Thoughts From the Journey

Greetings all.
Usually I only write on my blog when I have a theological or pastoral point to make.  Today is a little different.  This post will take on more of a spirit of personal reflection regarding the journey over the last six months.

Dorothy Mae 

First, this summer saw the birth of our second child, Dorothy Mae, June 24.  Since our son Isaiah (who just turned two last month) was born with all kinds of health conditions, conditions which are slowly but surely correcting as the days go by, we were afraid that Dorothy Mae would have the same issues.  I was very nervous about it for the last four months or so of her time in utero, my anxiety being directly contrary to my theology, thus showing the weakness of my flesh (ala, the disciples in Matt. 26:41.)  But Dorothy Mae came to us 2.5 lbs larger than Isaiah was at birth, healthy, and full of life.  I wept when I held her in the post-op room, waiting for mommy to be brought back, Dorothy Mae having no need for chords or cables.  Today, at just over two months, she's almost 10 lbs, drinking a lot of formula, and being the drama queen that I expected her to be.

Tragedy 

Second, Kate lost her dad Andy in May, roughly a month and a half before Dorothy Mae was born.  It was very sudden, and he was only 65.  Losing a parent is hard enough, but for it to happen as close to the birth of a child is even more difficult.  We were left to grieve from afar, as our being a high-risk pregnancy cancelled any possibility of travel for the funeral.  The sentiment left over from this death followed by life is that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21).  Kate is an only child, and she was very close to her dad.  Since the summer was so crazy with life happening, the grieving process has looked a little different than usual.  But isn't that how life works sometimes?  We're thankful to have the Holy Spirit as our Comforter (Jn. 14:16), as He is Jesus' spiritual presence with us while He is Himself at the Father's right hand.  This may be the best part of the hope of Biblical Christianity - Christ's very presence with us as we follow him.

Academic Adventure 

Less important, I took a fairly drastic shift in my postgraduate studies.  I signed up last year for the DMin (doctor of ministry) program at Denver Seminary.  After taking one class, it seemed pretty clear that the program wasn't for me, nor the DMin degree itself.  No poor reflection on Denver Seminary - it is without question full of godly faculty and students, and I'm very grateful for my short time there.  I just am on a different journey than that program would have offered, and it took joining it to find out.
So I withdrew from there and enrolled in the PhD program at Columbia Biblical Seminary (at Columbia International University, South Carolina), a program which is completed entirely online.  But this required taking two semesters of Greek this summer (yes, two semesters this summer).  Long story short, I survived, and looking back, I'm glad to have done it so intensely, because completing it so quickly enabled me to begin the first PhD class yesterday.  Over the next couple of years I'll have to relearn German (I took it in high school) and learn either French or Latin, as a requirement for my research studies.  I'll be exploring the relationship between the Protestant doctrine of "Sola Scriptura" and the (relatively) recent interest among reformed-leaning evangelicals in Biblical Theology.  I should have a PhD in theology in five years or so, Lord willing.
Further, I'll be teaching the 8th grade Bible class at our local Christian school.  I did not foresee this happening, but, as is so often the case, the Lord had other plans.  What a great opportunity to serve area kids and families.  Grateful (and prayerful - this will be a new adventure).

Rich Ministry 

Finally, this summer saw a lot of ministry.  The challenge as a Baptist pastor is getting stuck in the insular world of church ministry, and never connecting with nonbelievers.  But this summer saw a weekly basketball outreach and a partnership with several area churches for an outreach tent at the NJ State Fair (which takes place in our county).  Finally, I had a few other opportunities to speak and present the gospel before non-churchgoers.  First Baptist had four baptisms at the beginning of the summer, and there are a few in the works for the fall, as well as some potential new members.
Ministry is funny.  You grind and grind and sometimes it seems like you don't get a lot of return.  But then when you step back and take a look at has happened over the last 3/6/9/12 months, it's clear that God has been at work.  You're reminded of Jesus' endearing word to Peter and the apostles: "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).  People are being discipled, brought to believe, and mobilized to shine light into the world in which they live.  And you know it's the Lord doing all of it.

Sojourners and strangers

On many occasions, the New Testament refers to Christians in terms of being sojourners, strangers, exiles, etc. (eg. Heb. 11:13, 1 Pt. 1:1, Ps. 119:19).  What does that mean if not that we're on a journey and don't really know what the future holds?  There will be twists and turns, unforeseen chapters, changes in goals and priorities, etc. etc.  But we should be thankful that our Lord has the road mapped out, and not only is He in control, but He's good and He loves us.  There's more I could say, but there's no better place to end than reflecting on God's control, goodness, and mercy.  May it be a reminder to you today as you journey.  Follow Him and take up the cross daily - this enslavement to Jesus (cf. Rom. 1:1, 6:18) is the only freedom there is.

ινα χριστον κερδησω (That I may gain Christ, Phil. 3:8)
Scott

Daniel and the Lion's Den

Daniel is one of my favorite books in the Bible, because it is not only filled with gripping narrative, but with prophetic foresight looking forward to Jesus the King of kings.  I don't feel that I fully understand everything in the book (especially between chapters 8 and 11), but I'm growing.  And I've preached and taught chapters 1-6 (the narrative section, written mostly in Aramaic) many many times.  Recently my personal reading had me go through Daniel again.

Sunday school lesson

If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with the story of Daniel being in the Lion's Den.  King Darius, king of the the Medo-Persians, has just received the kingdom of Babylon and he likes Daniel because Daniel is useful to him and clearly devout in his faith.  But Darius gets tricked at the hands of political people-pleasing (6:10-13) into putting forth a decree that lands Daniel in trouble, because Daniel is still committed after all these years to Adonai, his God.  Everyone's jealous of Daniel (6:4)  Though it pains Darius (6:14), Daniel must be cast into a lion's den.  And you probably know the story: the lions don't attack Daniel in the least, and Daniel appears to remain calm in the den (while the king is sleepless over the whole scenario, 6:18).   When morning comes, Daniel is brought out, and he's survived without a scratch.  And those who accused Daniel are thrown into the den, and are eaten before they even get to the ground (6:24)!

Growing up in church, the lesson here was clear:  Have faith like Daniel, and you can stand fast when you're in the lion's den.  Not a terrible message, as it puts the emphasis on God's staying power.

Adjusting our lens 

Or does it?  Maybe, but maybe not - I would argue that it puts the emphasis on your faithfulness.  And since most of us can't even begin to fathom being in that kind of situation (the vast majority of western Christians will never have to defend our faith before a den of people, let alone lions), the story ends up just floating up in the sky somewhere, out of our reach.  In other words, the passage doesn't mean anything to us personally, because how can I have that kind of faith, and when will I ever need to?  So, like the religious elite of Jesus' day, we end up more hardened by the story than softened by it (Mk. 4:10-12).  It remains a Biblical sort of fairy tale, forever lost on us and filed away as an idealistic but impossible Bible lesson from our childhood.  It's the same thing with David and Goliath, the three in the furnace, Joshua and Jericho, on and on, etc. etc.

But what if we think about these passages all wrong, and that the lesson therein is not that we are to be strong like these people, but instead that God is strong?  And that, as we journey with him like Daniel, Joshua, Deborah, etc., he'll give us the power and faith needed to endure through whatever is thrown our way?

Incidentally (not really), God's strength is exalted all throughout Daniel:

• "to him belongs wisdom & might ... he gives wisdom to the wise, & knowledge..." 2:20-21
• "he does according to his will among the host of heaven ... those who walk in pride he is able to humble" 4:35, 37
• "he delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders ... " 6:26-27
• "to you oh Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, open shame" 9:7

The emphasis through the whole book is God's power to rule sovereignly, and to sustain those who know him.  Since he rules history, he knows the trials that his people will face, and he will sustain them to the end and stand them up when they need to stand up (1 Cor. 1:8, Jude 24).

Captivated by glory 

I recently received perhaps the best compliment a church leader can receive: a frequent church visitor told me that she loves our church because we seem to be more concerned with praising and thanking God for who He is and what He's doing than we are with complaining about all that's wrong with the world.  I was stunned.  We have many cultural, governmental, personal problems, etc.  But the Christian is the one who follows the One who has overcome the world (Jn. 16:33), and in Him, they're crucified in this world and living here as members of the New Creation (Gal. 6:14-15).  Thus they give their lives to glorifying and praising Him because they've been captivated by His good news and power, and they know He's at work in their midst.  They take seriously "Do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).  They're miserable failures in and of themselves; but they're more than conquerors as He lives in them and they enjoy His love.  The best part: whenever they're faithless, He's faithful (2 Tim. 2:13), and this gives them confidence that though they fail him time and time again, He still loves them, and will shepherd them through it.  Thus they don't really fail Him - He's in control.  And this gives them freedom.

And that's what Daniel knew.  Perhaps we could restate that last sentence.  That's what Daniel learned, as he followed the Lord through Babylon.  As you follow Him today, are you learning this too?