by Elizabeth | Jul 27, 2011 | Learning Story
” ‘all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:3b)
Just read this from Tim Keller, on Abraham. I rarely see how truly astonishing the story of Abram being chosen as father of all nations is. It makes me wonder how counter-cultural I am.
“This is of course, astonishing. We have seen that the word ‘blessing’ is a very strong word, entailing God’s shalom, the well-being and peace of God’s kingdom. This promise indicates that God’s purpose in a)making Abram a personal friend, and b)making Abram’s offspring into a new human community is all for the ultimate aim of c)bringing salvation to the whole world. God is going to save the world through Abram’s family. God will bless Abraham with personal intimacy so he can pass the true faith on down to his children. He must pass on this faith so that his children will become an alternative society, a counter-culture, a new humanity in the midst of the world. And then, in some way, the healing of the nations and the salvation of the world will come out of that faithful community.
In summary, God says, ‘I’ll give you a special relationship with me. I’ll make you into a new, faithful human community. I’ll use you to save the world from the downward spiral into self-destruction.” Tim Keller, “What Were You Put in this World to Do?” (Genesis study).
by Elizabeth | Jul 25, 2011 | Learning Story
learn all about God's Restoration Story in this excellent book!
One pitfall of writing — going looking for a good quote…I have been wandering in and out of good quotes for the past 20 minutes, tweeting and clipping, but far far away from the chapter of my Bible study I was writing. Nevertheless, you may as well benefit from my lack of productivity. Here’s a quote on story from one of my favorite books on story, Restoring Broken Things, by Steven Curtis Chapman and my dear friend, Rev. Scotty Smith. If you haven’t read this book, I dare you:) :
“God’s Story has a certain redundancy to it. His family is consistently revealed as Cinderella with amnesia, Frodo with cataracts, and Robinson Crusoe with ADD. We forget our privileged identity, lose sight of our amazing destiny, and wander into all kinds of self-defeating calamity.
More importantly, this story has a most certain redemption to it. By documenting the failings and foibles of his children, God has made his Story all the more authentic, beautiful, and believable. Much more significantly, he has magnified the glory and grace of his Son, Jesus, who by his life, death, and resurrection has secured a never-ending ending to God’s Story—an ending more wonderful than anything we could ask or imagine. This book is committed to surveying and savoring this certain redemption and its magnificent fruition.”
by Elizabeth | Jul 20, 2011 | Learning Story
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14
Yesterday, we looked at how Abram moved on according to God’s call, not knowing where he was going, but believing God was calling him to something great.
We can sing the happy song, “Just put one foot in front of the other,” but what happens when you trip when you do that? That very thing happened to me today as I was taking a gentle, recovery stroll on our street. I saw my foot turning in the black Nike I had declared months ago to be unstable. Everything happened faster than a Curad commercial after that (sorry if you don’t know the allusion:), and I remember screaming, “NOOOOOO!” as my face was inches from the pavement and I felt the blow hitting my non-operative shoulder. Thank the God who catches us when we fall, I did not damage the repair of my rotator cuff. Thank that very same God who, it seems, protected my right shoulder from also experiencing a tear. I’m not good but I’m all right and I’ll probably be ‘good’ in a few days.
Even before the fall I was thinking about the whole faith journey and my left shoulder. Picturing an Excel spreadsheet in which I lay out in columns the good things and bad things in my life right now. Realizing again that hope in earthly realities fails one way or the other every time. Laughing at the humor of it all — who am I to judge God on how He’s doing as the sovereign Lord of my life?
Sometimes when we move forward, we fall down. But I am caught. I don’t understand, but I do believe. He has caught me up in the story of his faithfulness. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I already have.
by Elizabeth | Jul 19, 2011 | Learning Story
"Just put one foot in front of the other..."
Genesis 12:9. “Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.” (The Message)
Continuing yesterday’s thought on the pilgrims who only saw the promise from a distance, I reread Abram/Abraham’s story this morning, found in Genesis 12-22. (Rotator cuff recovery allows for LOTS of reading time:). Eugene Peterson’s comment on Genesis 12:1-9 hits the mark:
“The great patriarch Abraham became great because of one thing: He lived by faith. He believed in a God he never saw. He obeyed a command that had no guarantees. He took the risk of traveling to a far country and living there as a stranger. His life was shaped by promises and lived in risk. I would like to live like that — but before I do, I want to know how it turned out. Did anything come of it? That’s the difference between living by faith and living by sight. Those living by sight need to see the entire map of the journey — where they will end up, where the dangers are, where the drop-offs are, and where the rest stops are. Those living by faith need only to know the next step.”
What ‘next step’ is God calling you to take right this minute?
by Elizabeth | Jul 18, 2011 | Learning Story
If they had received the promised land, would they have felt at home?
all of these people were still living by faith when they died.they did not receive the things promised; they only welcomed them from a distance. and they admitted they were strangers and aliens on this earth.
Can you imagine? Coming close enough to see but not near enough to receive…read it yourself in
Hebrews 11. No, it doesn’t make sense, but it does seem like “faith’s work.” Here are some of my “”unfinished thoughts” about the passage journaled on the plane journey home. I’d love to hear yours…
it would be as if we’re standing on the deck of the cruise ship, watching the dim outline of Mt. Etna from a distance. we plan our excursion, strap on our hiking sandals, and imagine the view we will enjoy when we reach the summit. then the captain comes on board and tells us we can only anchor near the island, and in place of the excursion, there will be a virtual climb in the Ixtapa lounge.
unlike the ancients, we have experienced the freedom redemption brings. we are now able to climb the heights of joy in the Holy Spirit (
Hebrews 12:1) though some days sin will quench our desire to make the excursion. we can know rest (
Hebrews 4), though some days we expend all our energies in seeking satisfaction from gods that cannot give it.
by Elizabeth | Jul 14, 2011 | Learning Story
Acts 17:16-17
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.”
Okay, I know I’ve been writing about this a lot. But having stood on the Areopagus, in the shadow of the Parthenon, I can’t get over what Paul’s doing here. Tim Keller’s commentary on this passage challenges me to ask:
How do I feel about today’s culture? Do I feel compassion over ignorance of the gospel and enslavement to sin that destroys? Do I feel outrage over idolatry or do I just casually nod and look away? What is the Areopagus of our day? What sermon or lesson should be preached or taught there?
Keller’s comment: “However, on the other hand, his feeling was not simply one of compassion and mercy. Idolatry outraged him. In his speech he accuses these highly sophisticated and intellectual people of “ignorance” (v.29) — nothing could have been more insulting to them! And then he declares the final judgement of God (v.31). So Paul’s feelings that drove him were “complex”. Why? On the one hand, he saw the idolatry in the perspective of God’s holiness as rebellion— and thus he was outraged and indignant. But on the other hand, he saw the idolatry in the perspective of God’s love as slavery — and thus he was movedwith compassion for the people who were enslaved in ignorance and darkness.
