Tag Archives: Bible

How Thick Is Your Bible?

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Reading an article for a counseling class I’m taking at church, I ran across a sentence that really clicked for me.

In the article, David Powlison writes about two kinds of Christians. Those who think that the Bible is good for certain things (spiritual growth, theological learning, etc). To these people, the Bible is thin. Though it’s good and helpful, it’s only good and helpful within it’s realm of influence.

But there is another type of Christian (the type of Christian I strive to be), that thinks that the Bible is good for all things. While not all issues are explicitly addressed in the Bible, the truths of the Bible are big enough to apply to any situation that we’d face in the 21st Century. These people have crammed Bibles, as Powlison says.

For example, what good would it have been if Jesus expressly spoken against the use of pornography 1800 years before the invention of the camera? But his teaching against lust leave no room for doubt that He’s against the use of pornography.

Now that I’ve given that background information, here’s what Powlison says that turned on the light bulb over my head:

“When people with thin Bibles hear people with crammed Bibles talk about the sufficiency of Scripture for counseling, they hear, ‘Something thin and incomplete is sufficient for a very complex job.’ That sounds ridiculous. Biblical counseling sounds absurd, doctinaire, obscurantist, the rantings of a small-minded know-nothings who glory in their ignorance.”*

Of course. I like to understand the views of others’, but this one was one that puzzled me until this point. How can someone claim that the Bible is God’s Word and not think that it could have transformative power in our daily lives?

But, of course saying that it does sounds ridiculous, if you’ve always only understand the Bible to be good for theological and spiritual things.

So, how thick is your Bible? I want to understand more about this valuable resource God has given us in His Word.

*Quote is from “Do You See?” in The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Volume XI Number 3, Spring 1993

Photo by sukisuki

Goals by the Day

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Happy New Year’s!

What else should I do for my first post of 2011, but talk about resolutions?  While choosing to write about resolutions on January 3rd isn’t creative, it is what everyone is talking about, so I’m jumping in.

This year, I’ve decided to make goals that can be measured daily.  I’ve made a small calendar (that I can keep in the cover of my Nook, hehe) to track which days I’ve done these 6 things:

1.  Read 10 chapters of the Bible.

2.  Work on Scripture memory. Specifically, I want to read or recite five times the chapter I’m working on memorizing, or if it’s just a verse or two, read or recite them 20 times.

3.  Read 100 pages (with 2 minutes of audio book equally one page).  This will keep me on track to read 120 books this year.  Definitely the most pleasurable thing on my resolutions list (and probably would get done anyway).

4. Exercise 20 minutes. By far the hardest thing on this list for me!

5. No unnecessary eating out. “Necessary” eating out is when it’s with friends or when I don’t have time to stop by home on my way to something.  Basically, I want to stop eating out (especially since it’s usually  junk that creates a lot of trash) when I’m just being too lazy to make something.

6.  Write or edit for 30 minutes. I really enjoy it, but if I don’t make time for it, it’s easy to ignore.  But this is important for my future goals (more information about that coming soon).

Sundays are free, so I get a break.  Each thing I complete earns me one “X” on that calendar date.  Every 125 Xs earns me one reward. That would be 3.5 weeks of perfect behavior or, more realistically, a month of good behavior.  I think my first reward will be a bottle of nail polish, and I have a list of other ideas, including dinner out, books, MP3 albums, jewelry, a purse, and trips to the beach or the cabin.  I’ll decide these as I go, as I’ll likely think of other things as I go along.

Will I be successful?  Perhaps.  History says “not quite,” but I’m not aiming for perfect.  I am wanting to maintain, establish, and re-establish good habits in my life.  In the short term, none of these seem too monumental, but they’ll help me get to my long-term goals and dreams.

Out of Oblivion: The Last

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And with this, that’s the last of the Xanga jewels I have for you. After this, I jumped in with both feet into “real” blogging and haven’t looked back since. No fickleness here.

May 5, 2006 – Tis the Season…

Quiz:

How many different majors did I try out in college?

How many different ministry tracks will I try out in seminary?

My bet is that they will officially be the same number. I’M A FICKLE PERSON! I have rejected that label since it was attributed to me in high school by an ex-boyfriend (with good reason). Of course, “fickle” was not in my vocabulary back then, so I had to look it up.

It’s not that I have trouble making up my mind but that my mind is actually always made up. This requires me to change my mind like a ball hitting a wall: very suddenly. However, I’m also prideful and do not like to admit that I was wrong. God’s been definitely been working in me on this issue. He’s shown me that all I have to do is follow Him. What a relief!

“But seek first His kindgom and and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33-34

Out of Oblivion: What God Was Teaching Me

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Sorry if this post appeared in your feed reader before it was published!  I think it’s worth it, though, as what I had to say 4 years ago encouraged me and convicted me today.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

This morning’s time with God was so intense. My emotional level was about a 9. I felt like I had just woken up from a dream, totally disoriented as to what was really going on. Things are changing in my life, but that’s okay. It is during times like these that I’m tempted to let my emotions get the best of me. Not that I should ignore my emotions either, but they certainly do not deserve the driver’s seat. The shakiness of everything else should point me to cling to The Rock who never changes and will always be a refuge for me. (Psalm 71:3)

A convicting word about how we participate in worship services:

The Lord speaks to His prophet, Ezekiel: “So My people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue unjust gain. Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don’t obey them.” – Ezekiel 33:31-32 HCSB

Monday April 17, 2006 – I’ve Heard This Already

“I’ve heard this already.” That’s what I heard come out of a particularly ornery 5-year-old’s mouth as we were sitting in Sunday School on Easter. The teacher was teaching from Matthew 28, about Jesus’s resurrection. The fact that this boy treated the lesson like storytime wasn’t surprising; a lot of kids do. But it made me think about how much we grown-ups do, too.

Are we happy when we hear a sermon on a familar passage? Do we think, “Here we go again, the same old story”? I have to admit that I do sometimes have this attitude when I approach Scripture. It’s hard not to, actually, when our first thought is entertainment or fresh revelation. God can, and will, provide “fresh” insights even from familiar texts, but that cannot be our aim. We read, study, and listen to the Bible because it is God’s Word as He revealed it to us. We know Him better because of it, and we grow in our relationship because we know Him better. We allow His Word to act as a mirror and reflect our true self and reveal our hidden desires. We change according to what we read, in order to gain greater fellowship with the Father and with fellow believers. (James 1, 2 Timothy 3:16)

I hope that this post has been an encouragement to you in some way. I want to take this lesson to heart!

Church Quotes

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“You could always count on Mrs. Mohler to keep the gossip flowing, using church words to make it okay.” – Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth, p. 139

“Faith is a lack of contentment with what I am, but a sense of satisfaction with what God has given me of himself in Jesus.” - Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 146

“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” – Galatians 6:1, NASU

about the Republican Party, but sadly, it describes a lot of churches, too: ”You have to look one way, think one way, and act one way.  Wear the uniform!  Embrace groupthink!  And for goodness’ sake, no strangers allowed!…The doors and windows aren’t just shut.  The curtains are drawn.” - Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain, p. 8

“There is little need for large churches stuffed with satisfied audiences.  There is a great need for a movement of disciples going into the overlooked places of the world to see and serve the kingdom of God.” - Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 101

“They killed anyone who stood in their way.  They burned our house down and called it a mistake.  They weren’t in their own country so they didn’t have to answer to anyone.” - In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, p. 57

“Jesus’ assignment to the apostles was not to get people to respond to an altar call but to make disciples of all nations.” - Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 99

“But lately, in the Republican Party, anybody with a new idea is labeled ‘progressive,’ that dirty word, or just ignored.  I can’t think of a greater turn-off.  Why would a vibrant young person, full of energy and passion and lots of creativity, be interested in the Republican Party if new ideas and fresh starts aren’t welcome?” - Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain, p. 38

“In the last century, evangelical Christians parted ways with Christians in mainline churches, in part over suspicions about ‘the social gospel.’  Evangelicals came off sounding as if helping people was borderline unbiblical.” - Mere Christianity by Michael Spencer, p. 203

“The country people around the farm say that until the nail is hit, it doesn’t believe in the hammer.” – In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, p. 20

“If a church isn’t supporting and growing disciples, isn’t crossing cultures with the gospel, and isn’t encouraging and producing Jesus-followers, I believe you’re entitled to look for a different form of community that is doing these things.” – Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 212

I’ll Never Read My Bible the Same Way Again

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Okay, so the title sounds a little dramatic, but it’s so true.  30 days ago I started reading my Bible in a way new to me.  I’m absolutely loving it, and now I want to convert you.

Before you get all in a tizzy, I don’t think that everyone should read the Bible on a particular plan.  I’m a big fan of trying to read the Bible in a year, but how you get there (and when you need to focus on particular passages instead) I leave up to you.

My previous Bible-reading plan was to read 3 chapters of the Old Testament and 3 chapters of the New Testament.  Or at least that’s what I did the 10% of the time that I would complete it.  Usually, I’d sadly settle for reading a chapter or two.   As much as I read man’s word, I knew that this was unacceptable.  Reading the Bible is necessary and I wanted to, but books like Leviticus and Isaiah would often make it difficult.

I agree with David Platt that it’s more important for me to read even a book like Leviticus than to read the mere words of man, but it was hard to put in practice.

In my browsing Challies.com for a new book to read (yes, I see the irony), I found the post where he talked about Professor Horner’s Bible-Reading System.

I don’t like the “system” name, but for lack of a better one, I’ll go with it.

Basically, the idea is that you read 10 chapters a day.  But unlike my previous plan, each chapter comes from a different book.  Some books get read more than others (like Proverbs, Acts, the gospels, and the letters) and some get read less (like the prophets).

On any given day, you’re reading one chapter of: the gospels, the Pentateuch, 2 letters, a book of wisdom, Proverbs, Psalms, Old Testament history, a prophet, and Acts.

How does that work out in my life?  In the past 30 days I’ve read:

23 chapters of Numbers
18 chapters of Joshua
19 chapters of Job
19 Psalms
19 chapters of Proverbs
18 chapters of Isaiah
22 chapters of Matthew
18 chapters of Acts
2 chapters of 1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
2 chapters of Ephesians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus

That’s 199 chapters…more than 1/6 of the Bible.  And that’s being FAR from perfect.  In fact, if this was for a grade, I’d barely pass at reading only 2/3 of the “required” reading.

But that’s what’s awesome.  Being imperfect, I’ve only read 199 chapters.  If I had read according to my old plan, I’d have read 180 chapters…if I was perfect.   And I’ll tell you that I was far less on track in my reading before.

I still think that you should read all your Bible regularly, however you choose to do that.  But may I recommend this method?  It’s easy to tweak, and I promise, it’s easier to keep track of than it seems.

I’ll never go back.

*Note: If you start comparing what I’ve said I read to the system, you’ll notice I started lists 2 and 4 in different spots, as that was where I was already in my Bible reading, so I started there.

Photo by Josh Liba

Why I (try to) Submit

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Last fall I talked about the “S” word, that is, “serve.”  But the more I think about it, the more I’ve realized that what our society hates more than serving one another is submitting to one another.

Submit — another “S” word.

Though I’ve never specifically talked about it on the blog, you may have realized that I have a fairly traditional view of gender (know that the fact that “it’s always been so” has no part in my reasonings for taking this view), formally known as the complementarian position.  Basically, I believe that God created men and women equal in value, but different in function.  (For more on this, check out my discussion of Women’s Ministry in the Local Church over on Offering Hospitality.)

One of the major differences between this view and others found in evangelical churches centers around that “S” word.

I do believe it’s a part of the wife’s role to submit to her husband. (The sound you hear is a dozen readers unsubscribing to this blog.)

I think that this is an unpopular view because:

1.  We like to be gods of our own worlds. We’re sinners whose sin taints everything.

2.  Our culture equates roles with worth. The doctor and lawyer are viewed with respect while the guy who empties the trash or the lady working at the cash register are dopes who don’t qualify for a “real” job.

3.  We wrongly think that being submissive to someone is choosing to be their servant. Yes, serving someone (as in putting their needs before our own) is a part of submission, but doing their biding is not.

4.  Awful, sinful things (spousal abuse, domineering attitudes, slavery, etc.) have been associated with the word “submission.” While the Bible commands submission, it never gives anyone the right to force submission.  Submission is done only by willing choice of the one submitting.

5.  We forget that Jesus Himself is submissive to His Heavenly Father. If we don’t think that Jesus is any lesser for submitting to His Father’s will by dying on the cross, then we shouldn’t think a wife is any lesser because she submits to her husband, letting him have the final say on a family decision. (She definitely has a primary role in the discussion, and should lovingly share her views on the matter to her husband.)

6.  We also forget that all believers are commanded to submit to one another. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV)  We should all be placing each others’ interests above our own, so a good husband may choose his wife’s preference over his own simply because it’s her preference.

I know that submission in marriage will be hard for me, harder than I probably think it will be.  I’m independent and think I’m always right.  But I’m getting good practice now (or at least I’m learning, in part, how hard it is!) by submitting to God, my church elders, and to others.  Submission isn’t easy, but it’s easier when you know the heart of the one you are submitting to.

Photo by kaimar

FQF: Welcome to My Store

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1.  How long does it take you to get ready in the morning for whatever you have to do on a typical day?

It usually takes me a half hour to get ready in the morning. I shower in the evenings now that I’m going to the pool after work, so it’s just the time I need to get dressed, get my hair in some manageable order, put some make up on, and the usual.

2.  If you opened your own retail store, what would be its theme, name, and target clientele?

It’d definitely be a book store, and I’d love to target it to non-readers. Not sure about a name…I’m sure it’d be something cutesy.

3.  What is your favorite biography?

Corrie Ten Boom’s Hiding Place. I should read it again. The passage about how she unraveled her pajamas so she could use the thread to bring color to her jail cell haunts me when I’m ungrateful.

4.  How particular are you when it comes to writing implements?

Very. I really just use one kind of pen: Uniball Vision. LOVE them and in all their colors. They don’t bleed and don’t ever give out until they run out of ink. I have a favorite in mechanical pencils as well (don’t know what they are though), but I haven’t really used them since I gave up my math ed dreams. But since I’m going back to that, God willing, I’ll need them again.

5.  What’s your favorite Bible verse?

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASU)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be

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I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it takes to become the woman that God wants me to be — whom I want to be.

I’m only 27.  By most accounts, I can expect to live another 50 years, God willing.  50 years is a long time, and I’d hate to not have grown during that time.  I don’t want to be the same person in 2060 that I am in 2010.

I have examples all around me of women who have walked this earth longer than me.  Some are good examples, aging gracefully (I’m not talking about outward appearance), while some aren’t, with every word they speak dripping with bitterness and self-focus.

I want to be like the first group of ladies.  I’ve done a lot of observing (for this non-observant person), trying to determine how to be on the right path.  While I don’t know all their secrets yet, here are a few things I’ve figured out:

1.  Inward focus will cause you to atrophy.  My life is not about me.

2.  If I want to really know my Bible when I’m older, I need to spend time studying, reading, and memorizing it now.

3.  Submission is always hard, especially in marriage.  But I can practice now by being submissive to the leaders God has placed in my life, and most of all, to God.

4.  To have a mouth that speaks encouraging, gentle, and thought-provoking words, I need to have the thoughts that match.

5.  Being a servant to others can be a joy.  Put others’ needs first…God will care for my own.

6.  I need help.  I need women in my life that will help guide me in truth.

Knowing these things is easy…implementing them is hard.  I want to be a good example for the next generation of women.

I have a long way to go, but God is faithful.

Photo by Gabriela Camerotti

All Non-Fiction Quotes

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“In rejecting a biblical view of people, the world eliminates any hope of answering the ‘what is wrong?’ question accurately.  And if it wrongly answers this question, how can it possibly provide a proper solution?” – Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp, p. 9

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

“Caring for hurting people will always require more strength and grace than we possess.” – Susan Hunt in Women’s Ministry in the Church, p. 93

“Jesus remains, depsite two millinnia of rotten publicity from his followers, a universally attractive and compelling person.” – Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 49

“The West has finally achieved the rights of man…but man’s sense of responsibility to God and society has grown dimmer and dimmer.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, quoted in Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., p. 173

“I am persuaded that the church today has many more consumers than committed participants.” – Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp, p. XI-XII

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, not the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, NASU, emphasis added

“Every Christian should have his church enclosed within his heart, and be affected with its maladies, as if they were his own, — sympathize with its sorrows, and bewail its sins.” – John Calvin quoted in Women’s Ministry in the Church by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt, p. 45

“Christians have astoundingly clear vision when it comes to the vices, deceptions, and spiritual blindness of their neighbors.  But when it comes to Sunday morning and what gets talked about during the church coffee hour, it’s another story.” – Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, p. 34

“We cannot treat the Bible as a collection of therapeutic insights.  To do so distorts its message and will not lead to lasting change.” – Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp, p. 9

“The church is a bride being prepared for the approach of her lover and husband.” – Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible quoted in Women’s Ministry in the Church by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt, p. 31

“But the truth is, all of the Christian life, and all ministry, is beyond the limits of our own personal power and abilities.  Ministry begins at the end of our own competences and abilities.” – J. Ligon Duncan in Women’s Ministry in the Church, p. 148