57 Varieties- An Unforgettable Experience

This past Monday, I took the day off from work and along with my friend Frankie the Greek, attended an all day conference for pastors and lay leaders in the far away land of Williston VT. The speaker was none other than world renowned theologian, author, and teacher, Dr. D.A.Carson. Dr. Carson has written a total of 57 books. FIFTY-SEVEN. Like in how many varieties good ole Heinz comes in! Carson gave four lectures of about an hour an a half each, and let me tell you...as the sign says...these were PURE FOOD for the soul. I have never ever in all my days heard anyone speak, preach, and teach like this man. His knowledge of history, politics, world events, and especially scripture coupled with his engaging presentation style left me completely amazed at his abilities. How can I describe it? Here's a little story...

I was saved in college due to the teaching of an older engineering student named Bruce. He held a Bible study every Friday night on campus. I was utterly amazed that he could open the Bible, find things, teach things, and pretty much know his way around the scriptures. I clearly remember one night some asked "what's the deal with anointing with oil?" And Bruce immediately replied "oh, that's in the book of James, right at the end. Let's have a look." Well, pardon me ma'am, but you could have knocked me over with a feather. I couldn't BELIEVE this Bruce guy knew about this anointing thing and where to FIND it. I said right there and then "I gotta get me some of that. I need to know the Bible." Thirty years later...well, I guess I know my way around the Bible a little bit. And I'm pretty conversant with the issues and debates going on in western Christianity today. Ahem.

But this guy. This Dr. 57 Varieties guy- totally and utterly blew me away with his profound knowledge of the Word of God. I feel like I did 30 years ago, listening to Bruce. I was a babe playing at his feet. I'm not kidding you.

His topic was "Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament- The Gospel According to Jeremiah". A full day in the book of Jeremiah! I took 12 pages of notes. I couldn't write fast enough.

In fact, the day spent under the teaching of this Man of God (yes, that's Man with a capital M) resulted in a range of responses from me.

• Encouragement- I now know the true meaning of "edify". I was built up in my most holy faith like no other time in recent memory.
• Wonder- at God's goodness and the amazing perfection of the Word of God.
• Conviction- I was convicted about several things as I heard him speak. My devotion, my study habits, my outreach, sin in my life. But done in such a way that I wasn't overcome by guilt, but with a desire to IMPROVE, to be the man of God (see, for me it's a little m) that I need to be.
• Refreshment- it was like cold water to a parched man. I couldn't get enough of the Word of God and the breaks came too soon. I didn't want him to stop.
• Joy- at the love of God and the work of Jesus on the cross.
• Sorrow- in one passage, Carson eloquently explained the tension between God as Light and God as Judge. Israel had committed adultery by going after other Gods and these sins are described in detail along with God's judgement, chapter after chapter. Then amazingly, right in the middle of this, the language turns and God begins weeping over His lost daughter "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter-my people- have suffered a grievous wound." Jer 14:17 His VIRGIN daughter. After a couple hundred years of Israel playing the harlot, God the Father weeps over his virgin daughter. I was overcome by sorrow.
• Fear- Oh boy. I got a glimpse of the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin. Not sure I've ever quite seen such a thing. It scared me right to the core. Enough said.
• Filled to Overflowing- by day's end I was totally filled...but spent also. Like after a long run- tired to the bone but energized at the same time. Over the course of the next day at work, several people asked "what is UP with you?" One person said "you look different today. Radiant." I felt like Dr. Carson had brought us into the presence of God, through his exposition of the scriptures.

An unforgettable day.

On another note, here's a little video you might like called "Perspectives".

Perspectives from Peacemaker Ministries on Vimeo.

So if Grandfather Goosey Gander doesn't get bedridden with the colly-wobbles, I'll write to you again next week!

Eric

PS- leave a comment!

Columbus Day

Greetings and Salutations!

Today is Columbus Day. So what do you recall from all your years toiling at school about good ole Chris Columbus?
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Well of course we remember that little ditty. And of course we know that Columbus set out to prove the world was round, not flat. In fact, most school textbooks talk about how Columbus was opposed by the church leaders of his day that vehemently insisted that the world was FLAT as a pancake. We were told how even his crew almost mutinied because they were afraid of sailing over the edge! The children's poem ends with these lines:

Some people still thought the world was flat.
Can you imagine that?

This situation has been held up for 150 years as a classic example of how Christians oppose science. Opponents to Christianity smile smugly and nod knowingly as they think of poor Chris, surrounded by a mob of Christians screaming stupidly about how the earth is flat! They say Christians haven't gotten any smarter today, with they denial of Darwin and their babbling about Intelligent Design. Ouch! What a black eye Christians have taken over this incident! As the poem says, "Can you imagine that?"


Too bad it's a lie. A lie repeated in decades of school textbooks.

Did you know that? Did you know that virtually no one in the Middle Ages believed the world was flat, including the theologians and the main churches? It was a semi-fictitious book by Washington Irving called "The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus" in 1828 that got the lie rolling. Those opposed to Christianity picked up on his inaccurate portrayal and found it a convenient caricature of Christianity. It became so popular, that it was perpetuated for over a century.

Want to know more? Here's a couple of links to get you going...


Justin Taylor
Wikipedia Article

What other lies are out there, that are perpetuated to make Christians look bad?

What's that got to do with Sunday School? Well, not too much...other than we have to try everything by the Word of God, and sometimes get rid of preconceived notions. Are we open to what the Word says? Do we have ears to hear? Often, our position is slanted and skewed, and is based on what we've heard somewhere. I asked Shep tonight, on the way home from play practice, about Chris Columbus. He told me that he discovered America and proved the world was round. I asked him where he heard that. "I dunno. Somewhere. School I guess." Often, that's how we answer when it comes to the Word. When pressed, we have no real biblical backing, no proof, no real understanding of the facts or the context or even the issues surrounding the subject. Instead, we have an idea, we read something somewhere, we faintly remember a sermon or a Sunday school class, we heard it...somewhere. As we continue our 1000 year study in I Corinthians, let's continue to be students of the Word- to work hard, to dig deep, and be open to letting the Word mold our thoughts, not the other way around.

Someone made a great comment to me after the class on Sunday with respect to the verse we talked about "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." He mentioned that one understanding of this text is that now, in our bodies of sin and death, we are but a poor reflection of our Saviour. But you just wait until our salvation is complete, when Jesus will come and change our vile bodies, so they we be like HIS GLORIOUS BODY. Phil 3:21. Oh, I like that thought. It's so rich. We're supposed to reflect Jesus in all we do. We have no light of our own, but we reflect His glorious light. Just like the moon reflects the sun...

Have a great week!

Eric

Welcome Back Carter

After a year-long hiatus to get my hair done and my back waxed, and after being called out publicly seven times by Joe Carter, I guess it's time to post a blog or three...

So where are we??? Just like Days of Our Lives, The World Turns, and The Edge of Night, not much has changed in 12 months. STILL in I Corinthians. But at least we've made it into Chapter 13.

Chapter 13 is the "Love" chapter and part of my challenge has been for us to have a fresh look at this chapter and to really understand the context. What first comes to mind with this chapter are weddings and marriage ceremonies, where the chapter is often read. While the application is certainly appropriate, it's not the context for marriage- remember back in the dark ages when we studied marriage in Chapter 7 of I Corinthians? The context of Chapter 13 is spiritual gifts. Paul is addressing a misuse of spiritual gifts and at the end of chapter 12, he says "and now I''ll show you a more excellent way." Then comes the Love Chapter. The first verse of chapter 14 says "Follow the way of love...". So chapter 13 is his exhortation to exercise spiritual gifts in a loving way. That's how it fits in.

Last week, I was asked, as a Justice of the Peace (JP for short) to perform a wedding for a young couple in Addison. We discussed how the ceremony would go- the vows, the rings, and any readings. I told them that I'd like to read a passage from the Bible and they readily agreed. And what passage did I choose? You guessed it- I Cor 13 the Love Chapter! - sigh- I'll never learn...

Chapter 13 can be divided into three sections:

Verses 1-3 The Necessity of Love- no matter how complete the spiritual gift, if it isn't used in Love, then it's useless, a clanging symbol (the Dixie Chicks, as it were)!

Verses 4-7 The Character of Love- 15 verbs are used to describe love in both positive (Love is...) and negative ways (Love is NOT...).

Verses 8-13 The Permanence of Love- some things are for the present time only, but love is forever.

Our SS class will start on this last section this coming week. And I have a feeling that there might be some difference of opinion on this section. Let me explain....

Many respected Christians believe that certain spiritual gifts were exercised during the time of the apostles and stopped soon after the apostles died. The gifts ceased. These Christians are called Cessationists. John MacArthur believes in this way. These specific gifts are called "sign gifts" and accompanied the apostles to give credence to the word preached...until the New Testament was written. Sign gifts include tongues, prophecy, and healings.

Other respected Christians believe that all the spiritual gifts named in the New Testament continue on to this day, including the so-called "sign gifts". There are two main branches of believers in this group. One branch is made up of many pentecostal and charismatic churches and believes the sign gifts are generally part of the normal Christian experience. The other branch believes that the sign gifts are not part of everyday experience, but that God does use them in special circumstances or locations. IE, God can send the gift of tongues to a Christian today.

What has this got to do with the price of lobster in Maine (low these days) or I Corinthians? ALOT! Cessationist Christians use the last section of I Corinthians 13 to explain their position. This section describes three specific spiritual gifts that will cease- prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. Paul then uses two specific allegorical examples to describe the use of these gifts presently (NOW) and then when they stop (THEN).

Understanding what Paul means by NOW and THEN is the crux of the matter. When is "NOW" and when is "THEN"?? Is NOW during Paul's life or like... right NOW? Is THEN after the NT was written or like...later in our future?

Or should I say "NOW" and "LATER"???

So this week in preparation for the study, have a read through the chapter and see what you think. Are you a Cessationist? Or a Continuist?

And now for something completely different....

I read a great book this week called "Unmasking Male Depression" by Dr. Archibald Hart.

This book is written from a Christian perspective and I highly recommend it for anyone suffering from depression or that lives one someone that suffers from depression. One of the key premises is understanding how male depression differs from female depression, particularly in how the sufferer reacts to his depression. For example, males tend to be more aggressive in makeup and their symptoms tend to be along those lines- impatience, anger, critical outbursts can all be ways that men respond to their depression. The book's table of contents is below:

It can be obtained from Christian Book Distributors or Amazon among many places.

Have a great week and if the teakettle doesn't run away with the dishpan, I'll see YOU in Sunday School!

Eric