#1Corinthians4-6 - Judging others

Click here to read 1 Corinthians 4-6:

**After a busy weekend, I'm going to read three chapters today and three tomorrow to catch up. Anyone who has been following along can just keep moving at the same pace.

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

Next to John 3:16, the next most quoted verse of the Bible by nonbelievers and believers alike is "Judge not lest ye be judged." Although usually quoted without any knowledge of who said it or in what context it was shared, it does connect with a theme throughout especially the new testament. We are not God, and we are supposed to let God judge all people. Yet at what point are we supposed to remind people of behaviors that comply with God's scriptural outline rather than conflict with it? Is that judging? Here in these chapters, Paul makes a helpful (although not easy) clarification. We are not supposed to judge the behaviors of those outside the church, but we are to let God be their judge. However, we are supposed to judge the behaviors among people inside the church. We are not supposed to tolerate ungodly behaviors (specifically sexual immorality in chapters 5-6) within the church. Even though we are not playing eternal judge, we are using judgement to strengthen each other and the church as a whole.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

In Ecclesiastes 3:17 we read, "I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” The writer of Ecclesiastes also knew, like Paul, that we aren't supposed to pass judgment on every deed of every person, because God will hold every person accountable to what they did. Paul says a similar thing in 1 Cor. 4:4-5.

3. What does this mean for my life?

In 1 Cor. 6:19-20, we are told that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should honor God with our bodies. Although it is in the context of sexual immorality, I tend to also apply this more broadly to taking care of ourselves. We need our bodies to continue to allow God to use us here on earth, so to take care of them is to honor God who dwells within us.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

Are some of the instructions in this passage meant for a certain church at a certain time? Or are they all timeless? Specifically, I wonder about the idea of expelling someone from the church for certain sins. Is that still something that should happen. If so, how and for what offenses?

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#Luke11 - Shameless Audacity

Click here to read Luke 11:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

Two words: shameless audacity. I have read this passage before, although it's been awhile. I always knew it was about prayer, but for some reason as I read it today it really hit me: GOD WANTS US TO BE BOLD IN ASKING FOR THINGS IN PRAYER! In three ways Jesus gets the point across that we can ask God in prayer for things. Please don't read this as saying that God is a genie and we get whatever we want. But if we need something, we should turn to God first. Jesus says, if you earthly fathers like to provide for your kids, and if your earthly friendships are strong enough to give to each other, just think about how much more God, our heavenly father, wants to provide for us and bless us. I think the last time I read this was before the NIV was updated, so I don't think the words "shameless audacity" appeared before. Yet those two words really struck me today.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

In verses 29-32, Jesus declares that the only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah. If you don't know the biblical account of Jonah, it's a short read (only 4 chapters in the whole book). He was in the belly of the whale for 3 days and then was spat out to witness to the sinful Ninevites. Jesus was in the tomb for three days, then rose and appeared to the disciples who witnessed to the world. But that's where the comparison ends for Jesus. He is saying that even though the Ninevites were sinful, they listened to God's word through Jonah and repented. He's saying that if the Jews don't listen to him and refuse to repent, they will be condemned in the final Judgment, while the repentant Ninevites will enter heaven. That should have been a huge wake-up call for the Jews, who put the Ninevites right up there with Sodom and Gomorrah in terms of sinfulness.

3. What does this mean for my life?

Next time I'm at a pastors house for supper, don't start proclaiming woes on them, or they might be insulted and try to kill you. :) Just kidding. Seriously, my personal application came from the first point I made about asking for things in prayer. I pray, but often catch myself wondering if God will do it, since it doesn't seem as "urgent" or "important" as many other needs in the world. But I need to ask more boldly for things I need: either in ministry, or family, or financially, or health. God can still say no, but he is still telling us to ask more often and more boldly.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

I don't totally understand when Jesus teaches about the strong man. He describes a bit about what happens to demons when they leave a person, but how can a person prevent them from coming in again? It's possible Jesus was saying that God is more powerful than demons, and unless God is living inside of you, you're vulnerable again to demons. But it's still really confusing.

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#Luke6 - Cut and Paste Bible

Click here to read Luke 6:

Copyright © 2011 The Zondervan Corporation

1. What stood out to me from this chapter? 

There are some hard teachings in this chapter: woes to the wealthy and well fed, loving your enemies, not judging others. There are two temptations I believe most people face when they encounter these more challenging teachings in the Bible. One is to simply cut them out, almost like you just literally take a scissors and snip out everything that doesn't make you feel good. This is incredibly dangerous, because the whole point of these teachings is to confront attitudes and behaviors that God desires to change in us. The other temptation is to take these tough words to the extreme. "Do not judge..." becomes "Never judge anyone else's behavior as wrong in any circumstance. Since we all sin, none of us can call out wrong behavior in anyone else." Well that message isn't consistent with the rest of Scripture either. That's more like pasting your own additions into Jesus's teachings. Even later he says, "First take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Remember, Jesus was often speaking to the Pharisees, who knew all the laws, but who had very hard hearts towards actually loving others. He had to be strong in his words. We have to be careful not to cut and paste our way around the Bible. So how do we approach these teachings? I'd simply say whenever we come across a passage in Scripture which is difficult or sounds harsh, we should take an honest look at ourselves and ask God to lovingly tell us if that is true for us. Then we can be open to God's transforming work in us.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

Much of this chapter is just a different account of Jesus's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7, so that's an obvious connection. But the last section about the wise and foolish builders really caught my attention. Although it does give practical construction advice, Jesus simply used that illustration to teach about the importance of not only listening to his words but putting them into practice. This reminds me a lot of the book of James. Especially in chapters 1 and 2 James convinces us that faith is more than just talk or adhering to a certain set of beliefs. True faith is evidenced by deeds.

3. What does this mean for my life?

Verse 12 of chapter 6 here says that Jesus spent the night praying to God. I don't think I have ever spent an entire night praying to God. In fact I can't remember the last time I devoted in the entire hour strictly to prayer. For Jesus this came right before his big sermon to the crowds. He knew he needed to connect with his heavenly father for strength and guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit. Even though I feel like I do pray fairly regularly and depend on God for strength, all this verse was very convicting for me to rely even more on the power of prayer and the goodness of our heavenly father to provide for everything we need.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

In versus 20 through 26 Jesus gives a series of blessings and woes. In Matthew's version the woes aren't included, so it seemed easier to interpret the blessings. In Luke's version however, it seems that Jesus is saying that it is wrong to be wealthy or well fed or to laugh. I think that what he means is that it's wrong to be those things and neglect the needs of others around us. But my question is how are we really supposed to interpret this part of the chapter?

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#JoshuaDaniel - A Lesson in Names

Joshua Daniel - 8 lbs 6.2 oz, 20" long

Today, I became a dad for the third time. My wife and two daughters (6 and 3) welcomed into the world the newest member of our family - Joshua Daniel Antoine. He was a healthy baby, and though I don't have time to blog about the bible chapter (I'll get it tomorrow), I want to share briefly about our son's name.

Joshua means "God is my salvation" or "The Lord saves!" Daniel means "God is my judge" or "The Lord will judge me". These two names combined form an interesting lesson in the character of God. On the one hand, we will all stand before God one day who will judge the "living and the dead" according to our works during our lifetime. And the reality is, nobody can stand up against that judgment as innocent. We have all sinned against God and have fallen short of his glory, making us guilty and deserving of punishment. Yes (Daniel) God is our judge.

But God is also the one who has provided salvation through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus (a variant of the name Joshua). So even though God is the one we are accountable to, He is also the one who saves us. This may seem contradictory, but it's really not at all. It's just two different attributes of the same God.

It's like this. If I am a good dad, then I will protect and rescue my children at the risk of my own life. But I will also be the one to lovingly discipline them when they cross the boundaries we have set as acceptable. Disciplining my child does not diminish in any way my love for him/her.

Those are just some quick thoughts. If you want to read more about Joshua or Daniel as characters in the Bible, they both have whole books devoted to telling their stories that also happened to be named after them.

God bless, and keep digging in!

In Christ,
Dan

#Romans14 - Eat bacon for God!

Image from http://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/
2012/10/12/six-pack-bacon-bacon-bacon/

Romans 14: 

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

I like to eat. I'm not a glutton, nor am I even overweight, but I do like to eat. Paul talks a lot about eating in this chapter, so a lot of it stood out to me. :) It was interesting to me that Paul was less concerned about the technicalities of what you eat, and more concerned about how it affected others. We are FREE in Christ to do as we please, so let's use our freedom to help others feel welcomed in Christ. If I do something or say something that I don't necessarily think is wrong in God's eyes, but someone else is convinced it is, I SHOULDN'T DO IT AROUND THEM. The goal is not to be right, but unity in the body of Christ. I do have some questions about this, though (see #4). So that is why Paul says, "Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." So I say, "Let's eat bacon for God!" :)

Oh, and also, my name is "Daniel" which means "God is my judge." So the fact that this chapter is all about remembering that we will all have to give an account to God, who is the judge, is pretty cool.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

I think to start to understand Paul's logic here, you have to know a little about the Jewish customs he is using as illustrations. One is food. In the old covenant law, God commanded the Israelites to abstain from certain foods, including shellfish, pork, and Colossians 2 for some references to these "holy days."
d others. Some of these can be found in Leviticus 11. Under the new covenant, God himself declared many of these things clean. See Peter's vision about eating clean and unclean food in Acts 10. Another example Paul uses here is if someone "regards one day as special..." This could refer either to the Sabbath day, or to many other festivals and special days that God initiated in the old covenant, that were sort of unnecessary in the new. See Isaiah 1 and

3. So what does this mean for my life?

I was pretty convicted while reading this chapter. It's pretty easy for me to fall more into the "Pharisee" camp and almost add rules to God's rules. Although I have questions about how far to take this (see #4), I have to be careful not to be judgmental of others, especially unbelievers or new believers. For them, some behaviors might not be a really big deal which for me might be off limits. But I have to be careful not to play judge and just call out their behaviors like a tennis match referee. I need to let God be the judge in order to help them come closer to God. I have to trust more that God will convict people as the Holy Spirit begins to grow into all areas of their lives.

4. What questions do I have about this chapter?

I have several. When are we supposed to "judge" the behaviors of others, and help them see that it is not God's desire? I'm not talking about condemning them to hell, I'm talking about things that God clearly outlines as destructive or sinful (i.e. filthy language, sexual immorality, gossiping, etc.). I don't think we're supposed to just plug our ears and close our eyes and hum a merry tune and think, "It's okay if they keep behaving that way. God will judge them in the end." So that's one question.

The second is this: how does this apply to things that aren't explicitly forbidden in the Bible, or at least in the new testament? Like should Christians watch rated R movies, listen to music with sexually immoral lyrics, smoke, get tattoos, etc.? I think this is more what Paul has in mind, but I just don't know.

Those are my thoughts. Again, a short chapter, but some really important life questions. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

In Christ,
Dan

#Romans2 - Tolerance, Repentance, and Eternal Life

Romans 2:

1. What stuck out to you from this chapter?

Like most of the world, Christian and non-Christian, I tend to cringe a little when I hear the phrases "Turn or Burn," "Repent or Perish," or "Judgement Day is Coming!" It doesn't seem like a winsome preaching or evangelism style. But today's reading from Romans 2 sounds like Paul's version of a "turn or burn" sermon. The word that really caught my attention was "repentance." Paul says that God is richly kind and patient with people and their sin. He tolerates a lot. But God's tolerance is intended to lead us to repentance (v.4). God does not tolerate sin forever, nor does he condone sin while being patient. There will be a day when all of us will be judged according to our works, and we will all be found guilty according to the law. But this passage says that for all who repent, turn to God, and follow him, He will give eternal life (v.6-7). But to those who are unrepentant and reject the truth, there will be wrath and anger (v.8). So Paul's title for this brief passage might be "Repent (which literally means to turn around) or Remain Under God's Wrath (which might be even more harsh than "burn")." So next time I hear a Christian preaching that, I'll cut them a bit more slack (although I might still suggest an alternative approach). Also, lest anyone thinks that Paul's message here is related to being saved by doing good works, please read very carefully the next 6 chapters of Romans in which he very strongly argues against that idea.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture you know?

Continuing with the theme of "repentance," Paul wasn't the first one to preach repentance. In fact, the first sermons by John the Baptist and Jesus both were, "REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Matthew 3:2, 4:17) Repentance was also a major theme in the old testament. Examples that come to mind are Job (Job 36:9-11), the whole nation of Israel through the prophets (Isaiah 59:20, Jeremiah 15:19, Ezekiel 14:6), and the story of Jonah and Ninevah. This is another really good reminder that the God of the old testament is the same as the God of the new testament.

3. So what does this passage mean for my life?

The whole second half of this chapter is really, really, REALLY, convicting. Though it was written originally to Jews and teachers of the law, it can easily be applied to Christian leaders and teachers. The first chapter and a half were really easy to get caught up about judgment and wrath, but this part of the chapter (v.17-29) reminded me that apart from Jesus I would find myself square in the path of God's wrath. I need to daily repent of my sin and strive for what is right, to live a life of integrity so that my life would reflect God's character more and more. Plus, I can't even do that on my own. I need God's Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me to suppress the flesh and embrace the fruit of the Spirit. This chapter was very convicting both as a reminder of God's righteous judgment and my need to be grateful for all God has done by living my life in a way that honors him.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

This question is related to yesterday's question. In chapter 1, Paul writes about how God's invisible attributes are made known through creation so that no one is without excuse. Today, in chapter 2, Paul says that whoever hasn't heard the law will be judged according to the law. I'm not even sure how to phrase the question, but here's the simplest way to ask: "How does God judge people who have never heard about Jesus? Do they automatically go to hell? Do they automatically go to heaven? Are they judged according to their heart and how they obeyed their "conscience"? I'm just not super clear on this.

I'd love to hear some responses.

In Christ,
Dan