Bible in 90 Days - Day 87 (Jude-Revelation 17)

God, our helper,

by your Holy Spirit open our minds

and lead us into your truth

for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Jude is a short letter written (most likely) by another of Jesus’ brothers. Some false teachers have crept into the church, and Jude uses several Old Testament examples to remind the church of the danger involved. Jude quotes from several stories that are unfamiliar to us, like the story of Enoch from the book of 1 Enoch, an ancient writing that is part of tradition but not part of the Jewish or Christian Scriptures. The letter ends with instructions after the examples. To those inside the church, the command is to remain in God’s love, which we do by building up our faith, praying in the Spirit, and waiting expectantly for the mercy of Christ to bring us to eternal life (the NIV doesn’t quite reflect the centrality of the command to remain in God’s love). The instructions for treating those outside of the church center around showing mercy. The examples in the letter can make it sound judgmental, but the commands reflect James 2:13 – “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

And now for Revelation – the last book we are reading, and the one that often brings the most questions. The main message of Revelation can be summed up in 2 words – “God wins!”

Revelation begins with an introduction that contains several names and images for Christ, and these appear again in the 7 sermons (or sermonettes) to the 7 churches. (Someday soon I would love to teach a Sunday School class on these 7 sermons.)

The scenes in chapter 5 leave me awestruck. There is so much singing and praising going on, and the focus is all on Christ. Sometimes there is an attempt to defend heaven from being boring, and teachers and preachers emphasize that there will be a lot to do there. As I read this, I really don’t think boredom is a threat when we are in the presence of the living God.

As for the other chapters we read today – Wow! Amazing imagery, amazing glory, amazing power. Sometimes frightful, sometimes glorious, but as always – God wins!

Bible in 90 Days - Day 86 (James 3:13-3 John)

Gracious God,

we do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from your mouth.

Make us hungry for this your Word,

that it may nourish us today

in the ways of eternal life.

Through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.

I find James 5:13-18 intriguing and challenging (like most of the Bible, I guess). Elijah was a man just like us. Really? Wow! And why is it that I don’t pray more? Do I waste too much time working on solving things when I should be praying?

Peter is writing to Christians in areas that pretty much cover modern day Turkey. The church has been scattered due to persecution, but the effect is like blowing on a dandelion – seeds everywhere. Now Peter is encouraging them to remain strong and true in the threat of persecution. The hope that they have in Christ is deeper than anything this life could possibly offer. Hear the tones of assurance, certainty, resilience and joy. The instructions for godly living take on a different tone when we understand the dangers involved with godly living in that day.

2 Peter 3 gives the reason for writing these two letters. They are to stimulate the Christians to wholesome thinking and to remind them of the unchanging nature of the holy Scriptures. When we read these purposes in the context of the letters, they are then meant to lead to godly living.

1-3 John are interesting books. They have some similarities to letters, but many differences. The apostle John is the most likely author, and that is where I start. These are likely among the last books (chronologically) written in the Bible. Different teachings are coming up concerning Christ that draw away from his humanity and his centrality in the faith. Hear John coming back to what he knows – the savior he loved and lived with for those years of Jesus’ ministry. John writes against any way to know Jesus other than love, devotion, and confession. These will bear appropriate fruit in our lives. John’s statements about Christians not sinning can seem unrealistic, but it is true that Christians cannot resign themselves to patterns of sinful living as if it does not matter. We are called to holiness, and it is God’s power working in us that truly transforms us. We strive for this all our lives.

I read a description of the structure of these letters that I love. Rather than being linear in structure, they are “symphonic.” Themes come up, then fade away, then they are woven back in. That is a beautiful way to see these letters that for some seem to leap from one great topic to the next.

I used to read the beginning of 2 John and wonder who the lady was. Then someone introduced me to the common belief that the lady is the church, or at least one congregation. That helped me see the letter in a new light.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 85 (Hebrews - James 3:12)

Guide us, O God,

by your Word and Spirit,

that in your light we may see light,

in your truth find freedom,

and in your will discover your peace,

through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

I love the book of Hebrews. This is a book about Jesus. All of the books in the Bible are about Jesus, but I think Hebrews probably contains a lot of the things Jesus talked about when he would have conversations like the one in Luke 24:27 (“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself”). Jesus and the angels, Jesus and true Sabbath rest, and my favorite – Jesus the great High Priest. Even though we don’t have a sacrificial system anymore, I love to read the whole Old Testament system in light of these passages in Hebrews. I’ll back up and say that Hebrews is a lens that helps us really see what God is doing in the Old Testament. I think that’s why I love it so much. Hebrews 11 starts the Heroes Hall of Fame, but that hall of fame only makes sense with the foundation of Jesus in 1-9 and the transition to holy living as a response in chapter 10. Then chapter 12 is another call to us for action, but only when we “fix our eyes on Jesus” (12:2ff).

Our best understanding of this James is that he is the brother of Jesus. James was one of the books that really ignited a fire in me when I was young in my faith. We studied it in a Bible study, and I thought, “What have I been missing?” It is also one of the most controversial NT books. Martin Luther didn’t think it even belonged. One big question is, “how does this book which focuses on works make sense in light of the fact that God saves us by grace alone?” A bigger question is, “Where is Jesus?” I think 2:14 is key. Actions don’t make faith, but actions are the fruit of true faith. We are saved by grace through faith and not by works, but works are the fruit that shows the existence of true faith.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 84 (1 Thessalonians - Philemon)

Prepare our hearts, O God,

to hear your Word

and obey your will.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

1 Thessalonians is filled with references to Jesus’ return, and 2 Thessalonians is concerned with the fact that some think this has already happened. One of the verses I’ve held close is 1 Thessalonians 4:13. The section is talking about the believers who have died and their resurrection. We are among those who grieve when people we love die, but our grief is different in that it also has real hope. Both grief and hope are important for us.

1-2 Timothy and Titus are sometimes known as the “Pastoral Epistles” because they were written to church leaders.

Paul wrote 1 and 2 Timothy to a specific person, not to a church. The content, however, is clearly beneficial for all of us. 1 Timothy is a letter about godly living, and much of it has to do with life within the church. 2 Timothy is an appeal to remain strong in the face of suffering and persecution. The hallmark passage for our understanding of the value and origin of Scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Titus deals with the direct link between right belief and right action. This comes out already in verse 1. The whole book is filled with instructions for godly living.

Philemon is written to Philemon concerning Onesimus, a runaway slave. Verse 11 is a play on words. Onesimus literally means “useful,” and although Paul uses different words for “useless” and “useful” here, he is saying that Onesimus has really become onesimus to all of them now that he is a brother in Christ. This is a request that would be very difficult to refuse – Paul pulls out all the stops to be persuasive. The power of the Gospel transcends any mere social structure.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 83 (Galatians 3:26-Colossians)

God of Jesus Christ,

give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Christ,

so that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened.

Help us to know the hope to which you have called us,

the riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints,

and the immeasurable greatness of your power at work in us.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

—based on Ephesians 1:17-19, NRSV

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he didn’t address specific problems that were creeping up there, at least not in such a direct manner as he did with the two letters to the Corinthians and the one to the Galatians. Here as he writes to the Ephesians there is again no mention of specific issues that have come up. Paul’s main themes are how Christ has reconciled all of creation to himself and to God, and that he has brought together people from everywhere into his one body, the church.

The church in Philippi was the first church that Paul planted. You can hear the love in his letter. The theme is encouragement to live their lives as members of the kingdom of God, and the greatest example is Christ himself. 2:6-11 is one of the most beautiful and meaningful passages on that subject.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians emphasizes Christ over all. Part of that is Christ over all the things in the world that compete for our allegiance and attention. Since Christ defeated them by his death and resurrection, we are now free to live for him. Much of this letter is spelling out what that Christ-centered life looks like.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 82 (1 Corinthians 15-Galatians 3:25)

Lord, open our hearts and minds

by the power of your Holy Spirit,

that we may hear your Word with joy. Amen.

Chapter 15 is a great summary of the Gospel with firm assurance that there is indeed life after this one. In the 58 verses of chapter 15, there is one that really is a head-scratcher. Baptized for the dead? The Mormons have a very developed practice of baptizing the dead vicariously by baptizing living people for them. We don’t. Why not? First of all, it is not clear exactly what Paul is referring to, and there have been many opinions on this. Second, this is just one verse out of the whole Bible. One verse is still important, but we always use all of Scripture to interpret Scripture, and we have no other references to a practice like this. Third, we don’t see the early church doing this, so it doesn’t seem to be a widespread practice. Fourth, Paul is not saying to do it or not to do it; he is just making reference to something that he sees happening. These are the kinds of questions we ask of tough verses. One of my seminary professors frequently said, “Where the Bible shouts, we shout. Where the Bible whispers, we whisper.” Chapter 15 shouts the resurrection of the dead, and so do we.

Interesting note on a common Christian word – 1 Corinthians 16:22 ends with the desire, “Come, O Lord!” Paul wrote this Aramaic phrase in his Greek letter. The Aramaic is “Marana tha!” which is where our word “Maranatha” comes from. It is the only time this Aramaic phrase occurs in the Bible. The rest of the times it is in Greek.

2 Corinthians is Paul’s response to a church that is doubting him personally. This theme comes out already in the opening of the letter (1:1-11) Paul argues that to reject him is to reject the Gospel, because he has been faithful to the Gospel. One of the complaints is that Paul suffers too much to be a great apostle. Paul argues that his suffering is a source of comfort for the church. But as always, Paul isn’t pointing to himself primarily; he is pointing to Christ.

The opening of chapter 2 refers to the “painful visit” Paul has made to Corinth since the last letter. There has been some real conflict between Paul and this church.

Galatians is written to a church that has been infiltrated by another message after it was planted on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul spends the letter getting back to basics, and he spends time going back to our common theme of the covenant and God’s grace.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 81 (Romans 15-1 Corinthians 14)

Lord God, we wish to see Jesus.

By your Spirit’s power, give us eyes to see his glory.

Through Christ we pray. Amen.

—based on John 12:21

Paul always uses the opening sections of his letters to foreshadow what is to come. The Corinthians put too much emphasis on outward spiritual gifts, particularly speaking in tongues, as a sign of “spiritual arrival.” The focus must remain on God and his grace. “Wise” and “wisdom” also show up in this book more than anywhere else in the NT. There are hints of thes right at the outset of the letter.

This church is not growing as it should. This is particularly clear in chapter 3. The images of farming and construction come up to emphasize proper growth. In chapter 4 Paul points out that they don’t even realize the problem. They think they’ve arrived, but they don’t get it.

As we read 1 and 2 Corinthians, we hear about at least two other letters to this church that have been lost (making the letters we have more like 2 and 4 Corinthians). 5:9 is a reference to an earlier letter. We know this particular letter that we are reading was a response to both oral reports (1:11) and a letter the church wrote to Paul (7:1). The point is that all of these letters we are reading were written to real churches facing real problems, and they are now God’s gift of revelation to us.

Meat sacrificed to idols comes up from time to time in the New Testament. Sometimes this refers to meat in the marketplace that had been part of rituals, and that is really just meat. Sometimes the references are to eating the meat as part of the rituals, and these rituals often involved behaviors not fitting for Christians. This was off limits. 8:10 is an interesting verse, because it seems here that Paul isn’t so concerned with the temple practice itself, but later he will condemn it completely (10:7,14,20-22).

Chapter 10 is striking because it puts Christ in the Old Testament story of the Exodus from Egypt. Paul des that in the first few verses, and then again in verse 9. The NIV uses the word “Lord,” but the Greek text we use and the most recent NIV say, “Christ” (as do most modern translations).

The NIV footnote on 11:3 notes that “husband” and “wife” are also ways to translate what here is “man” and “woman.”

Bible in 90 Days - Day 80 (Romans 1-14)

Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life!

Help us now to hear and obey what you say to us today.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

This is the first of many of Paul’s letters that we’ll be reading. Paul uses the introductions to his letters to foreshadow what he wants to say in the main body. What does the (long) opening of Romans tell you about Paul’s message here?

The Heidelberg Catechism is divided into three main sections, often remembered as “Sin, Salvation, Service” or “Guilt, Grace, Gratitude.” After the great comfort in the first question and answer (http://www.crcna.org/pages/heidelberg_intro.cfm

 

), the second question and answer ask,

“What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?”

The answer says, “Three things:

first, how great my sin and misery are;

second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery;

third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.”

Romans is organized in much the same way. 1:18-3:20 let us know how great our sin and misery are. 3:21-11:36 tell us how we are set free from all our sins and misery, and chapter 12 to the end is how we are to thank God for such deliverance. I realize that there is overlap in each section, but the basic structure stands.

Romans 3:3-4 must be understood in light of everything we have read so far. This passage is talking not about individuals, but about God’s covenant people. Do you remember all the times God’s people broke covenant? Do you remember how God always kept covenant? That is what is going on here. Now we are members of the new covenant.

Romans 9-11 is very encouraging and instructive, but it is also difficult to grasp God’s wisdom. I can see how Paul would break into song in 11:33 as he tries to put these difficult things down on parchment!

Bible in 90 Days - Day 79 (Acts 17-28)

Lord Christ,

we believe in you.

Help our unbelief. Amen.

—based on Mark 9:24

Good morning friends,

Today’s we finish the book of Acts – Acts 16:38-28:31.

Paul certainly was versatile in preaching the Gospel and defending the Christian faith. He was extremely well-trained (22:3) as a Jewish theologian (unlike the disciples), so he knew how to really reason in the synagogues. Even though that was his specific training, God made him the messenger to the Gentiles. Both within and outside his areas of formal training Paul spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit. In 18:13 the accusation by the Jews is that Paul is teaching a worship of God contrary to Jewish law. Luke says, “Just as Paul was about to speak…” I bet he was about to speak! These are the places where Paul shines! We see the same desire in Paul in Ephesus in 19:30.

18:9-10 is key to understanding all of this. This is God’s message and God’s work. Just like we saw through the entire Old Testament, God is working in all of these situations for his purposes.

There are Christians who use verses like the beginning of chapter 19 to teach that there is something called a “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit, which is to say that after one becomes a Christian there is still some experience of the Holy Spirit they need to pursue. We flatly deny this. Faith itself is a gift of the Holy Spirit. There is one baptism, one Lord, one faith. I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but I can point you to more materials if this is an issue you face.

Acts 19:35 makes reference to the great temple of Artemis. This was one of the wonders of the ancient world. The city clerk is basically saying, “How can this little group of Christians do anything to affect the great Artemis and her temple?” There is nothing left of that temple today but one pillar that has been re-erected. Christianity, on the other hand, is everywhere.

As we close out the book of Acts, it is amazing and humbling to see how God uses so many different circumstances to make sure the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God is preached to Jews and Gentiles, to the highest rulers and the commonest people.