“Weird Al” Yankovic is an amazing talent. One of my favorite videos is “Bob.” Despite being a non-stop string of palindromes, it makes about as much sense as the original.
Here is the original Bob Dylan video, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
The Westminster Catechism says, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”
If man’s chief end is to glorify God, then the Christian desires that as many as possible fulfill that end, and find their ultimate satisfaction in God. Thus, Jesus instructed us in Matthew 28:19 to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
This is my chronicle of my involvement in missions around the world.
I spent my Summer of ’98 attending The Laborer’s Institute run by Kingdom Building Ministries in Denver, CO. The Laborer’s Institute (TLI) is a three-month intensive training program that involves mentoring, ministry, multiplication. The first month of training is spent in Denver. The second month is overseas ministry; our team spent the month in Thailand (pictures). The third month is spent back in the US visiting a number of youth camps to challenge and minister to others.
To read more about my experience with The Laborer’s Institute, see my report from the end of the summer. – TLI Report
To see what’s involved in preparation for a short-term missions trip, read the prayer letter I sent out before I went. – Prayer Letter
A couple years later, December 2000-January 2001, I took a 10 day missions trip to Trinidad & Tobago (pictures) with a handful of people from my church. We had the opportunity to put on a Vacation Bible School program for local children, present the gospel using marionettes and skits in some local schools, and help a local pastor with some needed upgrades to their home and car.
Most recently, my wife and I went with our church on a missions trip to Mexico. We partnered with a local Missions to Mexico ministry that organizes short-term trips as their primary ministry model. In the week that we were there, we helped two churches with some building projects, visited homes and prayed for people, and impacted teenagers and youth through our meetings.
In addition to short-term missions trips, global missions can be supported through offering prayer and financial assistance to those engaged in full-time ministry.
Jeremy & Mindie Tice work with other World Partners missionaries to help plant churches in Guinea, West Africa. Mindie is one of several friends from The Laborer’s Institute who went on to become missionaries.
A high-school friend and old work-out buddy of mind is now working with Wycliffe Bible Translators in South Asia, researching language groups that would benefit from a translation of the Bible in their own language.
In 2005, I began sponsoring a little boy in the Dominican Republic through Compassion International.
In 2007, my wife and I began sponsoring a little boy in Uganda through World Vision.
In addition to the organizations mentioned above, there are many Christian mission organizations who minister around the world, meeting physical needs and sharing the Living Water and Bread of Life that is Jesus Christ.
Here are just a few that I appreciate…
Do you ever read something in the Bible that strikes you as funny? I’m convinced that God has a sense of humor, and I think that parts of the Bible are intended to be humorous. Other parts (such as Jeremiah 13:1-7) might not be intended to be funny, but sound funny to us.
It has occurred to me when reading the Gospels that when Jesus told parables, He might have told some of them as a comedian might tell a joke. Just try to picture Jesus using different voices and acting out his stories. Large crowds of people followed Jesus, but few understood His parables; perhaps some just hung around because He was entertaining. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.
Noticing humor in the Bible can make reading the Bible more enjoyable, but also is an aid in getting to know the Bible better and remembering where things are. If you find anything funny in the Bible, or have some Bible jokes, I’d be interested in hearing them so I can add to my list. Here’s a handful of corny “Bible Jokes.”
The first passage is probably what made me think of the idea of finding humor in the Bible. I first saw this passage in a men’s dorm bathroom at Taylor University. Someone had printed it on a piece of paper and stuck it to the door of one of the stalls.
“Jeremiah’s Linen Shorts” (Jeremiah 13:1-7, modified KJV)
Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee some linen shorts, and wear them, but do not wash them. So I got some linen shorts according to the word of the LORD, and I wore them. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, Take the shorts that thou hast got, which thou art wearing, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide them there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid them by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the shorts from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the shorts from the place where I had hid them: and, behold, the shorts were marred, they were profitable for nothing.
“Arameans Hear Things” (2 Kings 7:5-7, NIV)
At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
“EXTRA!! EXTRA!! Hit Men Begin Prophesying! Read all about it!” (1 Sam. 19:20-23, NIV)
[Saul is trying to kill David] so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth.
“The Israelite Bathroom” (2 Kings 10:27, NIV)
They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
Hover over the “answer” link to see the answers. (If your browser doesn’t show link titles, let me know.)
Name the only person in the Bible without parents. answer
Who is the shortest person on the Bible? answer
Who was the fastest person in the Bible? answer
Who was the greatest financier in the Bible? answer
Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? answer
What kind of man was Boaz before he got married? answer
Who was the first drug addict in the Bible? answer
Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? answer
Where is the first baseball game in the Bible? answer
How did Adam and Eve feel when expelled from the Garden of Eden? answer
What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after they were kicked out? answer
What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden? answer
The ark was built in 3 stories, and the top story had a window to let light in, but how did they get light to the bottom 2 stories? answer
Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible? answer
Which servant of Jehovah was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible? answer
Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy? answer
How do we know that Job went to a chiropractor? answer
Where is the first tennis match mentioned in the Bible? answer
What is the first recorded case of constipation in the Bible? answer
I was referred to this blog post recently, and because of the detailed response required, I have captured my thoughts here on my own blog.
Before getting into his main argument (that Christians should adhere to the Law of Moses), the author (Aaron) acknowledges to his reader(s) that…
“You have the real advantage of the entire body of orthodox Christian interpretation on your side. I acknowledge my views as being outside the pale of commonly accepted Christian belief.”
While I know that many who have come to believe that Christians should observe the Mosaic Law have struggled with the fact that so many trusted theologians and preachers teach otherwise, I think this point deserves more weight than it gets.
We are commanded to be subject to our elders (I Peter 5:5). This doesn’t mean our elders are infallible; we still have an obligation to examine Scripture for ourselves. In some cases, those whom we would consider our elders do not agree with each other. In those cases, we might follow the elders we trust the most, arrive at our own conclusion based on personal study, or leave the matter unresolved. However, when the vast majority of our elders are teaching more or less the same thing on a given subject, it strongly suggests that I should not abandon their teaching for my own ideas or the ideas of someone else whom I find more agreeable.
As I look at those whom I would consider as elders, who have committed their lives to the study and proclamation of God’s Word, I cannot believe that they are all unaware of the historical and cultural context that would supposedly reveal the true meaning of Scripture as regards the Law. These are highly educated men who have devoted their lives to this pursuit.
Being made aware of the historical and cultural context, I cannot believe that they are all unable to see it for what it is and accurately deduce the correct meaning. These are highly intelligent men who evidence giftedness in interpreting God’s Word.
Seeing the historical and cultural context for what it is, I cannot believe that they are all unwilling to accept an interpretation that is contrary to their preexisting beliefs. These are godly men who evidence the character that is fitting for an elder. I place more confidence, as a whole, in their willingness to follow the Spirit than in my own.
That being said, I must move on to the specifics of the discussion at hand.
Aaron highlights the supposed discrepancy between the way the Law was regarded by Moses and the Prophets, Jesus, the Apostles, etc and the typical interpretation of Paul’s writings. He then sets up two untenable conclusions and the conclusion that he would have us believe. The problem is, his statements are constructed in a way that I would term a “false dilemma.”
When it comes to “reinterpreting” Paul, it is necessary to “redefine” what Paul meant by “law” and “circumcision,” assigning to them the extra-biblical actions that constituted a “legal” conversion of nationality.
However, when “law” is referred to elsewhere, it is taken to explicitly mean the Mosaic Law in its entirety. This assumption of definition is what sets up the logical fallacy that insists on a reinterpretation of Paul as the only way out.
I have not done what I would consider a thorough study of the use of the word “law” or its synonyms. I do know that God commended Abraham because he “obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” This was before the Mosaic Law was given, so we have a precedent for considering God’s “law” to be broader than the list of commandments given to Israel.
As soon as the Ten Commandments were given, Moses tells the Israelites that God is using this set of laws to test them (Exodus 20:20). They fail the test miserably, making it clear that we need something more than “guidelines” for how to live.
The laws that were given to Israel were part of the “Book of the Covenant.” In comparing the covenants that God has made with mankind, I think it is significant that the Mosaic Law is linked with the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. This was a conditional covenant, summarized as “obey the commands I have given you, and things will go well; disobey, and I will send calamity.” This Old Covenant was neither capable of nor intended to justify man or produce righteousness. The New Covenant, which makes the first one obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), also puts an end to the external regulations associated with the Old Covenant (Hebrews 9:10).
I have started a beginning attempt at a unified approach to God’s various covenants with mankind here: Biblical Covenants.
The broader “Law of God” is to be understood and obeyed in much the same way as in the time of Abraham. As Paul said in I Corinthians 9:20-21, he is not under the law that the Jews followed, but is subject to the rule of God in his life.
Going back to Aaron’s post, he says near the end that “by becoming Jewish, they accepted upon themselves the additional liability of the special responsibilities of the Jewish people.” What are these “special responsibilities,” if not the Mosaic Law? What was it that made the nation of Israel “Jewish?” Was it not their shared cultural heritage, as expressed in and built upon the Book of the Covenant? How is it possible for a Gentile to observe the Mosaic Law without becoming “Jewish?”