedy, remorse, desperation, fear. All things that should drive us into the presence of God in prayer and in his Scriptures. Fasting was a means of addressing the urgency and increasing the intensity of people’s declaration of dependence, trust, and petition of God’s response to significant moments in life and in the life of the church.

If we just use these texts as a general guide, we can identify many situations and seasons where we could practice fasting the same way they did – as a way to infuse our need for God’s help with urgency and intensity.

A Mark of Justice and Mercy

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Many people assume the Bible is a boring read, of course if one starts with Genesis, that assumption is quickly dismissed. There are some fascinating (if not weird) stories right at the start! Cain and Abel is a well known story that has elicited many question from readers for thousands of years. For instance, what is the “mark” of Cain?

The God of the Bible is presented as both just and merciful, and the “mark of Cain” is an example of that justice and mercy. After Cain kills his brother out of jealousy, he becomes a fugitive and is afraid for his life, but God “puts a mark” on Cain that will protect him from those trying to take vengeance in their own hands2. But what is the “mark”? Scripture doesn’t say, and that ambiguity is on purpose to set a pattern moving forward.

The first few chapters of Genesis set up many narrative patterns that are repeated in the rest of the Scriptures. One of the patterns is the narrative use of the Hebrew word ʾôt , typically translated “mark” or “sign” for English translations. And when a reader comes upon a story that contains a ʾôt (mark/sign), it is most often a result of both God’s justice and His mercy.

Shortly after the story of Cain and Abel is the story of Noah. The earth is filled with violence, God is grieved and uses the waters to reset creation, except for Noah’s family and the mini-Eden boat that is protected during the flood. After the waters subside, God gives another ʾôt to humanity (namely Noah’s family) and the creatures of the boat, the sign of the “bow in the clouds”3. Water, which just acted as an instrument of justice on a corrupt and violent humanity is now given to Noah as a sign of mercy that never again will the earth be destroyed in a deluge. The “bow in the clouds” is a sign in the sky that God is both just and merciful.

Chapter 12 becomes a hinge point for the book of Genesis, narrowing down on a descendant of Noah, the man Abram. Abram is asked to leave all he has known and trust God’s promise of a land and family that shall bless “all the families of the earth”.4 Within the narrative about Abram is a ʾôt that will mark a people for hundreds of generations after. But why another “sign/mark”?

There is one problem with Abram and his wife Sarai, they are both old and no longer of childbearing age. Will they trust God and his promise, even if it sounds crazy, or they will try their own way? Abram and Sarai seem to be set on trying their own way instead of trusting in God’s promise. Along the way there are some bright spots, but for much, it’s distrust, unfaithfulness and consequences.

At one point in the story, Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands, and offer up her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abram, in order to produce the promised child. Hagar does become pregnant and even though this was the idea of Sarai, she resents the child, and Abram gives approval for her to “deal harshly” with Hagar. Now instead of a flourishing family provided by God’s provision to Abram and Sarai because they trusted in His promise, there is an abused, pregnant, immigrant7 slave alone in the wilderness.[1] Abram and Sarai certainly do not trust God, and in their distrust, harm those they were called to bless.

And so God will be just and merciful, again with a ʾôt. The very next narrative is the story of the “sign/mark” of circumcision. God must be just for the actions against Hagar and thus he tells Abram he must circumcise that which was misused in an attempt to produce offspring on their own terms. This marks the descendants of Abraham (God changes his name along with the sign9) for generations. A constant reminder of what Abram and Sarai did to Hagar because they didn’t trust God’s promise and that what God meant for good can be taken and used in humanity’s own devices as evil. God is just.

And mercy? It’s like the “bow in the clouds”. That which was used as a judgment can also serve as a sign of God’s enduring mercy. It is still through that which was misused and now marked, that the promised offspring for Abraham and Sarah10 comes to fruition. The barren Sarah becomes pregnant with the promised offspring Isaac.

The ambiguous mark of Cain sets a pattern moving forward throughout the story of Scripture that points to God as both just and merciful11. Fast forward in the story and Jesus fulfills this pattern in his crucifixion. He takes on the righteous justice of God in place of corrupt and sinful humanity, the consequences of all of humanity’s distrust and disobedience, death. God is just. Yet, through the same act of the crucifixion, God in humanity’s place, is the offer of life from death. God is merciful. The pattern continues for those who are in Christ Jesus, also marked with his crucifixion, through baptism. A mark of those in God’s Kingdom, participating in Jesus’ death and participating in new life through his resurrection.

A ʾôt of both justice and mercy. May we never forget the justice and mercy of God in our own story, and would our lives display the justice and mercy of God to the world.  

1Genesis Ch. 3

2Genesis Ch. 4

3Genesis 9:13

4Genesis 12:3

5Genesis Ch. 15

6Genesis 15:6

7The root of Hagar name means “to flee” as an immigrant

8Genesis 16:13

9Genesis 17:5

10Sarai’s name is also changed to Sarah, Genesis 18:15

11Exodus 10:2, Exodus 12:13, Numbers 21:8/John 3:14

[1] Abram and Sarai are harsh and unfaithful, but God is merciful and just to all people. He sees and hears the oppressed, he rescues Ishmael and promises her that, although despised and discarded by Sarai, her son will also father a multitude.

An Apocalypse of Conquering

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There’s a propensity to come to Revelation ready to “figure it all out”, conquer the text to know all the right answers. It’s how we navigate most of life, so why not also this book of Scripture? Maybe a more helpful approach is to let the text “conquer us.” Let it shape us over multiple readings and reflections to form us into the image of Jesus. But for many readers this is a challenge when engaging with Revelation in particular.

Revelation is written in the style of apocalypse (also the title, the Greek translation of Revelation), a literary style that was very popular 2000 years ago, but foreign to modern readers. And on top of that it’s to be communicated as a letter to seven ancient churches that would have been in modern day Turkey. That’s a world apart. But it’s part of the Christian scriptures, so what can we use to help us appropriately engage with this book that has a communication style a world away?

From the “How to Read the Bible Class” at CCCC we know that finding what the text meant to the original readers is a great first step to find its meaning to us today. Near the beginning, Revelation starts off with seven letters that all have a specific charge to each church. That charge is “to conquer”. Then the question becomes: what did those churches think when they heard they were to conquer? They certainly saw the Roman Empire conquer many peoples around them with military might. They had expectations of what political rulers were to do to when conquering rivals, both with power and economic leverage. And they saw what happened to those who didn’t assimilate to cultural norms, being ostracized or even persecuted.

We know the general perception of “conquer” to the ancient society at large (and it’s very similar still in our day), but John wants to “reveal” or apocalypse what this means to those who call Jesus the Christ, their King. (Christ is a royal term, the Greek translation of the Hebrew title “Messiah”).

In Chapter 1, king language is repeatedly used to describe Jesus, then Chapter 2 and 3 contain the specific communications to each of the seven churches with the charge “to conquer” (remember, all of Revelation is a letter too). Starting in Chapter 4 and moving through 5, John is invited to see a new perspective at what is happening, God is continually worshiped in the heavenly throne room, and knows that his creation needs renewal, so a scroll is introduced that anticipates the plan to deal with the corruption of creation and decree restorative justice.

John’s first reaction upon hearing this is weeping, he laments along with creation (1), that the scroll must be open by one who is worthy. At this point, an angel describes the worthy one, again using royal-messianic language, “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who has conquered (2)”. After hearing all the royal language (and remember the empires way of conquering), he turns and sees….

A slain lamb (3).

Hardly what one thinks of when one thinks of anything related to conquer, a bloody lamb? But this is how John’s see the conquering Messianic King. To the churches that are charged with “conquering”, this is the image they are given to think through. Their imagination of what it means to conquer has to be reoriented and challenged by the apocalypse John’s gives them. New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham puts it this way:

“Key to John’s vision of the slaughtered Lamb is to recognize the contrast between what he hears and what he sees. He hears that ‘the Lion of the Trib of Judah, the Root of David, had conquered’. The two messianic titles evoke a strongly militaristic and nationalistic image of the Messiah of David as conqueror of the nations, destroying the enemies of God’s people. But his image is reinterpreted by what John sees: the Lamb whose sacrificial death has redeemed people from all nations. By juxtaposing the two contrasting images, John has forged a new symbol of conquest by sacrificial death. The messianic hopes evoked are not repudiated: Jesus really is the expected Messiah of David. But insofar as the latter was associated with military violence and narrow nationalism, it is reinterpreted by the image of the Lamb.”(4)

All of Revelation is a revealing (apocalypse) of God’s plan and promised renewal, but this is the apocalypse within the apocalypse. These first five chapters set the framework for reading the rest of the letter. It should orient our notion of what John describes in the rest of the letter, God verses evil, and how each corresponding entity conquers.  Jesus is our example of what it looks like to conquer, and John wants to bring that into focus. Both Jesus’ teachings and how he lived that out to rescue and restore the world should not get lost in the common notion of what conquering meant 2000 years ago or today.

So may we follow Jesus into the way he conquers. He conquers by seemingly looking like he has been conquered. He is our example today and for the ancient churches of Revelation. This is not something we can “figure out” after a single pass through reading Revelation, but something to live out in the community Jesus has invited us into and among our neighbors. It may look strange to those unfamiliar with Jesus and bring along difficulties of assimilation to our own society’s cultural norms.  But that’s what Jesus has invited us into, a lifetime of following him to the cross, willing to sacrifice oneself, while holding the tension that just as Jesus defeated death, so will those who call him King.

“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:7

(1) Also see Romans 8:22-23

(2) Emphasis mine

(3) Also see Exodus 12:1-14, Numbers 28:4 , Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29

(4) Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, p. 74

Community: The Heartbeat of Christians

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In C.S. Lewis’ allegorical story, The Great Divorce, Lewis depicts Hell as a place where the inhabitants are on a never-ending expansion away from God and each other. Early in the story we get to listen in on a conversation between two residents where this phenomenon is described:

The trouble is that they’re so quarrelsome. As soon as anyone arrives he settles in some street. Before he’s been there twenty-four hours he quarrels with his neighbor. Before the week is over he’s quarreled so badly that he decides to move.

The conversation continues by describing people as eventually moving further and further apart until they are “astronomical distances” from each other, every now and then moving further still away from God and neighbor.

This is such an apt picture of the culture we live in.

Our society is so quick to separate people into cliques and tribes based on any number of socially constructed categories, and this is exacerbated by a runaway individualism which continues to sort and separate until each person becomes a tribe of one, having no sense of belonging anywhere or with anyone. We continue to move further and further away from each other until we are so far apart it seems there can be no return.

Christians must be different. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatian church that, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” (Gal. 3:28). To the Corinthian church he wrote, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit,” (1 Cor. 12:12-13). Christians of course are still individuals with various cultures and languages, but we are individuals unified, placed into communion with each other, through the work of Jesus.

You see, entering into community is a requirement of becoming a Christian. We are baptized into community, into the body of Christ. To fully participate in the call of faith, to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus, requires us to not only move towards Jesus, but also to move towards others as Jesus did.

The practices of regularly worshipping together, taking the Lord’s Supper together, serving together, participating in small group together, caring for our neighbors together – these communal activities will, through the Holy Spirit’s help, begin to move us outward towards God and neighbor, eventually culminating in what theologian Scot McKnight calls a “fellowship of differents.” Revelation 7 describes it this way, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,” (Rev. 7:9).

Let’s pray that God ignites and fans the flame of community in our hearts, inspiring us to love God, his church, and our unchurched neighbors, building a stronger church because of this love. Amen.

Be Still

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According to recent studies the average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day. [1]

Research shows each user to be on his or her phone for an average of four hours and 25 minutes each day. [2]

With all of our digital consumption and our attention given to our smart phones, our actual attention span is dropping. According to an article from Time Magazine, our average attention span in the year 2,000 was 12 seconds. Since the digital revolution our attention span has decreased by four seconds, leaving us at an average of eight seconds — one second less than the attention span of a goldfish. [3]

So, can we just be honest?

We are distracted.

We are hurried.

We are tired.

And we’re only ramping up.

We run from appointment to appointment, meeting to meeting, the gym to the office to the little league practice field, to the fast food restaurant, and just when we finally start to slow down and give our minds a minute to settle, we turn on Netflix or scroll through social media until we finally fall asleep.

And it’s not just those in the workplace or with busy family schedules. I have heard students in our church say that silence frightens them. To slow down and be quiet is to invite anxiety, loneliness, and even depression.

You may relate. How many friends do you know who can sit in silence for 10 minutes? How many of you have to have something making noise in order to fall sleep like box fans, white-noise apps, or ceiling fans?

We can’t even bear stillness and silence in our subconscious.

Meanwhile, the Psalmist writes:

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!” – Psalm 46:10

There’s a glaring contradiction between the unhurried, undistracted life of presence Scripture calls us to live, and the life we actually live in 21st century America.

But, for many of us, this is where the excuses start to flow.

The writers of the Bible had no idea what it would be like to live in today’s fast paced world.
Silence and stillness sound great, but you don’t know the kind of life I live, and the kind of pressures being put on me.

Things are different these days, “the times, they are a-changin’,” and if we don’t change with them we’ll fall behind.

If that’s you, I hear you. And I feel those same emotions. And, if you think for a minute that things today are frenetic and fast paced, and that being still and silent before the Lord is harder now than ever… you’d be right.

However, that doesn’t mean that stillness before God is a rhythm that is completely out of reach.

Here are some of the other sentiments in that same Psalm:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. – Psalm 46:1-3

And again,

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. – Psalm 46:6-7

The Psalmist seems to describe a terrifying reality of war, natural disaster, political unrest, and near-apocalyptic global events, and a stillness, rest, and peace in the God who is present, in control, and still worthy of attention and affection amidst the chaos.

What am I getting at?

I’m saying that the invitation is not to ignore the busyness, hurry, worry, and turbulence of life, but to find moments of stillness and silence in the midst of them.

Small daily disciplines of silence can actually restructure the pathways in our brain to slow down and be still throughout the rest of our day.

So how do we do that?

As a church we use the acronym B.R.E.A.D. as a tool to prayerfully encounter God through the scriptures.

And this acronym begins with B – Be Still.

Silence and solitude are not an additive to a busy life in order to make it easier. They are a lifeline to cling to in order to flourish.

We know digital escapism isn’t the answer.

We’re learning that more work, events, or distractions aren’t the solution.

But maybe, just maybe, five minutes of “being still and knowing [he is] God,” in the morning could actually start to change the way we live the other 1,435 minutes of our day.

Maybe, just maybe, 10 minutes of breathing deep and being quiet before we look at our smart phones could actually change the pathways of our psychological condition.

Maybe, just maybe being still and silent for 15 minutes before the kids wake up and the chaos of the day begins could change the way we read the Bible, change the way we encounter God, and even change the way we live.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

1 https://www.reviews.org/mobile/cell-phone-addiction/

2 https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/

3 applewebdata:/…/79A85C33-E3D4-4E06-8AFB-D3B512DB645E

How to Invite God Into Your Bible Study Time

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Biblical fluency does not happen because of our efforts alone. Rather, the Holy Spirit takes our efforts and then works in and through us to reveal truth and conform us to the image of Christ. As we approach the study of the Bible in prayer and with an open heart, we invite God to reveal himself and transform our lives through his Word.

Simply put, prayer is a conversation with God, an intimate dialogue where believers can express their thoughts, concerns, and gratitude.

Incorporating prayer into Bible study creates a two-way communication channel, allowing us to seek clarity of Scripture and invite the Holy Spirit to inform its understanding and then direct our actions. Praying as we study recalibrates our focus from a pursuit of information to a desire for life transformation. Life-change happens as we connect with God through prayer while being immersed in his Word.

Prayerfulness can be a simple, natural, and very important part of our time in the Word, from start to finish.

Praying before, during, and after our time in the Word each day is how we invite the Holy Spirit to join us in our study.Incorporating prayer shifts our focus from being primarily an academic or intellectual pursuit of knowledge to becoming a uniquely personal pursuit of knowing, trusting, and obeying God himself. Prayer invites God into our learning process. In prayer we commune with God as we understand and relate to his words in Scripture with the goal of knowing him rightly and steadily becoming more like him. When prayer is an integral part of our study time, we come to realize that the Bible is more about God than it is about ourselves.

So, pray all along the way.

Pray actively, pray honestly, and expect to connect with God as you read the words that he has specifically inspired and preserved for you and me and all who will call him LORD. Ask him to help you listen, to understand, and to willingly obey every day.

Keep it simple and enjoy the process.

Before you open your Bible to a passage of Scripture each day, take a minute to:

  • Thank God that his Word is truth, applicable for today, living and active.
  • Admit that spending time in the Word is not easy for you. Ask for his help. Briefly give him the concerns of your heart, setting them under his care while you focus on the Bible. Ask him to protect your time from distractions so that you can be mindful as you read.
  • Tell him that you want to know him rightly, understanding his character as he reveals it in the pages of Scripture.
  • Humbly ask him to show you your own sin and give you the courage and power to follow and obey him as he shows you where change is needed.

During your time in the word prayer is simply an interactive dialogue between you and the Holy Spirit. You can:

  • Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and give you wisdom and understanding.
  • Ask him to help you retain what you read and lessons he shows you.
  • Praise God when he shows you something about his character that is new to you.
  • Pray his words back to him.
  • Ask the LORD to give you understanding. If a passage does not make sense tell him so. Maybe jot down your question in your journal and see if he gives you understanding at another time.
  • Read the passage again if you have time.

Finally, after your time in the word:

  • Close by writing a simple prayer of devotion to God, praising him for who he is and thanking him for what he has done for you.
  • Ask that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, his truth would bear fruit in your life as you trust in and follow Jesus.

As you walk through your day, continue to engage with God through prayer seeking strength and guidance to apply the lessons you’ve learned from the Bible.

Waiting with Hope

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Waiting is hard, isn’t it?

I know it is for my kids when Christmas is coming!

The lists are made, they are so hopeful, so excited, and not so patient.

We’re rounding the corner towards the end of December, so it’s safe to say our Christmas trees are up, Christmas gifts have started to show up under those trees, and kids (and let’s be honest, some adults) are nearly exploding with anticipation, wondering what is in those packages. Kids poke them, lift them up to see how heavy they are, shake them a bit to see if they can get an idea of the type of object trapped inside, and some will see if they can get away with opening gifts in advance to ensure they are getting what they asked for.

Waiting is hard, isn’t it?

Prior to Jesus’ birth, Israel had hopes and expectations about promises made by God to them over their long history. Promises like land, a new king, and God living in their midst once again.

But in many ways, Israel never saw these promises completely fulfilled. Israel and Judah lost their land through being exiled by Assyria and Babylon. And although they were able to return to the land, they continued to be ruled by others. We even read in Ezekiel about God’s presence leaving the temple prior to its destruction by Babylon.

Before the birth of Jesus, Israel had not seen these promises come true, but still continued to wait and hope. Under the oppression of Rome, and after so long without hearing from God the waiting may have been so difficult it felt like a pipe dream.

But then, Jesus arrived: announced by angels at his birth, visited by Magi, proclaimed by John the Baptist preparing the people for his ministry. It was finally time!

In Jesus, we see the fulfillment of what Israel had been waiting for. Jesus was the new and better Moses, leading his people out of captivity to sin instead of captivity to Egypt, and into something far better than the Promised Land — the Kingdom of God.

Jesus, through his crucifixion on Earth, became the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And through his resurrection he made way for God to dwell among us again through the Holy Spirit.

And yet, we are still waiting. Even now, after the birth of Christ, his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the Spirit’s coming, sin still seems to reign. Death still steals those we love from us. And far too often, it looks as if the wicked will go unpunished. Like the promises given to Israel, we try to live with faithful hope. But we also have not seen the consummation of God’s plans for this world.

And waiting is hard.

So, in Advent we practice hope.

We hope for Jesus’ second coming, and with him true justice, for him to wipe away our tears, and for sin and death to be no more. We hope for God to be in this world fully and apparently. We hope for the new heavens and new earth that were promised.

We wait, but we wait in hope.

We wait, but we wait reflecting the love God has shown us, confident that the day is coming when we will see him again.

‘Tis the Party Season

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The same thing happens to me every year on Christmas morning. I’m awake very early. I sit with some coffee and listen to “Behold the Lamb of God,” and read the Christmas story in Luke. Then I start thinking about all the people I know and love who are in the grips of profound sadness, people who will celebrate Christmas without a child, or a parent, or a spouse who has passed away. I think about people who are very sick and about the ones who won’t get better. Without fail I end up in tears. Everything in me wants to just scream that this is so wrong. Death and pain and loneliness are everywhere all the time. Every year, in the wee hours of Christmas morning my heart breaks, because I know for many people the season exacerbates their pain.

Then, I look around at all collage of beautiful (and cheesy) Christmas paraphernalia that surrounds me. Someone who didn’t know us might think we have bought in to all the worst that secular culture has done to Christmas. We bring out the Christmas coffee mugs, cheesy musical Christmas toys, the door mat that plays a carol when you step on it, snowflake window decals, the electronic Christmas bell band, the basket full of elf hats, and the fake snowballs (really, whatever Wal-Mart was going to put in the dumpster we use at home to decorate for Christmas).

But even though they are just trinkets, and woefully inadequate, they proclaim that in our home we are remembering and rejoicing that something beautiful has happened.

We delight in the day because we believe the story.

We believe Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem and had a baby in a barn. We believe the angels burst out of the sky and blew the shepherd’s minds as they sang about the glory of God’s love. We believe Joseph maybe still had his doubts, but he trusted and obeyed God, and so witnessed the miracle. We believe that the child born of Mary is the Savior of the world, our Savior, and the Savior of all those people my heart hurts for on Christmas morning.

Every year as I sit in the light of the Christmas tree and listen to the story in song my tears change from sorrow to joy. Every year the wonder of God’s grace wells up in me and fills me with so much happiness and hope I want to burst.

How can I not jump for joy? Our Savior has come to us!

Christmas at our house means non-stop feasting and carbohydrate overload. We open presents. We launch sticky rubber chickens so they stick to the ceiling, then shoot them off with helicopter pistols and Nerf guns. We have fake snowball fights. We blow up balloons that fly around the house and make fart sounds. We play with all the new toys and wear our new slippers and wear ourselves out having the best time together.

But I love Christmas and Christmas day because I cherish the story the season represents.

I think it is God’s grace to us that so much of our culture still pauses for the season. Even if for many people it is just a few days off work, or if they think it’s just the greatest marketing ploy ever; even if some Christians get put off because an unbelieving culture doesn’t honor the meaning of a miracle they don’t believe; none of that inhibits the party at our house.

The holidays are no different than any other expression of God’s common grace to people – you can miss it completely if you choose to. Or, you can have eyes to see that God has given the most wondrous reason to throw a party.

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2: 10-11