Prayer as the Therapy We Need

Our house, from above (Thanks M.M.)

A good doctor will examine their patient's total lifestyle before prescribing medications. Without lifestyle change the pill may be just a quick fix, and mask underlying anomalies. If this doesn't happen the doctor will be unable to heal the sick person. If the person doesn't change their way of living, the results will be the same.

The good spiritual counselor or pastor will do the same. When someone comes to me for help, I prescribe things that bring me strength and relief. At the top of my counsel to the struggling Jesus-follower is: Pray.

"But... I don't have time to pray."

Then I can't help you.

And, I'm not your counselor.You're looking for a quick fix. Some drive-through McHelp. It's not going to happen.

A life of actually praying, however, will sustain you. I have found that, in prayer, God:

• meets me
• loves on me
• directs my paths
• is all around me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
• empowers me
• fuels and feeds me
• encourages me
• answers my cries
• sets my feet on solid ground
• reminds me that I am His
• heals me
• delivers me
• clarifies my thinking
• fills me with hope
• astounds me
• graces me
• mercys me

Today, as I take time to 1-on-1 pray, I am conferencing with God, AKA the Great Physician. Run to Him, all you who are weary.

The Birth of Jesus - The Real Story

Tulip, in my yard

I've heard so many glowing reports of Kenneth Bailey's book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels, that I finally bought it and have begun to read it. Chapter 1, "The Story of Jesus' Birth," is probably worth the price of the entire book.

If we correctly understood the birth of Christ story we'd have to revise most of our Christmas plays. In fact, they would be more astonishing and exciting than they are even now.

"Jesus was born in a simple two-room village house such as the Middle East has known for at least three thousand years." (36) And there's much more to the real story.

Be Still

I spent several hours praying before these wind-swayed gum trees when I was in Eldoret, Kenya.

Every morning, for some years now, Linda gets up and sits in our living room, quietly, before God. She does this for up to a half hour. She slows down in her heart and mind. She listens for the voice of God. She gets spoken-to by God. Linda's heart is captured by Psalm 46:10, which reads: "Be still, and know that I am God."

The Hebrew word here for "be still" is raphah. It means things like: "be slack" (re. your arms); "be idle" (stop working and striving); "take leave" (of all your busyness); "cease struggling" (with God); even "be weak" (so God can be strong).

"Chill out, and know that I am God."

"Let go, and know that I am God."

Ps. 46: 10 does not instruct us to:

"Overwork, and know that I am God."

"Be busy, and know that I am God."

"Multi-task, and know that I am God."

"Try harder, and know that I am God."

"Get uptight, and know that I am God."

"Shop, and know that I am God."

We can draw a line connecting Psalm 46:10 with John 15, where Jesus tells us to "abide" and "rest" and "remain" in him, like a branch is connected to a vine. The promises for us include: Jesus will give us his peace, his joy, and reveal to us all the Father has made know to him. This is the incredible invitation to "be" with God, with the seminal Jesus-idea that being is prior to doing; viz., being-with God precedes all relevant "doing" in the name of God.

The "be still" thing is a heart-thing. You don't have to be in a physically quiet place to have a still, quieted heart. A "stilled" heart can be had in the midst of outer chaos. Jesus himself walked into many dark, chaotic situations. We don't see him freaking out and taking on the outer chaos in his own, inner heart. There is a focused calm about Jesus that's all about his ongoing abiding in the Father. How does he do this? Who wouldn't want to live like this? How is this possible? In John 14-15 he gives us the answers.

In John 14 Jesus says: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." Then Jesus gives his disciples, and us, this amazing invitation: "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." The Father and Jesus the Son will come and "make their home in us." (John 14:23)

If God is in your "home" (= heart), struggling ceases, and stillness remains. If the Lord is my fortress and in his fortress I dwell, what shall I fear? Who wouldn't want to live like that?

Be still before the Lord today by:

1. Taking 10-15 minutes and just "be" in God's presence. For no purpose other than to "be still, and know that God is God."
2. Doing this again tomorrow. And the next day..., and so on...
3. Not striving to make something happen. You might say to God, "I want to know how to be heart-still, that I might know You better."
4. Listeninbg
5. Watching, over time, how God meets you in that secret place which is your heart.

There might be so much chaos in your life right now that you are thinking, "I can't find time to do this with all the stuff that's going on!" Or: "I could never get still before God with all the clutter in my heart!"

I can tell you from personal experience, from much time doing this, and from teaching this to many pastors and leaders over the years, the following: "Being still" will seem counter-intuitive in our crazy world of incessant, irrelevant "doing." But it is precisely what is needed, and what God calls you to do. In the phrase "know that I am God," it is important to understand that "knowing," in Hebrew, is a relational, experiential thing.

Psalm 46:10 is a "call to relationship" with God. As are the last earthly words of Jesus in John chapters 14-17.

Praying "In the Spirit"

Istanbul, Turkey

This morning at Redeemer I'm preaching out of Ephesians 6:18-20 and Philippians 1:3-11, on "praying in the Spirit." Note the little word "in." This is one of the apostle Paul's favorite words. In his letters he uses "in Christ" and variations of "in Christ" 180 times.

To pray "in the Spirit" is to pray, connected with the Spirit because Jesus-followers are new creations "in Christ." This is about our new ontological status, rather than some "method" of praying. It relates to what Jesus said in John 14-15 about "abiding" in him.

This is prayer as a "conversation." This is prayer-as-relationship."

These "in"-phrases refer to dwelling consciously in the presence of the Holy Spirit himself, a presence characterized by the Godlike qualities of power, love, joy, truth, holiness, righteousness, and peace. To pray “in the Holy Spirit” is to pray with the conscious awareness of God’s presence surrounding us and sanctifying both us and our prayers. (See Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology)

Redeemer Softball Game & Picnic

Our Annual Softball Game and Church Picnic is Sunday, May 5, following worship.

The teams will be: Youth vs. Adults. This should be fun!

We will provide hot dogs and hamburgers.

Please bring either a salad or a dessert to share.

Bring lawn chairs to sit on.

See you on tomorrow!

Ownership Is a Limited Concept

Custer poster, in Monroe

Our house was built in 1863. Looking out the upstairs window of my home office I see the land "owned" by General George Custer's cousin Neville. General Custer and his family lived in a house that's 400 yards to the west of ours. Did they own that house?

I am certain they lived in it, and claimed the farmland that since has been divided and subdivided many times. But, obviously,  they don't have the house or the land now. I live on the land they walked on. What they thought they possessed slipped out of their hands, upon their deaths. Therefore, they "possessed" neither the land nor the house, or their clothes or cattle or jewelry or whatever.

To conjugate your life using the verbs "to have" or "to own" or "to possess" is to live a life of illusion because, literally, we own nothing. One day someone else will be wearing your clothing and living in your house and non-attending to your garden.

If the meaning of "to own" or "possess" or "have" includes "This object/person/time/space/place is mine,'" then surely that it false.Thomas Merton, in The Sign of Jonas, wrote: "Now my whole life is this - to keep unencumbered. The wind owns the fields where I walk and I own nothing and am owned by nothing." To say that the winds "own" anything is to speak metaphorically. It is instructive to note that to say you or I "own" anything is also to speak, in an important way, metaphorically. Ownership is a limited concept and it is important not to get too serious about it."

To live in the truth of essential non-ownership is to live freely. As you have freely received, you then can freely give. The biblical God-idea is that we have been made "stewards" over a few things that belong to our Master. Hold loosely to them.

If you possess nothing then nothing can ever be stolen from you. (Les Miserables, correct?)

God's Favorite Place on Earth

Speaking of books...  just look at the reviews for Frank Viola's new book, God's Favorite Place on Earth. 

"In Frank Viola's hands, the story of Lazarus--like Lazarus himself--once again comes to life. In a world where hope is battered and life can so easily beat down the human spirit, we are reminded once more of the possibility of becoming a host of Life."  
John Ortberg, pastor and author of Who Is This Man?

"God's Favorite Place on Earth realigned my heart toward Jesus and His mysterious, confounding, surprising, beautiful ways. It's not often I learn something new when reading a book, but Frank Viola's sharp storytelling and insightful interpretation made me hunger for more of the real Jesus." 
Mary DeMuth, author of Everything: What You Give

"God's Favorite Place on Earth is the kind of book I've discovered I need to periodically find and read. Frank Viola's pen and voice are consistently both penetrating and trustworthy. Beyond his invitingly beautiful writing skill--which makes reading a joy and a sight-seeing tour that brings God's Word into 3-D when he relates narrative passages, I'm grateful for the depth of his themes."
Pastor Jack Hayford, Chancellor of The King's University, Los Angeles

"This is a masterfully engaging book that distills the vision of the Christian life into one focused quest: To be God's favorite place on earth today. I recommend this little volume to all Christians and Christian leaders."
Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker

"Combining masterful storytelling, historical knowledge, biblical insight and practical wisdom, Frank artfully uses the Gospels' depiction of Lazarus and the small town of Bethany to lay out a beautiful and compelling vision of a God who longs to make every human heart and every church 'His favorite place.' This is a beautifully written, timely, prophetic work all would benefit from reading!" 
Greg Boyd, pastor and author of Benefit of the Doubt

"A lot of people write books, Frank writes stories and in this one we once again see why he's such a master. Honored to call him a friend, excited to call him an author I love to read." 
Jon Acuff, bestselling author of Start and Quitter

"Frank Viola surpasses himself in his best book yet—a work of serene, soaring magnificence. Part novel, part biography, part theology, part Bible study, Frank’s imaginative touch and command of prose haiku leaves the reader resolved more than ever to be a Bethany—God’s favorite place on earth." 
Leonard Sweet, Drew University, George Fox University

“Reading God's Favorite Place on Earth by Frank Viola, my soul began to burn from Chapter One. To delve into Lazarus' heart and thoughts ... I received a beautiful glimpse into the life of Christ on earth. Lazarus' stories make a perfect foundation for God's truth, God's intimacy. I can't wait to share this book!”
Tricia Goyer, USA Today best-selling author of 35 books

"In spite of my Ph.D. in Theology, I had never considered the importance of Bethany in the life of Jesus."
Phil Cooke, media consultant and author of Unique

"Reading God's Favorite Place on Earth illuminates the story of Jesus in such a new and captivating way that it's bound to impact your life. Read this powerful book and reconnect with the Lord's heart for every Christian, every church, and every city. "
Pete Wilson, pastor and author of Plan B and Empty Promises

“This book exudes love for Jesus. Its creative format offers an inviting window for valuable meditations on what we can learn about the Lord and our relationship with Him from His life and that of some of His closest friends.”

Craig Keener, Professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary, author of The IVP Bible Background Commentary 

“Here’s an invitation to experience Jesus in a remarkably personal way, through the eyes of His close friend Lazarus. As Lazarus retells ‘the old, old story,’ we find ourselves there, with him, with his family, with Jesus, watching Jesus at work and enjoying the warmth of His presence and the power of His influence. Frank Viola draws us into a powerful drama very much at home in the Gospels and faithful to the first-century world, and then he helps us to personalize Jesus’ message.”

Joel B. Green, Ph.D. Professor of New Testament Interpretation & Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary

“As you read these pages I predict that you, like me, will receive a fresh vision to ‘Follow hard after God’ as David did. I also predict that you’ll receive new prophetic vision as to what Jesus wants for us, His Church.”

Steve Sjogren, author, church planter, pastor

“I have often been haunted by Paul’s reflections in 2 Corinthians 11 that we put up with ‘another Jesus’ way too easily as we slide away from the moorings of simple devotion in a cultural milieu that, as Frank says in his Introduction, causes us to battle ‘doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, division, rejection, and the struggle against consumerism and lukewarmness.’ In our attempts to follow Jesus in such a hostile environment, we often lose sight of who He really is. Frank Viola does a marvelous job of getting our eyes back on Jesus and the gospel narrative through the eyes of one of His dearest friends, Lazarus, and the surprising beauty and safety of the place where He lived, Bethany. A truly unique vision of Jesus unfolds in this well written and beautifully-told story. I believe Frank’s efforts here will go a long way in keeping us from embracing ‘another Jesus,’ ‘another Spirit’ and ‘another gospel.’”

David Ruis, pastor and musician, davidruis.com

The Bible - Be Delivered from the Tyranny of the Number System

Saugatuck, Michigan

Today I received my copy of Kenneth Bailey's Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. I'm a little late in getting to this book. A few of my colleagues strongly recommended it to me recently. See some of the reviews below.

Our Bibles have numbered chapters and verses. The original scriptures did not have these markings. Usually, they are misleading and lead to subtle misinterpretations of the text. Bailey expresses this nicely when he writes:

"Rhetorical analysis delivers the reader from the tyranny of the number system. The text is permitted its own ordering of ideas. The numbers, however useful they are for finding one's place, subtly dictate to the reader, "you Will see these ideas or stories as a straight line sequence which follows the numbers." Rhetorical analysis frees us from 1,650 years of dominance by chapter headings and 450 years of subtle control by verse number." (17)

***
"While no book on Jesus and the Gospels can be perfect or final, writing any really good book on them places staggering demands on an interpreter. To name just seven: literary aptitude, linguistic competence, critical shrewdness, cultural sagacity, theological acumen, spiritual sensitivity and hermeneutical sophistication. In this highly stimulating study Kenneth Bailey manages to reflect them all, and more besides, in part because he stands on the shoulders of Middle Eastern interpreters whom few in the West can even read. This book will sharpen historical understanding, improve much preaching and fuel new scholarship. It may shed as much new Licht vom Osten ('light from the ancient East') on Gospel passages as we have seen since Deissmann's book by that title a century ago. And in all of this, Bailey keeps the cross and the message of his sources at the center where they belong." (Robert W. Yarbrough, associate professor and New Testament department chair, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School )

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is intended, explains its author, 'to contribute new perspectives from the Eastern tradition which have rarely, if ever, been considered outside the Arabic-speaking Christian world.' Strictly speaking, of course, Kenneth Bailey does not offer new perspectives, but ideas frequently as old as the earliest church and as the ancient church fathers, that may well be new to many of his Western readership. Here is an imaginative, humorous reading of key Gospel passages, an engaged and engaging set of studies that emphasize the concrete world presupposed in the New Testament. Bailey is informed not only by faithful contemporary scholarship, but also by the great exegetes of the past, and shows his humility by offering alternative explanations of passages where these may be of help to the reader. His writing and argument are cogent to the ordinary reader, tackling problems for the contemporary church, without allowing twenty-first-century debates to dictate the scope of his discussion." (Edith M. Humphrey, William F. Orr Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary )

"Kenneth Bailey, a master storyteller and expert observer of Middle Eastern culture, applies his sixty years of experience living in this region to produce a groundbreaking work on Jesus' world. Bailey animates the Jewish cultural world of first-century Roman Palestine through clever, often humorous personal vignettes and observations of current Middle Eastern culture. The blurry outlines of enigmatic biblical characters such as King Herod or Zacchaeus take clearer shape, and unnamed women such as the Syro-Phoenician mother or the adulterous woman are painted with colorful, culturally sensitive strokes. Bailey offers a feast for the mind and heart in his brilliant discussion of the Lord's Prayer and Jesus' parables; each chapter has plenty to savor. Throughout, Bailey connects theological and christological significance to his cultural insights, producing an original, engaging study. Bailey's passion for the biblical story coupled with his conversational prose renderJesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes a captivating read for scholars, pastors and laypeople alike." (Lynn Cohick, associate professor of New Testament, Wheaton College )

"Kenneth Bailey's Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is rich with interpretive and cultural insight. He sheds light on what is so often missed in most commentaries and books about Jesus written from a Western perspective. Indeed, Bailey's book provides the much-needed corrective to the dubious results of the Jesus Seminar, whose distorted Jesus is a product of Greco-Roman culture and literature, instead of the Judaic culture and literature of Palestine. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is easy to read--students and pastors will benefit from it tremendously--but there is also much for scholars." (Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College, and author of Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels )

"I have long been an admirer of Kenneth Bailey's helpful insights. As in his earlier works, his breadth of knowledge of Middle Eastern culture sheds rich light on numerous points in the Gospels, providing fresh perspectives and often illumining details we have rarely considered. He provokes those of us who depend mostly on ancient written sources to consider new approaches, often cohering with but often supplementing such research." (Craig Keener, professor of New Testament, Palmer Theological Seminary, and author of The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament )

"Among the many New Testament scholars interpreting the Gospels today, few offer new and dramatic insights like Kenneth E. Bailey. From a childhood in Egypt to a career working within the Middle East, Bailey has established himself as the premier cultural interpreter of the life of Jesus. Using insights from cultural anthropology and skilled exegesis, suddenly the Gospels come alive as the Middle Eastern stories that they are. Long after other scholars' books are forgotten, Bailey's work on the Gospels will continue to be a timeless resource into the world of Jesus. This newest volume, written for the nonspecialist, is a splendid place to begin. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is guaranteed to become a favorite on many Christians' bookshelves." (Gary M. Burge, professor of New Testament, Wheaton College & Graduate School )

"Learning to read Scripture through other people's cultural spectacles, as well as our own, always brings huge enrichment. Kenneth Bailey has done a fantastic job in enabling us to put on the spectacles of a Middle Eastern believer and to therefore gain new insights into what was always there in Scripture but not quite so clear when only viewed through our lenses." (Mary J. Evans, vice-principal emeritus, London School of Theology )

Needed: Spiritual Prescience

Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya

Thomas Merton is one of the great influences in my life. Merton had wisdom. Wisdom, that thing Proverbs writes about, is rare. Among other things, wisdom is often prescient, prophetic. Like Merton was.

For example, in 1966, in Raids On the Unspeakable, Merton wrote: "We live in the time of no room,which is the time of the end. The time when everyone is obsessed with lack of time, lack of space, with saving time, conquering space, projecting into time and space the anguish produced within them by the technological furies of size, volume, quantity, speed, number, price, power and acceleration. The primordial blessing, "increase and multiply," has suddenly become a hemorrhage of terror. We are numbered in billions, and massed together, marshaled, numbered, marched here and there, taxed, drilled, armed, worked to the point of insensibility, dazed by information, drugged by entertainment, surfeited with everything, nauseated with the human race and with ourselves." (70)

If that's how Merton saw things in 1966, would he even find words to express matters today?! Forty-seven  years ago the spiritually decadent snowball was heading down the slope, gathering size and speed. Today it has fallen off the cliff and disappeared into the abyss.

For the few who are poised on the mountain of prayer and contemplation: you will be needed in the days ahead. Not many will recognize you. For some you will be a threat, for others a sign of hope and the way out of darkness. Even now there are people climbing out of the cultural shallows and longing for high ground. Stand firm, and they will come to you.

Needed: more deep people. More wise people.

Abide, Saturate, Listen, Obey

My role as a pastor is this:

I am to abide in Christ.

1. I am to saturate myself in Scripture.
2. I am to listen for the voice of God.
3. When God directs, I am to obey.

I am to do these things, to live these things. As I live these things my life will be fruit-bearing. If I abide in Christ, then I will bear much lasting fruit. This is a conditional statement. On the condition of my Christ-abiding, fruit-bearing shall result.

These, then, become the things I am to pass on to my people. If God can work through me to plant these things in my people, they will be "edified." They will be "built up." Their lives will bear much fruit for God and his Kingdom.

Therefore pastors: teach your people to:

• ABIDE
• SATURATE
• LISTEN
• OBEY

Here are some of the implications, personally and corporately.

• Personal "striving" will be gone. This is not about "working harder" for God. It is all about the Spirit of God working in you, and in us.
• Programmatic activity gets replaced by Presence-of-God reality. Here is where "church" starts to get exciting!
• Personal transformation into Christikeness (Gal. 4:19) is ongoing. The only alternative to this is spiritual death. If a plant is not growing it is dead. The same is true of people. Yes, of course, God can raise the dead. But you, in your own strength, cannot. You can't force or shout or guilt-manipulate or coerce dead people to rise. When dealing with dead people focus on your own Abiding, Saturating, Listening, and Obeying. Through you God may raise the dead.
• If He builds it, He will come and remain. It's not true that "If we build it, He will come." If He is not already there in the first place, it should be obvious that "He" has not instructed you to build something.
• What you and your people need is not you, but God. You are dispensable. As you abide in Christ you will be broken of the illusion of your indispensability. This is a necessary prerequisite for God to be the Builder. God will not only help you get out of the way, you will end up thanking him for it.
• Become the abiding pastor, the "unbusy" and "unnecessary pastor" (as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Pastor: A Memoir, and The Unnecessary Pastor).
• When your church (= people who love and follow Jesus) deeply abides in Christ, they will be spoken to by Christ. This will be the end of all those meetings and committees and "brainstorming" get-togethers and the beginning of the days of fruit-bearing and redemptively storming the gates of hell.
• This is "Church" as a Revolutionary Movement. Time to Abide and Saturate more deeply.