God-Breathed

                     2 Timothy 3: 14-17       Isaiah 55: 10, 11

 

 

          Breath. You can’t live without it. Ever try holding your breath? The world record for holding one’s breath is over 22 minutes, but that involves years of training for free divers and entails actually changing one’s biology. For the rest of us mortals, 3 minutes would be considered extraordinary. When I was lifeguarding back in the previous century, I think my personal best was about a minute twenty seconds. I remember thinking that my chest would explode if I didn’t get air. It may be the most natural thing in the world, but it’s also the most essential. Without breathing, you will die. That’s the way we are built.

          But breath has more meanings than just the fuel for the lungs to digest and convert for transmitting all over the human body. It also means life force in a much older sense. It is that archaic sense of breath, that life force, that I want us to think about.

          In the Hebrew Bible, that which we Christians call the Old Testament, you don’t have to go far to find breath. The Old Testament word for it is ruach. It has three meanings: wind, breath and spirit. In Genesis 1:2, Ruach Elohim, the spirit of God, hovers over the face of the waters as God begins his creation. By the way, Elohim is a plural noun, so think of God even here at creation as Trinitarian.

          In chapter 2 of Genesis at verse 7, we read that God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. Again, the Hebrew word is ruach, this time as breath. In Genesis 8 God makes a wind (ruach) to blow over the earth and make the floodwaters subside. Notice that whether the word is used as wind or Spirit or breath, it comes from God and it comes as a source of life. In the book of Job, Job’s friend Elihu tells him that “The spirit of God has made me; the breath of God gives me life.” Here, both spirit and breath are the same word, and they are life-giving.

          Breath. It is literally a life-giving force, and the Bible tells us that this force comes from God as spirit, as wind, as breath itself. The Greeks called this concept pneuma. It had the same range of meaning as ruach. That is, it could mean wind, spirit, breath. Think of all the ways we have inherited and applied that Greek word. We get pneumonia: bad wind. We use pneumatics to move papers through tubes or for lift gates or shock absorbers. All these words have to do with giving life to something or someone.

Pneuma: wind, spirit, breath. And in the book of  2^nd Timothy, Paul tells us that all Scripture is breathed out by God. Paul uses the word pneuma to express the same idea in Greek as ruach does in Hebrew. All Scripture is breathed out by God. Many think Paul actually made up a new word to express the concept. It is theopneustos (God-breathed) and this is the only place that this compound word appears in the Bible.

What is this Scripture that Paul is talking about? At the time Paul was writing to Timothy, the Old Testament was written, as were a number of books that later became part of the New Testament. Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He doesn’t say read my letters or read Isaiah or read Amos. He is referring to Scripture not as the work of men, but as the work of God, divine, God-breathed. The fact that he used men to write it down makes it no less divine and authoritative than it did to use Mary as the vessel to carry the Son of God into the world. Jesus was no less divine because he was born of a woman. Paul goes on to give us an idea of why we need the Scriptures. They help us to teach, to correct, and to train and be trained. They help us to become competent and equipped to do God’s work. They help us see God. At the time, Paul was probably talking to Timothy, but again, Scripture is God-breathed, and we all know that it reaches far beyond its originally intended target.

One of the ways we can constantly see the presence of God in the world is in the coming and going of the seasons of the year. In this temperate climate of the upper South, we experience four distinct seasons. Spring really does bring us warmer weather and flowers and the rain. Summer is hot and humid and a wonderful growing season for produce. Fall brings us the death of summer, falling leaves, cooler weather. And winter ushers in colder temperatures and snow. Isaiah talks about the same cycle in chapter 55. He talks about the rain and snow watering the earth to nourish it into seed and harvest. The water does not return, for it is sent to do a job. The very agents in the climate that cause its change also bring its constancy and its ability to grow and regenerate year after year. Cycles of change are also cycles of stability and certainty. Isaiah reminds us that God’s word is like the seasons of life. It goes out to its target not to return, but to plant and harvest. Isaiah says that it does not return empty. It accomplishes that for which it was sent. God’s purpose is met.

When Isaiah spoke those words, he spoke as an agent, a prophet, of God. It was only later that his words were written down. For generations they passed among the people in oral tradition. So God’s word was a spoken, remembered word. Later, those words were put down on scrolls by scribes. And hundreds of years later, God came to earth as living Word in the form of an incarnate Jesus. “So shall my word go out from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,” says the prophet on behalf of God. God’s word is like the seasons of life, always purposed, going forth and never returning empty, but rather doing that for which it was sent. God’s word is dependable. In his commentary on the book of Isaiah, John Oswalt says that “it is because what God says is the truth that the word will perform exactly what God intends.”

Isaiah tells us that God’s word comes not only in the written words of the prophet, but also in the incarnation of God’s Son, as both written and living Word abide within our hearts and accomplish God’s purpose.  Scripture is the written word of God, God-breathed. Scripture is the wind of God ushering in the change so needed in our lives. It is the spirit of God passing into our hearts and indwelling our souls. It is the breath of God upon us.

While God spoke through Isaiah to ordain the words of the prophets, and while God spoke through Paul to call attention to the reliable sources of revelation, he used both men to talk to each of us, that invisible body that Peter referred to as the priesthood of believers. Through the words of both prophet and evangelist, God reminds each of us who would follow him that there are many voices to hear, many writings to read on the road of life. In the middle of all the noise, surrounded by so many who would plunder our souls for their own gain, stands the Word of God. It is the sacred writings of the Bible and the living Word of the Son of God that must stand as our compass. We are all Paul’s protégés. We need not be named Timothy to be called to teach and witness. We need not be named Paul to be called to discipleship. We need not to be named Isaiah to know that the Word of God falls upon us as fresh as it did in the days of the prophets. We just need to do as Paul reminds us, to continue in what we have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom we learned it, to be acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make us wise for salvation.

At the end of the day, the Bible, the Incarnation, the passion, the resurrection, are not stories about God’s people. They are stories about God, God in three persons, and who God is. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God comes to us and shows us who he is and how much he loves us.  God-breathed. That is the essence of Scripture. God-sent. That is the essence of its revelation. God-saved. That is the essence of his message. We just need to know where to find the truth.

Filling Your Spiritual Tank

                                       Colossians 1: 1-14

 

 

          I drove my last car for a long time, thirteen years. I drove it so long we became friends, at least as much as man and machine can do that. Ladies, as you know, it’s more than a little sometimes. Over time, I became acquainted with the nuances of my car and, of course, it became well used and developed some ways to talk to me. One in particular was the fuel pump. In an older Suburban, it’s a good idea to always keep at least a quarter tank of gas. My mechanic told me that if you let the fuel regularly go below that level, it seems to wear out the fuel pump. I accidently tested that theory a couple times. The mechanic was right. My car reminded me the hard way. It didn’t like running on fumes and it taught me to honor that.

          It’s pretty predictable how a car is going to act if the fuel pump is not working. No pump, no circulation. No circulation, no move. The car may as well be out of gas. It doesn’t matter what your agenda is for the day. The method of transportation you chose is now offline. Take a walk, hail a cab, but don’t count on your ordinary method to get here and there on the road without being nice to your fuel pump. In this case, that means always carrying keeping a bigger reserve in the tank. If you want to depend on it, you have to feed it!

          The apostle Paul didn’t start the church in Colossae, but he was well aware of it.  The church plant credit went to Epaphras, whom Paul referred to as a beloved fellow servant. Paul wrote to the Colossian church from prison in an effort to encourage the church and to engage them in the process of becoming unified in their celebration of Christ. From the beginning of the letter, Paul launches immediately into those issues of how to fill the spiritual tanks of the Christians in Colossae.

          First, Paul talks about faith, love and hope, familiar earmarks of Christianity and for Paul. He uses these terms together in 1 Corinthians 13, Romans 5, Galatians 5 and 1 Thessalonians 1. Here, the terms love and faith seem to stem from hope. Faith in Christ and love for one another are a result of “the hope laid up for you in heaven.”  That hope is in the here and now; the fulfillment of that hope lies in that which is promised and yet to come.

Hope is sort of like a full tank of gas. You know you can get there from here because you are equipped. You are ready for the trip because you have reliable transportation—the transportation of hope, the realistic expectation of that which will happen. And Paul says that hope is “laid up for you in heaven.” It’s like a heavenly layaway plan. This kind of hope is in no danger of being lost or taken away. It is held in heaven, away from all those things of earth which might damage it.

Many of us have been through gas shortages. Gas prices spiraled up. Supply seemed to go down, though we were never sure of what manipulations were really going on. Many of us learned to conserve, to consolidate our trips, to make our trips count, in order to get through the crises. But how many of you actually thought about giving up your car? How many of you sought alternative methods to get to and fro? I’m guessing that answer is none or next to none. Why didn’t you? Because you deem your car to be your mode of transportation. This is the way you navigate distance in life. Giving up your car was not an option. Right?

Well, if giving up your car is not on the table, then you must feed it. You must feed it fuel and water and fluids for it to continue to perform. Why would anyone think that maintenance of the Christian life would be any different? If you want it to work for you, then you have to feed and nourish it. You have to look after it if you want it to look after you.

It is the last chapter of John’s gospel. John, the beloved disciple, is describing the last things Jesus said that last day on the Galilean shore. Jesus asks Peter three times, “do you love me?” Three times when Peter answered yes, Jesus replied: “Feed my sheep.” Feed my sheep. It was a divine directive from Jesus to a disciple to put gas in the tanks of believers, to not let them run out, but to fill and refill until he comes again.

          How? How do we Christians keep our spiritual fuel tanks full? We need to be fed and refueled regularly. Paul gives the Colossians some good ideas for their time, and I can see just as much need and just as much relevance in our time as did the Colossian church. In verses 9-12, Paul prays a prayer of intercession for these Christians, and in doing so, he outlines steps of faith to be taken.

First, we need knowledge of God’s will. The Colossians had the Old Testament scriptures. They had the teaching of Paul and Epaphras. They had letters and stories of Jesus in circulation. And they had what Paul calls spiritual wisdom and understanding, that knowledge which comes through the heart when we listen and come into communion with the Holy Spirit. They had that knowledge that comes from God through Jesus on the wings of the Holy Spirit: heart-knowledge.

Next, and stemming from that spirituality, we can walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. We can adopt lifestyles that incorporate Christian values into who we are and what we do. No matter the circumstance, we are to practice honesty, loyalty, generosity, kindness and love as we go about our lives. They, our lives, are interwoven with the Holy Spirit and the witness and practice of the gospel.

Third, our behavior will cause us to bear fruit through our good works. We don’t have to try much on this point. If we have the heart-knowledge that Paul talks about and if we put it into practice by walking the walk, it follows that we will bear fruit. When Paul talks about bearing fruit, he’s talking about not just thinking good thoughts, but also doing good things.

Last, Paul tells us to increase in the knowledge of God. Again, there is logic to this.  We don’t have a bunch of rules to memorize.  We let God into our hearts.  We act out what we believe. We do things to show our obedience to God and his message for us. And in that obedient behavior, we grow in faith. We increase in the knowledge of God.

Paul ends his prayer by asking God for power to exercise patience, to claim endurance, and to do both with joy. Joy. Paul talks about power and patience and endurance, earmarks of testing and trials, and yet he calls upon us to do all this with joy, thanking God for the privilege to do it. And you know what. Paul is right. We should do all these things. We should ask for all this help. And we should thank God, for what he offers is nothing short of redemption, redemption from a life destined to end badly. But by the grace of God, we have lives to live gassed up, ready for the long haul, primed for an eternal destiny.

How do we fill that spiritual tank? Believe in your heart, walk the walk, do good for God’s sake, and increase in your ability and desire to do all these things.  Do these things in faith and love and they will take you farther than you ever believed you could go!

       Answering the “Why”

                                       1 Peter 3: 13-17

 

 

          Why? Why are some people so hateful? Why do we still have wars? Why do we have to suffer even when we are doing good? Why be a Christian? Isn’t it enough to be a good person? Isn’t it enough to just live and let live and not be so concerned with everything and everybody? Even if you’re Christian, can’t you just sort of get along and not make waves?

There are so many whys in this world. In this life, we will never have the answers we seek. Oh, we can get lots of answers. Ask a finite question and you can get a finite answer. Like how far is it to the moon or to the planet of Jupiter? The answers to those questions can be calculated. But if you ask the hard questions, like how old is God, no one can really give you a straight, calculable answer. We don’t even know how old the earth is, no matter how much the scientists posit otherwise. We can only guess. 

Why do you believe in God? And, by the way, which God do you believe in? Some people, like Buddhists and Hindus, believe in polytheism, the worship of more than one God. If you’re a Jew or a Christian or believe in Islam, you trace your lineage back to Abraham and to one God. Islam calls God Allah, which is Arabic for God. Same word, different language. All three religions believe in one God. One religion, Christianity, believes in Jesus as God’s Son. Judaism sees him as the greatest false prophet in a line of false prophets. Islam denies his divinity, but calls him a great prophet. So even though you believe in God, that God being the God of Abraham of the Old Testament, you still are only one of three world religions, which differ as to who Jesus is.

So we’re back to why do you believe in God. and in the case of Christianity, you can layer that up to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, because we Christians believe in a Trinitarian God. Well, regardless of which monotheistic (one God) religion one practices, there is no hard proof. Yes, Jesus is a historical fact. He lived on this earth. We know when and it’s documented. But what he did with his life? And death? And the resurrection? That’s every bit as much legand as it is fact. It can’t be proved, at least under the standards of proof applied today. . We have no photographs of his Ascension. We have no video, no audio, no proof other than the eyewitnesses who testified in the New Testament.

So why? Why do you believe in God, and if you’re a Christian, then why do you believe in Jesus? And what does that mean? “I believe in Jesus.” Well, that’s great. I’m sure that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, but what do you tell Joe Gizmo, who has never set foot inside a church and now is standing in front of you and asking why? Why do you believe in God, much less Jesus? What do you tell Joe?

In the book of 1 Peter, Peter is writing to some Christians in Asia---Galatia and other provinces—to people dispersed. What does that mean? Probably that they had been in Rome and other places closer to “civilization,” but that for various reasons they find themselves relocated, dispersed. Out there in the hinterlands, they may have been finding the Christian way a path harder to tread than when in the safer confines of a larger Christian population. They may have felt like “foreigners” in their own land when they spoke of their beliefs. Their new Christian habits may not have worn so well in the diaspora of Galatia and other parts of Asia.  

Peter reminded them that righteousness is a two-edged sword; that even though you receive a blessing for seeking to be righteous, right with God, it will come at a cost and that cost will most likely be suffering. If the suffering doesn’t come through ridicule or persecution or strife, then it will come in the form of living out a different kind of life from your friends. There will be times, more than a few, when your Christianity causes you to feel like a foreigner in your own country.

Think about the world today. Here in this rural community, God is still very much part of our lives. Even those who don’t practice Christianity understand to be respectful of those who do. All I can tell you is if you find that valuable to you, don’t think you will find it everywhere you go. Modern society, even here, is coming more and more to accept and even legalize principles and practices that are just plain inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1  It seems to me that we have become so fascinated with individual rights that tolerance trumps truth.

But the truth of today is that a lot of people don’t really know what the truth is. People say well, I have my truth and you have your truth. Not! Not when it comes to our belief system. There is only the truth, not your truth or my truth.

Peter says “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Peter is the Boy Scout of the apostles. His motto is Be prepared! How does your preparation show? When others start eating in the restaurant and you instead bow your head and hold hands, why do you do that? When the game announcer asks for a moment of silence, why do you pray? When children are fussy and your spouse is irritable, why do you religiously show up for Sunday school? Why!

Because you know about faith. Because you know about grace. Because you know, you know…about Jesus. How do you know? You have claimed some biblical promises and some biblical truths. And you live with and by those promises and truths. That is your preparation. That is your obedience.

What are some of the promises and truths that you can carry around in your toolkit for the Joe Gizmos of the world?

Here are just a few of my personal favorites:

          Theologian Karen Jobes says that First Peter “challenges Christians to reexamine our acceptance of society’s norms and to be willing to suffer the alienation of being a visiting foreigner in our own culture wherever its values conflict with those of Christ.” This is no time to be silent. We Christians must express our faith. We must witness to it, not just within the confines of a safe and friendly church sanctuary, but in the highways and biways of our communities. We must be ready, be armed with scripture and belief and then give our witness wherever and whenever the opportunity arises.

          Why do you believe in God? Do you know? Can you tell Joe Gizmo?  Arm yourself with some scripture. If you’re worried about what to say, write it down, put it in your wallet or your pocketbook. When the time comes, let God lead. You’ll do just fine! Say it humbly. Say it respectfully. But for God’s sake, say it!

Let us pray.

1 Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2005, p. 5.

Leadership for Sale

                                  I Kings 21: 1-11, 13, 17-19

 

 

          A confused and bigoted young man walks into a church meeting in Charleston and unloads his semi-automatic weapon, killing 9 innocent people. An angry man turns a gun on his workplace in San Bernardino and 16 more are dead.  Just three weeks ago, 49 were killed in an Orlando nightclub and this week in Istanbul, terrorists killed yet another 44 people outside the airport.

          In our nation’s capital, lawmakers cannot be civil to one another and little lawmaking is accomplished. In Washington, it is the politics of “No” that grabs the headlines. In this election season, both presidential nominees have captured the most unfavorable popularity ratings in the history of polling such statistics. One candidate promises more of the same, while another candidate seems to have no agenda other than “I am the greatest.” Many people are disillusioned with the political process.

          Overseas, the world looks little different. Syria is torn to pieces and Iraq continues to suffer from its civil war. In addition to the terrorist bombing in Turkey, the United Kingdom has apparently decided on a more isolationist policy with its Brexit vote from the European Union, causing those of us old enough to remember similar policies of isolation in the 1930’s.

          For the first time in my memory, I hear people, good people, patriotic people, talking about leaving the country. I hear them saying that enough is enough, that they want a more peaceful, rational place to live, and that such countries still exist. I have never heard such talk since the days of the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, when many chose to move to Canada. It is a time of disillusionment with our leadership, our moral compass, even our ideals.

          Flash back to the days of God’s people under the reign of Ahab. Ahab was the second of three kings of the Northern Kingdom in the Omri dynasty.  His 22 year reign was marked by the most complete capitulation to religious pluralism in history. Baal worship was accepted along with the worship of God. Both religions were allowed to coexist side by side. Baal worship included temple prostitutes, even human sacrifice. And there it stood, perfectly legal, endorsed by the king himself.

          Pluralism. If one is good, maybe more is better. Pluralism is the hot ticket in America today. Whatever. It’s all good. To each his own. I don’t want to get involved. If you want to get along, you’ve got to go along. These are the catchphrases of American society. Do they work? Does tolerance to the point of blindness keep things moving? Does life work in a world in which there are no rules, nor an ethic by which to live?

          A man named Naboth owned a vineyard. Unfortunately for Naboth, his vineyard sat next to some very high dollar real estate, namely the king’s palace. King Ahab wanted that land for a vegetable garden, and he offered Naboth a swap or a purchase. The problem wasn’t that Ahab was being unfair, but rather that Naboth knew the law. In the 25^th chapter of Leviticus, God tells his people that the land is his. It could be sold, but only for a time. Every seven years, the land was to be released back to the original owner. This was called the year of jubilee. And in the 36^th chapter of Numbers, God goes on to say that his inheritance, given to each of his people, could not be transferred even to another tribe. It was God’s inheritance to each and every person.

So under the law, Naboth was not allowed to sell his lnd. Of course Ahab knew this. He just didn’t like it. He wanted what he wanted. When he couldn’t get it, he went back to the castle and pouted. That’s right, he pouted just like a 3 year old. The scriptures tell us that he lay on his bed, turned away his face and would eat no food.  Sounds like some other bureaucrats we have seen in action, doesn’t it?

Not to worry, because there is Jezebel. There always seems to be a Jezebel hanging around. When you’re in a purple funk and can’t get your way, look around and find yourself a Jezebel. People like Jezebel never let ethics get in the way of their drive for domination. Jezebel orchestrates a fast, a sort of dinner party where nobody eats, and arranges for Naboth to be publicly accused by two liars. Now one liar has little meaning to the people of Israel, but two? That was different. Two witnesses were thought to be credible. The lies were planted and they took root. They took Naboth outside and stoned him. The witnesses had to cast the first stones, but that was no problem for them. They had been bought.

Here we have the sad story of a righteous man who was wrongfully accused and ended up giving his life for a vineyard. Really it was the choice to stand firm in his beliefs for which he gave his life. He was a true worshipper of God, one of the seven thousand in the book of  Kings who did not bow down to Baal (v.19:18).

There is more to this story than Ahab’s petty selfishness or Jezebel’s evil scheming or even the predictable actions of two worthless men. There are also the “elders and leaders who lived with Naboth in his city.” They are the ones who scare me the most.

Jezebel used the king’s stationery to send letters to the elders and leaders of the city. Those letters were clear in their purpose. Frame Naboth with a false charge and then kill him. She peddled the king’s influence and it worked. One commentary suggests that these elders and leaders would have been Naboth’s friends, as he was probably a community leader in his own right. It didn’t stop his friends from turning on him. This was influence peddling at its ugly best. For just the possibility of currying the king’s favor, the elders and leaders of that city threw poor Naboth…and his sons…under the bus. His sons were also killed. The bloodline to the land had to be severed in order for the king to own it.

Where was the leadership that the kings of Israel were supposed to provide? Where is the leadership of today? Is there any justice in the land? Does anyone ever pay for sin? Wall Street playmakers deal fast and loose with our hard earned investments and when the bottom falls out of their schemes, they are not held accountable. Is that fair? Politicians repeatedly tell us how well they know us and hear us and want to help us, but after the election, their hearing seems almost deaf. Is that honest? Mainline denominations demonstrate a great affinity for the culture around us while finding ways to ignore the plain meaning of scripture which has existed for two thousand years and more. Is that truth?

These are confusing times. But the times are much less confusing when we follow the right map. As much as we all love our country, and on this day in particular as we prepare to celebrate its birthday, we still need to understand and honor the God to whom we owe our ultimate allegiance.

Theologian Michael Goheen calls the church a “contrast people.” What he means is that we are called to live in the world but not be of the world. For the Church’s witness to be effective, it has to co-exist in the middle of the communities of the world. The church cannot and should not isolate itself from the goings on of society. It should be at the ball games and the polls and the building projects and it should visit the shut-ins and feed the widows and share every load of every one in need that the church can reach. The church—and that means those who believe in God—must get its hands dirty and its boots muddy and its eyes full of tears if it is to minister to the people in need. That is living “in the world.” But while we go about the business of that witness, we must do so as sinners saved by grace, reaching out to help with arms scarred from the bruises of rejection, and that rejection will come not only in the form of those who would deny our witness, but also in the form of those who follow their own direction, who practice their lack of faith, who assert their false leadership. That is living without being “of the world.” To be at odds with our cultural setting is frankly our birthright as Christians. We nevertheless must live and work in our culture to live our lives as Godly people. As we use our witness to the glory of God, we become a contrast people, living in the covenant our Savior made, standing up for what we believe, rejecting the theology of pluralism and by our actions, inviting and drawing those around us to their own covenant relationship with God.

Edmund Burke once uttered this now famous line: “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.” How true that remains today. Look at the elders and leaders who lived with Naboth. Their leadership was for sale. Theirs was the worst kind of leadership, the kind that could be bought. Good men turned their heads, did nothing and, as Burke reminds us, evil triumphed. Sadly, some things never change.

There was a penalty to be paid. God came to Elijah and put words of judgment in his mouth. Elijah went to Ahab and told him this: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.” Judgment was also pronounced upon Jezebel and it came to pass. Amazingly, Ahab actually repented and his life was spared. But judgment came to his family.

For Christians, there will never be a holiday from temptation, a lack of 
 
false leadership. But neither will God ever forsake us. In this day of

false leadership, so keenly similar to that brand found in the days of

Elijah, we need to see our role. We must stand up. We must be heard.

We must witness, not to that which is popular, but to that which is

Truth!