Why Study the Bible?

These are a few points Doc Noebel (President of Summit) makes throughout his "Bible Hours":

It is a part of world literature.

It has had great influence on this country.

It is the mark of an educated man or woman.

It is the mark of a moral man.

It is the mark of a free man.

It is not unscientific.

It is not unphilosophical.

It tells us to.

Last Day of Session Two

I'm standing in the classroom listening to the power of God in a student's life. She is telling her story to my fellow Classroom Director, Koryn. Six of us shared our testimonies last night. It was surprising how diverse the testimonies were. I shared on doubt, and others shared on wreckless life, identity, porn, pride and family relationships, and drug addictions. It was a rich and thoughtful time.

Now, the time with 177 students is closing. They are returning to their homes for various events through the summer. Some will simply play video games while others change the world. Can we expect leadership from 16 year-olds? In a sense, yes. Not everyone will be a leader, but everyone is led by God in some respect. Some will excel into spheres needing Christians. Others will support their leaders well. Father in heaven, use these willing vessels greatly.

Academics and Sports

Life is finally sorting out, and I'm settling in to the busy schedule. I'll be getting my bus license next week. I'm listening to great speakers all the time and more and more realizing the state of colleges and culture today. Mr. Stonestreet is speaking on postmodernism at the moment. Tonight, students will be thinking upon femininity and masculinity. Then, small groups are after. If I could pay for my neighbor, Jawon, to come or go to one of the conferences, I would. I think it is that important. Life is communal, and there is a good sense of accountability. Sports times are intense, and we do much media stuff. Students hiked Pikes Peak yesterday (Sunday), and others went whitewater rafting. Despite all the academics, oh and the 180 question Bible exam, they don't want to leave at the end of the two weeks. For 182 high school- and college-age kids to say that, there must be something significant happening here. In general, I love the staff, have started a book on the theology of possessions, have great coffee everyday, and hike the mountains of CO sometimes twice or three times a week. It is a good break from life in NC. I'm tired, but rest is near.

Mystical Words

What do words mean? They mean reason, logic, logos, conversation, meaning, history, truth. It also means the Word of God. John 1:1-14 says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life and the life was the light of men...And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." In a sense, Christ is also word, Truthful word--the Word of God. Now let me explain myself before that statement is taken as deifying words or demonizing Christ.

God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How does God communicate with us? He has talked with humanity through all three of the persons, but He does so with the use of words. This is why we have language. It is a reflection of the image of God (Gen. 1:27); it is one of the things that separates us from the rest of creation. It is God's original way of communication. This is why the Bible is written word; why we have names; why literacy is so important. (I find this hard to accept when world missions is in perspective. God does communicate with other means--dreams, creation, people. However, His most enduring, specific communication has been written down in the Bible. Anybody without access to the Bible is going to miss out on the Truth setting them free through justification, sanctification, church leadership, etc.)

Words are one of the most important things in this world. One way to think of words is a relationship between persons. Words are not deity in themselves, but they are an extension of the person speaking them. This is why the crowd fell back when Jesus spoke to them in the garden. "So when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground" (John 18:6). As Christ is God, his words contain the power of God in whatever intentional way he desires. God created the universe with his words. "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). God spoke all of creation into being with the very use of his words.

One role of words in the Christian's life is for the renewing of the mind. First of all, we are to love God with all of our being; our mind is included in this. "So this I say, and affirm to together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart...But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ...and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another" (Ephesians 4:17-25). Keys to the Christian life are found in understanding, knowledge, and knowing Christ (Phil. 3:10). This is known and processed by the renewing of our mind. Please notice that I am not saying the renewing of the mind is the only way of sanctification in the Christian life. This is simply one way. I think of the mind as the one compartment of the immaterial soul that deals with words. We also have a compartment known as the spirit, which is animated upon salvation by the Holy Spirit (My Bryan College thesis is on the soul, so I won't explain further here.). Both mind and spirit is connected immaterially, influence one another, and in turn, drive the rest of the soul and body. The mind runs on words; the machinery in the mind is reason. When God speaks (i.e. the Bible, Jesus words, etc.), his words are powerful and have the capacity to renew the mind, enabling us to know truth and grow.

Thus, concerning the statement that Christ is also word, Truthful word, the Bible's words are a key to conforming to the image of Christ. His word is alive and sharp. Christ's power is still with us through animation of the Spirit and the Bible. It is not the physical book or the printed word that contains deity, but the relationship and meaning inherent in the words. We should not worship the Bible itself but know that the words contained are intimately an extension of the Godhead. Truth in word form are the chosen method of transferring power and liberating the Fallen world. Knowing words and their power reveals a realm that sits skin to skin touching to the Trinity. Call it mysticism; call it what you may. Just know there is deep significance to words, especially when God uses them.

Colorado CDL Permit

I got my Colorado CDL permit yesterday, after failing 2 out of 3 tests and retaking them the same day. I failed!? I generally don't fail tests. There was a general knowledge test (50 q's), an airbrakes test (25), and a passenger test (20). I failed general and passenger. I should've passed those and failed the airbrakes'. Weird. In the time up until "Congratulations, you passed this test!" flashed up on the screen for the last two tests, I was freaked out. I feared failing Summit Ministries, since they were the ones paying for it all. I feared continual failure, never being able to take tests again. I feared extrapolation of that failure to other areas of life and not being able to excel at anything. In general, it was scary. I knew I must continue on and get up again. Failure and fear can multiply exponentially to cease life as a whole. Thankfully, God is gracious and supplies strength when needed, even when not needed or noticed. Proverbs 24:16, "For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." Now, I only have to go through a four hour driving test...on my own...in a bus...soon...and deal with that fear in order to get my full CDL. Strange how life never ceases to be challenging. Let's not talk about the Marine Corps OCS yet.

Connecting the Dots

Contentment comes in various forms throughout life. Sometimes it is in the form of happiness, and other times it simply reveals what should have been there all along. 

I had said that I would come back by and thank him for fixing my tranny. I make a habit of keeping my word. He fixed it four years ago. It took him about 3 days to complete the task, if I remember correctly. He was an transmission specialist with 30 years experience; it should've been only several hours. He said he would charge me $60 for the job. Professionals simply charge for the job, not the hours it takes. When he finished the job 3 days later, he knew well how my VW Jetta manual transmission functioned. He kept his word. I paid him.

He wanted me to test it out. I took the repaired tranny home and snugged it up under the hood in between the engine and left front tire. The whole process was informative and quality enhancing. The tranny worked fine, until the reverse gear popped out again. Darn. That's when I found the real cause of the problem--the linkage. I found some new nobs, slid them on, and found that I had already damaged the new reverse gear the specialist had installed. I decided to live with it instead of pulling the tranny again and making him extend me another favor. I just couldn't go very fast in reverse, even though speed is an essential component to performing doughnuts. 

My sister flipped the Jetta a couple months ago. I salvaged it for $400 and added another $500 to pay for a motorcycle. On my way to a distant bank location one day, it crossed my mind that I had never thanked "Bob" for fixing my tranny. After finding the right road, I rolled down to his garage--or what used to be. No one there. Pulling back up to his house, I comfortably--and somewhat pridefully--alighted my bike and rang the doorbell. "Bob" answered the door. I explained who I was; he vaguely remembered me. I thanked him. He didn't think much of it, or at least he didn't show it on his face. I was secretly wanting to show him that our rising generation still respects their elders and is grateful for the skill and ethic the grandparents and parents instill into their craft. Maybe it was too late. "Better late than never" may have found an exception.

The conversation was brief. I said goodbye and returned to my bike. In the few steps from the porch to the motorcycle, there was something satisfying about what just happened that shouted, "This is what life is all about. Not all of it, of course, but there is something about a brief and good end to a long story, a favor, a received complement, a gracious understanding that provides closure to unfulfilled words." It was a simple, 5 minute task that connected 4 years of dots. After all, I had been trying to stop by his place any time I went out that way to the bank and never had. One thought, one detour, one conversation consummated four years worth of unsettled soul into contentment.

There's something about the design of life that mystifies me. All that time, I could tell my failed efforts were going against design, or what should be. In a moment, everything fell into its place.

Though I Fall, I Will Rise

"Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me." Micah 7:8. This verse is from a sermon I recently listened to entitled, "How to Deal with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause." Listen to John Piper's message right here.

Sermons are not of this caliber or topic in the local church. Why is this? Or why is it an issue in the first place? These are questions too large for this post to contain at the moment. Maybe later.