For Further Study – Ephesus, the first of the seven churches of Revelation 2, 3

Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7)

Ephesus, the largest Roman city in the province of Asia, boasted one of the wonders of the ancient world:  the great temple of Artemis. In the temple grounds, you could find a beautiful garden that included a special tree used as a shrine, but also used for asylum for criminals. If criminals came to the tree, they would be freed from capture and punishment. It was like the tree gave them a new life. Artemis also went by the name of Diana and people claimed this goddess of fertility came from heaven. 

The port city of Ephesus drew many immoral and disreputable people. Superstition, magic, and money all contributed to daily life. Christianity started in Ephesus when Jews like Aquila and Priscilla taught Apollos about Jesus being the Messiah (Aquila and Priscilla can be found in Acts 18:24-26.  Paul’s action of re-baptizing believers in Ephesus can be found in Acts 19.  The riot in Ephesus started by the silversmiths can be found in Acts 19:23-34.).

Later, the Apostle Paul came to town and re-baptized the believers in the name of Jesus and placed his hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. About a dozen were present, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied, much like the disciples had on the Day of Pentecost. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Within a few months, due to conflict with the Jews, the Christian believers began to meet in a separate location, but the impact of Christianity in the city was marked, including public burning of magic books. The silversmiths who sold images of the goddess Artemis became so concerned about the noticeable drop in business and the diminishing worship of their goddess that they incited a riot in the city. Sometime later, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the believers there. We know it as the Book of Ephesians.

Before John got exiled to the island of Patmos, he served as the pastor in Ephesus. This first message to the seven churches goes to his congregation. 

 Questions for discussion:

1.      Do you see any correlation between the cultural background of the city and the message to the church in Ephesus? 

2.      When John wrote Revelation, Ephesus could be described as a religiously competitive environment. The church members showed vigilance.  They hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. Who in the world were the Nicolaitans? 

 Note: We don’t know, but some have noticed that Nicolaos was one of the early deacons in the church in Antioch (Acts 6:5). Also, Nicolaos comes from the compound Greek words nikao and laos which means the one who conquers the people. 

 This name pops up again in the message to the church at Pergamum, along with the more familiar Bible name Balaam. By the way, Balaam comes from the Hebrew compound words baal and am, and it also means one who destroys the people. Nicolaos and Balaam are equivalents—one in Greek and the other in Hebrew. 

According to Numbers 31:16, Balaam instigated idolatry and fornication among the Israelites.  Possibly the Nicolaitans did the same thing, but we don’t really know. What we do know is that the church in Ephesus didn’t tolerate the practices of the Nicolaitans, in contrast to the church in Pergumum that did (Rev. 2:14-15). 

 The church in Ephesus gets high marks for perseverance and uncompromising fidelity.  The only negative statement made to this model church is that it’s missing just one thing—love! How important is that?!  It sounds somewhat like the message at the beginning of the Bible’s love chapters (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

 The admonition for the church is some R and R; specifically to Remember and Repent!  Remember the first love you had for Christ. Repent because you are doing all the right things but you lack the core motivation of love. Correct actions without Godly motivations simply aren’t enough. 

3.      Can you relate to the church members in Ephesus?  Do you need some R & R—Remember and Repent?

Each church receives a promise to those who are victorious.  This can easily trigger the natural human drive for achievement that leads to boasting about personal accomplishments. Beware of falling into the trap of making a deal with God in which your good works lead you to demand God to pay you for what you’ve earned. John already explained in another one of his books how people become victorious.  Note God’s part and our part.  1 John 5:4-5 (TNIV):  “Everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.   

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 

This sounds remarkably similar to John 6:28-29 when the people asked Jesus what they needed to do in order to do the works God requires. Jesus told them their “work for God” was to believe in Jesus.  Some may scoff that good works take more personal commitment and arduous labor.  But laying everything on the line for Jesus, making a full commitment to him, and then trusting him no matter what happens takes more than a strong will.  It requires personal investment and trust.  It necessitates a complete surrender of one’s ego to Jesus.  It calls for selfless agape love.  That’s a work humans find to be extremely difficult. 

We will find a promise for each church in Revelation.  The promise is for those who are victorious by means of complete surrender to Jesus, not a good grade evaluated by external behaviors.

The promise for church members in Ephesus is the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).  This Tree of Life for the repentant differs from the tree of emancipation for criminals in the temple of Artemis. It’s as though the promise to the Christians in Ephesus beckons them to return to the first things, like the Garden of Eden, to receive eternal life from God.

Wacky

As I am sure you noticed, I was having problems with my blog. I think everything is good to go now. I will be posting this week's questions later today.

Ron Aguilera

Meaning of numbers in the Book of Revelation

What do these number mean in the book of Revelation?

3---God, holiness
4---Earth
7---Perfection (3+4)
6---Man
12---Kingdom (3x4)
10---Completion
24---Tribes + Apostles (12=12)
144,000---All God’s people

Revelation - Introduction

This past Saturday, January 5th, at the Santa Rosa Adventist church, I started a sermon series on the book of Revelation. As I mentioned, I will be posting questions that were texted to me during the sermon (and after), and answering those questions on this blog.

Disclaimer - I am a pastor, not a theologian, but I am a student of God's Word and the answers are my best understanding from my accumulated knowledge and theologians that have had an impact on my life.

Texted question #1, "During your sermon, you mentioned the importance of hermeneutics. What are some of those principles?"

Answer: Below is a list of widely accepted hermeneutical principles. I believe they are key in understanding the book of Revelation.

1. If a document is in a foreign language, a knowledge of that language is needed, including an understanding of that language’s structure and idioms. 

2. The type of literary form must be recognized—whether prose or poetry, prophecy or history, allegory or parable, etc...

3. A knowledge of the geographical factors that influenced the writer is helpful.

4. Readers must discover what Bible statements meant to the prophet’s contemporaries before focusing on what they should mean today. This will protect students from “seeing” in the Bible only what they are looking for.

5. The historical context, including the precise time of writing, must be understood before correct deductions can be made, especially if the document deals with ethics, interrelationships with contemporary civil powers, and prevailing thought patterns.

Texted Question #2, "Why is the number 7 so important?"

Answer - I will be talking about numbers in Revelation, including the number 7, this coming Saturday, January 12. The short answer is the number 3 in Revelation represents God and the number 4 represents the earth. Adding 3 and 4 together means adding God to this world. When we do that, we have perfection…the number 7! That’s the Gospel, the Good News! That's why the number 7 is considered the perfect number, and a symbol of completeness.

More later this week.

Suggested reading for this week? Revelation, chapter 1

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Did you know that the shepherds in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth would check each lamb born. To protect them and keep them without any blemish they would often wrap them in cloths and lay them in a manger or feeding trough.

Jesus the true lamb was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger or feeding trough. He was to be the ultimate sacrificial lamb. This is what the Christmas season is all about. Merry Christmas!

...from "Jesus: A Theogrpahy" by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Book Review: “Jesus, A Theography,” by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

In Jesus, A Theography, by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, the authors write about the life of Jesus from the perspective of both the New and Old Testaments, and add their own theological perspective. I have read other books by Leonard Sweet, with mixed reviews, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. In Jesus, Sweet and Viola tell the story of the life of Jesus, beginning not at his birth here on earth but at creation, and continue all the way beyond His resurrection to His next return.

The best thing about this book is the extensive research, yet it is also a negative for me. That negative is in regard to their extensive use of footnotes. Much of the information in the footnotes could have been included in the narrative of the book, instead of the footnotes. It is quite a chore to continually have to refer to the footnotes to follow the authors train of thought.

Sweet and Viola ask many questions and suggest some ideas that are different than mainstream theological thought. If you are looking for a book that pushes your thinking, whose writing style is simple and not at all academic (except the footnotes), and that focuses on how both the Old and New Testaments apply to the life of Jesus, then you will love this book.

On the flip side, the authors make a lot of assumptions and connections I am not sure are there. For example: In Chapters 2 and 3, it makes assumptions about the 7 days of creation in trying to parallel Christ with creation. The authors also state that when we accept Christ to come into our lives, we become virgin Mary’s. I am not sure where that comes from.

You should know that I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program in return for writing a review.

CBS Television Star Joins the Adventist Faith, Kicks up a Media Storm

CBS Television Star Joins the Adventist Faith, Kicks up a Media Storm

Submitted: Nov 27, 2012

By AT New Team

Updated November 30, 2012 (See update at the bottom of the story.)

Angus T. Jones has been a child actor in a top-rated comedy show on CBS television for ten years. In the last year he joined a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Los Angeles and over the last 24 hours he has kicked up a storm of comment on the Web and other media because he denounced his own show in a video he made with a controversial, independent Adventist ministry.

The videos “appear to be religiously motivated and authentic,” said the International Business Times, but there are problems both with the fact that Jones is paid over $300,000 per show to be part of the TV cast and the extreme ideas expressed in the past by the independent ministry that made one of the videos. It appears unlikely that he knows much about Chris Hudson from Alabama who produces the Forerunner Chronicles.

The well-established Voice of Prophecy broadcast ministry also interviewed Jones and invited him to speak at the Adventist Media Center, which is in the Los Angeles area. One dimension of this story illustrates the growing competition between “old” media ministries and “new” media efforts. Forerunner Chronicles is a “poor man’s broadcast” which uses YouTube, Twitter and social media to avoid the high cost of purchasing time on major television channels as well as professional production standards, and attracts viewers with sensational claims.

Hudson’s videos have been picked up by the Three Angeles Broadcasting Network, another independent Adventist organization. Their current schedule includes a four-part series by Hudson on the “New Age Agenda” and a “Special Report [on the] National Defense Authorization Act.” He has described himself as a Seventh-day Adventist minister, although he is not a denominational employee and holds no credentials. It should also be noted that he is not the former National Football League player with the same name.

Jones started attending the Valley Crossroads Church at 11350 Glenoaks Blvd in Pacoima, a community in the San Fernando Valley north of downtown Los Angeles. The nearly 700-member congregation is an historically African American church affiliated with the Southern California Conference. Pastor Royal Harrison is the senior pastor and Pastor Morris Barnes is the associate pastor.

The congregation’s mission statement is “to make a difference in our community” and earlier this year it opened a new facility for the community food pantry it operates. It also sponsors diabetes and obesity prevention programs, offers blood pressure screening, regular fitness activities on Monday nights and healthy cooking classes. Teams of volunteers based at the church reach out to the homeless and visit young people in the Nordoff Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, according to the church web site.

The Adventist teaching about hell first got him interested in Adventist doctrines, Jones says in the interview taped by the Voice of Prophecy for the pilot of a new television show Turning Point. He also liked the idea of the Sabbath and started personal Bible studies.

He does not come from a secular background. He was born in Texas which has a local culture saturated by the Southern Baptist faith and his parents put him in a Christian school when they moved to Los Angeles. He attended a Christian school from Kindergarten through his high school graduation.

“I’m concerned he’s being exploited by the church,” Carey Jones, the teen’s 42-year-old mother has told reporters. An entertainment gossip web site said that she believes he has been “brainwashed.”

A number of Adventist ministers have also expressed concern about the situation. “While I am pleased that Angus Jones is finding Christ,” one pastor wrote on the SDA Ministers page on Facebook, “I have some grave concerns about [him being] associated with [a group] notorious for right-wing extremism and conspiracy theory nonsense. … It’s my hope and prayer that [he] finds some balanced, mainstream Adventists and pursues a healthy, sensible style of” Adventist faith. A significant number of other pastors have expressed similar views in several online forums and in Email to Adventist Today.

By Tuesday afternoon the denomination had released a statement “making it clear … it has absolutely no connection with” Hudson and his independent ministry, reported TMZ.com in an exclusive. “The Seventh-day Adventist Church has released a statement about Jones … saying its ‘happy’ Angus decided to become a member of the Los Angeles congregation back in June [and] we welcome him with open arms … but the church wants everyone to know it was not behind the actor’s [video] rant.” About Hudson, “we are unable to offer information because Forerunner Chronicles is not a ministry operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its host is not a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Hudson has said in his videos that the rap artist Jay-Z “is a devil worshiping Freemason and claims that President Obama is similar to Hitler,” states another Hollywood gossip web site. It quotes Hudson as saying, “The blueprint albums are special markers indicating Jay-Z’s progress in his obtaining degrees in the secret order.” His ministry is described by Postmedia News as “a radical offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” According to the Huffington Post he has described President Obama’s health care plan as “a ‘carbon copy’ of the healthcare policies of Hitler, and that a gas crisis can lead to cannibalism.”

Clearly, the young star is struggling to cope with difficulties in his life. He turned 18 a little over a year ago and when he spoke at the Adventist Media Center on his 19^th birthday, he mentioned “his parents’ divorce, using drugs and keeping his virginity,” reports Thewrap.com. “His grades began to dip … when his parents began to have ‘marital issues’ [leading to] divorce. … He said he began avoiding home and spending as much time as possible with friends and his girlfriend.” In this context he had a conversion experience that led him to “follow God more seriously” and begin visiting a number of different churches. He was invited to Valley Crossroads Church by a long-time friend who was “never available on Friday nights,” Jones says in the video produced by the Voice of Prophecy.

Jones has an uncle who is serving a 99-year prison term for murder, reports the Daily Mail, a British newspaper. Both of his parents have been arrested in the past; his mother in 1997 charged with burglary and in 1992 for ripping the meter out of a taxi. His father was arrested in 1986 for marijuana possession and an unlicensed handgun, and more recently for domestic violence.

The role that Jones has on “Two and a Half Men” is that of a son whose parents get a divorce; he and his father move into his uncle’s home, a philandering single entertainer. Viewers have literally watched him grow up over nearly a decade. It is “the biggest hit comedy of the last decade,” the New York Times has stated. The show’s original star had a famous meltdown a couple of years ago and when a new star took over, it’s ratings peaked at 29 million viewers but have dropped more recently to about 14 million viewers, according to the Daily Mail.

The young actor’s criticism of the show was seen as strange and even hypocritical by the entertainment media, but welcomed by some figures with long-standing concerns about the values expressed in popular culture. “We urge viewers to heed his call,” Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, told Fox News. “We urge Mr. Jones to work from within the entertainment industry and raise standards to improve television for all Americans.” Dan Gainor, vice president for business and culture at the Media Research Center, said Jones’ remarks are “no surprise to anyone who watches TV [because] ‘Two and a Half Men’ is one of the most vile and sleazy shows in history.”

For the Adventist Church this media attention is as risky as the news of Jones' conversion may be welcome. “Adventism is now being represented to millions of people by a brand new believer and some people with fringe theological agendas,” stated Spectrum, the journal of the largest organization of Adventist academics. “Adventist communication leaders should develop a public relations strategy … that avoids exploitation and celebritization and that makes sure that correct information about Adventism gets reported as this story develops.”

Interpreting Adventist faith in the contemporary context is not easy, especially with the number of independent sources that believe they represent the truth and the denomination’s leadership does not. For example, Vulture.com reports that the video Jones made with Hudson “twice invokes the notion of the Laodiceans, a group criticized in the Book of Revelation for being ‘lukewarm.’” Does the average American reading this reference really understand the nuances of Adventist theology related to this passage?

At the same time a young man’s life is at stake. “We need to pray for Angus and his friends at the Valley Crossroads Church,” one Adventist pastor wrote to Adventist Today.

The interview taped by the Voice of Prophecy, not the controversial one by Chris Hudson, can be seen here:
http://www.theadventistchannel.com/watch/Turning_Point:_Angus_T_Jones/specials/

A Radical Question/A Radical Idea

Platt, David. The Radical Question / A Radical Idea. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2012. 112 pages

The Radical Question and A Radical Idea are two small books in one, actually not much more than magazines. Each is about 50 pages. This small book has large font. There are no chapter divisions, as each “book” is the size of a single chapter in a standard book.

The thesis of the book is a question, “What is Jesus Worth to Us?” The author asks the question and then spends the rest of the ‘book” discussing the excesses of Western Christianity and lack of commitment to discipleship. This theme is repeated over and over. The authors main point is how we spend more on the individualistic, westernized “American dream” than we do on being faithful and obedient followers of Christ.

A Radical Idea can be summed up in one sentence: “How can we in the church best unleash the people of God in the spirit of God with the word of God for the glory of God in the world?” Platt goes on to disparage the American church, attacking how it has focused too much on extravagant church buildings and well-paid pastors, and how they are the cause the church has remained complacent.

The book is not worth the paper it is written on. Platt attacks the problems in the church, but offers no answers.

I received this book as a free book through Multnomah Press in return for reviewing it. Sorry. I can’t recommend it.

Survey Explores How Adventists Will Vote in the 2012 Elections in the United States

Check out this article. I found it very interesting, especially with the upcoming election looming.

http://www.atoday.org/article/1472/news/october-headlines/survey-explores-how-adventists-will-vote-in-the-2012-elections-in-the-united-states

Church surveys show that academics lean Democrat, but that the person in the pew leans Republican. But, it also shows people of differently ethnicities and women lean Democrat.

50 Years ago, Adventists as a whole leaned Republican, these days they lean Democrat.

What does that say? Hmmm

Adventist Leaders Vote Statement, But No Sanctions on Ordination Changes

After weeks of anticipation, the Seventh-day Adventist Church governing body finally saw the much-rumored response to three union conferences that voted earlier this year to discontinue gender discrimination in ordination to the gospel ministry. The carefully nuanced, not to say confused and contradictory statement was adopted by a secret ballot, 264 in favor and 25 opposed. Perhaps as many as 50 committee members abstained.

The official Adventist News Network (ANN) reported that the three hours of discussion were “respectful,” and “no sanctions are applied, or suggested, in the document.” Retired General Conference vice president and well-known evangelist Mark Finley was reported by ANN to have made an important speech describing how the early Christian church dealt with three conflicts in the Book of Acts. Adventist Today has been told that he played a key role behind the scenes in the days leading up to the meeting, negotiating an outcome more acceptable to the North American Division (NAD) leadership than what was originally under consideration by the GC officers.

“The essence of unity is not uniformity,” Finley said, according to ANN. “It is respecting one another enough to listen carefully, respond thoughtfully and decide together.” Rumors have suggested that before he got involved in the preparations for the meeting, there were proposals that would have sought to penalize the union conferences that have decided to ordain women to the gospel ministry. The final vote authorized only a “request” that division officers “engage” the union and conference administrators in “reviewing this statement.”

The four-page statement says that the GC “does not recognize actions of unions or conferences that have authorized or implemented ministerial ordination without regard to gender.” It does not define what that means. It does not say, for example, that the credentials issued to women under these actions are invalid nor does it rescind the ordinations that have occurred and are planned.

In fact, the statement specifically noted that “it does not address the question of ministerial ordination practices per se.” It acknowledges that “the role of women in ministry and leadership has been a long-standing question … that attracts strong yet differing convictions,” but also “specifically affirms the important roles that women fill in the life of the Church.”

The core argument of the statement is that the GC Session in 1990 voted not to permit the ordination of women to pastoral ministry and in 1995 turned down a request that the GC divisions be allowed to make separate decisions on the subject; and that this precludes the practice until a GC Session reverses that decision. It ignores the fact that the record is actually much more complicated than that. In 1990 the same delegates who adopted a study commission report blocking women’s ordination to pastoral ministry also voted to permit the ordination of women as local elders and for women to serve as pastors. The 1995 action was actually a non-action in which the delegates voted “no” on a recommendation and thus left no language on record at all.

The statement appeals for the unions and conferences to defer their decision to stop gender discrimination in ordination until the current study of the theology of ordination can be completed. A number of committee members spoke about their hope that this might a process where Adventists could come to a common understanding on the topic. Others told Adventist Today privately that they fear “we are painting ourselves into a corner.”

Dedrick Blue, a pastor from the Atlantic Union Conference, urged the committee, “Don’t get involved with process to the neglect of justice.” Max Torkelson II, president of the North Pacific Union Conference, told ANN he was concerned that younger Adventists will take away the wrong message from the decision. “I’m concerned that, particularly our younger church members have less patience” with the GC process. “We have been asking them for years to be patient, and now again we’re asking them to be patient. … I’m afraid we may disappoint them.”

The statement may not be a satisfying outcome for anyone in this debate. It does not make it more likely that a solution will be found that frees the church in North America and Europe from traditional notions about the role of women. It does not punish union conferences for implementing policies that differ from the wishes of the GC officers. It does not declare women’s ordination to be unbiblical. “Nothing has changed,” one church administrator said.

From Adventist Today website

Book Review: Greater, by Steven Furtick

Furtick, Steven, “Greater”

In this book, Steven Furtick writes to those seeking to follow God, and outlines a plan on how to step out of a boring, mundane life and into the “Greater” life promised us by Jesus. Furtick uses the biblical story of Elisha, an Old Testament prophet, to encourages to dive into something new, a Greater life with God.

Furtick’s style is easy to read and his use of story and humor make it an easy read. He uses the story of people he knows and weaves into the biblical story of  Elisha, especially focusing on Elisha’s journey from a farmer to a prophet, to reminds us that God can do a lot through us if we only allow it. One of the best parts of this book is the study guide at the back that, as Fiurtick says, can help to move me out of my “lesser loser life” and into something “greater” for the glory of God.

I enjoyed this book. It made me think. I will be going back and reviewing it. If you are looking for an easy read with a devotional spin to it, I recommend this book.

Book Review: Fully Alive by Ken Davis

Davis, Ken. Fully Alive. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN. 2012

I first became acquainted with Ken Davis in the early ‘90’s while attending a Youth Specialties Convention. His story telling and comedic style was very appealing to listen to. So, it was with great interest that I picked up this book, which allowed me the opportunity of getting to know him by reading his story.

In this book, Ken Davis shares the struggles and triumphs in his life's journey. He is open about his struggles and his joys, and the lessons he has learned in life. His main point is to encourage you to make positive changes your life. For him, it was losing weight.

 In this book, he talks about the correlation in his life between losing weight exercise, and faith.
Here’s a quote that captures his message. "The glory of God is man fully alive: Striving in the midst of all odds. Never satisfied with the status quo. Seeking excellence in every area of life. Because Jesus can raise the dead and because He Himself was raised from the dead, then no matter what my situation, I can know the power of His resurrection to live my life fully alive."

Ken Davis reminds everyone who reads this book that life is short and invites us to live Fully Alive. Hence, the title. If you are looking for a book that is light reading, inspirational and easy to read, this book is for you.

Thoughts on Tim Keller’s book, “King’s Cross”

These days I’ve been reading “King’s Cross,” a book written by Tim Keller. King’s Cross goes through the book of Mark, the Gospel that focuses most intently on the words and actions of Jesus.

I am enjoying Keller’s approach to understanding this Gospel. Keller doesn’t comment on every single passage, he instead focuses on the texts he believes expand on who Jesus is.. What I really like about these is that they aren’t necessarily the most well-known, preached-on passages. And in those texts that are well-known, Keller always brings some insight from the historical context that gives the passage a new layer of meaning and history (You know how I love history).

Last night, I read about Jesus clearing the temple, and I really love Keller’s insight on this story found in Mark 11:15-17:

¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves,

¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^]”

Keller says the fact that Mark notes that Jesus entered the temple courts – or in the version Keller uses, the temple “area” – is very significant because when you entered the temple, the first area you came to “was the court of the Gentiles – the ethne or ‘nations’”. This was the only area where non-Jews were allowed. The Jews had allowed all the temple’s business operations to be set up there – buying and selling thousands of animals and exchanging foreign currencies with money changers. Thousands of people flooded into Jerusalem to buy animals and sacrifice them.

Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian, tells us that in Passover week one year, 255,000 lambs were bought, sold, and sacrificed in the temple courts. Think of how loud and confusing it would be in there with all that livestock…and this was the place where the Gentiles were supposed to find God through quiet reflection and prayer.

I am sure the temple leaders panicked and asked Jesus what he was doing. So, Jesus quotes from Isaiah, saying, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” – for the ethne, the Gentiles.

So Jesus’ reaction, then – to drive the businessmen out and throw the tables over – was not just a display of righteous anger toward the disrespect people were showing to God’s house, but also an act of advocacy for the Gentiles, who were still being treated as the “least” of God’s people by the Jews. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came, he would “purge the temple of foreigners,” meaning he would get rid of the Gentiles! “Instead, here is Jesus clearing the temple for the Gentiles”

Given the current discussion on whether women in ministry ought to be treated equally to men and be ordained, I found Jesus’ actions significant. What might we learn from Jesus today?

Special Constituency Meeting, Sunday August 19

I am just want to say thanks to the Pacific Union Recorder for its comprehensive and informative coverage of the Pacific Union’s Special Constituency Session on August 19, AFFIRMING WOMEN IN MINISTRY. The Recorder does a great job explaining the issues involved in its July issue. It also published many readers’ responses in the current magazine.

What I really like was that both the explanation and readers’ response sections were published in English and Spanish. http://pacificunionrecorder.adventistfaith.org/  I also apprecaite the courage to address a difficult issue that has been ignored for more than 40 years, after it was voted at the General Conference Session in 1970.

If you are interested in this issue, check out the link above.

Reading God's Word

This week, this is the burden on my mind...

Too many Christ followers don't read God's Word, the Bible, as often or as thoroughly as they should. Because of my job, I spend a lot of time reading Scripture, so I love the Scriptures. And, the older I get, the more I am awed by it.

So, why isn't every Christ follower similarlyintrigued by the Bible to make it a priority to read and study?

Maybe one of the reasons is that we have been taught to read it wrongly. When I was in college a bible teacher started this discussion in class about whether the authors of scripture were God's penmen or his pen. It didn't seem important to me at the time and it actually took me a few years to comprehend what this teacher was trying to het across.

If the authors of scripture were the 'pen' of God, then the words would be exactly His words. But, if they were His 'penmen' then they wrote in their own words about the experiences they had with God.
In academic circles, this argument of "verbal inspiration" or not is still alive and well. But, here's my point...if they were a pen this leaves little room for interpretation. But, if they were his penmen this allows for personal flavoring and invites interpretation, even 'wrestling' with God over the various ideas expressed. The first becomes a checklist of do's and don'ts. The second, permission to engage in a unique walk with the very personal God. The first requires the readers to see in black and white and to remain within the lines. The second is a Spirit engaged exercise open to coloring even outside the lines.

How do you read scripture? Does your understanding of the nature of inspiration draw you into a closer and increasingly exciting relationship with the Divine One? I invite you to read God's Word each day. You will find it will refresh your soul.