4 Thoughts for Thinking about Paris

by | Nov 16, 2015 | Spiritual Growth, Theology

4 Thoughts for Thinking about Paris

The Paris Terror

When terror strikes and screens scream dire reports of brutal and seemingly senseless attacks on humanity, my heart usually heads in one of two directions:

  1. turn it off — the screen and my heart. Just make.it.go.away.
  2. crawl under my covers and succumb to the deep sorrow and confusion.

I’ve learned about myself that I’m fairly sensitive to news and get overwhelmed easily. I’ve also learned that there are healthier options than the basic ostrich maneuver. For me, heading to Scripture and to sturdy theological thought leaders brings comfort and courage for engaging the ravages of evil.

Here are four resources that have helped me process the Paris Terrorist Attack over the last few days.

1. Learning a little more about ISIS, jihad, and “caliphate” (a word I’d never heard before but my husband kept saying to me as if it was part of our everyday vocabulary). This helpful article by Don Carter really lays it out in a clear way that even I could comprehend:

Article about the Islamic State

2. Remembering the essence,complexity, and craziness of sin. I actually skimmed back through much of one of my favorite books this morning: Cornelius Plantinga’s Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin. It’s a pretty heavy read, so I’m going to give you just one quote and recommend the book to you as a thorough examination of sin, corruption, evil, and its workings in our hearts and in the world.

“…even when sin is depressingly familiar, it is never normal. It is finally unknown, irrational, alien. Sin is always a departure from the norm and is assessed accordingly. Sin is deviant and perverse, an injustice or inequity or ingratitude. Sin in the Exodus literature is disorder and disobedience. Sin is faithlessness, lawlessness, godlessness….Sinful human life is a caricature of proper human life.” (Plantinga, p. 88).

3. Reading the words and prayers of a woman who knew suffering. Amy Carmichael, the missionary to India who lived much of her life suffering from chronic illness, always invites me to wrestle and rest with God over sorrow and suffering. Here is a brief excerpt from her book Rose from Brier.

“Lord, is all well? Oh, tell me; is all well?
No voice of man can reassure the soul
When over it the waves and billows roll;
His words are like the tinkling of a bell.
Do Thou speak. Is all well?

Across the turmoil of the wind and sea,
But as it seems from somewhere near to me,
A voice I know: child, look at Calvary;
By the merits of my blood, all is well.”

4. Last, but most certainly not least, Scripture and a prayer. From Scotty Smith, who daily shares prayers that help us grapple with who God is in the midst of everyday life.

     At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” Dan. 4:34-35

     Dear heavenly Father, I need to “bookmark” this passage and return to it often, for it doesn’t just tell the conversion story of a pagan King; it’s the ongoing story of my heart. Your sovereignty is our sanity; your rule is our rest; your dominion is our delight. Navel-gazing and circumstance watching, and talk-radio-fixating and political-pundit-feasting never serve us well. Scotty Smith  Read the rest of the prayer here.

What about you? What helps you process the unsettling news of recent days?

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There Is a Friend…

by | Nov 9, 2015 | Bible study

There Is a Friend…

Because I got to play with puppies today, and this photo was just too cute not to share;-)!!

Friends come and friends go,
    but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Proverbs 18:24, The MSG

The Message 100: A True Story Bible

by | Oct 27, 2015 | Books, Learning Story, Scripture

The Message 100: A True Story Bible

Eugene Peterson Tells the Story

Eugene Peterson, biblical languages scholar, people’s pastor, Scripture storyteller, has done it again. Over 20 years ago, Peterson, began his labor of translating Scripture, with the intention of working the “message of the Bible into the lives of the men and women with whom I worked.”

Now, to 5 readings a week and gathering to discuss. It would be a great outreach Bible study (Such a study may be coming online to Living Story – let me know if you would be interested!) o Read the whole Bible straight through. I don’t mind saying I’m often intimidated by Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year plans. But I think I could read The Message 100 in less than a year, if I add it to my stack of currently-reading books (I usually have 3 going at a time, plus one fiction for bedtime☺). Cons of The Message 100 There are a few cons to note: 1. A caveat more than a con. It is not a literal translation. The Message Bible, as its writer acknowledges, is not a literal translation of the Bible. That being said, Eugene Peterson is a biblical languages scholar who made his dynamic equivalent/paraphrase by translating the original languages. I am always saddened by the number of people who disdain The Message without knowing Peterson’s scholarship or understanding his true intent: “my intent here…is simply to get people reading it who don’t know that the Bible is read-able at all, at least by them, and to get people who long ago lost interest in the Bible to read it again” (from the Preface to The Message). He goes on to say that people should get a study Bible to help with further study. 2. Thin Paper. I know it’s not politically correct in this eco-friendly world to complain about paper – I probably should have the book on Kindle. But I am a bibliophile, and I like books I can touch, especially the Bible. The review edition of The Message 100 I was given is a very thick paperback with very thin pages. I’m guessing it was made this way to make it seem more like a paperback novel people, less formal and stiff -looking as a typical Bible, and I get that. But personally, I’d like to see a heftier edition. I don’t know Tyndale’s plans, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one eventually. My conclusions: I give The Message 100 a huge thumbs-up as a wonderful new resource for engaging the whole story of redemption the Bible tells. It is readable, it draws people more deeply into the story in a way that helps us see more fully the wonder of who God is and the magnitude of what He has done through Christ. Reading The Message 100 will help us learn, live, and love in the one true story that makes sense of life – the gospel! Sign up! Acknowledgment in my own words: The publisher gave me this book for free and asked me to review it. I was not paid, and I was not required to write a positive review. These opinions are mine☺! Or…the legalese version: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”” target=”_blank”>The Message 100 Devotional Bible, The Message structured in 100 Bible readings makes it easy to read the whole Story. As the editors say in the introduction,

“The books of the Bible are meant to be experienced as wholes, like a novel. But we often read and study the Bible more like a textbook….”

The Message 100 intends to engage readers in the redemption story the Bible tells. From Creation through the Fall to Redemption and ultimate Restoration, we read the wonders of the God we serve, worship in deeper awe and gratitude, and live the Story as the Holy Spirit has worked it into us.

(You can see why I, with my consuming passion for Living the Story of the gospel, love this, right?).

Structure of The Message 100

Let’s look first at the structure of The Message 100, then at the pros and cons.

  • The entire Bible, in The Message translation.
  • Divided into 100 readings. Each reading took me about 30 minutes.
  • Each reading briefly introduced by Eugene Peterson.
  • Chronologically ordered – but with each book in its entirety. (Many chronological Bibles divide the books).

Pros of The Message 100

I received my reviewer’s copy in mid-September, so I have not had time to read the entire book.

What I have had time to do is read all of Genesis and most of Job – the first two books, parts of Isaiah, Joel and Malachi, the first 8 chapters of Matthew, and parts of Revelation.

Here are 4 pros I found:

  1. Easy to read. I was really surprised at the speed and ease with which I completed the first reading. I had set aside 30 minutes, and I had finished Reading 001, the first 12 chapters of Genesis, in 25 minutes.
  1. New connections.Because I was focused more on story than study, and because I wasn’t obstructed by chapter and verse divisions (they are listed, in small print in the margin), I noticed relationships in the story I had missed before.

To see what I mean, read these two sentences:

            “The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.

The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made.” Genesis 2:25-3:1.

You can see how it looks in the book in this photograph.

Genesis 2 in The MSG

Uninterrupted by a sectional heading, the two sentences convey more fully the tragic loss of Adam and Eve’s sin. Before the Fall, the first couple were united and shame-free; the clever serpent, as we read in the next few sentences, seduces them to sin. The Adam and Eve we meet in verses 7 – 13 are shamed and shaming, divided from one another and from God.

  1. New observations. Ordinarily, I read Job thinking I already know the story. This time, in addition to noticing the vibrancy of the various characters and the relevance of their skewed theologies for today’s world, I noticed something else – the vast numbers and varieties of animals. I scribbled in the margin: “The Nat-Geo of the Bible.”
  1. Wonderful possibilities. The structure and the language do make this Bible truly readable. As a teacher who loves to help people learn, live, and love the gospel story, I see many exciting possibilities for The Message 100. Here are two:
  • Use the book for a Book Club type study, perhaps having people read 3 to 5 readings a week and gathering to discuss. It would be a great outreach Bible study (Such a study may be coming online to Living Story – let me know if you would be interested!)
  • Read the whole Bible straight through. I don’t mind saying I’m often intimidated by Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year plans. But I think I could read The Message 100 in less than a year, if I add it to my stack of currently-reading books (I usually have 3 going at a time, plus one fiction for bedtimeJ).

Cons of The Message 100 

You can probably tell that I’m pretty excited about this Bible.

  1. A caveat more than a con. It is not a literal translation. The Message Bible, as its writer acknowledges, is not a literal translation of the Bible. That being said, Eugene Peterson is a biblical languages scholar who made his dynamic equivalent/paraphrase by translating the original languages.

I am always saddened by the number of people who disdain The Message without knowing Peterson’s scholarship or understanding his true intent:

“my intent here…is simply to get people reading it who don’t know that the Bible is read-able at all, at least by them, and to get people who long ago lost interest in the Bible to read it again” (from the Preface to The Message).

He goes on to say that people should get a study Bible to help with further study.

  1. Thin Paper.I know it’s not politically correct in this eco-friendly world to complain about paper – I probably should have the book on Kindle. But I am a bibliophile, and I like books I can touch, especially the Bible. The review edition of The Message 100 I was given is a very thick paperback with very thin pages. I’m guessing it was made this way to make it seem more like a paperback novel, less formal and stiff-looking as a typical Bible, and I get that. But personally, I’d like to see a heftier edition. (As it turns out, there is a hardback edition. I don’t know if its paper is heavier:-)!

My conclusions:

I give The Message 100 a huge thumbs-up as a wonderful new resource for engaging the whole story of redemption the Bible tells. It is easy to read, and it draws people more deeply into the story. It opens our eyes to the wonder of who God is and the magnitude of what He has done through Christ. Reading The Message 100 will help us learn, live, and love in the one true story that makes sense of life – the gospel!

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Acknowledgment in my own words: The publisher gave me this book for free and asked me to review it. I was not paid, and I was not required to write a positive review. These opinions are mine:-)!

Or…the legalese version:

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Parent-Sinners parent sinners

by | Oct 17, 2011 | Gospel living, Parenting, Spiritual Growth

It's hard to be angry and yet not sin with our children.

“ 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (I Timothy 1:15-16)

This post is continued – sorry to have left the child-sinners hanging on Friday, but I wanted to save the most important point for last. (When my daughter saw the title of my post on Facebook, she wrote, ‘This should be interesting!:).

As parents, we are the “chief” sinners (for more on the concept of leaders as chief sinners, see Dan Allender’s Leading with a Limp). This is because we know more and have lived longer. It is our job to ask forgiveness first when we have done harm to one of our children. I have many stories to illustrate this point, but I’ll settle on one:

Many years ago, I lost my temper with one of my children – AGAIN. I knew I had blown it, and I sent him to his room for time-out before I did any further harm. I prayed (that sounds calmer than it was – more like, “God! HELP!” through clenched teeth). When I had cooled slightly, I visited his room to deliver my apology. “I am really sorry. I lost my temper.”

His words still rattle me as I think about how easy and devastating it would have been to walk through the easy exit he gave me: “Yeah, but mom, if I hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t have…” I stopped him with an answer the Holy Spirit must have put in me, because I wouldn’t have thought of it on my own: “Son, your sin is yours to deal with before God and me, but my sin is mine to deal with. I cannot blame my sin on you. I need to ask God’s forgiveness and yours.”

That’s the gospel. We parents sin. We sin more when we blame our children for our sin. We do need to ask forgiveness when we wrong them. How else will they learn the humility to ask forgiveness for themselves? I wish there were some easier way to teach this, but there’s not. And more importantly, as “ambassadors of reconciliation,” it is more than a parenting lesson, it is a calling. That good news will be our topic tomorrow.