SCRIPTURE WRITING

Last year we had the privilege of visiting a wonderful congregation of God's people in Lusaka, Zambia.  It was such a blessing to see how active and vibrant the congregation is.  It was also great to see some of our former students active in the work there.

During the announcements it was mentioned that they had a retreat coming up at which they would be studying the book of Deuteronomy.  In connection with that a challenge had been

issued to the congregation.  Everyone that planned to participate in the retreat was asked to write out the entire book of Deuteronomy before the retreat, if possible!  Wow!  Some who had completed the task were mentioned.  

Later in the day, we were visiting in the home of one of the prominent women in the congregation.  She mentioned that this is something the congregation has done from time to time and she herself had copied out several books of the Bible.  I was impressed as I know that she is a truly godly woman and has a wonderful Christian family.  

But, I really didn't think a lot more about it.

For years, I have been copying short passages of scripture onto note cards so that I could work to memorize them.  I have found that a great blessing as it really makes you stop and think about those verses.

Then, just a few days ago, in a blog I read, an article titled "Scripture Writing" was mentioned.  I was intrigued and wondered what it was about.  As I read the article I realized it was talking about the blessing of writing out entire books of the Bible!  Apparently, that is more common than I realized.  

Some have even joined together in an online group that sends out the scripture to write for that day with a short devotional thought.  

Others find that just choosing a book and writing it out works best.  That can be done up as simply or a fancy as you like.  Some even write their thoughts on the scripture along with their daily writing.  

Some have charts to keep track of which books they have written, which can be simple or fancy as well.  

The process of handwriting causes you to slow down and take time over the scripture.  That is never a bad thing.

I have been thinking about starting my own scripture writing.  I have a notebook and pen. 

Now, I need to choose a book to start with.

What do you think?  Would you like to start your own scripture writing?  Please let me know how it goes for you.

 THE ROCK

I have always liked rocks.  As a child I had a rock collection and I still find myself picking up interesting looking rocks to keep and enjoy.  I always did a geology project in 4-H.  I remember my dad taking me to a quarry near our home to collect rocks to take home and test for my project.  

Rocks are the bones of the earth.  Some rocks are far from the surface and in other places the bones peek through.  

We live in a mountainous country.  Rocks are everywhere.  Naturally, the mountains have

names, but even many of the large rocks have names.  It is said that Sibebe Rock here in our country is the largest rock in Africa.  I don't know if that is true, but it is indeed a large rock.

Rocks have been important to mankind throughout history.  Archaeologists have found well used tools made from rocks.  The American Indians and other hunter/gatherers used rocks to make arrowheads or to fling with their slingshots to hunt game for food.  Rocks have even been used to record events.  Over 2000

years ago the San people (also known as Bushmen) lived in this area.  If you follow a nearly impassable road by car and then hike down the mountain with a guide you can still see the amazing paintings they left behind telling their stories.

Rocks are also the subject of proverbs.  We talk about being "rock solid." "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."  "Rocks need no protection from the rain," and many others.  

Scripture refers to rocks.  Remember when God told Moses to bring water from the rock so the people could drink?  When God wanted to show His back to Moses he used a rock to protect him:  "And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:21-23 (ESV)  

God is referred to as our rock:  “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation," 2 Samuel 22:47 (ESV)  

The church is founded on the rock, Jesus, the Son of God:  "Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:16-18 (ESV)

And then there is the well-loved story of the wise and foolish builders.  “Everyone then who

hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."  Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)

Here is the important point.  We must have the foundation of our faith on the rock.  We live in a fallen world.  We will have problems.  When those times come it can be like a torrential rainfall.  We can wonder through the wind, rain, lightning and thunder if our faith will stand.  But, if it is founded on the rock it will not fall.  Our rock holds us in place even through the most terrifying storms.  

We see so many who face difficulties and lose their faith.  When the rains come if our faith is not firmly on the rock the water will wash the sand out from under us.  The wonderful thing is that we can be redeemed.  Our rock is always ready to hold us up if we just stand on Him.  

Don't be discouraged if you are in the midst of a storm.  Keep firmly on the rock, He will get you through.

 Grief

If you have lived long on this earth you have felt grief.  It is one of the normal human

emotions.  In the past few weeks the anniversaries of the deaths of my parents occurred.  The grief of losing a loved one doesn't ever completely leave.  Some days the grief seems very fresh and other times it is just a little part of our hearts.

As I was thinking about grief I came to realize that even though it is now a normal emotion it was probably never a part of the human experience until sin entered the world.  We grieve the loss of a loved one because of the separation.  Death entered the world because of sin.  

We have a lot of things that cause us grief.  The most common being death.  But, as Christian parents, an even more unbearable grief comes when one of our beloved children turns from the Lord.  

Even though we grieve we have every reason to hope.  Consider 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (ESV)  "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Because Jesus himself experienced death and then rose from the dead we have the wonderful hope of seeing our loved ones who have died in the Lord again.  That gives us great comfort.  

Because we can pray and know that God hears our prayers and that God is patient (The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV))  we have tremendous hope even for our wandering children.

Consider that even our Lord experiences grief.  See Matthew 23:37 (ESV) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"  Ephesians 4:30 tells us that it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit.  

My point is that grief comes to us all, even to our Lord.  How we handle it is what matters.  We should grieve with hope.  We should not stop praying.  We should never allow our grief to control us, making us unfruitful.  

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.  Psalm 42:11 (ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Be a Fruitful Branch

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  John 15:1-2 (ESV)

This is Jesus speaking.  He is using something that was very familiar to his audience--grape

vines.  Most of us have never been growers of grapes.  But many of us have done some form of gardening or maybe even had some fruit trees.  

Jesus compares himself to a vine and says that we are the branches.  We are that closely connected to our Lord.  Just think of it.  What a blessing!  When we put on Christ in baptism we are part of Him.  He gives us the life and nutrients we need so that we can produce fruit.  

If you have ever had a garden or an orchard you know that sometimes a branch seems to be connected and ought to be producing but it just isn't.  If we are good gardeners we will cut that branch off so that it doesn't waste the strength of the plant.  

Sadly there are those who appear to be connected to our true vine but they are not producing fruit.  Jesus says that the Father will take that branch away.  Such a sad thought.  

Consider this scripture:  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:10 (ESV)

But we have a patient, compassionate Father.  Consider this parable:  And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’  And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.  Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”  Luke 13:6-9 (ESV)

What kind of fruit are we supposed to produce?  I remember hearing as a child that the fruit of a Christian is more Christians.  We were supposed to reach out to the lost and lead them to Christ.  Now, I firmly believe that we are meant to share the gospel with the whole world in hopes that all will come to praise God.  However, I do not think this is what is meant by bearing  fruit.

We are all familiar with this passage:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

These are the fruits we are to produce in ever-increasing amounts.  The Father gives us the written word, prayer, worship and all other "Christian disciplines" as the fertilizer to help us produce those fruits.

Now what happens when we are producing fruit?  The Father prunes the branches that bear fruit so they can bear even more fruit.  Ouch!  This must be the most difficult time to practice being thankful in all things.  Sometimes the pruning involves suffering.  None of us desires suffering.  But all the pruning we go through is meant to help us produce more fruit; to be more like Jesus.  

Let us strive to be fruitful branches.  Let us rejoice in the pruning.  Let us long to be more like Him.

What Are You Singing?

My husband got me a copy of the book Devotedly by Valerie Elliot Shepard for Christmas. 

Valerie is the daughter of Elisabeth and Jim Elliot.  Anyone who knows me well knows that Elisabeth Elliot is one of my favorite authors.  Most of you have probably  heard of Jim Elliot, one of the five men martyred by the Auca Indians.  The book is excerpts from the letters and journals of both Elisabeth and Jim from the years before their marriage with text written by their daughter.  I have not completed the book but am reading it slowly day by day.  It is an excellent book and a wonderful view into how the two of them thought and lived in those years.

There are a lot of things that have stood out for me in my reading but I want to focus on just one of them for this post.  Having read almost everything Elisabeth Elliot wrote I know that in her childhood home hymn singing was important.  The family would sing daily and talk about the meaning of the songs.  Valerie mentioned that much of Elisabeth's theology was formed by those hymns.

I think I realized that was true but for some reason this struck me anew.  Hymns and the songs we sing during our worship, whether at home or in the assembly have a powerful impact on our lives.  We should really consider carefully what we are learning and what we are teaching by our hymns.  

So often, it seems, a song becomes popular because it has a catchy tune or snappy lyrics.  But what is it teaching?  Many people today will reject a hymn simply because it was written decades or even centuries ago without considering what benefit there might be in that hymn.  Likewise we might like a song just because it was one we sang in the church where we grew up.  Not all the older songs teach good theology.  If you look at some you will see that they are teaching salvation by works.  Others might teach cheap grace.  We must be careful.

Consider the newer songs, often called "worship songs."  There are some beautiful songs with deep meanings.  In Christ Alone comes to mind.  What a beautiful and deeply meaningful song.  Also some of the newer songs (as well as the older ones) are taken directly from the scriptures, particularly the Psalms.  On the other hand what about the song that says that Jesus thought of us above all when he was dying on the cross?  I take issue with that song because it is clear from scripture that he thought of the Father and the Father's will above all.  

What about the songs we teach children in Bible class?  I am in my sixties and I still remember well and can sing many of the songs I learned in those early years.  

Let's stop and think about what we are singing and teaching through our songs.  Reject those that contain false teaching.  Be sure to sing a variety of songs.  If you have a favorite song evaluate why that is a favorite.  

Whether we realize it or not we are forming our own theology and that of our children partially through our singing.

Be careful and keep on singing! 

Wait On The Lord

This morning my reading was in Nehemiah.  One thing I really appreciate about reading through the Bible every year is how something different always jumps out at me.  

Today I wondered about the months.  Hanani came to visit Nehemiah in the month Chislev and told him of the sorry condition of the people of Judah and the destruction of the wall around Jerusalem.  The scripture says that Nehemiah was completely cast down by the news.  He was grieving and praying.  

Reading on we see that Nehemiah had the important job of cupbearer to the king.  He went to serve the king his wine in the month Nisan.  The king noticed his sadness and questioned him.

I expect that all of those who are reading this are familiar with the story.  I began to wonder just how far apart Chislev and Nisan are.  In all my readings of this book I never really thought about the time.

I looked it up and found that Chislev is the ninth month of twelve in the ancient Hebrew calendar.  Nisan is the first month.  Nehemiah waited FOUR months before appealing to the king.  Why?

He spent his time in weeping, mourning, fasting and praying.  He was waiting on the guidance of the Lord.  I can imagine him grieving and trying to figure out what he could do.  When he finally did talk to the king, he had a clear plan ready to present.  He said the hand of his God was on him for favor.  

How often do we rush ahead without waiting on the Lord?  That doesn't work out very well.  Consider when Saul got impatient for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice to the Lord.  He got tired of waiting and offered the sacrifice himself.  Nothing good came from that.  

Nehemiah was highly successful at the task he was given.  He succeeded against terrible odds in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  He did not let anything get in the way of doing his job.  I believe that his time of waiting on the Lord was the reason for his success. 

No matter how difficult it may be, wait on the Lord, but don't wait without weeping, mourning, fasting and praying.  

NEHUSHTAN

Most of you probably remember the story of the fiery serpents which came among the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness.  They had been grumbling and complaining (as usual) and God sent the serpents to bite them.  Many of the people died from the snakebites.  That made the people think and they repented and asked Moses to beg God for help.  

God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole.  If anyone was bitten by one of the snakes, he could look at the bronze serpent and be saved.  

Now fast forward hundreds of years.  The Israelites have lived in the land for a long time.  The kingdom has been divided and Israel has gone into captivity because of their faithlessness and disobedience.  Judah is still in the land but they have had their ups and downs.

Currently the king is Hezekiah.  He was zealous for God and strove to bring the people back to faithfulness.  The people had been worshipping many false gods for many years.  Even since the time of Solomon.  The land was filled with idols.  Hezekiah destroyed them all.  

This is the part I want you to notice:   He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 2 Kings 18:4 (ESV)

The bronze serpent that Moses had made at God's command so many years before had been kept and had become a snare.  The people were worshipping the means God provided, instead of the God who saved them.  Hezekiah destroyed it.

As I was thinking about this earlier today I thought of Jesus who was lifted up on the cross.  Just like the bronze serpent, those who are bitten by the lies of Satan can look to the one on the cross and be saved.  But unlike the bronze serpent, the one on that cross was God himself and we are to worship Him.  

Scripture tells us that a lot of people died from those snake bites.  I don't know if any died because they refused to look at the bronze serpent, but many die now because they refuse to look to the man who was God and who died on that cross.