THE BOOK THAT BREATHES NEW LIFE

The above caption is the title of a book by Walter Brueggemann. In this book he addresses the issues of scriptural authority and biblical theology. In the next few weeks I will be addressing some of the comments and insights he provides in this work. Below is his first sentence in the Preface:



“The matter of biblical authority is ancient, endlessly vexed, and of immense importance in the church”[page xiii].


I have always personally found the issue of biblical authority a difficult topic to get my mind around. This is for several reasons.


First, articulated versions of “biblical authority” seem to be founded on different concerns from scripture itself. Usually (and historically) appeals are made to “scriptural authority” to manipulate you to see and practice things the way I do. It is almost as if the issue of “biblical authority” becomes the big stick of orthodoxy to wield over those we want to control.


Second, I do agree with Brueggemann that it is an issue of “immense importance in the church.” The role of Scripture in the life of the church is one of the most important topics Christians can think about. Perhaps we have viewed this topic almost schizophrenically…individually I can read Scripture the way I want to; communally you need to read Scripture my way so I can make sure you are right with me and my understandings.


Third, I am fascinated how Scripture just assumes authority over the life of the Christian and the community of faith without spelling out a full-blown doctrine of “scriptural authority.” I would say that the Bible only has the power to authorize if a person allows it to.


For me personally, I like how the Psalmists address the matter of biblical authority. It is a recognition of the powerful influence and interaction that one has with the word of God. Listen to this…”Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This is a perfect example of allowing the Word of God to have a claim on one’s life. Indeed, if it is the delight of my heart, and I meditate on it day and night, its authoritative and transformative properties will shape me into a “blessed” person!


In Christian love, Curtis

THE PRAYER OF GOD

“The prayer of God”—this is the strangest reference to prayer in all of the New Testament. I was made aware of this expression while reading Joseph Longking’s Notes on the Gospels, volume 2. This antique book was published in 1840 by Carlton and Porter in New York. It was given to me as a gift. As I began reading LESSON I the author comments on a section of Luke’s gospel, 6:12-19. It is in verse 12 where the expression under consideration occurs.


“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”


After checking 30 different English versions and translations of the Bible, 2 translated this expression at the end of verse 12, “The prayer of God”(Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition; Young’s Literal Translation).


While commenting on verse 12, Longking quotes Wesley. “Mr. Wesley renders the passage, he ‘continued all night in the prayer of God,’ and says, ‘the phrase is singular and emphatical, to imply an extraordinary and sublime devotion (page 2).


This made me ask the following questions: Since the expression “the prayer of God” is a literal translation of the Greek phrase, what are we to make of it? How are we to understand it? Why is it used this one time in reference to Jesus’ prayer life? Is it a dynamic of the spiritual/divine aspect of prayer that only Jesus could experience? Grammatically, it could refer to Jesus’ prayer being directed to God, or it could be prayer coming from God.


I am not sure we have to choose one or the other. I think what Luke is trying to say is that while Jesus spent that night on the mountain in prayer, he talked with God and God talked with him. Wouldn’t you just love to have been there eavesdropping on that night-long conversation! Perhaps the intense opposition building up against his ministry, and the need to choose twelve apostles the next day provided the need for this conversation.


The Wycliff Bible, (Old version republished by Terence Noble, 2001) says this, “he was all night dwelling in the prayer of God.” Presence and conversation, mutual exchange of the divine/covenantal relationship.


I am wondering what it might mean in my own prayer life to “dwell in the prayer of God?”


In Christian love, Curtis

What is the Protestant principle?

Historically and theologically Christianity tends to get divided into 3 major groups: Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox. There are other ways of conceptualizing all of the Christian groups that have materialized over the centuries, but for the purpose of this article we will stick to these three. I want to reflect on the following quote:



“Christianity is final only in so far as it has the power of criticizing and transforming each of its historical manifestations; and just this power is the Protestant principle.” Paul Tillich, The Protestant Era


Would you agree that this is the “Protestant principle”? Perhaps Tillich is thinking of Martin Luther and his protest and critique of the church of his day with the 95 theses nailed to the door of the monastery in Wittenburg. If so, what is Tillich talking about?


Plainly, since the Protestant Reformation the church has learned to be self-critical in each of its historical manifestations. To be sure, each denomination and religious movement sometimes reaches the point of ceasing to do this. Church history has shown that when the church becomes complacent that is the beginning of its demise.


I am not sure that I would have stated like Tillich that this is “the” Protestant principle. It seems several principles actually converged to produce the Protestant movement. I am listing them below. You may want to add a couple of your own after looking at it.


1. The Bible available in the vernacular and available to every person to read for themselves.


2. The priesthood of all believers.


3. Moved Christianity from the cloisture to the community


4. Believed that everyday work was a divine calling.


5. An emphasis on personal conversion and individual piety


6. Some form of millennialism, Christ’s return for a 1,000 years (or, for non-millennialists, Christ’s Second Coming)


Each of these principles were significant in the Protestant Evangelical movements of the Great Awakening. Interestingly, as contemporary Christianity is being expressed in new and different forms, these 6 principles are still alive and well. Books could be, and have been, written on each of these 6. Suffice it to say, each of these principles are rooted in a biblical world-view that seeks to take faith seriously. Where do you see these principles working in your faith today?


In Christian love, Curtis

MY TRUE SON IN THE FAITH

It is customary to refer to other Christians with familial terms. The marriage and family bond is one of the strongest bonds in the human experience. It is no surprise then that it is appropriated by New Testament writers to designate how strong our bond is with one another in Christ.



In Paul’s letter to Timothy he begins by identifying him as “my legitimate/true child in the faith”(1 Timothy 1:2). This is a fascinating reference because of two words Paul uses.


First, Timothy is true/legitimate (gnesios). This word carries with it the idea of the real, genuine thing. When I read Paul’s two letters to Timothy, I am immediately struck with the genuine friendship and relationship that existed between these two Christians. Paul knew Timothy’s family well, and entrusted the young man to some very responsible tasks connected with the apostolic ministry.


Second, the tender word for “child” (teknon) helps Paul express how dear, special and familial Paul feels toward this young man Timothy. Later on in this very letter, once again, Paul addresses him as “Timothy, my son…”(1 Timothy 1:18). He wants to get Timothy’s attention as he instructs him how to fight the good fight of faith in the face of opposition. As his father in the faith, he knows that this precious young man in the faith is about to face some pretty stiff opposition.


For each of us today, God has placed in our stewardship a spiritual “true son/daughter in the faith.” Who is that person? Do they know of your spiritual concerns for them? Do they hear affirmation from you regarding the bond of genuine friendship? Do you watch out for their spiritual welfare, and seek to instruct them?


“My true son in the faith”—what a beautiful expression!


In Christian love, Curtis

Promoting and Advancing the Work of God

When the apostle Paul writes to Timothy about what he needs to focus on as a young evangelist, Paul is interested in how Timothy promotes or advances the work of God. In doing so, Paul uses one of the strangest phrases for ministry in all of the New Testament: “a stewardship of God in the faith.” What in the world can he mean by that?



Paul had expressly left Timothy in Ephesus to urge certain individuals not to teach anything differently. Early on in the church we already have a distinction between heterodoxy and orthodoxy. Anything taught differently from the apostolic tradition would be suspect and identified as “heterodoxy.” In this immediate context (1 Timothy 1:3-7) they were devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies.


The myths were legendary, fictional stories-- but unfortunately Paul does not name them so we do not really know their content or anything else about them. Whatever they were, it is evident that they were designed to replace the central story of Jesus.


The next thing that was heterodoxy was the unending genealogies, or the tracing of one’s ancestors or family tree. Rogers makes the following apt comment on this practice: “In postexilic Judaism there was a keen interest in family trees, and this played a part in controversies between Jews and Judaism” (Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, p. 487). Interestingly, this may be what is behind the very reason that both Matthew and Luke include a genealogy of Jesus.


Essentially what Paul is telling Timothy is that one does not promote or advance the work of God by making up stories to replace the central story of Jesus, nor trying to make a family connection that would prove one’s faithfulness to an established, traditional religion.


I am really intrigued by this expression “a stewardship of God in the faith” that Paul uses to describe ministry for Timothy. Does each one of us see our gifts and ministry as stewardship before God?


In Christian love, Curtis

SINCERE FAITH

What does “sincere faith” look like? Where does it come from? Why is it important, and how does one get it?



For starters this expression (“sincere faith”) is used by Paul twice in his correspondence with the young evangelist Timothy. The word “sincere” translates the Greek word, anupokritos. It can be translated literally into English as “non-hypocritical.” Here are both of those verses:


“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).


“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).


Some significant insights present themselves from these two readings. “Sincere faith” is one of three things necessary in order for a person to truly love.


Additionally, a “sincere faith” can be spoken of as something that lives in people. Because of Paul’s reference to Timothy’s mother and grandmother, the implicit implication that he does not spell out is that this “sincere faith” can be passed on to succeeding generations.


The questions that all of this raises is vital indeed.


1. Does my love for God and others flow from a “sincere faith?”


2. Does “sincere faith” live in me?


3. Am I gratefully aware of how that “sincere faith” first lived in my parents and grandparents and was passed on to me?


The greatest need of the hour for Christianity in our culture is a “non-hypocritical faith.” Does it live in me so that others can see Jesus? This is such a critical question as we pursue our academic careers and training. In the end, everything we learn is to help us have a more "sincere faith" so we can truly respond to the issues and problems presented in our various settings and cultures.

Another thing to remember is that our research is based on our "sincere faith" that truly wants to see things as they are. This is what truth is all about. Our empirical research is prayerfully pursued with a "sincere faith" that not only wants to see things as they are, but with the "eyes of faith" see things how they can be to the glory of God!


In Christian love, Curtis

THREE PRAYER WISHES

I was first introduced to John Baillie’s classic prayerbook through another author who quoted the following prayer-wish that has been special to me down through the years:

“O God, grant me a clearer vision of your truth, a greater faith in your power, and a more confident assurance of your love.”

For me, these three specific petitions to God define a Christian’s heart who sincerely wants to live a powerful and passionate life for God. It also defines the person who wants to make a difference in the lives of others by providing the foundation and motivation for such a lifetime commitment.

A clearer vision of your truth. We know what it is like to drive with snow on our windshield or try to see through condensation while driving. Clear windshields make for better driving! This reminds me of Paul’s observation: “now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13). Our view of the truth is only partial, and we need God’s help to see better.

A greater faith in your power. Power is important this time of year: Christmas lights, tech toys, and media products. When unplugged, constant use drains the batteries. When we become unplugged from God, our soul-strength is drained, and our effectiveness and faithfulness is no more helpful than a drawer full of dead batteries. Asking for greater faith in God’s power helps create a constant awareness of my dependence upon God for everything.

A more confident assurance of your love. We all need reassurance of God’s love. We say it over and over, but often we do not down deep really believe it. That is mainly because we know our own faults only too well and, it is unthinkable that God could love us if he really knew us. But God made us, and the Psalmist reminds us that he remembers we are dust. God knows how frail and feeble and filled with foibles we are. Praying for a more confident assurance gives us pathways to peace and joy.

My prayer for all of you this year is that God will indeed grant you a clearer vision of his truth, a greater faith in his power, and a more confident assurance of his love!
In Christian love, Curtis

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

“O God, You have proven your love for humanity by sending us Jesus Christ our Lord, and You have illuminated our human life by the radiance of His presence…”

The above prayer begins the dawning of the day. Myriad are the ways that God has proven His love toward us. That proof comes in the form of blessings. That proof comes in the form of gifts. That proof comes in the form of His very presence.

The metaphors of light and darkness are used by biblical writers to point to deeper truths. The darkness of the human heart and human condition in the world is illuminated by God’s activity and presence in the world. As Christians we tend to make two mistakes relative to this: we either deny God’s activity and presence, or we dogmatically assert that we always know God’s presence and activity. The problem with both of these approaches is that it is ultimately an expression of human pride.

The thing we can assert with certainty is the darkness of our own hearts. Sin and pride become the fertile soil for a rebellious, dark heart. Even though this is true, we dare not despair. God has given us hope!

This hope comes to us in the gift of Jesus Christ. Jesus brought light into a dark world. In his gospel portrait of Jesus, the apostle John records Jesus as saying:

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (John 3:19-21)

“Light” for John is the illuminating power of God’s presence that brings everything out in the open. Hiding sin and harboring evil in our hearts is devilish and destructive. Christian counselors tell us that closed family systems, churches, and other relationships create darkness that is destructive.

May each of us claim the liberating freedom of the illuminating presence of Jesus as the ultimate gift from God during this holiday season! The illumination of Christmas lights and decorations cannot hold a candle to what we see because of Jesus’ presence in our hearts!

In Christian love, Curtis

ACCOMPANIED AND FORTIFIED

We begin another week with tasks and responsibilities staring us in the face. Some we get to choose, others we do not. Too often we slip into automatic pilot and perform those tasks and responsibilities without thinking about our relationship with God and the divine involvement in our carrying them out. Listen to following prayer to start the day out:

“O Lord my God, I kneel before You in lowly adoration, before I set out to face the tasks of another day. I thank You for the blessed assurance that I will not be called upon to face them alone or in my own strength. Rather, every moment of the day I will be accompanied by Your presence and fortified by Your grace.”

Accompanied by Your presence. This is a unique blessing that we as Christians carry into the dawn of the day with us. We are never alone. God’s presence is near. In the traditional hymn, Abide With Me, the composer of that hymn asks for a “sense of Your abiding presence.”

When we are aware of the divine presence, daily tasks are transformed. Even those tasks that seem impossible. Because we are “conscious of God”(1 Peter 2:19), our attitude and response to responsibilities are much different than they would be if we only trying to please ourselves. This moment by moment awareness and consciousness of God’s presence has traditionally been referred to in Christian literature as “practicing the presence of God.” Not only do we practice, but we participate in that presence!

Fortified by Your grace. We do not often think about the fortifying nature of grace. We perhaps are tempted to think of it only in terms of merit. We do not deserve the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The gift is fortifying. Think of this illustration…I am anemic and sick and lack essential vitamins in my body. You give me for Christmas a huge box as a gift filled with Vitamin D and other fortifying vitamins and minerals. I do not deserve your gift, but when I take the vitamins and minerals they fortify my body. I take the gift in, and it transforms my body’s system.

Accompanied by God’s presence and fortified by His grace. If we live everyday to the glory of God with this awareness, our Christian witness and our daily example will be radically transformed. This gives us the power to live out of the heart of a loving servant. May God be that for each of us!

In Christian love, Curtis

ETERNITY UNTO ETERNITY

“O God, who art from eternity unto eternity, and art not at one time in one place because all times and places are in Thee…” (Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer, page 65).

In my own prayer and in the prayers that have been written down through the ages, I am deeply and profoundly touched by a Christian’s recognition of the person and being of God. This is almost too simple to say: our view of God profoundly shapes our prayer-life.

Putting this spiritual dictum to the test, it makes me ask this: in what way does a recognition of the timelessness of God’s nature effect my prayer life? You may think of different ways yourself, but here is what I came up with:

1) God’s time is not our own. It is difficult to think of time as God does. For God time is immaterial. He was before time and is after time. For God, time is a parenthesis, and a very small one at that. Past, present and future is the same for God.

2) Patience on our part. Because such is the case, we have to be patient for God to answer our prayers. God’s timing in timelessness does not fit our timetable. We get impatient because intuitively we know we are not going to live forever, and we want to see some result while it is still relevant and before it is too late.

3) Ongoing work of salvation-history. God’s ultimate purpose in human history is the salvation of his creation. What went on in our past God knows how it is going to effect the present and the future. It may be a new thought for us to pray in view of the past.

4) God already knows what we need. Since this is true, prayer may be more for us than for God. The transformative power of prayer itself is seldom explored in discussions regarding prayer. God knows that the very utterance of the words that form our prayers can be transformative when we actually hear what we are saying.

5) Timelessness in our prayers? Is it possible then for our very prayers to take on a characteristic of timelessness? What if we viewed our Christian life as one continuous prayer in conversation with God? What if we were able to visualize the past, present and future coming together in our petitions?

God is from eternity unto eternity. The infinite hears the finite. The Uncreated One hears from the created. The timeless hears the time-bound. Our view of God profoundly shapes our prayer-life!

In Christian love, Curtis

THE ILLUMINIATION OF OUR DARKNESS

As a minister of Jesus Christ I find myself constantly in the role of encouraging others to go forward in their spiritual life. There are so many dimensions to growth in our spiritual life that it almost seems impossible to even think about all aspects at once. However, one helpful thing I find in my own life that I recommend to others is this simple advice: make sure that with your Bible you have a daily devotional guide, along with a collection of prayers.

I have a classic prayer/devotional resource that I have used daily for years. It is A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie. This author was a minister in Scotland (1886-1960) who was a serious Bible student, thinker and writer. He believed in bringing together rigorous, religious thinking and deeply spiritual living. His book on prayer is considered a spiritual classic.

I have two copies of his classic devotional on prayer, which was published in 1949. The younger generation is not familiar with this resource because it contains prayer in the old “King James Version” language. But the depth of spiritual insight, the passionate call for God’s presence, and the specific reference to everyday living has made this an abiding reference for the heart’s language in seeking God in prayer.

Just this morning I read the following prayer petition:

“O God, who of thy love and pity didst send us Jesus Christ for the illumination of our darkness, give me wisdom to profit by the words He spoke and grace to follow in the steps he trod” (page 37).

I am profoundly struck by the phrase “the illumination of our darkness.” In John’s gospel we find the cataclysmic battle between light and darkness. The scary thing is that there is some darkness in all of us. Only by the light of God’s spirit, giving us eyes of faith to see His truth, can the inner darkness be replaced by inner light.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12)

In Christian love, Curtis

COVENANTING AS THE CORE

Over thirty years ago, Walter Brueggemann who was the Academic Dean of Eden Theological Seminary made the following statement:

“Covenant is the dominant metaphor for biblical faith by which human personality can be understood” (Interpretation 33.2: 115).

This profound insight into the essential nature of personhood radically shapes the life of the local congregation. This means that the Old Testament concept of covenant provides the background for the New Testament concept of covenant. What this provides is a framework for understanding the essence of biblical faith.

Biblical faith is covenantal, relational in nature. This may sound simple and trite, but it is transforming when properly understood. Faith is never presented in Scripture as a personal possession which is privately protected from others. Rather, faith is trust and core values lived out in the context of a believing community.

I am struck constantly by how many proofs I see in our culture that many Christians in their relationship with God, their spouse and their children are operating out of “contractual” model rather than a “covenantal” model. In a contract, one or both parties are looking for loopholes. A covenant is the opposite. It looks for commitment and permanence.

I am also struck by what I see in 21st Century Christians having a “contractual” mentality with their local church. Loopholes abound in the congregational commitment category:

A bad sermon, a cold preacher, less than stellar nursery, assembly worship styles, cliques, etc. The list becomes endless for individuals to use as loopholes in their contractual relationship with the family of God.

I wonder how the local church would look and operate differently if every child of God extended his/her covenantal relationship with God to other Christians, spouses and their children? Probably one of the most profound aspects of biblical theology and faith that our culture desperately needs is men and women of faith who are covenantal to the core!

In Christian love, Curtis

WHEN NOT TO BE BOLD

In his letter to Philemon, Paul says, “…Though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you…” (vv. 8,9).

This admission by the apostle Paul is amazing! It gives us an insight into Christian leadership that separates it from marketplace leadership. Usually bosses and managers will use any method necessary to get people to do what is required. The church is different. Ministers, teachers, pastors, elders, deacons, ministry leaders, etc.: we all can take a lesson from Paul.

Think of the power of love as an appeal. Brothers and sisters in Christ respond to appeals coming from a heart of love. Several times in Paul’s letters, and other New Testament writers, the notion of “boldness” is held forth as a Christian virtue. We are to be bold when we approach the throne of grace, etc. However, in this case it is different.

Boldness gets interpreted as brashness, crassness, manipulation, coercion, etc. Christian leadership understands the human heart. That heart is sensitive, sinful, broken, wounded, and hurting. No human heart is exempt. Only the blood of Jesus can heal the human heart, but that healing is often incarnational through the human touch of Christian leaders.

We all who claim to be in leadership/serving roles in the life of the church have our work cut out for us! We could command people to do what is required. But the power of love is stronger than any authoritative command!

Whether we like it or not, the health of the body of Christ is dependent upon our appeals based on the power of love. When people do not feel loved, no amount of appeals or commands will work. On the other hand, when brothers and sisters in Christ feel that they “are our very heart,” a loving response is usually forthcoming.

In Christian love, Curtis

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

How much is a clear conscience worth? All of us have done things in the past that bother our conscience. Even when we have made horrible mistakes we desire a clear conscience. For the apostle Paul, a clear conscience was important.

“I thank my God whom I serve with a clear conscience…” (2 Timothy 1:3).

I believe it is significant that Paul begins this part of his thanksgiving in his letter to the young man Timothy with a reference to his clear conscience. I suppose that Timothy had heard many of Paul’s stories about his former way of life. Timothy no doubt heard the stories of Paul’s persecution of Christians and how he thought he was doing God’s will.

But Paul is thankful that he serves God with a clear conscience. I cannot imagine the inner angst for someone who would be serving God with a guilty conscience!

Why is it important to serve God with a clear conscience? I can think of the following reasons:
1. A clear conscience is evidence of God’s grace and forgiveness. No more worrying about guilt and shame.
2. A clear conscience does not have to worry about trying to earn forgiveness. No more trying to convince self by work that something can be done to curry God’s favor.
3. A clear conscience does not have to look over its shoulder. No more paranoia that God or others are out to get you.
4. A clear conscience is the basis of light and free heart to serve. No more burdens and angst of soul. This light-heartedness is the expression of spiritual freedom in Christ!

I wonder if we have not emphasized enough the power of a clear conscience in the sight of God? Because of the power of forgiveness extended to us through the work of Christ at the cross, we can rest in peace at night when we lay our heads down to sleep.

Every aspect of my Christian walk and witness is empowered with God’s presence and His Spirit when I serve God with a clear conscience!

In Christian love, Curtis

RECONCILIATION AND RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships are difficult. This is because we as individuals are difficult. The are various ways to describe the reasons for this difficulty. Each one has merit and contributes to the overall picture.

We are all difficult because of our sinful nature.
We are all difficult because of our emotional and psychological baggage.
We are all difficult because we are self-centered.
We are all difficult because we have not surrendered our will.
We are all difficult because of our different personalities.
We are all difficult because of our immaturity.
We are all difficult because we are in process.

Relationships seem hopeless, don’t they? What is the answer? The biblical solution is reconciliation. It is only in Christ that two can come together in fellowship and not let the “difficult” destroy them.

Only the blood of Christ can transform our sinful nature.
Only the blood of Christ can help us turn loose of our emotional and psychological baggage.
Only the blood of Christ helps us surrender our self and our will.
Only the blood of Christ can reconcile differences.
Only the blood of Christ can bring us to maturity.
Only the blood of Christ provides the life-giving sustenance to keep us in the process of becoming.

Yes, relationships are difficult, but they are full of potential, vitality, excitement and promise through the reconciling blood of Jesus Christ!
In Christian love, Curtis

THE COVENANT IS LIFE!

As we anticipate our new study in small groups on Genesis, I could not in my own initial reading get past the title of our study booklet. It has the subtitle: The Covenant Comes to Life. As I got to reflecting and thinking about this I realized we needed to go even more basic than that.

Instead of the covenant coming to life, the covenant IS life! In his commentary on Genesis, the Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann boils this first Bible book down to the following sentence:

“Creator creates creation.”

After this initial action, then the next simple sentence in my mind would be:

“Creator creates covenant.”

We find that God establishes a covenant relationship with the material creation. This covenant is the source of life. Life as we know it flows from the being of God. Without God there could be no life. Without God there could be no covenant.

The covenant is life. This is precisely why our covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ is so vital and important.
God initiated this covenant relationship, and made it all possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is why our life in Christ makes a difference.

Living the covenant-centered life in Jesus every day transforms how we view everything. It stands in awe of the Creator who has the power to initiate all of this to start with. May we all realize how much we owe our very lives to the Creator of creation and covenant!

In Christian love, Curtis

FOLLOWING JESUS BACKWARDS

While reading John’s gospel one comes across this sad comment:

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”(John 6:66).

“Turned back” is literally the phrase, “they went away to the things that were behind,” or as we would say, “they went back.”

This is the opposite of following Jesus forward—this is following Jesus backwards. What would cause Jesus’ followers to leave him and go back where they came from?

Jesus had been giving his disciples some “hard sayings.” They could not fathom the depth of their meaning, and what they did understand seemed to run counter to their expectations of Jesus claiming to be Messiah.

He confronted some of his followers by going straight for the jugular vein: “But there are some of you that do not believe”(John 6:64). It is hard for us to fathom that people actually followed Jesus day by day but still did not believe!

But this narrative in John raises for us a stark question:

Am I following Jesus forwards or backwards?

This had to be a hard day for Jesus. But this is the risk that love and freedom takes. He mentored for them day after day what the kingdom of God was all about. They had their ideas. When those disciples walked away, Jesus turned to the twelve and asked them, “Do you wish to go?”

It is hard to pour your life into someone—praying, caring, supporting and guiding them in the ways of Jesus—and then watch them just walk away. For me, as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, my heart is heavy for those I know who have chosen to walk away.

May God give us the grace and gentleness toward those who choose to follow Jesus backwards!

In Christian love, Curtis

John, the Apostle of Love

Are there any indications in his gospel about Jesus or his letters that bear his name, in which John the apostle learned sacrificial love as a servant?

I am reminded of a tender scene in which Jesus, with his dying breath, said to John…

John 19:27—And to me he said, “She is your mother!” And from then on I took her into my home.”

From then on, I took her into my home. Oh…how I wish that John’s gospel ended with a chapter on how John cared for this adopted mother. I suspect that at least the next three days before Jesus arose from the dead that he wiped many a tear from her cheek. He provided a place for her to grieve the loss of her son. He provided a safe place for her to express the depth of her despondent heart. He provided a safe haven for her heart broken with despair.

John models love for us and then tells us about it later in his first letter toward the end of the New Testament. John is very old by this time. He has seen a lot of Christians make sacrifices for others because of their love. He says…

1 John 3:18—stop saying we love people, and show it by our actions!

Show it by our actions. This is sacrificial love of a servant. Parents know this well. Staying up all night with a feverish child. Staying up all night with a child who has croup. Taking off work and driving your child to the doctor because they have broken an arm. The list is as endless as the love is deep! The love of parents just naturally includes sacrifices.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if we could sit at John’s feet and ask him about sacrificial love. I wonder what he would share?

Would he talk about Jesus’ becoming human? What a sacrifice!

Would he talk about the 12 disciples leaving jobs, family and livehood just to follow in the steps of Jesus? What a sacrifice!

Would he talk about Jesus’ spending time with the Samaritan woman at the well? What a sacrifice!

Would he talk about that embarrassing and silent experience of Jesus washing his feet in the upper room? What a sacrifice!

Would he talk about Jesus’ lonely and anguished walk to Golgatha carrying his own cross? What a sacrifice!

What actions of sacrificial love will define our day today? Are all our attempts at service motivated by this selfless love? A few years ago I experienced a silent retreat at Colombiere Retreat Center in Oakland County, Michigan. One afternoon I was in the hallway of the retreat center and saw this spiritual dictum in mosaic form on the wall:

"In the spiritual life...progress will be in proportion to...

surrender of self-love

and of self-will

and of self-interests."

No wonder my attempts at loving service fall so short! God, have mercy on me!

In Christian love, Curtis

WHAT IS CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY?

There are times when a book is published that it so grounding and foundational in its area of focus that one must purchase a copy and read it. The book by Evan Howard, The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality, it just such a volume. In the past I have used it for my own reference and deeper understanding of the Christian life.

Howard says that there are actually three levels of meaning to be attached to the meaning of the term “Christian spirituality.”

1. The practice or actual lived relationship with God, individually and communally. [experiential]
2. Formulation of teaching about that lived reality. [theological]
3. Academic field of study regarding the history of Christian thought and experience[academic] [pages 16-17].

Since our congregational motto is “Spiritual growth through loving and serving” it behooves us to understand what we are talking about. For our church and its immediate application, we are referring to the very first level of meaning regarding Christian spirituality. At the level of actual practice this means…

“…Life in the Spirit as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and daughters and sons of the Father.”

This life is described as “fellowship,” “one another,” “the body,” etc. This common life in Christ is the context in which our spirits are nourished, our burdens are lifted, and our journey is shared. God would have it no other way. We really do need each other in our quest to grow spiritually. In fact, we grow with one another toward God and away from self. There is no other way!

One final thought today: thinking of Christian spirituality in terms of a lived relationship with the divine is comprehensively included in the word “covenant.” God is in covenant relationship with us, we with God, and we with one another. Covenant commitments are to be taken seriously and never adulterated. Faithfulness, fidelity and staying true to covenant is the backbone of a healthy Christian spirituality!

In Christian love, Curtis

THE CHRISTIAN MIND-SET & PERSPECTIVE (2)

Thinking like Jesus is not easy. Having his attitude and mindset is hard day after day. Especially if people around you don’t care. Caring when others don’t is a real challenge. But it is in contexts like this that we shine the brightest for God. But we really do need each other in the church to help us learn how to think and be like Jesus at all times.

Probably the best portion of Paul’s writings to help us with this is Philippians 2:1-11. In the first paragraph he addresses interpersonal problems plaguing their fellowship: selfish ambition, vain conceit and self-centeredness. All of these are rooted in personal pride. How does the body of Christ overcome these?

By being like-minded (focusing on the same thing)

By being one in spirit and purpose (thinking the same thing about Jesus)

By having the same love

By having the mindset of Jesus Christ

If we are to focus on thinking the same thing about Jesus, and having the same love for each other because of that, what then did Jesus think? Again, Paul provides the model.

Jesus took on the attitude of humility and emptied himself.

Jesus did not grasp onto his position of being equal with God.

Jesus took on the form of humanity with all of its challenges and suffering.

Jesus humbled himself and became obedient even to the point of death.


Once we realize the power of the mindset of Jesus, we are then willing to give up self, relinquish personal pride, dethrone personal ambition, emptying ourselves so that we can be filled with the Spirit and the mind of Christ. This is a total transformation of the mind and heart that defines the Christian perspective on life. I know it is hard, but living otherwise is harder!

In Christian love, Curtis