Your life shows it

In the end, we always live out what we know. We can talk the talk and try to fool each other on Sundays, but when we get up Monday morning, we live out what we know. It's practically impossible to walk in what we don't know. Catch me off guard and you'll find out what I really know, versus what I just talk about. My life will show it.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 130

<idle musing>
That reminds me of that old kid's song, "If you're happy and you know it, then your life will surely show it." Or, "Your actions are speaking so loud that I can't hear what you are saying."
</idle musing>

Thought for today

Some of us here at Eisenbrauns are reading The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker, the management guru. Chapter 2 has a nice little thought:

None of our institutions exists by itself and is an end in itself. Every one is an organ of society and exists for the sake of society. Business is no exception. Free enterprise cannot be justified as being good for business; it can be justified only as being good for society.—page 16

<idle musing>
Unfortunately, it seems that profit-chasing has taken over in most people's minds :( I think the Bible has a bit to say about greed, though, doesn't it?
</idle musing>

Spiritual warfare, Zambian style

Matt Harmon, a New Testament professor here at Grace Seminary is teaching for a few weeks this summer in Zambia. Today, he posted about one of his recent classes:

Yesterday during my class on Jesus and the Gospels, the discussion turned to spiritual warfare. Anytime this subject comes up (no matter where I am teaching), I try to explain that there are two extremes within the evangelical church. One extreme says that any talk of demons or spiritual warfare is simply an outdated and ignorant way of thinking about things that have other, "natural" causes. According to this view, such talk was the only way that less enlightened people had of explaining things that were beyond their control such as sickness, calamity, drought, famine, etc. I would suggest that this is the default view of most evangelical Christians in the United States. The other extreme says that virtually everything that happens in a day is the direct result of activity in the spirit world. According to this view, one must be constantly alert to how the spirits/demons are at work to avoid offending them or being somehow hurt by them. This is the default view in much of Africa even among evangelical Christians.

<idle musing>
I might add that the second view was the view in the ancient world, which I sum up as, "Don't tick off the gods!" And, "make sure you have at least one of them on your side, running interference for you." That, by the way, was the job of your personal minor deity, the lamassu in the ANE, the penates and lares in Rome, the Greek word escapes me right now, was it the hermai? A little help, please! Anyway, our concept of the guardian angel comes from this same concern.

The idea is that you keep the minor deity happy with small sacrifices and they will shield you from any unwanted (negative) attention by the major deities. This idea still lives on in popular culture with the various statues, etc. that you see around. And, some of you are old enough to remember when it was not uncommon to throw salt over your shoulder to placate the deities... I could go on, but you get the idea.

Of course, as Matt opines later in the post, both extremes are incorrect and spiritually dangerous. Take the time to look at his post.
</idle musing>

Bicycling

I haven't said anything about the Tour de France because I stopped following it several years ago. Nevertheless, it is the end of an era. I think it is summed up best by Bill Strickland at Bicycling's blog:

So many times over so many years I had witnessed Armstrong bend the Tour de France to his will. Now for the first time I wondered if the race was, as it did with everyone else, bending him. The Tour de France ennobles men, turns them into heroes. Then eventually it turns its heroes into men, by humbling them.

Although I have never been a big Lance fan, it is still sad that he couldn't at least win a stage in his final tour.

On other bicycling notes, I really enjoy riding to work each day. This morning, a fawn was standing in the middle of the road a little over 1/4 mile from home. It stood there, looking at me until I was about 25 feet away from it. Then, it turned and ran along the road for about 100 yards before veering into a lawn and disappearing into the woods. Priceless! Then, the lake was like glass this morning, and the bike path was so green...a wonderful ride.

Yesterday, though, I took the long route home. Consider this a public service announcement: If you are riding around Warsaw, Indiana, beware of 400 East; not only is it torn up and gravel between 600 and 700 South, which I had forgotten, but they are redoing the railroad crossing. They had just redone it in 2006; before that it was so bad I would get off and walk across it. I thought it was quite nice, at least for bicycles. I suspect it was still a bit too steep coming up for cars. So, it's closed while they redo it again. And, while I'm thinking of it, they just sealed 900 South, so don't expect a nice ride on it for a few weeks. Ah, the joys of rural riding :)

We're already there!

I always liked the word awareness more than the word growth. Because what really happens in each of us? Our awareness simply expands. We become more aware of Who already was. “Oh, I see more and more of Him.” We're not seeing more and more about Him. We're seeing more and more of Him. He is the peace. He is the joy. He is the life. He is the love.

Until we see that, we are always saying to God, “Give me something. Gimme. Gimme. Gimme.” But when that insight comes (and I'm not saying it has to be sudden, although it was with me), we say, “Oh, I see. I already have life. I already have Him.”

When God gives your spirit a revelation, often your soul responds with, “That can't be. That can't be.” But your spirit is saying, “It is. It is.” Revelation doesn't take place in your brain. God reveals Himself in our spirit. He says, “Yes, the absolutes are true. When you begin to live in My reality, you'll begin to say, 'I am.' Until you live in My reality, you'll say, 'I am becoming' or I want to be' or 'I hope I am.'”— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 127

<idle musing>
Yes! As it says in 2 Peter 2:3 "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." (RSV)
</idle musing>

Emotions or knowing?

...each of us as a believer has a spirit knowing that our sins are forgiven. It's not an emotional knowing. It's not simply a fact knowing that's tied to a past event, whereby we remember the day we trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior. Spirit knowing transcends that. We have an inner knowing that our sins are forgiven. We know that. The Holy Spirit has revealed it to us. In the same way, God wants us to know that we have been crucified with Christ, and that it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. That is the work of the Holy Spirit: to make a knower out of us, rather than a feeler or a thinker or a hoper.

Knowing is not feeling. It is not thinking. To someone who hasn't yet experienced the difference, knowing seems based on feelings and thoughts. But it isn't. In knowing, you and what you know are one. You become mixed, or united, with the thing that you know.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 125-126

<idle musing>
One time, several years ago now, we were trying to explain the "Christ in you" life to someone. They blurted out, "But it's so touchy-feely!" Nope! We tried to explain what we meant, but they didn't understand it. Hopefully they do now.
</idle musing>

Right, or rights?

I subscribe to a lot of RSS feeds and e-mail lists. One of the e-mail lists is for a country store in Ohio called Lehmans. You might have heard of them. Anyway, yesterday they had a blog post worth reading. Here is a good snippet:

The distinction between arguing over right and arguing over your rights may be small. But, it must be understood. Sticking to what is right is important; it may even be important enough to sacrifice your life for. But merely wanting to be right, or insisting on winning for the sake of winning, is just plain wrong.

<idle musing>:
A vital distinction that sadly tends to get lost in the heat of the moment...
</idle musing>:

New weekly sale

Eisenbrauns has a great new 10 day sale going on right now. Here's the BookNews announcement:

BookNews from Eisenbrauns

For the next 10 days, you have the opportunity to save from
40-50% off on selected Hendrickson titles. Don't miss this
opportunity to get Sasson's Civilizations of the Ancient
Near East at 50% off (plus shipping).

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 July 29, 2010.

To go directly to the weekly sale, click on this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/NEWSLIST
============================================================
"The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon with an
appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic: Coded with the numbering
system from "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible""
by Francis Brown, et al.
Hendrickson Publishers, 1995. Cloth. English and Hebrew.
ISBN: 9781565632066
List Price: $34.95 Your Price: $17.48

"The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha:
Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments"
Edited by James H. Charlesworth
Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781598564891
List Price: $69.95 Your Price: $34.98

"The Elements of Biblical Exegesis, Revised and Expanded Edition:
A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers"
by Michael J. Gorman
Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781598563115
List Price: $19.95 Your Price: $9.98

"A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew: with CD"
by Jo Ann Hackett
Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Cloth. English and Hebrew.
ISBN: 9781598560282
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $23.97

"Christianity in the Greco-Roman World:: A Narrative Introduction"
by Moyer Hubbard
Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781565636637
List Price: $24.95 Your Price: $13.72

"Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint: Expanded Edition with
Word Definitions from Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint"
by Bernard Taylor, et al.
Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Cloth. English and Greek.
ISBN: 9781565635166
List Price: $44.95 Your Price: $24.72

"The Jewish Targums and John's Logos Theology"
by John Ronning
Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781598563061
List Price: $29.95 Your Price: $16.47

"Vines Intertwined: A History of Jews and Christians from
the Babylonian Exile to the Advent of Islam"
by Leo Dupree Sandgren
Hendrickson Publishers, 2010. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781598560831
List Price: $34.95 Your Price: $19.22

"Civilizations of the Ancient Near East"
Edited by Jack M. Sasson
Hendrickson Publishers, 2000. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781565636071
List Price: $179.95 Your Price: $89.98

"Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible:
A Guide to the Background Literature"
by Kenton L. Sparks
Hendrickson Publishers, 2005. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781565634077
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $21.97

More activity, that's what we need

The only answers we get to flesh questions—those that focus on externals—are flesh answers. Those answers all have to do with more activity, more dedication, and more commitment. That's a flesh answer to a flesh question. It may even work for a little while. But it doesn't bring life.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 123

<idle musing>
The stock answer to everything, "I will try harder" Only problem is, it doesn't work. Up and down, up and down, down, down, down... rededicate yourself! Up...and down... You know the cycle. But, it doesn't have to be that way; let Christ live His life through you, as you.
</idle musing>

Musings

Debbie left on Sunday to take Madelynn back; the house seems empty without them. I talked to her last night after she got to Ryan's (our son) in Minneapolis. Today she leaves for Grand Marais and delivers Madelynn to her parents, who are pining away, missing her :)

But, I have plenty to do. I need to get the tree house painted before Debbie brings Joshua back. I finished the body of it last night. I still have to paint the trim and railings; they will be a gloss white. What do you think of it so far?



In other news, I canned 8.5 quarts of bread and butter pickles and 2 quarts of beet pickles over the weekend. The green beans are about done with their first crop, except for the pole beans that are about to get started. So, I froze what we had picked.

The Japanese beetles have been a problem this year. The trap isn't drawing them as well as it did last year. I even put an extra pheromone patch on it. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but they have made lace work of my rhubarb.


I mentioned a while ago that my brick cheese didn't seem to have turned out. I made two pounds and ate one two weeks later. The other one has been aging until yesterday. I opened it up and took a taste. It no longer looks or tastes like Brie! In fact, it tastes (and smells) like a mild Limburger. Good thing Debbie's gone :) Brick cheese is just a non-aged Limburger, so no surprise. I had some on a baked potato; it was good—I do like Limburger, by the way. But, don't go sending me any for Christmas; I don't like it that well!

I still have a 1/2 pound of cheddar that is aging. I made it on March 10, so it is now over 4 months old. I think I will open it up this week. I'll let you know how it tastes—unless it kills me! :)

Mental assent

For years I traveled around the country teaching people about our union with Christ. I would draw a few simple diagrams on the board, trying to be cognitive and give them something to hang onto, so with the brain they could see how things work. But after a while I discovered this: brain understanding is not spiritual understanding.

That's difficult for people to grasp, because Western civilization processes things mentally. We try to grasp it with the head and get the head to tell it to the heart, instead of waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell it to the heart. If it's in the heart, we will know it. If it's in the head, we will just know about it. It's easy to get a handle on all of these union phrases and Christ-in-you clauses and get an ouline all down pat and go around talking about it. But knowing about is not the same as knowing.

Everything we truly know of God comes by revelation of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal to us the reality of the mysteries of God...

Unfortunately, there's no relationship between the amount of information we accumulate and the ability to live a spiritual life. But there is a a direct correlation between the amount of information we gain and our level of frustration. It's frustrating to know about something and not be able to know it or live it. It's frustrating to know something is there and not be able to lay hold of it. It always seems elusive, like the carrot dangling in front of you that you keep chasing but can never grab...

But trying to live the Christian live through our own effort is like trying to put a cube into a spherical hole. It doesn't ft. The only One who can live the Christian life is Christ. Only His life fits the hole. But we still try to force it to work ourselves, and that becomes very, very frustrating.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 121-122

<idle musing>
I have seen this over and over; people continuously confuse information transfer with spiritual maturity. The two are not the same, in fact, they are frequently at opposite ends. Think of some of the people who know the scriptures the best. Are they proud and arrogant? Or, are they humble and teachable?
</idle musing>

Look at the numbers

I've commented on Amazon before on this blog. As a bookseller, they are my competitor, but as a publisher, they are my customer. But, The Nation has an interesting article critiquing them:

Amazon has not grown to where it is today by being touchy-feely. Sure, it adopted the informal trappings that characterized many of the new technology start-ups of the 1990s. But if Bezos's first desk at the company was an old door on trestles, the business conducted from behind it has been as ruthless as anything he encountered in his previous gig as a Wall Street broker. Soon after Amazon's launch in 1995, Bezos told his employees that he wanted a place that was both "intense and friendly" but that "if you ever had to give up 'friendly' in order to have 'intense,' we would do that."

Hmmm...not what you want showing up in a press release, is it? But, how about this:

Another London publisher, head of a well-known transatlantic university press, complained about the way Amazon undermined his company's efforts to sell its titles direct. "They told us, in no uncertain terms, that if we tried to match the reduced price at which they were selling our titles they would take the lower price as the basis for calculating their discount, allowing them to price-cut still further."

Ouch!

Please read the whole thing; it will open your eyes to things as publishers see them...

Life in the Spirit

Living the life as God's asset has an ease to it. But it's an inner ease. The rest for the soul is not lying in a hammock 24 hours a day. The rest for our soul lies in the reality of the spirit. We operate out of the reality of spirit joined to Spirit, where the two join to accomplish the purposes of the One. We operate from this inner Person, who is able to do through us, as us, what pleases Him. Previously, we could only try to do what we thought would please Him and offer that to Him. One was laborious, frustrating work. The other is easy.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 114

<idle musing>
Rest != laziness (for those who don't write SQL queries, the != means "does not equal"). But, it does equal rest from our own works, that Christ might work through us. I really like his continuing emphasis on "in us, as us." I think that phrase captures the essence of what he is saying better than any other phrase I have heard used over the years.
</idle musing>

For Renee

This is for the poor pining mother who left her daughter behind in the care of two grandparents :) These were taken Wednesday evening, right after she ate. I wish I had the camera with me last night; I put her in the swing and she started squealing with delight...

More tree house pictures

Here's a few more pictures of the building process.

The side walls go up:


The side balcony (we call it the princess porch):


The lookout tower, with an oversized resident :)


A side view with the railings attached:


An inside view of the platform for the lookout tower:


Sorry, Renee, I took pictures of Madelynn last night and then forgot to bring the camera! You'll have to settle for a tree house instead.

We are not a liability

As long as you live under the false idea that you are a liability to God, then no matter how things are going you will feel inadequate. You will feel that you come up short and are not all that God wants you to be. You will constantly be focused on trying to get your act together. Until you see that you are already all God wants you to be—that you are an asset to God, not a liability—then you are never established in the fact that living waters are flowing out through you. But when you finally make peace with who you are, you can begin to experience the realm of life that God has destined you for.

When we died on the cross, we permanently died to being a liability to God. From His point of view, we can no longer be a liability. Even if we're messing up we're not a liability, because He's going to use it somehow in our life or in somebody else's life, or both. Until we came to Christ we were nothing but a liability. And the better we were on the outside, the more of a liability we were, because we esteemed our own righteousness.

Foundation truth is to know you died with Christ and that you are no longer a liability. Having been raised with Christ, you can no longer be anything to God but an asset. He has accepted you. He is pleased with you. He uses you, live through you, speaks through you, loves through you.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 111-112

<idle musing>
No wonder grace is so scary! It sounds too audacious to believe, but it's true.
</idle musing>

Garden pictures

I got new batteries, so I took a couple of pictures this morning.



The herb garden is in the foreground, followed by the watermelon patch, strawberries, raspberries, then the main garden.

Here's another view of the main garden:

Last week

OK, I've been wanting to post this since last week and can't wait any longer, even though it isn't painted yet...

As usual, I jump in medias res...Last week Joel, Renee, and their kids came to see us. Part of the visit was having Joel and I build a new tree house. Truth be told, Joel did most all of it, I just tagged along and was the gopher. Anyway, I was supposed to wait until it was painted to post the pictures, but I couldn't wait. I managed to get the shingles on last night, does that count?

Before we started, the old tree house:


The materials:



The new framework:


The satisfied customers:




I'll post more of the pictures on my Facebook profile, and don't be surprised to see a few of them show up here over the next few days, as well. Joel did a great job and we're thankful to him. Makes me wish I were a kid again :)

The true self, as God sees it

Our true self is who we are at the spirit level. At the deepest level of your personhood you are not a sinner. You are a saint. You are God's holy, righteous, blameless child. You have His nature. In your deepest personhood, your desire are not in conflict with God's will. Your deepest being always wants to do your Father's will, just as Jesus wanted to do His Father's will (Romans 7:22, John 4:34).

This is your eternal, changeless identity. This is who you are. That you experience thoughts and feelings and even behavior to the contrary does not change that fact. Only by accepting this by faith can we begin to experience its reality.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 108

<idle musing>
The last line is the key to it all, "Only by accepting this by faith can we begin to experience its reality." Without that, it will always remain pie-in-the-sky and your faith will be like an old iron bed: strong on both ends, but weak in the middle. You will have a past assurance and a future hope, but today will be a mess and a defeat. That's how they describe it in the book, and they are so right.
</idle musing>

The word became flesh

Lawson Stone just got back from a trip to Israel with some of his students at Asbury Seminary. He posted some musings on the biblical text that are very good.

The Bible is the precipitate, the distillate, the sediment, the fallout, the log of this passionate, personal, political and social investment by God of himself in his creation. More than merely signs, language, literature, more than even messages sent by authors to readers, more even than revelations of unchanging, abstract doctrinal truths (it is all of those to be sure!), the Bible is the meshing point, the integrative intersection at which all of God's actions to take back his world flow together and find expression. The word became flesh; but it then became…text…texts. So yes, it's divine revelation. But it's also intransigently human authors talking to readers, some known to them, but like most authors, most readers unknown and far in the future. It's definitely literature, but not all of it. Some of it is deadly dull, boring lists and reports—about as literary as a Form 1040…about as spiritually compelling as a survey platt [sic] or an autopsy report. And surely it's language, that most characteristically human capability so laced with intimations of the divine. But all this coheres, co-inheres, as a living, vital organism of truth in which events, persons, places literary forms, linguistic features, ancient politics and eternal realities all dance around each other, within each other, and invite us, as the voice said to Augustine, Tolle lege! "Take, read!"

<idle musing>
I couldn't have put it better myself. Definitely read the whole post; it is well worth your time. His summary of current biblical scholarship is sadly accurate. But, as he found out, it doesn't have to sap the life out of you; God is bigger than we ever imagined!
</idle musing>

Garden ketchup

I haven't said anything for a while about the garden, so I thought I would. It is doing great! I tried to take a few pictures this morning before work, but the batteries were dead in the camera. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, we have been picking and freezing green beans for a couple of weeks now. I planted 5 different kinds this year, trying to decide which we like better fresh and which we like better frozen. Right now, four of them are bearing. The fifth was a mistake; I thought I was planting a bush bean, but it turned out to be a pole bean. It should start bearing later this week. Currently, our favorite is Greencrop.

Over the weekend, I canned 7.5 quarts of bread and butter pickles. Based on the number of blossoms, I would say that we are looking at a goodly number of quarts. You can never have too many pickles!

The last of the peas are done now. Next year I am going to use a trellis; they will last longer that way. I had read in a book once many a year ago that they support themselves, which is true to an extent. But, the bottom part of the stems tend to sag into the dirt and rot, causing premature death. I'll plant again in August for a fall crop; row cover will keep them from freezing in October. We'll see how long we can milk the harvest.

The spinach is done; the early plantings did well, but the later ones were spotty in their germination. The broccoli is heading out; I planted it from seed, so it is later than most. I plan on making a fall planting, too.

I planted brussel sprouts from seed about a week ago; some of them are up. They are an experiment; I've never grown them before. Maybe I should have gone with plants the first time, but we'll see.

The watermelon are getting bigger. We planted two varieties this year; one is round, the other is oblong. I think we might be able to harvest a round one in about 2 weeks, but we'll see.

The raspberries are giving us about a handful of fruit a day. They are everbearing, so this is the early crop from last year's canes. The later crop is on this year's canes and is usually more prolific. I don't expect much from them, seeing as we just transplanted them this spring.

The strawberries are sending out runners everywhere. I need to direct them a bit better or we'll have strawberries on the walkway and lawn. Don't want that.

The tomatoes are setting some nice fruit. So far it is green, but soon...just not soon enough for me :)

I guess that's about it for now...of course, weeding is still going on. The grass still wants to repossess its old territory. Other weeds are minimal.

How is your garden doing?

Idolatry

Any activity that's giving you your identity is an idol and is only contributing to the false self. Our false self thinks it needs external things or activities to give it life. It wants the stroking, the external affirmation, the place of authority, or the public place to make pronouncements. We are dangerous living out of our flesh, because we're using others to validate us. But when we no longer need those externals—when who we are in Christ and who He is in us has become foundation truth in our life—then we can handle the externals, because we don't need them for our identity.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 107

<idle musing>
This sounds a lot like some of the stuff in Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Of course, there is a major difference in that Stone would say we aren't imitating Christ, we are being indwelt with Christ—a difference that should not be minimized.
</idle musing>

Your true identity

When we fail to live out of our true identity (our true self), we are living out of our flesh (our false self). We are then living with ourselves as our reference point. We are choosing not to acknowledge who we really are and who Christ is in us. We are choosing not to act like who we really are. That's a dangerous place to live. It's not real life, it's a fake. There's only one source you can truly live from, and that's God, your spiritual marriage partner, whom you are in union with. He's the only One that gives you your true identity.

Our true identity is not in the externals. Our false self's identity is in the externals, but our true identity is not.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 106

<idle musing>
Again, the importance of your reference point. Is it you? Or, is it God? If it is you, then failure is guaranteed. If it is God, then you will succeed.
</idle musing>

What are you preoccupied with?

Knowing our true identity provides a second vital benefit: it enables us to live with a Christ-consciousness instead of a sin-consciousness. God doesn't want us living with a sin-consciousness. On occasion someone will ask me if I still sin. I answer, “I don't know. I'm not paying any attention.” I mostly say that to get their attention. But, truthfully, the only way you can answer a spiritual inventory question is to be watching yourself. You have to be preoccupied with you instead of God. You have to be preoccupied with below the line instead of above the line...

God did not intend for humanity to live with a sin-consciousness, but with a God-consciousness. He doesn't intend for us to live with a self-consciousness, but with a Christ-in-us consciousness. Does that mean we ignore when the Holy Spirit want to point out sin to us? Of course not. But it means we let Him do the pointing, rather than constantly looking for or assuming the presence of sin.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 105

<idle musing>
I would say this is the hardest thing for people to accept about living a grace-filled versus law-filled life. It requires a dramatic rethinking of your theology, moving from human-centered to God-centered, from "looking over your shoulder" or "waiting for the other shoe to drop" mentality to a Christ-in-you mentality.
</idle musing>

Unbelief in an unusual form

It's an affront to God to keep talking about how unworthy we are. It's a statement of unbelief. “I really don't believe what God says about me; I believe what I think about me.” We're never going to get anywhere that way. It isn't being humble. It's a false humility. It's the teaching of tradition and the flesh, because it appears humble.

What's truly humble is agreeing with what God says about you. Nothing more. Nothing less. We are the righteousness of God. We don't look it all the time. We don't feel it all the time. We don't think it all the time. But we are.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page104

<idle musing>
As it says in 2 Corinthians, "we walk by faith not by sight." And, as we walk by faith, it becomes a reality. Funny how that works, isn't it?
</idle musing>

Mental assent

Of course, we can give mental assent: “Yes, I'm a new creature, but...” Where you are really living comes after the but. “I'm a new creature, but...” But what? “But I sure do fail a lot.” Then that's the way you see yourself. You don't see yourself as a new creature. You see yourself as failing a lot. Instead you could say, “I sure do fail a lot, but I'm a new creature.” Then that's where you're living. You're always living after the but.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 100

<idle musing>
He's going to talk a lot about the "Holy But", as he calls it. What we place after the but in a sentence is what we really think, believe, and act on. Take note of where the but comes in your speech, and you'll agree with him. I have found it to be quite revealing in my own life after I read this; you might, too.
<idle musing>

How-to books and the Christian life

Somewhere along the way we got saved and our sins were forgiven. And we wanted to live this thing called the Christian life, but we didn't know how to live out of our new spirit. So we fell back upon our only other resource: the false self. It knew how to get along in the world. We just made a few adjustments to fit the Christian scene. We were sitting ducks for the how-to books, which told us how to manipulate the false self to make it more effective in getting along.

Although having the Holy Spirit in our spirit, we didn't know about the Holy Spirit living the life of Christ through us. So our mode of operation was the same as for the unbeliever: self-reliance. That's what the false self is: our attempt to independently operate our own lives. As Christians, the false self even tries to do it for the glory of God.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 100-101

<idle musing>
This statement: We were sitting ducks for the how-to books, which told us how to manipulate the false self to make it more effective in getting along sums up too much of the current religion that passes for Christianity in the U.S. today. We claim to believe in the power of God via the Holy Spirit, the inability of a person to reform themselves, but we sell how-to books that say the opposite. What's wrong with that scenario? (rhetorical question)
</idle musing>

Long weekend

Yes, a long weekend here in the United States. We call it "The Fourth of July" and, unfortunately, all too often glorify a country above God. Some good thoughts on that were posted today on Out of Ur. Here are a few snippets, but please read the whole thing for yourself:

Tony Campolo puts it this way: “America may be the best Babylon the world has, but it is still Babylon nonetheless.”

We are exiles living in Babylon, folks. Our corner may be called “America,” or “Canada,” or “France,” but it’s still all a part of the same thing: a world system that transcends borders, is dominated by materialistic consumerism and exploitation, and is fundamentally opposed to the Kingdom of God. And while love and affection for the people living in that system is entirely necessary, and while we should certainly pray for the peace and well-being of the place where God has set us, we need to avoid the mistake we see over and over in Scripture: becoming so enamored with our temporary dwelling—whether that’s called Egypt, Babylon, or even America—that we lose sight of what Hebrews calls “a better place.”
...
But most important, be careful what you pledge allegiance to this Fourth of July. Caesar is owed your obedience, your prayers for his health and well-being, and, as Jesus and the IRS both agree, your money...[ellipsis his] but your allegiance belongs to Someone Else.

<idle musing>
I would argue that what he calls patriotism is actually nationalism, which is a blinder form of idolatry than patriotism, but that is just a minor side issue. Otherwise, he is on the money. So, "Amen! Good preaching!" And may his tribe increase across the land so that people see true Christianity instead of a culturally diluted narcissistic nationalism dressed in christian clothing.
</idle musing>

July sale at Eisenbrauns

From the latest BookNews:

BookNews from Eisenbrauns

For the month of July, Eisenbrauns is featuring selected
Harrassowitz titles at 20% off retail. Choose from ICAANE
proceedings, dictionaries, monographs, or serials; there's
probably something you need in this list. If not, I'm sure
there is something you want.

As always, all sales on this web sale are final; no returns will be
permitted. Offer good only on orders placed at www.eisenbrauns.com
through July 31, 2010.

To easily access all the sale items, please visit:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/SPECIAL
================================================================
"Sonne der Gerechtigkeit: Studien zur Solarisierung der Jahwe-
Religion im Lichte von Psalm 72"
by Martin Arneth
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur Altorientalische
und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte - BZABR 1
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2000. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447042635
List Price: $74.00 Your Price: $59.20

"Tell Halaf:: Vorbericht uber die erste und
zweite syrisch-deutsche Grabungskampagne"
Edited by Abd el-Masih Hanna Baghdo, et al.
Forschungen der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Stiftung - FMFOS 3/1
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447060684
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"Historiographie - Ethnographie - Utopie: Gesammelte Schriften:
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by Reinhold Bichler
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Paper. German.
ISBN: 9783447056168
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"A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian"
Edited by Jeremy A. Black, Andrew George, and Nicholas Postgate
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"Fundstellen: Gesammelte Schriften zur Archäologie und Geschichte
Altvorderasiens. ad honorem Hartmut Kühne"
Edited by Dominik Bonatz, Rainer M. Czichon,
and Florian Janoscha Kreppner
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447057707
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"Kanaanaische und aramaische Inschriften, Band 1"
by Herbert Donner and Wolfgang Rollig
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2002. Paper. German.
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"Mittelassyrische Rechtsurkunden und Verwaltungstexte VIII"
by Helmut Freydank and Barbara Feller
Wissenschaftliche Veroffentlichungen der
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Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447056786
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"Kleines Lexikon des Christlichen Orients"
Edited by Hubert Kaufhold
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447053822
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"Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of
the Ancient Near East, vol.1: 29 March - 3 April 2004, Freie Universitat
Berlin: The Reconstruction of Environment: Natural Resources and
Human Interrelations through Time; Art History: Visual Communication"
Edited by Hartmut Kuhne, Rainer M. Czichon, and Florian Janoscha Kreppner
International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Cloth. English and French.
ISBN: 9783447057035
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"Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of
the Ancient Near East: 29 March - 3 April 2004, Freie Universitat
Berlin: Social and Cultural Transformation: The Archaeology of
Transitional Periods and Dark Ages Excavation Reports"
Edited by Hartmut Kuhne, Rainer M. Czichon, and Florian Janoscha Kreppner
International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Cloth. English and French.
ISBN: 9783447057578
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"A Coptic Grammar: With Chrestomathy and Glossary-Sahidic Dialect"
by Bentley Layton
Porta Linguarum Orientalium - PLO 20
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9783447042406
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"Graber des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. im syrischen Euphrattal:
3. Ausgrabungen in Samseddin und Djerniye"
by Jan-Waalke Meyer
Schriften zur Vorderasiatischen Archaeologie 3
Harrassowitz Verlag, 1991. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447055710
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"An Introduction to Comparative Grammar of
Semitic Languages: Phonology and Morphology"
by Sabatino Moscati
Porta Linguarum Orientalium - PLO 6
Harrassowitz Verlag, 1980. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9783447006897
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"Modern Hebrew for Biblical Scholars: An Annotated Chrestomathy
with an Outline Grammar and a Glossary"
by T. Muraoka
Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9783447040822
List Price: $52.00 Your Price: $41.60

"Volker und Sprachen Altanatoliens: Aus dem Polnischen
übersetzt von Cyril Brosch"
by Maciej Popko
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Paper. German.
ISBN: 9783447057080
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"Schrift und Sprache der 4. Dynastie"
by Simon D. Schweitzer
MENES - Studien zur Kultur und Sprache der agyptischen
Fruhzeit und des Alten Reiches 3
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 9783447051378
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"Kleines Worterbuch des Ugaritischen"
by Josef Tropper
Elementa Linguarum Orientis - ELO 4
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. Paper. German and Ugaritic.
ISBN: 9783447056380
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"Origin and Transformation of the Ancient
Israelite Festival Calendar"
by Jan A. Wagenaar
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur Altorientalische
und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte - BZABR 6
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9783447052498
List Price: $102.00 Your Price: $81.60

Thought for today

I received the monthly update from CCEL today and it included a snippet from Thomas a Kempis. Here's a relevant portion:

JESUS has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him...

Do not those who always seek consolation deserve to be called mercenaries? Do not those who always think of their own profit and gain prove that they love themselves rather than Christ?

<idle musing>
Take that, "name it and claim it, stomp on it and frame it"!
</idle musing>

Who is in control here, anyway?

The two-nature belief results in misery. It puts us right back in Romans 7: “The good I want to do, I don't do, and the evil I don't want to do, I do. Oh, miserable person that I am, who shall deliver me?” That's where most of us have found ourselves, trying to beat down one of these masters and help the other one to ascend. Who was in control of that? We were. We were trying to do that. As I said before, this leads to nothing but endless self-effort and failure. And then the answer finally comes: Christ is my life!— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 96

<idle musing>
As always, the fruit of self-effort is failure—or self-righteousness. The latter, if we manage to delude ourselves that we have managed to attain the standard; the former if we are honest with ourselves.
</idle musing>

identity theft

It's a devilish trick to say, “put off, put off, put off,” when you really don't know who you are. You think that you're a duality, both good and bad. You're being told to put off something that you've been taught is one of your natures. You're not settled yet in who your nature really is. You still think you are two. And you get frustrated and think, “Why tell me to put off something that is natural for me to do? I've had this habit for years. Why tell me to put it off, if it's my nature?” So you get mad at God. You think He is telling yo to suppress part of your true self. It's all because you don't know yet who you truly are.

You only have one nature. It's natural for you to put off sin, because sin is not your nature. You are already dead to it.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 94

<idle musing>
Why do we allow the enemy to steal our identity? Well, he can't really, but we allow him to lie to us, which amounts to the same thing. We don't really believe we are what (and who) God says we are.
</idle musing>

Is it real?

In the realm of appearances, there is constant evidence of good and evil, both outside and inside us. If we judge by appearances, we arrive at the logical conclusion that we are both good and bad. That looksentirely valid. Christians have believed this for centuries. Except for a small minority who have come to know their true identity in Christ, the whole Christian world accepts the lie. Unfortunately, although something may not be true above the line [in the eternal realm], if below the line [in the temporal realm] we think it is true, it still controls us.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 90

<idle musing>
The same story as it has always been, we walk by faith and not by sight. But, if we believe sight, then faith goes out the window.
</idle musing>

That fourth day in July is approaching

And civil religion is about to take over the U.S. But, before you allow it to rule you, as well, consider ths:

It isn’t government which gives or guarantees freedom at all. And it’s idolatry to think otherwise. Jim West

And this:

No matter what the churches claim, Christianity in the United States has two liturgical seasons, the Holy Season, which runs from Advent to Easter (or Pentecost if you’re lucky), and the Civil Season, which runs from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. (Rather handy division of the year, isn’t it?) At the beginning of summer, we are clearly now in the thick of Civil Season, or Civil Religion Time—which replaces Ordinary Time.

Civil religion in the U.S. never goes away, but its major feasts are in that six-month period. God-and-country language and rituals are more prevalent, and syncretism in the churches (”when you see the red in the flag, think of the blood of those who died to make us free, and also think of Jesus’ blood that was shed to make us really free”) runs rampant but is hardly ever questioned.

Why is it so difficult for Christians in the U.S. (and elsewhere, sometimes, but especially in the U.S.) to see this for what it is: idolatry?

And, for some practical steps to move away from the idolatry of civil religion, 8 baby steps away from civil religion. My favorites:

3. Under no circumstances allow the pledge of allegiance. Don’t feel forced to challenge the pledge in principle. Simply say, “In worship we pledge ourselves to God alone.”

4. Don’t compare the red of the U.S. flag or the blood shed in battle to the blood of Christ, or war deaths to Christ’s sacrifice. At best, that cheapens Christ’s death.

<idle musing>
Why is it so hard for Americans to see nationalism as idolatry and pride? We are not God's chosen instrument in the world today anymore than Rome was in the 5th century. If we think so, we are in for a shock when the Goths (whoever they might be this time around) sack Washington, D.C. Hopefully there will be an Augustine to write another City of God, debunking the claim that Rome/U.S. is God's favorite.
</idle musing>

Our harvest

Nope, not the garden—although it is doing very well!—but the harvest of our own self-effort:

What we produce on our own is filthy rags. We produce our own work, our own effort. What you and I reproduce if we try is our flesh. And there's no life in the flesh...

The flesh profits nothing. The flesh produces nothing. For someone to stand in the pulpit Sunday after Sunday and tell you what you ought to do is a curse on you, because you can't produce it. Have you tried? I did, until the Holy Spirit showed me this: you are dead as a point of origin. Christ in you is the point of origin. He will live the life in you as you.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 84-85

<idle musing>
I really like his refrain, "He will live the life in you as you." That is a very nice way of saying it; it sums up Galatians 2:20 very well.
</idle musing>

We are one

We are one spirit with God. We function as one. We are not absorbed into the Lord, however. There is an I and there is a He, but we are joined to Him and we function as one. It is a function of cooperation, like a union of gears that mesh together. Our union with God doesn't mean that we are so swallowed up in God that we lose our identity. But neither is there a separation. Rather, the two function as one for the purposes of the greater one, God.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 80-81

<idle musing>
Very well put.
</idle musing>

The point of reference

As long as our own humanity is our point of reference, we don't know we died and we can't know union. We can't know it. I didn't say we couldn't talk about it or quote Bible verses about it. I'm saying we can't have an experiential knowledge of our union. But when we experience the reality of our union with Christ, we are no longer a soul-based person, a person that sees ourselves as our point of reference. We have moved to another place altogether.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 73

<idle musing>
I've seen that many times; you talk about "Christ in you, the hope of glory" and people will chime in. But, if you watch their lives, it is pretty clear that they only know it as a theological construct.

Debbie (my wife of over 31 years!) likes to use the illustration of a tired person. If you are tired, do you have the right to be crabby? If you think so, then you are not living in Christ; is Christ too weak to keep you from being crabby? She uses other illustrations, too, but they all point to us as the point of reference instead of Christ as the point of reference.
</idle musing>

Which tree are you eating from?

"To put it another way, we are operationally still eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, rather than from the Tree of Life, which is Christ. We are trying to eat from the Good side of that Tree, trying to always maintain good thoughts and good feelings and, certainly, good behavior.

"Whether we are eating from the Good side or the Evil side, however, we are still eating from the wrong tree. We are still operating out of our own effort, which cannot produce God's life. Our self-effort is not originating above the line, from the union of our spirit with God's Spirit. It's not flowing from the life of Christ. It's originating blow the line, from our soul operating independently and trying to make us “good” Christians."— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 71-72

<idle musing>
Self-effort = failure. Period. We can't do it. A few years ago, Debbie was reading from an Anne Graham Lotz book (I can't remember the title now) where Anne said that God only expects one thing from us: Failure. At first, that shocked me, but as she explained it, it made sense. If we are trying to do it on our own strength, we will fail. There is no other option; we can't do it! But, praise God!, he can.
</idle musing>

The really good news

"What's good news to us now isn't just that He died for us, though that is good news. It isn't just that He's with us, though that is good news. It isn't just that He's in us, helping us, though that is good news. The really good news is that He is in us, living His life as us. He has joined His Spirit with our spirit. In the unseen and eternal, there's Deity inside us. We are not that Deity, but we are containers of that Deity."— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 62

<idle musing>
The Church Fathers called it theosis. Watchman Nee called it The Normal Christian Life; Hudson Taylor called it the exchanged life. There have been various names for it over the years, but I call it Life!
</idle musing>

Whose life?

After I got my sins forgiven, my question was always, “How do you live the life?” What I discovered is this: you don't. Because you can't. For years I regarded myself as my point of origin. But I couldn't produce the life of God out of me. I couldn't bring the uncreated (God's life) out of the creation (me). How was I going to do that? As long as I saw myself as the source of life, though, I had to keep trying. Until one day Jesus impressed this upon my spirit: “I am your life. I am the only life acceptable to the Father. I not only want to forgive you; I want to live the life in you. I want to be your life.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 61

<idle musing>
So simple, but so difficult. We just don't want to let go, do we? Yet, when we let go, we find real life.
</idle musing>

And now for something completely different

The other day, while reading one of the many book related e-mails I receive, I ran across a summary of a book outside my normal reading. It was about an author's experience of going "back to the land." Normally, I would just blow by it, but the person grew up about 40 miles from where I did in northern Wisconsin. Intrigued, I checked the book out of the community library. Last week, while at ATLA, I read it during the down times. So, here is my review of Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg...

If you grew up in northern Wisconsin, as I did, you will find this book a delight. The author, not at all a handyman, decides to go back to the land. The book highlights his escapades during the first year. Supposedly a recounting of the events of the year, it is actually just an opportunity to recount his own growing up years on a farm near New Auburn, Wisconsin.

Because my grandparents owned a dairy farm and I spent quite a bit of time on it, I found his stories full of touchstones for my own memories. I could almost smell the fragrance of the fresh-cut alfalfa and the haymow as he described haying. The sound of the milk house door, the huge stainless steel tank for the milk, the smell of the barn, all came rushing back to me as he described milking the cows.

He is able to dance between the present and past in a most delightful way. His present attempts at being a farmer—at least a 2-pig, 12-chicken one—are hilarious. He is very honest about his failed attempts and the assistance he needs. It takes him the entire length of the book to build a chicken coop (the title of the book comes from this operation), and even then, it isn't really his work, but that of a friend or three. But, how can you help but love someone who has a 1951 International Harvester pickup? OK, I confess, I got my grandparents 1956 IH pickup when they retired...low mileage, high maintenance, but a high school kid's dream machine.

Bottom line: a delightful literary romp. Of course, my own little 2-acre homestead is a lot more modest than his 37-acre one. And, I am a lot more mechanically inclined than he—my cold frames have corners that join and are square :)

Learn from me

When Jesus said, “Learn from Me,” He meant to learn from Him how He lived. And how did He live? He lived out of the Father. He didn't have any other secret. As author Gene Edwards has said, Jesus Christ never tried to live the Christian life. He didn't have a Bible at home read; He didn't have a prayer group to go to. He let the Father live the life through Him. He learned how to live out of the resources of the Father, which are not of this seen and temporal realm, but of the unseen and eternal realm.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 60

<idle musing>
And we live the same way!
</idle musing>

The bread of life

I'm on the road today, on my way to the ATLA conference, so just a pair of quotations from The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out:

God raised our new man from the dead—God birthed in us an entirely new spirit, holy and righteous—so that he could unite Himself to our spirit and live His life through us. Whether we knew it or not, at salvation Jesus Christ came into us and we became one with Him. He now lives in and through us.— page 56

Nobody is offended as long as you are talking from the perspective of separation instead of union. As long as we are down here and God is up there, and He does something for us, it's OK. But when you start talking about Jesus living His life in you, through you, as you,that raises eyebrows. In John 6, the people were perfectly satisfied with Jesus as long as he produced bread. The offense came when He said He was the bread.— page 59

<idle musing<
As long as you talk religion, nobody minds. But, talk about union with Christ...well, it isn't always pretty.
</idle musing<

Foolish Galatians

Once a person becomes a believer, the law actually hinders the fulfillment of God's purpose for our lives: that He might express His life in and through us. That is because the law by its nature sets a standard which we automatically try in our own effort to live up to. And the moment we do, we are living according to our own self-effort, rather than by faith, trusting Christ's life in us. That is exactly what Paul chastised the Galatians about:

You foolish Galatians!...Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3)

— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 52

<idle musing;gt:
It is way too easy to fall into the trap of self-works—that's why Paul had to address the Galatian church so harshly. We need to lean/trust/rely/depend on Jesus for everything, otherwise it is self-effort.
</idle musing;gt:

Do we really believe?

I was speaking in Alabama once to a group of 77 people. I asked them, “How many of you believe the Bible?” All 77 hands went up. I read Romans 6:7 to them: “He who has died is freed from sin.” I continued, “How many believe what I just read?” Three hands went up. “We've got a problem here,” I said. “You just said that you believe the Bible, and I just read it to you.” But they didn't really believe that. They didn't have a spiritual awareness of being dead, buried, and risen with Christ.

The blood side of the cross deals with sins: actions or attitudes that break the law of God. The body side of the cross deals with sin, whose source was the old man, our old Adamic nature. He was the point of origin of sins.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 49

<idle musing>
Why am I not surprised? I was teaching a class once on I John. Everything fell apart once John (yes, I believe John wrote it) said that it was not possible for those born of God to sin (I John 3:9). Check out the Greek, if you wish:

Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.

Pretty hard to swallow, isn't it? But, that's what it says. Whom are you going to believe? God or the fallen nature (and it's ally, the devil).

Looking at God's track record, my money is on Him.
<idle musing>

Doublecrossed

This aspect of the cross, that we died with Him, is what I call the Doublecross. There are two sides of the cross. The first is the blood side. That's where Christ died for us. He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. The second side is the body side. We were united with Him on the cross, participating in His death, burial, and resurrection. Our old man was crucified with Him. Our new man, righteous and holy, was resurrected with Him. — The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 42

<idle musing>
The first side of the cross is the one everybody preaches. Unfortunately, the second side/aspect of the cross gets overlooked, but it is the most important part, in my opinion. What good is forgiveness without deliverance?
</idle musing>

What are you living?

We continue on our jaunt through The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out with a selection of quotations:

Everyone of us who has believed into Christ is complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). We are already holy (Colossians 3:12). We are already perfect (Hebrews 10:14). We are His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). There's nothing else to be done. As we see that, we will live that, and God will make what is already true in the unseen and eternal a seen and temporal experience.—page 34.

The vast majority of believers only know one half of the gospel. The first twelve years that I pastored, I only knew one half of the gospel. I preached a steady diet of Christ died for the forgiveness of your sins. Week after week I gave the same basic message. The problem was that my audience had already been saved; their sins had already been forgiven.

The only other message I had to offer them was telling them what they ought to be doing; external compliance with commandments. I was handing out my own version of legalism.—pages 35-36

It is easier being lost than to be saved and try to live only off “I'm forgiven,” striving your utmost to be a good Christian. Because that isn't the whole gospel. That isn't the whole gospel! It is only a partial, fragmentary view of our salvation. So we have fifty percent of the gospel, then we go back into the flesh, into our independent self-effort, trying to make the rest of it happen on our own.

We can't make it happen, however, which is according to the program. We are programmed for failure when we try to make the Christian life work on our own. This kind of living will bring you to despair. It produces nothing but an inner sense of condemnation.

Many people finally conclude that's how the Christian life is supposed to be. I've actually heard ministers tell their congregations that truly victorious living is impossible and that the Christian life is nothing but a struggle in which you are going to experience defeat after defeat. That's a far cry from the “abundant life” that Jesus promised.—pages 38-39

<idle musing>
This last paragraph breaks my heart, but I've seen it many times over the years. The basic question is, "do you believe what you read as a promise of God? Or, do you believe what you are experiencing?" Most of us, especially in our materialistic (in the philosophical sense of the word) world, opt for the experience instead of the promise. How sad; we miss out on so much of God.
</idle musing>

What do you depend on?

Ministry can be an external. A lady who ran a retreat center told me that a young minister came through and met an older minister there. The younger one kept asking him, “What's your ministry, brother?”

“I don't know,” he replied.

“Come on, now. What's your ministry?”

Finally the older gentleman said, “I don't have one. I just talk about Christ.”

The young man had an outer identity called ministry. — The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 24

<idle musing>
Here, external means something other than God, something visible, that can be felt, hung on to. So, what is the external thing that you hang on to? Whatever it is, it stands between you and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
</idle musing>

The righteousness of God

Resuming our interrupted selection of snippets from The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, here's today's selection:

Twenty-one years of trying to live for Jesus. I had known Christ for me. I had known Christ with me. I had begun to experience the concept of Christ in me, but not Christ as me, expressing His life as me. Rather, Christ inme to help me become something. To make something out of me. And I had come to the end. Over the years, I had gradually concluded that I couldn't pull off living the Christian life. I was a failure at it...

Months later, Norman [Grubb] came and spoke to a small group in our living room. The first thing he said was, “You can't live the Christian life.” I thought, “Amen to that. I am a walking testimony to that. You can't live the Christian life.” Then he said, “Christ is the life.” Well, I knew that. I had head knowledge of that. But finally he stated, “Christ is in you and He will live the life.” And my spirit responded, “Ohhh! Not, 'He will help me live the life,' but 'He will live the life.' That's the good news. I can let Him live the life. I can do that...”

For the first time I came to know that He had already made me the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). I was truly righteous. He had made me holy (Colossians 3:12). He had made me complete (Colossians 2:10). I was blameless in His sight (Colossians 1:22). And loved. And acceptable.

The Lord taught me that when I was crucified on the cross with Christ, as Galatians 2:20 had told me for so long, I died to myself as my point of reference. He living in me was my point of reference. He would live His life through me, as me. Has He revealed that to you? If He hasn't, He wants to, because that's the good news. That's the good news.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 21, 23

<idle musing>
Interesting, isn't it. He had known intellectually for over 20 years what the answer was. But, it took a special revelation from the Holy Spirit to make it real. As an academic, I certainly won't knock intellectual knowledge—I've invested my life in it—but, I also know that there are areas where only the Holy Spirit can give insight. Interestingly, the older I get, the more areas I find that to be true!
</idle musing>

Huh?

I walked into the break room this morning, and noticed something I hadn't before. I'm not sure if you can see this in the picture, but look carefully at the expiration date in the middle of the box. It says June 5th, 3011. Yep, that's 3011. That even beats out our famous Twinkie test! Do you think it's wrong? :)

Varia

Just a collection of various things found on my wanderings around the web...

Lawson Stone is blogging again. Here's a portion of today's thoughts:

I always think it’s a little sad when Christian institutions get so confused about their identity and mission that they actually start framing their curriculum and programs based on focus groups and market research, reverently termed “empirical data,” rather than first and primarily consulting their own deepest awareness of God’s call and working in their midst.

The ever prolific Jim West weighs in on the current state of Biblical Studies:

Biblical studies, as we know it, needs to end. But [Hector] Avalos is wrong concerning the reason because biblical studies isn’t at all primarily a religionist and apologetic enterprise in the academy, it is thoroughly “a-theistic’” (in the sense of the alpha privative prefix in Greek) in its approach and goals in the academy. Only a person who has never bothered to attend a meeting of the SBL or read the Journal of Biblical Literature or visited a Department of Religion (at, say, the University of North Carolina where Bart Ehrman teaches) could say without their tongue being firmly planted in their cheek that biblical studies is dominated by some sort of faith perspective. Indeed, I would submit for your consideration that in Colleges and Universities across the United States where Departments of Religion exist, that the preponderance of work is purely “a-theistic.”

The Book Bench bemoans the loss of personal selling in books, sometimes called "hand selling:"

There are also algorithms and Web sites intended to provide this sort of service [recommending books], but I find them unreliable and broad. The suggestions on Amazon, for instance, are limited—they tend to pound me over the head with new releases, analogizing books based primarily on sales rankings—and often odd (this morning, in a rise-and-shinish sort of mood, my Amazon site recommended that I might like pancake mix).

Jim Martin talks about a valuable gift:

For a few minutes, he gave us his undivided attention.

I never forgot that moment.

This is where I learned the value of giving another person one’s undivided attention.

Far too often, what people receive instead is our divided attention.

He goes on to talk about the draw of the cell phone, the text message, etc.

Joel and Renee have a nice little announcement:

...we are expecting Baby #5 at the end of January. That makes me about 7 weeks along. So come along Bean Sprout, go easy on your momma, and we look forward to meeting you around January 22!

So, we're going to be grandparents again!

On other notes:
Over the weekend, a raccoon got in the barn. I have chicken wire along the eaves to keep birds out, but coons go through that like a hot knife through warm butter. The neighbor gave us an assist and the coon is resting comfortably under a foot of earth now.

I haven't had any success in finding used parts for the Cub Cadet, so tonight we look at different lawn tractors. There were just too many things going wrong with the thing to be reliable.

On the cheese making front, we tried the brick cheese last night. It seems to have been a failure. It has the consistency of a Brie and tastes like it, too. The center of the block was more solid and tasted "brickish" but the rest didn't. Maybe I'll try again later, but at least I like Brie!

Also this weekend, I picked 45 pounds of strawberries. For the second or third year in a row, as I was finishing up picking, it started to sprinkle. By the time I had carried all 4 flats to the weighing station, it was pouring. As usual, I got drenched! But, I also ended up with 57 pints of strawberry jam. That should last for the year :)

Finally, last night as we were on our walk—a bit after midnight—we heard a plaintive meow a little over 1/4 mile from home. Looking around, we saw a tiny little kitten, probably 6-weeks old, along the side of the road. Being the sensitive sorts we are, we picked it up and brought it home. So, that makes at least 9 kittens 2 months old or less right now, 3 of them orphans. If the ratio holds to normal, by the end of the summer only about 1/3 of them will be alive. Right now we have 5 cats, none of them older than 13 months.

Computers, you, and books

Somewhat distressing, but not altogether unexpected, bit of news today from the New York Times

While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.

And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist. In other words, this is also your brain off computers.

But, maybe there is hope. Check this out from the Chicago Tribune

A friend of mine in her early 20s managed to poke a finger through the tissue-thin argument that iPads, Kindles and Nooks are just as good as books, that reading is reading, that content is all that matters.

She and her classmates at the University of Notre Dame were invited to the home of a revered professor. It was a gleaming palace of erudition, she said: Room after room was filled with elegant floor-to-ceiling bookcases; each bookcase was filled with beautiful volumes; each volume seemed to glow with the written legacy of the world's wisdom.

It was, she recalled, breathtaking.

Reveling in all of this, my friend had a sudden, unsettling thought: What if, instead of the soaring bookcases, the professor's home had featured a card table with a Kindle on it?

The content might be the same — vast storage capacity is one of the chief selling points of new technologies — but how different it would be in terms of spiritual sustenance.

I'm glad that this anecdote comes from an undergraduate, because if it emerged from a creaky old coot — e.g., me — you'd dismiss it as the ill-tempered rant of a curmudgeon who needs to double up on the Advil and the Benefiber. The truth is, however, that many people, regardless of age, are feeling nostalgic these days for book culture.

<idle musing>
Of course, if their brains have been rewired by too much Internet, what good will all the books do? Ah well, progress has always been a mixed bag...
</idle musing>

God fix

"It was great in praise services while I was emotionally high and stimulated. But I confused those feelings of happiness with God's inner joy. I was looking for a permanent high, and I stayed on a high for about six months. I had to attend a lot of meetings to stay up there. I had to stand on my feet long time and sing an awful lot of songs. Everybody did.

"If we would be honest with ourselves, however, most of us were still searching. Because so much of our activity was still involving externals. We were still desperate. We went to those meetings to get something. I wanted to be helped, be blessed, get healed, get delivered. Everybody went with a great need. But we'd leave, stepping right outside those doors, and we still had that need. Deep down we were still saying, 'Where's the life?'"— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, pages 20-21

<idle musing>
He still hasn't offered a solution, but he is very good at describing the problem. I know people who are in the position he is describing right now. They need their "God fix" or they are not sure of their standing with God. Hang on until Monday; the solution is coming!
</idle musing>

Where's the life?

OK, I stole that from the Wendy's™ ad from way back when: "Where's the beef?" But, it is a valid question for most Christians. In case you don't remember, I'm excerpting from The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out.

Unfortunately, knowing that I was saved and that my sins were forgiven was the only inner reality I knew. Like most Christians, I was trying to live the Christian life on that raw reality.

The trouble is that, as true as it is, having your sins forgiven doesn't tell you one thing about how to live the life. The only thing it says is after you commit a sin, you are forgiven. You don't know anything yet about true life—God's life. So life to you is still external: "How do I do it? Give me a plan, give me a method, give me a scheme."

It's as if the day we receive Him by faith, Jesus says, "Now you're saved. Good luck. I'll see you when you die and it will be wonderful. But in the here and now it's up to you. Get out there and try as hard as you can." What a struggle. I tried as hard as I could for years... The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 18

<idle musing>
Sound familiar? He hasn't offered the solution yet, but he sure has pegged the problem, hasn't he? Work, work, work! Saved by grace, but sanctified by works. What an endless treadmill. It's sort of like the one at the end of the Jetsons™, where George and Astro are taking a walk. Works fine, until a cat (real life in the analogy) jumps on the path. From there on, it's a nightmare...
</idle musing>

Seems like a good book

We were at Debbie's parents' place this last weekend. It was a blessed time; Ryan, Emily, and Eveline came down from Minneapolis, so we were able to spend time with them. And, Debbie's brother's kids (now grown) came over, as well as her sister-in-law. We had a grand time together in Jesus.

During one of the conversations, Gwen (Debbie's sister-in-law) mentioned a book she had recently finished reading: The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out. We said it sounded interesting; she offered to lend her copy for us to borrow. I started reading it this morning, and you will see excerpts here for the next however long it takes :)

It's easy to live as if we are the center of the universe. We wouldn't ever say it, or even think it consciously, but we can live as if God is here for us. That has come across in a lot of teaching over the last thirty years. Go is here to bless you. You ought to be rich. You ought to be prosperous. It's your due to be successful. It's your due to get ahead. God has to respond to your faith. God has obligated Himself to bless you if you do the right thing. All of which means what? You are the center of the universe.— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 8

<idle musing>
That's only the second page of the preface. And, guess what? The author doesn't think you are the center of the universe! God is. Stay tuned for more goodies...
</idle musing>