Justinroy

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

(Isaiah 40:1-5 ESV)

This is glorious.
Having fought my way through Systematic Theology, this song and those people  crack me up

I use this narrative analysis tool whenever I interpret the Gospels. It helps me slow down and read the story with new eyes. Using this tool, I start to see that the main point of the story is not whatever strikes me. The Gospels are unique; they dont fit squarely into any genre of literature and we should respect their use of narrative. It’s important for us to understand the basic structure of narrative in order to determine the main points of each literary unit and the book as a whole.
We must remember that the gospel stories are simultaneously a story about Jesus and a word of God to us. The canonical scriptures have two authors (God/Man) and we can learn from literary criticism to determine the authorial intent.

And here is one of the best tools for reading the Gospels

1. Isolate the Literary Unit
2. Identify the Settings and Characters
3. Observe the Story

a. Are there key words or phrases or repeated ideas? Are there cause and effect relationships stated? What illustrations are used if any?

4. Isolate the Different Scenes
5. Analyze the narrative:

a. Identify the (rising) Conflict
b. Identify the Climax
c. Identify the Resolution
d. Identify the Following Action/Interpretation

6. Think about the Context

a. Immediate literary context
b. Whole Gospel context (narrative flow and structure; intra- and intertextuality)
c. Redemptive-Historical context

7. Write a Summary

Find the main thrust of the story’s points, understood in context, and address what it teaches us about God and ourselves. Use two key ideas of Revelation and Identification – What is revealed about God in Christ and How we are to Identify as the disciples of Christ

There’s a lot to say about this tool and it’s not perfect, it doesn’t work every time.

Also, There maybe some terms your unfamiliar with, so feel free to ask questions. I will try and post more information/explanations later. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Try using this tool on Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. There’s a mountain of meaning in Jesus’ temptation.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:20 ESV)

I’m finally taking the time to read through The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally LLoyd-Jones

There’s always the  temptation, especially in children’s  literature, for the Bible to be presented as something it’s not. And  most Children’s Bibles are paraphrases, with lots of selection and deselection occurring, so that children can easily understand the main points of each story, but sometimes they fail to connect the stories.

This is where the Jesus Storybook gets it right.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

(Luke 24:44-45 ESV)

Just read the introduction to Jesus Storybook and you’ll find that LLoyd-Jones captures the true meaning of all scripture.

God wrote, “I love you” – he wrote it on the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea. He wrote his mesage everywhere. Because God created everything in his world to reflect him like a mirror0 to show us what he is like, to help us know him, to make our hearts sing.

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t primarily about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other People think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.

Now the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life !

You see. the best thing about this Story is – it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is lithe piece that makes all the other pieces fit together; and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend.

Is this not a beautiful description of what the Bible is?  Every story whispers his name (Luke 24:44-45)

This morning I passed a tour bus with 411god.net plastered on the side, “do you ever wish God would call you and tell you what to do?” was scribbled in a hipster font underneath the logo, so I had to come home and check it out.

If you’ve ever thought about putting God on hold, now is your chance. 411god.net will call you (morning, mid-day or afternoon) and give you a daily dose of deity. Professionally recorded, 411God.com will read you Bible verses geared to give you confidence in yourself.

Here’s an excerpt from the site.

What if God came to you? What if He helped you know what to do? What if He gave you confidence about your future? How ’bout if He called you on your cell? Would ya answer?

God speaks. He wrote a book and He wants you to know it….Here’s a chance for you to get it on your terms.

Here’s a voicemail from God

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Simple. Convenient. Understandable. Life Changing.

Just to repeat – “Here’s a chance for you to get it on your terms.”

This is American christianity at it’s best (or worst).  It’s lazy, self-centered and takes God’s Word out of context.  I love (/sarcastic) their logo. It emanates ”You’ve been holding the key to success the whole time- it’s your phone”

UGHH…

The church doesn’t need more help to alienate her from God. We’re prone to whoredom; and if knowing God’s Word is knowing God, we’ve made Him a distant relative we send to voicemail when we’re busy.

I’m not going to list all the things I think are wrong with this service but don’t fall for a god that leaves a voicemail, we have enough of those already.

God has made Himself known through creation ,”the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” and “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 411God arrives to save the day because you’re too busy to really read the Bible arent you? Wouldn’t it be much more convenient for God to call you whenever you were ready? Why would you want to read the whole Bible just to get to the important verses? We’ll just call and tell you the verses you need to know.

Even if there is some merrit in 411god.net, the Bible is not merely some divine guidebook of disconnected  text messages or voicemails and  the church doesn’t need help turning God’s Word into something it’s not.  Instead of the Bible being God’s story, 411God.net turns it into our daily dose of divine niceties that’ll give you confidence.

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:2

Clarification:
I’m not so much against the service that 411God provides (audio bible) but the assumptions that 411God makes about the Bible and what people really need… Here, take the call, it’s from God

what do you think?

Mark begins his gospel by answering the question “who is this man?” It’s an important question; everything else in his entire account depends on how he introduces Jesus, and it’s no wonder that he begins it with the proclamation “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The first half of Mark’s gospel presents Jesus as the mighty Messiah and Son of God who acts with authority and power. Mark 1:2-3 ties three OT texts together (Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1) to provide the conceptual framework for the Isaiahnic new exodus theme.

I say all that to highlight one section of scripture- Mark 1:21-28.

Don’t forget, this is after Jesus has been identified as the promised Messiah by John, beloved by God in baptism, and tempted by satan in the wilderness, and pronounced fulfillment for God’s kingdom and started his ministry. Mark records these accounts with little detail, moving fast-paced until his first story. What took Matthew three chapters to cover, Mark accomplishes in twenty verses. However, when Jesus enters Copernaum, Mark slows down because he wants us to see something in his first story.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

The beauty of this pericope is easily missed because, in part, it’s hidden. There are things happing in God’s Word that we’re not always aware of when reading, and through Mark’s brief summary he’s painted with a broad stroke, but now, with vv. 21-28 he uses his artistic tools to paint a detailed narrative using chiasm to pinpoint the most important issue in the text.

Here’s a the viewable chiasm in 21-28

? Mark 1:21-28 Chiasm

	v 21 – locale, immediately is the 6th word
		v 22 – amazed at his teaching with authority
			v 23 – unclean spirit cries out
				v24 – the demons speak to Jesus
					? “I know who you are, the Holy One of God”
				v25 – Jesus speaks to the demons
			v 26 – unclean spirit cries out
		v 27 – amazed at his teaching with authority
	v 28 – locale, immediately is the 6th word

Mark has been answering the question “who is this man?” And with a very strong conflict story, he gives us another emphatic answer to that question, using a chiasm to make his point. Mark sandwiches his main point in the center of the story then mirrors the actions on either side. If you didn’t know, a chiasm is something people in the ancient world did a lot. They often counted words and letters to structure their writing. For example, there are 124 greek words in Mark’s chiasm and guess what the middle word 62 is? It’s at the end of the phrase “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” This should really impact the way we interpret this passage. Mark wants his reader to understand that Jesus is God’s Salvation for His people, in fact, the first 8 chapters of Mark all answer the question “who is this man?”

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable a to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that b everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable a to judgment

Jesus, by his own authority, insists that the judgement thought to be reserved for the murderer now looms over the head of the angry and wrathful.  Jesus’ divine authority eclipsed the rabbinic literature,  and He gave the true meaning of the Law.

what man stands uncondemned ?

Although there is a place for anger toward injustice and sin, most of my anger comes from a bruised personal ego

Drama of Scripture, The: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story

it (the bible) functions as the authoritative Word of God for us when it becomes the one basic story through which we understand our own experience and thought, and the foundation upon which we base our decisions and our actions.

In other words, the Bible provides us with the basic story that we need in order to understand our world and to live in it as God’s people. We know that it is one thing to confess the Bible to be the Word of God, but often quite another thing to know how to read the Bible in a way that lets it influence the whole of our lives.

Far too often I’m guilty of only reading popular authors. So I’m trying to establish some consistency in reading puritan works, hopping to fall in love with a few of them. That’s why I picked up “the doctrine of justification” by John Owen.  It’s a terrifying book. It frightens me a little. The language and spelling are not contemporary; long and complex sentences subdue the inattentive reader; but the treasure, the painstaking clarity of careful exposition with a mind and heart devoted to the person of Jesus, makes this book a necessary read for anyone studying the doctrine of justification.  Here are a two quotes.

for the doctrine of justification is directive of christian practice, and in no other evangelical truth is the whole of our obedience more concerned; for the foundation, reasons, and motives, of all our duty towards God, are contained therein.

—————

Whether it be anything in ourselves, as our faith and repentance, the renovation of our natures, inheret habits of grace, and actual of righteousness, which we have done, or may do; or whether it be the obedience, righteousness, satisfaction and merit of the Son of God, our mediator and surety of the covenant, imputed to us. One of these it must be, namely something that is our own, which, whatever may be the influence of the grace of God in it, or causality of it, because wroght in and by us, is inherently our own in a proper sense; or something, which being not our own, not inherent in us, not wrought by us, is yet imputed unto us, for the pardon of our sins, and the acceptation of our persons as righteousness; or the making of us righteous in the sight of God.

One of the clearest examples of God showing his glory was when Moses wanted to see God’s glory, and he said, “Show me your Glory.” (My initial reaction to this verse was to pop in an old Third Day album and listen to Mac Powell sing like a songbird,  but I resisted).

But, back to the subject at hand…(really, you can stop laughing now) God answers Moses by saying, “I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19). Just so we’re on the same page, Moses wants to see God’s glory and God says he will cause his goodness to pass in front of him.

Then, God fulfills his promise to Moses. Moses stood on Mt. Sinai and “the lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name the lord. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming “the lord the lord, the compassionate and gracious god, slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin (Ex 34:5-7).

The two important Hebrew words are hesed (variously rendered; steadfast love, mercy, covenant love, graciousness) and met (truth or truthfulness).  hased and met are used over and over to describe God’s compassion or goodness in the Old Testament.

The essential thing to grasp is that God’s glory is supremely his goodness

Now, fast-forward to John’s allusion to Exodus in John 1:14.  John already has the reader in Exodus; a Greek speaking Jew would have read the beginning of 1:14 more like this, “the Word pitches his tabernacle, or lived in his tent, amongst us” (carson). So, John is already taking his readers to chapter 25, but then he states,  “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John has seen “his glory” glory that can only be from the father, and the only one who can possess this glory must be from the Father (Jn 1:18)

Grace and truth is John’s  word pairing that relates back to hesed and met. Carson seems to think that John is moving his readers back to Exodus and that the glory (goodness) passing in front of Moses was now incarnate, dwelling among them, and they have seen his glory, word-made-flesh……. God’s ultimate self-revelation.

So, how does this relate to the Cross?

It relates to the cross because Jesus, the God-man, is most glorified in the cross, (John 7:39; 12:16; 13; 31-32) therefore, God is most glorified in the cross.  And, what did we say God’s glory was? His goodness. God’s ultimate glory was in the cross because he displayed the ultimate good.  This is why Jesus Christ is the true/real/ultimate revelation of God  (jn 1:9).

With this in mind, when we read that God loves the world  ( Jn 3:16) we should view it in light of God’s character because it took the ultimate revelation of God to display his love for a world that did not know Him. John 3:16 shouldn’t give us warm fuzzies, as if we were lovable, but it should testify to God’s character— that he loved a world that hated him.

In short, God’s glory is found in the cross of Christ because the cross displays the perfect goodness of God’s character, in that, Jesus, the perfect and spotless lamb of God, substituted himself for a people who were in rebellion against him.

Just for a second, think of God’s glory (Ex 24:16/ Is 6) …. How majestic He is and how zealous He is for his own glory (Isaiah 48:9-11)…

Now think of the amount of glory God has (if it could be quantitative) and relate it to how much goodness it took for God to redeem his people. It’s sobering…….(Rom. 3:10-12; 14:23: Heb. 11:6)…… It took nothing less than the God who is necessarily perfect in goodness and power to redeem such a lost world.

Dwell on God’s goodness in view of his awesome glory, and we’ll begin to understand 1 Corinthians 1:29 “so that no one may boast in God’s presence.

…. a book i’m too lazy to read, but honestly..look at the “praises” and “critiques” of the book and who they’re coming from.

• Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, says it “has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim Progress did for his.”
• Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says, “This book includes undiluted heresy.”
• Singer and songwriter Michael W. Smith says “The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.”
• Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, says, “Regarding the Trinity, it’s actually heretical.”

(Link)

So let’s think about this; Eugine Peterson, the guy who literally wrote his own Bible, praises it. To say nothing about his motives, he’s usually not considered a trustworthy source because of the Message’s disregard for God’s Word. (i know it sounds funny). Micheal W. Smith gives accolades to the book, but at least he didn’t compare it to pilgrim’s progress.

On the other hand, there are two conservative, theological heavy-weights saying that it’s heretical in its treatment of the trinity.  May I just reiterate here, the doctrine of the trinity is no small doctrine

Below is a helpful, yet in-depth, book review of “the shack” by Tim Challis, one of the most influential  and thought provoking  evangelical bloggers.

(opens in pdf)

http://www.challies.com/media/The_Shack.pdf

I’m teaching a Bible study on John. Here’s the poster I made for it.

I hope to eventually blog some of my notes on John and share some insights.

I also think that the font I used for John 1:14 looks like the font on the front of Crazy Love by Francis Chan

During our church meeting last night, we were encouraged to proclaim what we’re thankful for.  I was surprised that no one mentioned God’s word or God himself, or his immutability. I was silent and didn’t proclaim my thankfulness during the church service; I wrote it down on a note pad.

I praise God for his word, not for it’s conformity to our standard of beauty and truth- but that it is God’s revelation of himself, and it offends me, it exposes me, and it transforms me – giving me the ability to see the ultimate truth and purist beauty that is God through the Glory of Jesus Christ.

I’m still at odds with my silence and why I refused to speak. I wanted to. My “gut” told me it was the right thing to do. Maybe I’m still uncomfortable around EBC. Maybe I don’t feel like I’m apart of the church. I’m sure I could conjure a million different reasons for my silence, all they way down to my selfish, introspective personality that keeps me from developing biblical friendships.

Matthew 5:18

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.