the Bible teachers' Bible Teacher

The Word for today:
Ezra 1, 2

Along the way, you will meet certain lesser-known Bible characters who will become extra special to you. It might be a character whose life resembles your own. Or it might be a character whose story is particularly motivational to you.

I have three characters--Jacob, Amos, and Ezra--whom I have grown attached to in that special way. It's hard to say exactly why, but somehow I think they would understand what I'm facing, what I'm feeling, what I'm fleeing, what I'm fighting, what I'm fearing.

I hope you, too, find a few special Bible friends like mine. Though they are only paper people to us -- not alive in our hearts like Jesus is -- they can always be found on their pages when we need them.

***

Many of you know that I came to faith in Jesus Christ relatively late in life. So I've got no time to waste. And many of you also know that I'm not here to dink around with false modesty. I merely want to be the greatest Bible teacher that ever was. I might fall short, but at the very least I want to be able to look anybody in the eye and say that I ran this race to win, like my Bible says I should. (1). I don't know how a Christian, supernaturally gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit, can aspire to any level short of Jesus Christ Himself, since He's doing the running. And then to pat ourselves on the back as we call mediocrity "humility."

But as we would-be contenders strain to gain an inch, way out in front of the whole pack is Ezra, the Bible teachers' Bible teacher:

• The theme of the Book of Ezra is The Word of the Lord. (See 1:1; 3:2; 6:14, 18; 7:6, 10, 14; 9:4; 10:3, 5.)
• Freed from captivity, the remnant (led by Ezra) returns to the Land, bearing precious Seed which had been kept alive in Babylon.
• Furthermore, Ezra probably wrote Psalm 119--the great hymn in praise of God's Word.
• It is also likely that Ezra wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles.
• He was probably instrumental in deciding the canon (what should and should not be included) of the Old Testament.
• It is also thought that he arranged the order of the Psalms.
• And he was a great revivalist. It was Ezra who demonstrated that revival (in both Israel and in the church) is always prompted by just one thing--a revival in Bible study, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (2)

But most important of all, Ezra serves as a picture and prophecy of "the Teacher come from God" (3)--who would be both Sower and Seed: "The Sower sows the Word." (4)

You see, even the Bible teachers' Bible teacher needs a Bible Teacher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) see 1 Corinthians 9:24-26; (2) Romans 10:17; (3) John 3:2; (4) Mark 4:14

the crux of the matter

The Word for today:
Philemon

mark this: Philemon 1:17-18 --
If you count me as a partner, accept him as you would me.
But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

"Crux" is Latin for cross. "Crux" has come to mean the basic, central, critical point or feature about something, as in the phrase "the crux of the matter."

To say, then, that the cross is the crux is self-evident.

Despite (or maybe because of?) its crucial centrality, the cross tends to get lost. It swings from rearview mirrors as a kind of talisman. It hangs right there with the fuzzy dice, the pine air freshener, and the garter from your prom in '83. It dangles from the necks of rock and rap stars and nestles in the cleavage of Hollywood starlets whose every thought, word, and deed deny it. It can even get lost in the real lives of believers -- in the hustle of our busy-ness and churchy-ness, in the bustle of our faux piety and and feigned devotion.

So if ever the cross and what happened there starts to get away from you, turn to the little book of Philemon.

In this short letter, Paul pleads with slave-owner Philemon to have mercy for the runaway slave Onesimus -- to accept him back "not now as a servant, but…a beloved brother." (verse 16)

Two astonishing verses--17 and 18--are a summary of what happened at the cross. The theological concept is called imputation.

Imputation is the act of God whereby He accounts righteousness to the believer in Christ, Who has borne the believer’s sins in vindication of the law. Philemon 17 and 18 perfectly illustrate imputation:

“Accept him as you would me” — reckon to him my merit.

“If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account” — reckon to me his demerit.

***

Philemon 17-18 is like overhearing a conversation between God the Father and God the Son -- a conversation about you!

So when the crux of the matter gets lost in either the pious or profane shuffles of our lives, return to this little letter and remember to write your name in the blanks:

Jesus: If ___________________ has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
God our Father: I will.

Jesus: If you count me as a partner, accept ____________________ as you would me.
God our Father: I will, Jesus.  I promise you I will.

~~~~~~~~~~~

had we but world enough, and time...

The Word for today:
Colossians 3:18-4:18

We are well aware that some of you might feel a little let down, now that Colossians has come and gone. Not let down by Colossians, but by Stand in the Rain.

Colossians and Philippians and Ephesians and Galatians are little treasure chests filled with the most precious jewels. And Stand in the Rain simply can't devote time to them all.

Your favorite verse in the Bible may well be a verse in Colossians that Stand in the Rain scarcely mentioned. For example, our forever friend Connie Jo (from Nashville, Tennessee) commented (via Facebook) on this astounding verse, which reaches perhaps the highest peak in the Bible:
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

(We had quoted the verse, but only as context to verses 1:25b and 1:28b, which we featured in the July 8th blog.)

We want you to rest assured that the concept/promise/miracle of Christ in you will be taught along the way. We won't let you down.

We had just six days in Colossians, the little book bursting with glorious riches. So we couldn't polish every gem. But you stay with us and you will learn your Bible  and  Colossians  1:27.

Our teaching premise/promise is that the person who knows his Bible will have studied every important concept in Colossians. But the person who knows every detail of Colossians doesn't necessarily know his Bible.

Stand in the Rain paints the big picture, of a big & bigger Jesus. The big picture will eventually encompass each part of the whole. Stay with us and every feature will emerge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you go to my funeral, I'll go to yours.

The Word for today:
Colossians 3:1-17

mark this: Colossians 3:3-4
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Dumbstruck.
There are Bible verses that simply shut me up. But I've got a blog to write, so I'll force a few reflections, unequal to their subject, and then be on my way.

Treasure.
If I could mine for you the riches of God's Word, if I could bring them to the surface of your cognizance, I would.  If I could.

Words.
If what I speak and write are words, then surely these are something else:
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  (Colossians 3:3-4)

Shall I write something bright and sophisticated? And shall I presume to place my words on the page with those? I will presume only long enough to locate the door.

For I must go.
I have a funeral to attend.
I have a life to lead.

If you go to my funeral, I'll go to yours.

Deal?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

throw away the extension cord

The Word for today:
Colossians 2:8-23

You and I probably don't have the same problems, but we have the same solution.

I am profane, impatient, intellectually arrogant; and the list goes on. You are this, that, and the other thing; and the list goes on. So how can we have a common solution to different problems?

Because God bet everything he had on Jesus. There was no backup plan. There was no contingency plan. There is no Plan B.

What that means for us today is that we don't have to examine our problems, because in the equation of life our problems are a constant; we can label any problem 'X'.

The question then becomes, How do we solve X? The answer is Jesus.

I am well aware that this sounds so obvious that it scarcely deserves mention. But if we truly review our lives, we will see that oftentimes we -- who believe Jesus is all-sufficient, that he is all in all -- are still attempting to solve X with a plan B.

Don't do it! Paul warns against so-called solutions which -- though we dress them up in pious, religious-sounding jargon -- are really nothing more than re-treads of the world's useless ways:
"Let no one deceive you by fine-sounding arguments," which amount to nothing more than--

Legality -- "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (2:16)

Philosophy -- "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (2:8)

Mysticism -- "Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." (2:18)

Asceticism -- "'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!' These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." (2:21-23)

***

All of this begs the question: If Jesus is the solution, how do I bring Jesus to my problem?

You don't bring Jesus to the problem. You don't even bring the problem to Jesus. What you do is bring yourself to Jesus. You stay close to real Power and you will begin to inhale, ingest, absorb, and reflect that power. His power rubs off, but only if you stay close enough to rub elbows and shoulders.

The disciples did not intellectually appropriate the transformative power of Jesus. They couldn't, because they weren't any smarter than we are. What happened was that they were in proximity, so close to Power that they didn't need an extension cord to plug in.

Power is not in an idea, or in a ritual, or in a to-do list. The only difference is in the relationship you have with the Difference-Maker. Jesus said it like this: "I am the Vine and you are the branches. Abide (remain) in me, because without me you can do nothing." (1)

So don't sign up for any program at your church that is going to change your life. There is no program. There is no shortcut.

God's only plan is for you to stay close to His Only Plan, His Only Son, His Only Only, His All in All. Just stay so close that you never need an extension cord. Stay close in all the tried and true ways:

listen to him through a whole-Bible program such as Stand in the Rain;
speak to him in prayer;
worship him with other believers;
serve him with the talents and gifts he has given you;
love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; (2)
trust him with all your heart. (3)

There is no shortcut. There is no program. There is no course. There is no method. There is no strategy. There is no Plan B.

There is Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) John 15:5; (2) Deuteronomy 6:5; (3) Proverbs 3:5

God never intended to raise any runts

The Word for today:
Colossians 1:24-2:7

mark this: Colossians 1:25b, 28b --
I have become your servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness--
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.

Today marks the completion of exactly seven years of the "Stand in the Rain" Bible-reading initiative, or program, or crusade, or obsession, or compulsion, or whatever one might call it.

The first blog entry was on July 9th of 2009. We haven't missed a day since. Call it what you will, I call it love.

Our premise from the start was that the Bible is an environment, specifically designed by its Author to make us grow. Our theme verse, Isaiah 55:10-11, says that the Bible, to the soul, is what rain and light are to a garden. So to deprive your soul of the Word of God is tantamount to depriving your garden of water and sunlight. How's them tomatoes looking now?

Happily, perhaps even prophetically, there could be no more appropriate place to land on our anniversary than right here in Colossians 1:25-28:
I have become your servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness--
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.

***

Paul presents the word of God in its fullness in order to present everyone complete in Christ. If Isaiah 55:10-11 is our Old Testament theme passage, I hereby proclaim Colossians 1:25b, 28b our New Testament theme passage--because it is our contention, based on Scripture's declaration, that the teaching of the complete Bible will produce a complete (perfected) person. Conversely, the scattershot teaching of a verse here, or maybe a book there, produces a stunted Christian.

And God never intended to raise any spiritual runts.

~~~~~~~~~

a healthy reality check

(by Pastor Joe)

The Word for today: Colossians 1:15-23

Maybe it was at the Grand Canyon. Maybe at the Niagara Gorge. Perhaps it occurred from the top of a very tall building, or from inside an airplane. Maybe it was looking out from the beach of the ocean shore. I am talking about the moment(s) when you were reminded that this world is pretty big and that you are very small in comparison. For me, I remember hiking a couple of mountains in New Hampshire and once again starting to grasp how fragile and fleeting my life is, compared to the majestic summits of the White Mountains. (And to think that these guys are just small fries compared with the towering mountains of the world.)

Those moments in life are so valuable and necessary, because without them we can insidiously believe that we are not only invincible, but also the center of our own little universe.

Today's passage is perhaps the spiritual Everest in helping us to gain some humble perspective of Jesus Christ. It's high and lofty and intimidating and mysterious all at the same time.

Just consider the word "all" in this passage, especially in verses 15-20.
He is first over ALL creation and He is creator of ALL things.
ALL things exist for Him and He holds ALL things together.
He has supremacy in ALL things because God was pleased to have ALL His fullness dwell in Him. Therefore, He is able to, and will reconcile ALL things to Himself.

I have a hard enough time understanding the "some" that I do know, I cannot begin to fathom the "all."

I guess when it comes down to is that I know less about God than my kids. I know less about Jesus Christ than I did last year. In fact, my understanding concerning who God is gets less and less as time goes by.

How is that possible?

What I mean is, that as I age and grow in my knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ, the more I know that I don't know. The more I see that I have just scratched at the surface of His Majesty and Glory. Just when I think I've got Him figured out, the bottom falls out and I realize that I have that much more to go.

Today- I urge you to make yourself small, not by beating up on yourself, but by giving yourself a necessary reality check by placing yourself side by side with Jesus. For only in that place of humility do we really begin to see accurately who we are and what life is about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~