Defining Moments

In our lives we all have times we can look back and say ‘this changed me’ or ‘after that moment things were never the same.’ A meeting, the start or end of a relationship, an event made or missed, something said or unsaid, or even a flittering thought. These can be positive in which we look back with fondness and laughter at a pleasant time. Or, something negative that brings back tears and pain as we remember our hell on earth.... (Continue reading- external link)

I read this statement at a recognizable blog promoting a Christian doctrine: "Instead of calling us to social reform/justice, he ought to go back to the Bible and proclaim the truth found there and live it out as we all should."
Now I am not a Bible expert but I am pretty sure justice for the oppressed in our society (social justice) is not just suggested but it is mandated for the follower of Christ. I used to be one who would snark at this and consider thinking right as more important then I took a course on Amos with Paul Evans which changed my outlook.
There is a passage their I first want to go to.
Amos 1 and 2 deals with Punishment for most of the Ancient near east until it gets to the Elect - Israel. A simple read of 2 shows that Israel (held to a higher calling set up in Exodus 19:6 as well as the covenants with Abraham in Genesis 17ff.) is not doing this but oppressing the poor
2:6 reads...
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 “These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father resort to the same girl
In order to profane My holy name.
8 “On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. Or trample or, snap at the head of the helpless on the dust

Now not all the stuff is about the poor but most of it is. Motyer Commentary is a good one to read on this.
Wow simple right but no this is the Old Testament they were saved by works not faith - (satirical)
James 2:6-9
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?
8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Wow simple eh... I could go to 1 Peter, or 2nd Cor or The Sermon on the mount the Psalms and a bunch more minor Prophets to show but here lets look at what one person (whose Relgious Affliliation I do not know) said well actually is doing.

"I'm challenging guys on every NFL team, except the Saints, to donate at least $5,000 to help people come back from this catastrophe. If we get players to do that, that would amount to $260,000 per team. I have heard from so many players both on my team and around the league who just want to do something. Well, this is the best thing that we can do and it's something we should do." Warrick Dunn

Reflections on Paul: 1 Thessalonians

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is full of hope and encouragement. We read about Paul and Silas’ preaching in Thessalonica in Acts 17. Paul is said to have gone into the synagogue and show through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.(3) They had some Jewish converts and a large amount of Gentile converts.(4) But the Jews, that did not appreciate Paul and Silas’s teaching, stirred up trouble,(5) roughed up the man they were staying with(6-9) which caused Paul and Silas to leave at night.(10) The Jews did not stop, but when they found out that Paul and Silas were teaching in Berea went there and stirred up trouble again.(13)

In the first section of the letter (1-3) Paul praises them for their steadfast belief and in the process reiterates the way in which he and Silas ministered to the community while they were in Thessalonica. (1-2) In this section Paul claims that he was fearful that they might have withered under the pressure of persecution (3.1-5) and that is why they sent Timothy to check up on things. (3.2) Timothy returned with a good report (3.6) and Paul thanked God for the news. (3.7-10). The rest of the chapter (3.11-13) serves as a sort of doxology, but the letter does not end at this point. Paul goes on to answer questions that were probably brought to him by Timothy from the Church. Paul addresses living according to the will of God (4.1-12) and then moves on to a passage that is often misunderstood. Apparently the Church in Thessalonica expressed concern about what happened to those that feel asleep before the return of Jesus. Paul comforts them talking about the glorious return of Christ (4.13-18) and then encourage them to always be ready. (5.1-11) Paul closes the letter with some final words of instruction on how to live as the people of God. (5.12-28)

Against the background of Acts 17 Paul’s thankfulness that the Church had not given into persecution comes to life. Paul knew first hand the vigour with which the Jews in Thessalonica went after him and Silas when they were there. Even though Paul is quite thankful that the Church is doing well and striving to hold fast to the teachings that Paul laid down for them, while he was there, he encourages them to keep on taking step forward. Paul writes, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all the holy ones.” (3.12-13) He adds, “And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.” (4.10) Likewise he comments, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (5.11) Just because the Thessalonians are doing well in the Lord that does not mean that they have nothing to improve on.

Present day followers of Jesus can hear a message from God in these words. As a body of believers we must never get tired of loving and encouraging others. And we must not think that we have already arrived, in the sense that we have no room for improvement, because our love and care for others can always increase through the spirit of the Lord Jesus the Christ.

Bible quotes from NIV

Reflections on Paul: Introduction

Yesturday I was challenged that I should, instead of reading blogs and being on the internet, read my Bible. While this is somewhat true, as it would be a lot more productive for me to be in God's word than worrying about what others think about theological issues, especially those to whom I have little respect for. I spend a great deal of time wrestling through the Bible trying to understand the literary form and the historical context so that I can gauge the contemporary significance.1 But through this challenge I came to realize that I should not waste my time. I should focus my attention on heavenly things.

Today I read Paul's letter in their historical order.2 I will be posting my reflections on each letter over the next couple weeks on this site. I hope that the reflections will bring glory to God and be an encouragement to those that read this blog.


1. Mark J. Boda. Haggai, Zechariah. (NIVAC: Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2004), 22-3.
2. By no means are the order in which Paul wrote that letters agreed upon. I chose to follow the outline given by Robert W. Wall. "Introduction to Epistolary Literature," in NIB, Vol. X. (Nashville, Abingdon, 2002), 369-391, esp.373.

Can God change his mind?

I believe that God can feel regret and change His mind. Why does this not concern me? How can I still believe that God is sovereign? What does the Bible say?

Let us look at Genesis 6.5-7
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry (נחם) that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved (עצב) him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry (נחם) that I have made them.”(NRSV)


The Hebrew words נחם and עצב have a range of meaning, but undoubtedly they express regret in this instance. According to the flood narrative God can express regrets. Where does one go from here?

God’s response to the great evil of humanity, after expressing regret, is to blot them out. Some have a problem with God expressing regret toward his creation. Calvin dismisses the issue, “there is no need for us to involve ourselves in thorny and difficult questions, when it is obvious to what end these words of repentance and grief are applied”. The repentance, in his interpretation, “is here ascribed to God does not properly belong to him, but has reference to our understanding of him ... certainly God is not sorrowful or sad; but remains for ever like himself in his celestial and happy repose.”(Calvin, Genesis, 248-9)

This response does not address the issue; we cannot skip over parts of the Bible that do not fit into our interpretive scheme. Perhaps we need to rethink how God interacts in his creation. Does He exist away from his creation in a state of bliss. This is what Brueggemann writes, “many people hold a view of God as unchanging and indifferent to anything going on in the world, as though God were a plastic, fixed entity. But Israel’s God is fully a person who hurts and celebrates, responds and acts in remarkable freedom ... he can change his mind, so that he can abandon what he has made; and he can rescue that which he has condemned.” (Brueggemann, Genesis, 78)

God is one that interacts with his creation as an active member, participating with His created people. This should not be a cause of fear for believers that think this does not make God all powerful. This story shows how God’s eye is on the earth, it shows how He is involved in the affairs of His creation, and it shows how He can and does display His power to the world. Life is not a puppet show where God is the puppet master. God stations Himself over his creation and is ready, willing and able to act when called upon of when He sees need.

The story of the New Testament is similar. Israel, and the world, rebelled against Him, just like in Genesis, but instead of flooding the earth, He chooses another method. The world needed a Saviour; He sent his Son to redeem the world.


Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs: Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers, 2001.

Bruggemann, Walter. Genesis; Interpretation. Atlanta, Knox, 1982.

Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Book of Genesis; trans. Rev. John King. Grand Rapids, Baker Books House, 1993.

Personal Relationship

Read this good post about personal relationship at another site. It sounded good thought I would share it. Found through Puritas.

No Middle Ground or The Jesus that I will Worship

Here are a couple quotes from Tom Wright. The Original Jesus. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1997. (Pages 83-87.)

I believe that the closer we get to the original Jesus-to the storytelling Jesus, the healing Jesus, the welcoming Jesus, the Jesus who declared God's judgment on those who rejected the way of peace and justice-the closer we come to the kingdom-of-God Jesus, the closer we are to recognizing the face of the living God.

For many people today, this more is a bit to radical, a bit threatening; so they prefer to back off, to see Jesus as simply, at best, a signpost to God, the revealer of God, the teacher of timeless truths, someone who provokes us into thinking differently and perhaps even into living differently We can contain that sort of Jesus; he's not particularly disturbing, and the God of whom he speaks is quite far off and doesn't make too many immediate demands on us. We can quite easily make this Jesus, and this God, support our own agendas. That's an old game.

But the real Jesus won't let us get away with that....

He goes on talk about how First-Century Jews had many symbols that would suggest otherwise, especially God's presence in the temple. He then suggests you need to ask the question

Is it true that the living God was uniquely and personally present in Jesus?

Wright gives this conclusion

But the answer to that question can't remain simply an abstract theory, a detached doctrine. If you say'no' to it, you are saying that Jesus was deluded; at best a tragic and noble failure, at worst a great charlatan and deceiver. You aren't neutral' you're looking at Jesus of Nazareth, and saying he was deeply mistaken. But if you say, 'yes' to it, you're committing yourself to a journey: a journey of exploration into God through exploring Jesus-his life, his teaching, his death and his resurrection. And that journey can neither be private nor self-centred.

I find this an awesome declaration of Jesus and a challenge to live in the world like He did. Wright has a way of putting Jesus in his first century context, but not leaving him there. When seeing Jesus in his proper context action is demanded of those that choose to follow.