Final thoughts

This is the final extract from The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me:

Who was running the Church in the book of Acts?

Not some committee or ecclesiastical hierarchy, but Jesus. The believers were put into action at His command; they were told to go, and they went. They knew what it meant to be a Christian, to become simply the suit of clothes that Jesus wears, so that the results would have only one possible explanation: Christ enthroned within the heart of every forgiven sinner.— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 162

In declaring that He, as Man, could do nothing without the Father (John 5:19), Christ demonstrated the truth that has always been true—that we as human beings can do nothing without Him. In the same way that the Father, as God, was indispensable to Christ as Man in His life on earth, Christ as God is now indispensable to us as human beings in our lives.— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, pages 168-169

<idle musing>
I hope you have been encouraged/convicted by this series of excerpts. I know I was. I might have a final reflection early next week—we'll see what the weekend holds :)
</idle musing>

Serving tea?

"When you are sent and you go, you are put where Christ puts you, and nothing will frighten you.

"That is why these early believers earned the reputation of being incorrigibly happy, utterly unafraid, and nearly always in trouble."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 158

<idle musing>
I read, I believe it was in Elton Trueblood, that an Anglican bishop was reflecting that everywhere Paul went there was a riot or a revival, but everywhere he went they served tea. I know that N.T. Wright has used the saying, but I first read it back in the early 1970's, so it predates him.

Nevertheless, isn't that an accurate statement of the early church? What has happened?! — Lord! Deliver us from mediocrity and apathy!
</idle musing>

Live the life

"The true Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you—your personality, your willpower, your gifts, your talents, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything—then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, pages 151-152

<idle musing>
Ain't it the truth...
</idle musing>

Slave labor

Another reason I don't shop at Wal-mart. Read the whole thing here:

The 2500 workers at the Anowara Apparels factory in Bangladesh spend all day sewing jeans, primarily for the Faded Glory brand of clothes sold at Walmart. They are 90% young women, some with families to support and others trying to simply scrape a living together. The women make between 11 and 17 cents an hour sewing jeans, and they're expected to produce at least ten pairs an hour. That means they make less than two pennies for each pair of jeans they sew. Recognizing the gross underpayment of these workers, the Bangladeshi government has suggested raising the minimum wage to 35 cents an hour. Walmart has responded by lobbying against Bangladesh's efforts to fairly compensate workers and decided to keep their staff living in abject poverty.

<idle musing>
I'm reminded of the passage in the book of James (5:4-6):

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self–indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

</idle musing>

HT: BJ

More Christ in you

"You must act on what you have come to know and believe before it will ever become real in your experience, before you realize by personal experience that Jesus is alive not just in heaven but in you every moment of every day, as the Father was alive in Him. Then our actions will be the activity of faith."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 134

<idle musing>
This is no "pie-in-the-sky" stuff we're talking about. This is real life, here and now!
</idle musing>

Honest question

Seriously, this is an honest question:

Why is socialism considered a dirty word?

<idle musing>
I've heard people spit it out of their mouth like it is a nasty four-letter profane word. I'm really curious why it is considered so terrible...

Please keep your answers civil; I'm not looking for a fight—really! I honestly don't understand and am seeking to learn.
</idle musing>

Christ in you

To many pragmatic minds, this total repudiation of self-effort is abhorrent. The thought of it can result in a hostility borne of self-justification. Such people often are very dedicated in their desire to serve God, but they are baffled by the whole concept of a Christian life which is nothing more nor less than Jesus Christ Himself in action.— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 128

<idle musing>
It is called the Christian life, after all...
</idle musing>

You've got to be kidding

No, they aren't!

As you know, I do a bit of cheese making. Consequently, one of the RSS feeds I subscribe to is a cheese making supply house. They post different recipes periodically. Today, they posted a recipe for—hold onto your hats—Velveeta™! Is nothing sacred? They don't even try to defend it:

Are you serious?

We are. Our official policy is that there is no law against consenting adults making Velveeta in the privacy of their own homes.

Yes, it's embarrassing, but the truth is that sometimes you want macaroni made with Velveeta, the way your mother made it. You're not alone and we're here to help you.

<idle musing>
Don't expect me to be making it any time soon!
</idle musing>

No problem!

"You may be thinking, “if such a life is totally of Him, though Him, and to Him, then where do I come in?” You do not. That is just where you go out! This is what Paul meant when he said, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).

"Here was Paul dying to self [in II Corinthians], and this dying to self allowed him to hand the whole situation over to the One indwelling him, Jesus Christ, the God of resurrection power.

"Dying to self is a wonderful position to be in, because dead people cannot die, and dead people do not have problems."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, pages 120-121

<idle musing>
I love it: "dead people cannot die, and dead people do not have problems." That sums up our position in Christ! Of course, we can choose to wallow in our self-pity and problems, but that isn't who we really are in Christ.
</idle musing>

5 years

Yep, five years ago today I started blogging; 1829 posts later, I'm still here. A lot of the people I was interacting with aren't blogging anymore, or sporadically at best. Some have moved about 4-5 times since then, falling prey to the evil Wordpress disease and abandoning the true faith :)

Anyway, I was looking back over some of the early posts today. I had just received my new road bike and was gushing forth about it. Five years later, I still love it and have put over 1300 miles on it. I've also burned out one bike commuting in the winter and am on the second year of another one. This one will probably last longer; the frame and wheels are aluminum, so they won't rust. The cables still need to be replaced each year, but $25.00/year is a lot cheaper than driving a car 11 miles a day to work!

The other thing that was preoccupying me was conference preparation. We have made great progress in that area. In fact, we had a meeting earlier this week and were commenting on how much less stress there is now than then. Basically, we just took all the tasks and spread them out over a few months so that no one month gets overwhelmed—usually! This year has a bit of a push to it with a catalog and a new mug, plus new bags, but its still a lot less stressful (others might disagree...).

I still am reading books and putting excerpts up on the blog. The nature of the books hasn't changed much, either. Does that mean I'm stable, or does it just mean I'm in a rut? Just an
<idle musing>

Get out of the way!

Suppose you were digging a hole, and I offered to give you a rest. How would I do it?

While you continued shoveling, I could call down a suggestion to you, such as, “Try tossing the dirt over your left shoulder instead of your right.” I could sing a song about digging, or discuss all the latest philosophical thinking that might relate to it.

Would any of that give you rest? No, it would more likely give you a heart attack!

Yet those approaches are very much like what today's Christianity tries to do to bring rest to struggling believers, all in vain.

How could I truly give you rest if you were in that hole digging? Obviously there is only one way: You must get out and let me get in. You must drop the spade and let me pick it up. You must quit and let me take over. You must vacate that hole in the ground so that I can occupy it.— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, pages 95-96

<idle musing>
So simple, yet so difficult, isn't it? Just get out of the way and let God take over. But, we want to prove to God that we can do it! Don't bother; he already knows we will fail...
</idle musing>

Thought for a Tuesday

"The flesh within you has never ceased to love sin, and never will. Given half a chance, it will always manifest its corruption and depravity."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 91

<idle musing>
E. Stanley Jones said that the old self likes to put on a religious robe and sneak back up on the throne.
</idle musing>

Thought for a Monday

"If you are not yet prepared to do as you are told, no matter how weak or foolish it will make you look, then whatever you believe about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is still academic. You have not yet entered into the good of it."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 73

<idle musing>
I just re-read this without the context, and it sounds scary! He isn't talking about a mindless, obey the master, obedience; rather, he is discussing walking by faith in God. Think Abraham sacrificing Isaac; does that help? If you don't put legs to your faith, it is academic.
</idle musing>

Salvation

"Salvation is so much more than a change of destination from hell to heaven! The true spiritual content of our gospel is not just heaven one day, but Christ here and now In the economy of God, conversion is only an essential preliminary to discipleship, which is a lifetime of allowing Christ to live in you and do His work through you."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 57

<idle musing>
I've heard it described as not so much God getting us into heaven as God getting heaven into us. Either way, salvation is about the Kingdom of God—starting right now!
</idle musing>

LIberty or slavery?

"There is a lie that Satan continues to propagate today with signal success in the hearts of countless people. It is the notion that by giving themselves back to the God who made them, and by submitting themselves to His sovereignty, they will be robbed of that liberty which makes life really worth living. Such people are not necessarily insincere in this conviction, but are the victims of their own ignorance, which makes them dupes of the devil, whose greatest delight is exploiting that ignorance."— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 45

<idle musing>
Kind of reminds me of a Randy Stonehill song from way back: "We are all like foolish puppets, who longing to be free now lie pitifully crippled after cutting their own strings..."
</idle musing>

cute

I know I'm biased, but I think I've got cute grandkids. Last night, I was talking to our son, Ryan, on the phone and he told me he was sending a picture of Evelyn. Sure enough, it was in the Inbox this morning. Here she is, about 18 months old:



And, lest any of Renee and Joel's kids feel shorted, here's a link to some great recent pictures of them. Too bad I can't link to beansprout yet, but he (?) isn't due for another few months...

Fun contest

Doug Mangum took issue with a newly announced AOAT title, The Exchange of Goods and Services in Pre-Sargonic Lagash, calling it the most boring title ever. In reaction, he announced a contest. Initially, he offered a book from his library as the winner.

I figured I could go one better, so I offered to have Eisenbrauns award a $50.00 gift certificate to the winner. Jim Getz came back with a strong contender. If you are on Twitter (yes, you, Jim and Nick!), you can follow the exchange. Personally, I thought he was going to give us the title of his dissertation :)

Anyway, head on over to Doug's blog and enter your most boring biblical studies/ANE title ever. I bet you can come up with one without to much trouble :) I'd offer one, but I'm kinda not eligible...

By our own strength

"The flesh will sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, preside at a deacons' meeting, preach from the pulpit, organize an evangelistic crusade, go to Bible college, volunteer for the mission field, and a thousand other things, all of which may in themselves be otherwise legitimate, if only it can keep its neck out of the noose. The flesh will threaten, shout, strut, domineer, sulk, plot, creep, beg, plead, or sob, whatever the situation may demand in the interests of its own survival. By any and all means it will seek to cause every Christian to live by his own strength instead of by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus, and to conclude that doing so is actually a good thing!"— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, page 42

<idle musing>
As usual, we take the teachings of Jesus and turn them on their head...pick up your cross—Nope! That's for somebody else. I'll serve God by doing all these things, and to prove how spiritual I am, I'll do them in my own strength!
</idle musing>

New 10-day sale at Eisenbrauns

With a hearty hat tip to Tommy Wasserman for the choice of books, I managed to create a new 10-day sale. Here's the skinny from BookNews

BookNews from Eisenbrauns

With a special thank you to Tommy Wasserman at the Evangelical
Textual Criticism (http://evangelicaltextualcriticism.blogspot.com/)
blog for assistance in choosing the titles, Eisenbrauns is
offering a 15-40% discount on selected New Testament textual
criticism resources. As always, all sales on this web sale
are final; no returns will be permitted. Offer is good only
on orders placed at www.eisenbrauns.com through October 20, 2010.

To go directly to the weekly sale, click on this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/NEWSLIST
============================================================
"The Epistle of Jude: Its text and transmission"
by Tommy Wasserman
Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series - CBNTS 43
Almqvist and Wiksell, 2006. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9789122021599
List Price: $79.00 Your Price: $47.40

"Text of the New Testament"
by Barbara Aland and Kurt Aland
Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes
Eerdmans, 1989. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9780802840981
List Price: $30.00 Your Price: $19.50

"Rethinking New Testament Textual Criticism"
Edited by David Alan Black
Baker Academic, 2002. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9780801022807
List Price: $20.00 Your Price: $14.30

"Perspectives on the Ending of Mark: 4 Views"
by David Alan Black
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2008. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9780805447620
List Price: $19.99 Your Price: $12.99

"Perspectives on New Testament Textual Criticism:
Collected Essays, 1962-2004"
by Eldon J. Epp
Society of Biblical Literature -SBL, 2008. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781589833852
List Price: $82.95 Your Price: $62.21

"The Freer Biblical Manuscripts: Fresh Studies of an
American Treasure Trove"
Edited by L. W. Hurtado
Archaeology and Biblical Studies - ABS 9
Society of Biblical Literature -SBL, 2006. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781589832084
List Price: $34.95 Your Price: $26.21

"Apologetic Discourse and the Scribal Tradition: Evidence of
the Influence of Apologetic Interests on the Text of the
Canonical Gospels"
by Wayne C. Kannaday
Text-Critical Studies
Society of Biblical Literature -SBL, 2004. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781589831018
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $29.96

"The Text of the New Testament: Its
Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration"
by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman
Oxford University Press, 2005. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9780195161229
List Price: $47.95 Your Price: $42.46

"An Introduction to the New Testament
Manuscripts and their Texts"
by D. C. Parker
Cambridge University Press, 2008. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9780521719896
List Price: $34.99 Your Price: $30.59

"Scribal Habits in Early Greek New Testament Papyri"
By James R. Royse
Society of Biblical Literature -SBL, 2010. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781589835221
List Price: $89.95 Your Price: $67.46

Enjoy!

Thought for today

The Holy Spirit always exposes the flesh for what it is, and there is nothing more infuriating to the carnally minded Christian than when those who are spiritually discerning remain unimpressed with him in spite of so much self-advertisement.— The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, pages 40-41