Wednesday in the Word

what the Bible means and how we know

Faith & Life

How to cultivate foolishness

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How to cultivate foolishness - Bible Study | WednesdayintheWord.com

No one sets out to be a fool. Yet sometimes we all stumble into the trap. Here are 7 steps to cultivate stupidity.

In her podcast, Telling the Truth for Women (episode posted 1/3/2023), Jill Brisco quoted a book by an Australian pastor called Wisdom which includes a chapter called the “Cultivation of Stupidity.” (She did not name the author and I could not definitively identify the book.) The pastor gives 7 steps to foolishness. Jill Brisco matched each step to a verse in Ecclesiastes, which is about acquiring wisdom:

1. Don’t think.

Ecc 2:14  The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 

2. Never be serious.

Ecc 2:2  I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 

3. Do as you feel.

Ecc 2:10  And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 

4. Make stupid friends.

Ecc 5:11  When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 

5. Learn nothing from experience.

Ecc 4:13  Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 

6. Never change your mind.

Ecc 10:2  A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. 
Ecc 10:3  Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 

7. Criticize continually.

Ecc 10:3  Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 

How do we acquire wisdom?

9Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.  – Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Something to think about.

If you have read this book, please let me know who the author is.

Where to next?

New Testament Studies

Old Testament Studies

Topical Studies

Bible Study 101

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

Ken Elzinga welcomes UVA parents

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It has become a tradition for Professor Ken Elzinga give a welcome address to new University of Virginia students and their parents during Move-In Day Lunches at the Center for Christian Study.

Here is 2020 his message to parents of incoming students.

Professor Elzinga is a famous economist and the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. He is also a very wise man.

Professor Elzinga has graciously given me permission to republish his talks and sermons here on Wednesday in the Word.

Previous: Professor Elzinga welcomes students

Part of the series: The Ken Elzinga Collection

Ken Elzinga welcomes UVA students

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It has become a tradition for Professor Ken Elzinga give a welcome address to new University of Virginia students and their parents during Move-In Day Lunches at the Center for Christian Study.

Here is 2020 his message to incoming students.

Professor Elzinga is a famous economist and the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. He is also a very wise man.

Professor Elzinga has graciously given me permission to republish his talks and sermons here on Wednesday in the Word.

Next: Professor Elzinga welcomes parents

More: 4 Keys to Success in College

Part of the series: The Ken Elzinga Collection

Read the Psalms in 30 days

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Read the Psalms in 30 days | WednesdayintheWord.com

Reading through the psalms can change your life! Here’s a plan to read through the psalms in 30 days.

Day 1 – Morning: Psalms 1-5; Evening: Psalms 6-8

Day 2 – Morning: Psalms 9-11; Evening: Psalms 12-14

Day 3 – Morning: Psalms 15-17; Evening: Psalms 18

Day 4 – Morning: Psalms 19-21; Evening: Psalms 22-23

Day 5 – Morning: Psalms 24-26; Evening: Psalms 27-29

Day 6 – Morning: Psalms 30-31; Evening: Psalms 32-34

Day 7 – Morning: Psalms 35-36; Evening: Psalms 37

Day 8 – Morning: Psalms 38-40; Evening: Psalms 41-43

Day 9 – Morning: Psalms 44-46; Evening: Psalms 47-49

Day 10 – Morning: Psalms 50-52; Evening: Psalms 53-55

Day 11 – Morning: Psalms 56-58; Evening: Psalms 59-61

Day 12 – Morning: Psalms 62-64; Evening: Psalms 65-67

Day 13 – Morning: Psalms 68; Evening: Psalms 69-70

Day 14 – Morning: Psalms 71-72; Evening: Psalms 73-74

Day 15 – Morning: Psalms 75-77; Evening: Psalms 78

Day 16 – Morning: Psalms 79-81; Evening: Psalms 82-85

Day 17 – Morning: Psalms 86-88; Evening: Psalms 89

Day 18 – Morning: Psalms 90-92 ; Evening: Psalms 93-94

Day 19 – Morning: Psalms 95-97; Evening: Psalms 8-101

Day 20 – Morning: Psalms 102-103; Evening: Psalms 104

Day 21 – Morning: Psalms 105; Evening: Psalms 106

Day 22 – Morning: Psalms 107; Evening: Psalms 108-109

Day 23 – Morning: Psalms 110-113; Evening: Psalms 114-115

Day 24 – Morning: Psalms 116-118; Evening: Psalms 119:1-32

Day 25 – Morning: Psalms 119:33-72; Evening: Psalms 119:73-104

Day 26 – Morning: Psalms 119:105-144; Evening: Psalms 119:145-176

Day 27 – Morning: Psalms 120-125; Evening: Psalms 126-131

Day 28 – Morning: Psalms 132-135 ; Evening: Psalms 136-138

Day 29 – Morning: Psalms 139-140; Evening: Psalms 141-143

Day 30 – Morning: Psalms 144-146; Evening: Psalms 147-150

Resources: Psalms

Understanding Hebrew Poetry

Where to next?

Bible Study 101

Resource Library

Resources Book of the Bible

Photo by EFDAL YILDIZ on Unsplash

Heaven and those who have gone before us

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The prevailing belief of the world is that “You go around once and then you die.”  Yet, the remarkable claim of the Christian faith is that those who have died are more alive today than they were before their deaths.

Passage

1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”  5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.  7Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ….. 17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.  20Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  22Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”  23Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” 28When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”  29And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still  in the place where Martha met Him. 31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” 38So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42“I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” – John 11:1-44

If I die and go to heaven, what is it going to be like?

A surprising number of people have an image of heaven that comes from a cartoon: a boring view of clouds and harps and singing.  That is not heaven.  Heaven will not be boring, dull or uninteresting.

It will be so glorious the Bible does not give us the words to fully describe it, rather it speaks in metaphors like “streets of gold” and describing a glorious banquet and celebration beyond our dreams.

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.  In heaven Jesus will offer his people, life to the fullest, everything positive, glorious and satisfying.

Someone close to me died, where do I turn for comfort?

Psalm 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.  – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Three things you can do for those who grieve:

  1. Visit.  Offer your presence.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what to say.
  2. Rather than asking “is there anything I can do?”, ask specific questions:  “Do you need any errands run?”  “Can I help you write thank you notes?” “Can I bring you food?” “Can I feed your pets?”  “Do you need your lawn mowed?”
  3. Talk with the person about their loved one.  Do something intentional to remember the lost person on their birthday or anniversary of their date of death for the next 5 years (at least).

If I die, will I go to a better place?

When the role is called in heaven, you will be there, if you put your faith in Jesus.

Westminster Confession of Faith (32.1) explains it this way: “The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption (Genesis. 3:19; Acts 13:36) but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them (Luke 23:43; Eccl. 12:7) the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect of holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. (Heb. 12:23; 2 Corinthians 5:1,6,8; Phil. 1:23 with Acts 3:21; Eph. 4:10) And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell…”

For more explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Audio from a sermon given at Trinity Presbyterian Church July 18, 2004

Part of the series: Elzinga Collection

Photo used here under Flickr Creative Commons.

Podcast Season 6, Episode 11

Read through the Bible

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Read through the Bible |WednesdayintheWord.com


Have you decided to read through the Bible as one of your New Year’s Resolutions? Here’s a great selection of plans to help you keep that resolution.

Jump to: ** Online; ** PDFs; ** Overviews; **

Online

Online plans

Online Bible Reading Plans allow you to choose your version and track your progress. There are also apps for your phone, which are constantly changing.

Bible Gateway (18 plans)

Bible Study Tools (18 plans)

Blue Letter Bible (7 plans)

Bible In A Year

This plan takes you through the entire Bible with two readings each day: one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Accessible on YouVersion – download the app.

Bible Reading Plan Generator

Want to set your own schedule? Here’s a tool to create your own reading plan.

Go to top

PDFs

PDF plans

The Ligonier Ministries Blog complied a great list of different charts and plans to read through the Bible in a year. Here’s a sample of plans in their collection. Most are PDF downloads which you can stick in your Bible:

52 Week Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in a year with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels.

Navigators New Testament Reading Plan M-F

Read through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday. Weekends are set aside for reflection and other reading. Especially beneficial if you’re new to a daily discipline of Bible reading.

Bible Reading Chart

Read through the Bible at your own pace. Use this minimalist chart to track your reading throughout the year.

Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in the order the events occurred chronologically.

Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings beginning in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.

Discipleship Journal Book at a time Reading Plan

Two daily readings, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Complete an entire book in each testament before moving on.

ESV Daily Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings taken from four lists: Psalms and wisdom literature, Pentateuch and history of Israel, Chronicles and prophets, and Gospels and epistles.

Every Word in the Bible 3-year Plan

Read through the Bible one chapter at a time. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments.

Historical Bible Reading Plan

The Old Testament readings are similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament readings are an attempt to follow the order in which the books were authored.

Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System

Reading ten chapters a day, in the course of a year you’ll read the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters four to five times, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the Old Testament history and prophetic books about one and a half times.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once.

Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan

Read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Tabletalk 1-Year Bible Reading Plan

Two readings each day, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Tabletalk 2-Year Bible Reading Plan

Read the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs four times.

Legacy Reading Plan

This plan does not have set readings for each day. Instead, it has set books for each month and a set number of Proverbs and Psalms for each week. It aims to give you more flexibility while grounding you in specific books of the Bible.

260 Bible Reading Plan

The F-260 is a two hundred and sixty day reading plan that highlights the foundational passages of Scripture that every disciple should know.

Go to top

Overviews

Bible Overviews

Want to understand what you’re reading?  Considering reading an overview of the Bible.

A Simple overview of biblical history

Ray Stedman’s Adventuring through the Bible

RC Sproul’s Overivew of the Bible

John MacArthur’s Introductions to each book of the Bible

Go to top

Where to next?

New Testament Studies

Old Testament Studies

Topical Studies

Bible Study 101

Photo taken by Brett Jordan and used here under Flickr Creative Commons.

Flying through impostor syndrome

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ImpostorSyndrome-780

Three “random” events this week converged into one life lesson.

1) I listened to my pastor’s last sermon.

We met when I was a college freshman and he was an intern at our church.  Now he’s retiring after 43 years as its pastor.  I don’t think I was present for his first ever sermon, but I heard some of his earliest sermons while I was in college.  Though I’ve seen him in person only a handful of times since I graduated, I have followed all his sermons through the progress of technology: print, cassette tapes, CDs and finally Mp3s.

And I just heard the last one.  I feel like a bird who was just kicked out of the nest with no clue how to find the next meal.

2) My current pastor listened to me teach — in person.  Talk about impostor syndrome!  While he has been nothing but encouraging and supportive, seeing his face in the back row inspired a crushing wave of self-doubt.  The nagging trash-talk voice in my head ran wild: “You just lost one of your mentors.  Who am you to try to teach anybody anything?!  What were you  thinking?….”

3) I listened to a song by my favorite singer/songwriter Reggie Coates called “I Can Fly“, which is a glorious anthem to the confidence we have in Christ.

The song reminded me what I know to be true:  God uses impostors like me.

At times, we all think, “God couldn’t possibly use me.”  And we always have a good reason: I’m too old/young.  Or too extroverted/introverted.  Or too talkative/quiet.  Or too confident/insecure.  Or I don’t have the right education/background/pedigree/social graces/conversion story, etc..

And we’re right.  Left to ourselves apart from the grace of God, all of us are flawed, selfish and too “something”.

But God delights in taking sinful, selfish wretches like me, washing us clean in the blood of Christ and setting us on the path to glory.   As if mercy, grace and forgiveness weren’t enough, He also gives us a role to play in furthering His kingdom.

If you are a believer, the question is not whether God will use you, it is how and where God will use you.

All we have to do is humbly trust and obey. Silence the inner voice of self-doubt and “follow the pattern of sound words.”

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,  which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.  Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  – 2 Timothy 1:6-13 (emphasis mine)

By God’s grace, we can fly.

Learn more

 

Photo used here under Flickr Creative Commons.

Elzinga’s 4 Keys to Success in College

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4 Keys to Success in College | WednesdayintheWord.com

In July 2003, I heard Professor Ken Elzinga speak to christian high school seniors about how to succeed in college. Professor Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia and a very wise man.  He has been teaching college students for over 40 years. Unfortunately, the talk was not recorded.  Below are the notes I took.

4 Keys to Classroom Success

  1. Good students rarely miss a class. If you attend 80-100% of classes you will get an A. It is statistically impossible to fail if you attend over 80% of classes.  Where you sit in the classroom is the best predictor of your academic success.  Try to sit in the first two rows.
  2. The syllabus is a contract between you and the professor. Start with the syllabus and do what is on it.
  3. Most people cannot do all the work in the last week. Most of the material is not that hard, there’s just a lot of it.
  4. You will succeed in college if you follow Elzinga’s classroom triangle:
Elzingas Trinagle for College Success | WednesdayintheWord.com

4 Tips to Keep your Faith

  1. Life outside the classroom affects life in the classroom. (Drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, abuse leads to failure.) Christian students do not drift away from Christ if they make time for church, make time for fellowship and make time for Christian service.
  2. The Gospel is offensive. People with academic authority will find you and your faith offensive. You need to learn not to be ashamed of the gospel.
  3. The Gospel is defensible. Very smart people who are smarter than your professors believe the gospel.
  4. The Gospel is True with a capital “T”.  What you learn in the classroom is true with a little “t.” For example, you can’t anchor your life around the laws of economics and they are not worthy of your complete acceptance.

4 Best Pieces of Advice

  1. The first month defines your next four years. Set your lifestyle from day 1 and choose your friends. It’s like being shot from a gun. You get on a trajectory that is very hard to change. But God can change it. Usually it takes until your third year to hit bottom. If you follow the wrong trajectory, God won’t redeem your grade point average and your life wreckage, but He will start from there and move you forward.
  2. Go visit and get to know your professors. You’ll need recommendations later.
  3. Don’t waste college; grow up. College is not a 4-year paid vacation. You are old enough to have a job. This is your last chance to be paid to learn.  You are a Christian student. Not a Christian first and a student second. Not a student first and a Christian second. If you are in college, you are called to be a Christian student.
  4. Four guaranteed ways to annoy your professors:
  • Come in late to class.
  • Ask:”Do I have to know this for the test?”
  • Ask show off questions that display your own wisdom.
  • Whine and complain without attending class or doing the work.

4 Final Thoughts

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. – Colossians 3:17

70% of students see no connection between this verse and the classroom.
25% think there is some connection between this verse and the church.
5% actually see the connection.

  • Hang around with others who think like you do.
  • Leave college with at least 1-2 lifelong friends.
  • God cares about your mind and you develop your mind in the classroom.
  • Remember God is the creator and the world is fallen. History will end. Spend enough time to attend every class, read what is assigned and stay up to date — and no more. You will have time left for friends, sports and activities.

More from Professer Elzinga

Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash

Breaking the Huddle Syndrome

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Breaking the Huddle Syndrome |WednesdayintheWord.com

Once while shopping with my husband’s grandmother, I pulled a dress off a rack for her consideration. She took one look and exclaimed, “I could never wear that!  That’s an old lady dress!”   She was 94 at the time.

I’m starting to understand her reaction.  My first thought on my last birthday was “how can someone so young be this old?”

In modern American culture growing older seems to mean becoming invisible; unfortunately this trend is also infecting the church.  While researching a book, Sarah Bessey collected stories from women who disappeared from church leadership when they reached a certain age.

“One woman told me about how she had led worship at her church for years. But when a new young pastor was hired, he wanted a cooler band to get more young people in the door. First thing to go? Older women. ‘No one wanted to see middle-aged women on stage,’ she wrote candidly, and so she was replaced with young women in their late teens and early twenties.” – Sarah Bessey, The Invisible Generation

How are we to respond to this trend in the church? While I certainly don’t have all the answers, it strikes me that relegating older women to the nostalgia-bin is a symptom of  “The Huddle Syndrome.”  Fortunately, the Huddle Syndrome is easy to break.

The Huddle Syndrome

Imagine a party where everyone faces the center of the room.  The people huddled in the center are the “in-group”, those deemed hip, cool and young, while everyone else stands behind them facing their backs. Still more people are on the outskirts and some stand in other rooms peering through the doorways.

This arrangement allows minimal interaction, communication and conversation.  It visually illustrates what happens when people spend their social energy seeking to be friends with only the inner circle.

At this party, everyone thinks they are the farthest outside the center, because they are focused on the backs of the people closer in.  Little happens to break the solitude; everyone feels isolated.

Now imagine you are standing somewhere in the middle of this strange party.  What can you do?

If you elbow your way to the center, do you know what you will find?  Nothing special. Additionally, once in the center — no matter which way you turn — you would still lack contact with the majority of the people at the party.  What else can you do?

Breaking the Huddle

Turn around.  Right behind you is someone wanting to be part of the group, to feel less isolated and more accepted.  In any social group (including the church), no matter how left out you feel, you can almost always find someone who seems to fit in even less than you do.  If a significant number of people at our strange party turned around, the huddle would break into several small clusters — each of which could foster an interesting connection.  Rather than “the action” happening only in the center, “the action” could occur all over the room, in other rooms and even the backyard.

Turning around is a ministry. The ministry of the body is not confined to the teaching and evangelizing of professionals or those in leadership.  Each of us is a minister in Christ’s body, given our own gifts and opportunities to be used by God in the lives of others.

Ministry is a word of encouragement over coffee, a phone call to see how someone is doing, or asking a question and listening to the answer.  Ministry is two families spending an evening together and finding out they are not the only ones who struggle with loneliness.  Ministry is any act of kindness and friendship which breaks the huddle.

Aristotle said, “Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” But we are not equally blessed by good friends.  Friendships are like money: some are socially rich, while others are socially poor.

Many older women find their social wealth plummets when they retire, or when their friends move away or their kids leave the nest.  Men who work long hours find themselves isolated after work. Twentysomethings whose college friends have scattered across country may feel abandoned.  People with families often have no more social support than singles.  They may be lonely together but they are still lonely.

The low priority on friendship in modern society means the fewer friendships have a chance to grown and blossom.  People move more frequently.  Extended families are scattered across state lines.   Work relationships can marred by competition and office politics.  And neighborhoods are filled with people who don’t know each other.  The result is people live more isolated lives, with mainly virtual friends and our society has become friendship poor.

If the local church is defined by the huddle syndrome with only the young and cool in the center, we will add to the growing isolation.  But if we start turning around, the local church can be less like a huddle and more like “Cheers” — “where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came” — even if you’re not young, hip or cool.

So the next time you feel socially isolated and left out, turn around.  And if the woman you meet is older than you, just smile and introduce yourself.  She’s probably lonely too.

 

More resources for Ministry Leaders

Photo taken by Johan and used here under Flickr Creative Commons.

 

Dealing with Loss: Lessons from Haggai

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Dealing with Loss | WednesdayintheWord.com
Recently I lost my church, my small group, my ministry and the family cat. At a season when I am free to devote more time to teaching and discipleship, I find myself “all dressed up with no place to go,” starting over in the same place.

Many days grief over what was found but now is lost paralyzes me.  Like the Beatles, how I long for yesterday!

The last place I expected to find comfort was in the Old Testament Book of Haggai — yet I did.

Haggai is a series of four prophetic messages from God to the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem after the exile in order to resettle the land and rebuild the temple.  The people became discouraged and stopped working on the temple after laying the foundation (Ezra 4:24).

They stopped working in part because their nostalgia for yesterday ruined their today.

In his first message through Haggai, God challenges the remnant to “consider their ways.”  They respond in obedience and resume work on the temple.  About 7 weeks later, they have become discouraged and God speaks to them again.

On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet saying, “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?” – Haggai 2:1-3

God asks the people a question, “How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?”  In other words, do you long for yesterday?  Are you discouraged because the work of today seems like nothing in comparison to what you had in the past?

Solomon’s temple — which was glorious in its beauty and extravagance — had been destroyed about 70 years earlier.  Most likely a few folks still living had seen it firsthand, and those raised in exile would have heard stories about its grandeur.  These workers could plainly see that what they were building now was shabby in comparison — more like failure or nothing.

How does God respond to their discouragement?

“But now take courage, Zerubbabel,” declares the LORD, “take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,” declares the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” declares the LORD of hosts.  “As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!”  – Haggai 2:4-5

He reminds them that He is still with them;  He is still working in their midst;  He still has a plan and His plan is on track.

What are you nostalgic for? A time when life was easier?  A time when God’s presence seemed more exciting than now? The time before you had kids? The time when your kids were little? The time before your best friend moved? The time when your parents were still alive?

Yes, we need to acknowledge painful losses and hard life changes, but not in such a way that nostalgia for the past poisons the present. It’s okay to acknowledge life has changed and “this temple” is different.  It’s not okay to let our nostalgia for the past blind us to God’s presence in the present.

When the past shines brighter than the present, we have a choice to make.  We can long for the “glory days” in a way that denies God is still glorious today.  If we do, like the remnant who stopped rebuilding the temple, we will stop the work God has called us to do today.

Or we can let the great things God has done in the past motivate us to press on in the present.  God is still with us and His promises still stand.  The past is simply the journey that led us to now.

Haggai teaches us that the question to ask after a loss is not: “How do I replicate the past?”

Rather the question to ask is: “What is the work God is calling me to now?” Take courage and for God is still with us.

 

Photo taken by John Morgan and used here under Flickr Creative Commons.