If you know anything about explosives, you know exactly what C4 is capable of doing. It is more powerful than TNT; and even in a small package, it can provide quite a punch. I chuckled as I reached Jeremiah 37 because its 21 verses pack a mighty punch.
I chose C4 as my title due to its explosive message as well as that my four main points begin with "C."
CRISIS
Israel is besieged by the Babylonians and Zedekiah is currently king. With the Egyptians on their way into the area, these Babylonians withdrew for a time; and I am quite sure the people of Jerusalem celebrated!! Jeremiah has prophesied these events, according to the word of God, for quite some time. Despite his constant warnings, his message has been ignored. Other prophets said that good would come to the land, so these soothing words were preferred to Jeremiah's harsh prophecy. The key underlying these exchanges is the refusal by Israel to recognize and repent of their sin, wherein, they replaced God with things.
CHOICE
Once again, Jeremiah is given the opportunity to inquire of the Lord. In other words, people gave him another chance to speak the words they wanted to hear. This was his chance to gain popularity and rejoice with others. Instead, he chose to stick by the truth and told Zedekiah that the Babylonians would again return, the city would be burned, and that the king would be taken away as a captive. He spoke this truth and the Scriptures do not relay to us the way the message was received. He had a choice to side with man, and gain popularity, or remain true to God, and be an outcast. He chose Providence, and we must follow his example.
CONSEQUENCES
Some time after speaking with the king, the Egyptians did cause the Babylonians to withdraw. Now that the city was freed from its siege, Jeremiah was headed to his tribe of Benjamin to claim his land (he bought a field, as directed by God, in chapter 32). As he was leaving, a guard seized him and accused him of fleeing to be with the Babylonians. He was taken before the princes who beat and imprisoned him. They knew of his prophecy, but now was their chance to exact revenge on him for not siding with them. He stood for the truth and it cost him comforts; however, had he compromised his ethics, it would have cost him far more.
CHANCE
The king comes to the prison and inquires of Jeremiah one more time. This appearance may have been after several days to allow Jeremiah to feel some pressure. The king asks, and, immediately, Jeremiah answers -- "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!" There was no hesitation in his remarks because he knew what was right. Did he get out of prison? No. Our choices must be based upon truth and not just a chance to improve our comforts in life. As a bit of vindication, he asked the king where were those prophets that proclaimed good and peace -- were they in jail? The answer was no; however, the king did slightly change his accommodations by providing some additional food for Jeremiah.
In reflecting on the chapter, it has several applications for us:
(1) Speaking truth may not be popular, but it is the right thing to do. God will provide for us through it all.
(2) Difficult circumstances cannot force us to compromise our ethics. Nothing forces an ethical compromise because it is a personal choice.
(3) God is always in control and we have to trust Him when we do not understand things. Jeremiah bought land without seeing it, and going to see that land caused him to end up in jail. God had been working through this all to provide him another chance to speak the truth to the king in Jerusalem.
To understand and enact those three applications, we must have complete and total trust in the Lord. Without our faith, we will falter. Even with our faith, we will fall; but the difference is that our firm foundation -- Jesus Christ -- is right there to carry us through it all.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Jesus Inquest
Charles Foster, in The Jesus Inquest, provides an examination of multiple sources - medical, social, Biblical, archaeological, and historical - within a legal framework to present the case for and against Jesus. He moved beyond the major parts of the story and examines what the early Christians believed and where the notion of a resurrection emerged. He also includes four appendices, which, in my opinion, were rather fascinating – especially the consideration of the Turin Shroud and how Christ actually died.
While the author has clearly performed his research and exerted great effort in formulating his arguments, the book, at times, lacks drama and appeal. The methodology omits the vitality of court with objections to arguments and evidence, thereby, making parts of the work laborious rather than intellectually stimulating.
Foster uses attorneys X and Y as the central figures of the analysis. X prosecutes and Y defends. Unfortunately, the lawyers fail to match each other in vigorous support of their positions. In several instances, Y appears to be more of a court-appointed pauper’s defender rather than a fully committed believer in Christology. For instance, on page 128, Y abandons the idea of an empty tomb (and/or resurrection) when he concedes: “We can’t rule out, of course, that Jesus’ bones were put in an ossuary at some stage.” If Jesus, in fact, did rise from the grave, then His bones could not have been deposited into any jar for burial; yet, Y missed this flaw in his argument.
I do, however, believe Foster failed to complete his court motif because he did not provide final arguments by X and Y. He missed a tremendous opportunity to summarize the prominent positions in a short, cogent analysis. Instead, he attempts to hold a neutral position on page 286: “Whether or not that belief was right is something about which you’ll have to make up your own mind.”
While this book is comprehensive, it failed to meet my expectations. For that reason alone, I consider it a decent read but do not deem it worthy to permanently remain on my shelf.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
While the author has clearly performed his research and exerted great effort in formulating his arguments, the book, at times, lacks drama and appeal. The methodology omits the vitality of court with objections to arguments and evidence, thereby, making parts of the work laborious rather than intellectually stimulating.
Foster uses attorneys X and Y as the central figures of the analysis. X prosecutes and Y defends. Unfortunately, the lawyers fail to match each other in vigorous support of their positions. In several instances, Y appears to be more of a court-appointed pauper’s defender rather than a fully committed believer in Christology. For instance, on page 128, Y abandons the idea of an empty tomb (and/or resurrection) when he concedes: “We can’t rule out, of course, that Jesus’ bones were put in an ossuary at some stage.” If Jesus, in fact, did rise from the grave, then His bones could not have been deposited into any jar for burial; yet, Y missed this flaw in his argument.
I do, however, believe Foster failed to complete his court motif because he did not provide final arguments by X and Y. He missed a tremendous opportunity to summarize the prominent positions in a short, cogent analysis. Instead, he attempts to hold a neutral position on page 286: “Whether or not that belief was right is something about which you’ll have to make up your own mind.”
While this book is comprehensive, it failed to meet my expectations. For that reason alone, I consider it a decent read but do not deem it worthy to permanently remain on my shelf.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Grace in the Wilderness....
I have been reading through Jeremiah and that book is filled with leadership lessons; however, that's a book that you would not believe that to be true. The last couple of chapters did not have a great deal of leadership lessons on them, but I found an amazing gem today. Jeremiah 31:2 says, "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness -- Israel, when I went to give him rest." Huh? What? Grace in the wilderness after surviving slaughter? Really?
That simple phrase struck me. You have the nation of Israel that has been conquered by a foreign nation that resulted in the slaughter of unknown numbers of people. Others were taken away as captives to a foreign land. Still, many were left behind with little and the land was desolate. How can you find grace or rest in that type of circumstance?
As I pondered that through my rather trying day, the answer him me on the ride home. After Jesus was baptized and His Father spoke to those around, He went into the wilderness for 40 days without fellowship or food. He was tempted but remained true to His calling. Why? Why would Jesus go through that? Simply, He can now come along side us and whisper: "I've been there where you are now. Trust me and I will lead you through this wilderness." The key is that last 3 words -- THROUGH the wilderness.
Our modern world, particularly in America, has grown accustomed to our modern conveniences and we love our lives of leisure and luxury. We want grace to get OUT of the wilderness while God wants to show us His grace IN the wilderness. In those tough times, we see that we must depend upon God. The barrenness and the heat of the wilderness forces us to seek shade that only God can provide. The hard times show us the merciful Savior that we have.
Consider Matthew 11:28-30 -- "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Look at the central part of the phrases -- "LEARN FROM ME." Yes, Jesus went to burden so that He could teach us the wonderful, although tough, lessons from the wilderness.
Grace and rest can be found in the wilderness. To find it, we must get our eyes of the daily grind and start looking for Him. He's there and ready to help. The problem in the wilderness is that we think we have something to prove; however, He already knows that we need Him. We are led into the wilderness to confirm in our hearts the truth that He knows -- He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30)
That simple phrase struck me. You have the nation of Israel that has been conquered by a foreign nation that resulted in the slaughter of unknown numbers of people. Others were taken away as captives to a foreign land. Still, many were left behind with little and the land was desolate. How can you find grace or rest in that type of circumstance?
As I pondered that through my rather trying day, the answer him me on the ride home. After Jesus was baptized and His Father spoke to those around, He went into the wilderness for 40 days without fellowship or food. He was tempted but remained true to His calling. Why? Why would Jesus go through that? Simply, He can now come along side us and whisper: "I've been there where you are now. Trust me and I will lead you through this wilderness." The key is that last 3 words -- THROUGH the wilderness.
Our modern world, particularly in America, has grown accustomed to our modern conveniences and we love our lives of leisure and luxury. We want grace to get OUT of the wilderness while God wants to show us His grace IN the wilderness. In those tough times, we see that we must depend upon God. The barrenness and the heat of the wilderness forces us to seek shade that only God can provide. The hard times show us the merciful Savior that we have.
Consider Matthew 11:28-30 -- "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Look at the central part of the phrases -- "LEARN FROM ME." Yes, Jesus went to burden so that He could teach us the wonderful, although tough, lessons from the wilderness.
Grace and rest can be found in the wilderness. To find it, we must get our eyes of the daily grind and start looking for Him. He's there and ready to help. The problem in the wilderness is that we think we have something to prove; however, He already knows that we need Him. We are led into the wilderness to confirm in our hearts the truth that He knows -- He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30)
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