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It may not sound like a very spiritual question, but it is a serious one. 

Few of us are in danger of not getting enough sleep because we participate in all night sessions of prayer and study.  The problem that most Christians face is trying to pray and study effectively – rather than sleepily –  at the beginning or end of the day when they usually have opportunity for these spiritual activities.

But when we are tired at the end of the day or still tired in the morning after not enough sleep, it is difficult to seek God intently.  Sometimes we need to seek God in very difficult situations – perhaps in the middle of the night –  but under normal circumstances, in our regular day-to-day lives, if we really want to draw closer to God we need to “rest to be at our best.”

The principle is seen in an interesting story in the Old Testament. The Book of 1 Kings tells us that before meeting with God in difficult circumstances, the prophet Elijah did not study, fast, or meditate to be in top spiritual condition; he slept –  and the account tells us he slept not once, but three times:

Elijah … went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”  He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”  So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.  There he went into a cave and spent the night" (1 Kings 19:3-9).

Notice a couple of things about this unusual story. Elijah was on his way to meet with God at Horeb, the “Mountain of God,” but the account mentions specifically the sleep he took on the way –  at least two naps and, presumably, a night’s sleep in the cave. Then God spoke to Elijah and the prophet entered into a conversation with him.

Fast forward to the New Testament and we find Jesus sleeping in the back of the boat before calming the storm (Matthew 8:24). This is not to say that Jesus had to rest before performing a miracle, but that he knew the value of rest even when conditions were difficult.  That is why we find him telling his disciples to “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31), and the word translated “rest” in this verse can mean sleep as well as relaxation (as in Matthew 26:45, Mark 14:41).
    
Now the exhortation is to get “some rest” or “rest awhile,” as some translations have it, not to rest or sleep all day or in times when we urgently need to be seeking God (Matthew 26:40-41). But again, we are talking about our normal day-to-day activities and what is effective and what is not when it comes to spending time with God.

The truth is, none of us can perform at our best spiritually on an ongoing basis when we are not getting the rest we need.  The Book of Psalms tells us: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves” (Psalm 127:2).  We can apply this principle to spiritual food also.  The point the psalm is making is that God gives sleep to his people, those he loves, for a purpose – not just to be able to do another day’s work, but to help us most effectively seek and walk with him.  David also put it this way:  “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me” (Psalm 3:5 ESV).
 
Sleep is a gift that we need for our spiritual lives as well as for our physical well-being – we just have to decide to accept the gift.  

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​We all need courage at some time –  if not regularly –  in our lives. So it is not suprising that the Bible contains many stories of courage exhibited by its heroes.

 Some of those stories, such as the account of the young David fighting the giant Goliath, come quickly to mind.  But there are dozens more examples throughout the pages of Scripture where individuals stepped forward and fought against huge odds or difficult situations – often alone and without the support of others.  There are lessons every Christain should learn from these stories, and our new article gives three that we should take to heart. You can read it here.

Scripture in Focus:
1 Kings 2:13-25

The Book of 1 Kings tells us that near the beginning of his reign, King Solomon had his own brother Adonijah executed  (1 Kings 2:13-25). Solomon is praised for his godliness at this point of his life (1 Kings 3:3).  Why would he do such a thing?

Adonijah was the fourth son of King David and an elder brother to Solomon, who inherited David’s throne according to his father’s wishes.   But after the death of his own elder brothers, Amnon and Absalom, Adonijah considered himself the heir to the throne (1 Kings 1:5).

When David was near death, Adonijah invited his younger brothers (except Solomon) and many of the chief officials of the kingdom to a sacrificial feast to announce his intention to take the throne.  But the prophet Nathan warned David through Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and David gave orders that Solomon immediately be proclaimed king.

At this point Adonijah asked for mercy from Solomon – who pardoned him on condition that he showed himself worthy in his behavior (1 Kings 1:50-53).  But not long after this, Solomon executed Adonijah over an incident that might seem difficult to understand.  Adonijah went to Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, and persuaded her to ask the king on his behalf for permission to marry a young woman named Abishag.  Bathsheba agreed and asked Solomon, who reacted strongly and ordered Adonijah’s death. 

But there is more to the story than meets the eye.  Abishag was not just any young woman. She was the virgin who had been selected from David’s harem to sleep alongside the aged king (without any sexual intimacy) to help keep him warm at night due to his poor circulation (1 Kings 1:1-4).  But in the cultures of the ancient Near East, a king’s wives and concubines were considered part of the royal household inherited by the next king (2 Samuel 12:8).

The Greek historian Herodotus records this fact in saying that among the Persians a new king inherited the previous king's harem and that to possess a king’s wife was as good as having  title to the throne.  In Israel, this had in fact been one of Adonijah’s older brother Absalom’s tactics when he attempted to take the throne of David (2 Samuel 16:22).  So Adonijah knew that since the young woman Abishag was part of David’s harem, if he were to marry her it would strengthen his claim to the throne considerably.

That is why Solomon reacted so strongly – and why he told his mother Bathsheba “…Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him …” (1 Kings 2:22).  Solomon knew that this was no simple request, and that the devious Adonijah was clearly continuing his attempts to take over the throne. The Book of 1 Kings also shows that Solomon was aware that Adonijah was being supported by one of the military commanders, Joab, and by one of the chief priests, Abiathar – which is why the king also told his mother: “You might as well request the kingdom for him [Adonijah] and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!” (1 Kings 2:22).

Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, was used as an unwitting accomplice in Adonijah's scheming, but the Scriptures record that Solomon saw through the plot and acted decisively when it became apparent that his brother continued his plotting to take the throne.
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Sadly, this incident may have brought to a final fulfillment the curse King David had called down upon himself years earlier when he responded to the prophet Nathan's story of a man who stole his neighbor’s lamb.  That story was actually a parable representing David’s stealing of the wife of the faithful soldier Uriah, and the king (not realizing he spoke of himself)  had replied  that the guilty man must pay fourfold for his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-6).  It is perhaps not coincidence that David’s four eldest sons, ending with Adonijah, met untimely deaths.  But in any event, it is clear that although he was granted mercy by Solomon, Adonijah continued to scheme to build power to take over the throne for himself – and in this way caused his own demise.  ​

The Bible talks a lot about patience, and anyone who reads the Scriptures can’t help but notice the many verses that address this aspect of human relations.  What is less obvious is that a common thread connects most of these scriptures. The main words for patience found in both the Old and New Testaments are similar in meaning and connote “long-suffering.”  In fact, the New Testament word we most often see translated “patience” (the Greek word makrothumia) literally means “long-anger” or “long-burning” – like a long fuse attached to a stick of dynamite! 

But everyone has limits to their patience; everyone has a “fuse” that burns down eventually – when patience gives out to anger.  So whether we are someone who naturally has a “short fuse” and whose anger is more quickly ignited or whether we are more patient and have a “longer” fuse, as Christians we all have to control the anger we sooner or later experience.
 
Anger in itself is not wrong.  It is a necessary emotion, but one which must be applied carefully. The Bible shows that God himself exhibits “righteous anger” – for example, when he is angered by the mistreatment of helpless refugees, widows, and orphans (Exodus 22:21-24) – and the more we learn to see things as God does, the more we will be angered by such things, also. But proper expression of anger requires three things, and we will look at them in turn.

Proper Motivation

Once we feel our anger “fuse” has begun to burn, we need to immediately take stock of what it is that is motivating the anger.  Are we angry because our pride was somehow hurt, because we feel others are not respecting us, not giving us due credit, or have insulted us or hurt us in some other way?  If so, that anger must be controlled as quickly as possible.  A good rule of thumb is that if we are angry about something that has been done to us personally, we need to be particularly careful that the motivation for our anger is right and not just an expression of the “get even” desires of human nature.

Another thing we should consider when human relationships are involved is whether we are getting angry at a person or at an unacceptable behavior. The Christian’s motivation in anger should never be to correct a person, but to correct a situation.

These are things we can all reflect upon.  What causes anger in us when we do become angry, and what is our goal in expressing anger?  Thinking this through in order to curb angry feelings that are not properly motivated is the beginning of being angry without sin.

Proper Expression 

Even when anger is justified, it can still be wrong if it is not expressed properly.  Anger that is expressed with hurtful comments or any kind of violence is clearly wrong.  Just as we said that the Christian’s motivation in anger should never be to correct a person but to correct a situation, we can extend that to say anger that intentionally hurts people in the way it is expressed is always wrong.

We should always strive to express our anger in an assertive but non-hurtful manner. This involves stating our concerns and needs clearly and directly, without resorting to belittling others or trying to control them. Only as we properly direct feelings of anger to behavior that does something about the problem – rather than reacting to the problem – can we properly control and apply our anger.

We see this in the Bible’s description of how God controlled his anger at ancient Israel: “… he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath” (Psalm 78:38).  Likewise, our anger should always be under our control rather than taking control of us – only then will we be able to express it in a manner that is not wrong. That is why the apostle Paul wrote “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 3:4 ESV), showing it is not anger, but the lack of control and proper expression of anger that is problematic.

Proper Timing   

Controlled timing is also vital in proper anger management.  The longer we are able to delay before anger sets in, the more likely we are to be able to control it. Thomas Jefferson famously and wisely said, “When angry, count 10, before you speak; if very angry, 100.”  The apostle James put it this way: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20). As we noted above, both the Hebrew and Greek words translated patience in the Bible mean slow to anger.  Putting the brakes on anger early often saves us from skidding out of control when it is fully developed.

And even legitimate anger must be limited in its duration.  Once anger has been properly expressed, we need to put it to rest. The Scriptures are very clear on this.  Paul’s words to the Ephesians “Be angry and do not sin” are followed immediately in the same verse by “do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 3:4).  Paul quotes these words from Psalm 4:4, and it is sometimes helpful to read that psalm and see how David learned to bring his anger to a close.
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So we should always strive to be slow to engage anger and quick to bring it to an end. If we can learn to do this, while being careful to check our own motivation regarding what angers us and being unwavering in the proper expression of our anger, we will be exercising principles that do indeed help us to be angry and not to sin. 

 

“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.” 
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”   
― Albert Einstein


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A cartoon I saw recently showed a youngster telling his parents “Great news, Dad and Mom – my intelligence test came back negative!”  Intelligence testing is a huge industry today, and many different types of test have been developed. You can find dozens of IQ tests online which will measure verbal, mathematical or other forms of raw intelligence. But, as may be seen by the quotes above,  some of the most intelligent minds have realized that unapplied intelligence is worth little and that intelligence without action can be meaningless.  

There are a couple of verses in the Book of Jeremiah which relate directly to this: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom … But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJV).  

If we think about them, these verses constitute a very real intelligence test.  Notice the admonition in verse 24: “ … but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands…”  Here, the word “understands” is translated from the Hebrew eshkl,  to “use intelligence.”  The New International Version gets a little closer to this meaning: “…  that they have the understanding to know me ...”  (vs. 24 NIV, emphasis added), but we can go one step closer to the literal meaning by saying: “... that he uses intelligence to know me ...” Therein lies the test. How effectively do we use the intelligence we were given?

If we think about the words of Einstein and other thinkers regarding using intelligence to change and act intelligently, we see that the smartest intelligence test is perhaps not one you may find online or purchase from some testing organization, but the test that comes to us courtesy of the Book of Jeremiah.  It’s not just asking if we “know the Lord,” however. Our score is based on how well we really come to know the character and traits of the One who exercises lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness.

“... Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Some of us love the sight of a universal gym or a set of free weights. Some of us view such things as being remarkably like our idea of medieval torture devices.  But whether we willingly undergo a hard workout or not, everyone admits that becoming physically stronger usually takes a lot of sweat and effort. Similarly, we may think that increasing spiritual strength usually involves hard work and the dedicated practice of disciplines such as prayer and fasting.  So if I were to tell you there is a perfectly pleasurable and sweat-free way to increase your spiritual strength you would probably think I was selling something. Yet the Bible tells us that such a source of strength is available to us.
 
The verse quoted above from the Book of Nehemiah makes an amazing statement if we are willing to focus on it and accept it for what it says: “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Given what we know of most strength-building exercises, this sounds almost too good to be true, but Nehemiah’s words are not just some pleasant poetic statement. It’s not that he just happened to mention joy and strength in the same sentence – there are actually a good number of biblical passages that link joy and strength directly.

In fact, 1 Chronicles 16:27 tells us that these qualities are linked in the nature of God himself: “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.” Once we begin to see the connection between joy and strength in this and numerous other verses, we begin to understand what the connection is.  Joy is a source of strength that can help carry us through the difficulties of life just as much as determination and endurance, and in some ways more so.

It is true that Christians are among those who mourn for the evils of the world (Matthew 5:4) and that we experience pain and sorrow just like other people (John 16:33), but these are temporary reactions to specific situations, not our everyday attitude.  Joy is the great strength-enhancer that shores up patience and enables endurance. It can carry us through pain and difficulties and enable us to focus on others even in difficult circumstances.  Joy can actually enable us to accomplish incredible things beyond what would normally be possible.  Do we believe and focus on that fact? Do we believe and focus on the fact that it helped Jesus himself to make the ultimate sacrifice: “… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2 ESV, NKJV, etc., emphasis added).

Jesus specifically told his followers “These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).  Joy is an unmistakable hallmark of those who follow him closely.  Those who were imprisoned with Dietrich Bonhoeffer before his execution said that he always spread an attitude of happiness and joy, despite his dire circumstances. Those who knew Mother Teresa say that although her work with the poor and the diseased would have depressed and even crushed many people, her attitude as she did her work was always one of joy.
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The kind of joy that gives us this strength is not entirely human made, of course. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that deep, strengthening joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit of God, but we can help develop that joy by cultivating it in our daily thoughts and actions.  To seek the strength of joy in our lives is not to spend our lives in seeking temporary pleasures, but to find joy in what God gives us each day – whatever the situation, whatever the difficulty.  That is the lesson that those like Bonhoeffer and Mother Teresa had learned. It is a truth that Nehemiah understood thousands of years before our time, that joy and strength go hand in hand, and that the joy of the Lord is our strength. 

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;  he drew me out of deep waters” (Psalm 18:16).

In the wake of the extensive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in coastal areas of Texas and Louisiana, President Trump has called for a special National Day of Prayer in the United States, today, Sunday, September 3.

The flooding has already claimed many lives and inflicted countless injuries, and the extent of property damage in the flooded area is almost incalculable.  Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged, and in the city of Houston alone almost a million cars have been destroyed.  While it is difficult to accurately assess the cost of flood damage at this early time, it is likely that the amount will be hundreds of billions of dollars.

The President's call for national prayer is thus one of prayer for the victims of the hurricane and for the success of the  national response and recovery efforts.  We can pray not only for those who have lost family members and friends or who have been injured, but also for all those who are in a desperate situation having lost their homes and possessions. We should also pray for the emergency-services and medical personnel, military and all who are helping people in the affected areas.

Naturally, those of us who have not been affected by this natural disaster can also contribute financially, as we are able, to any of the relief agencies and  charities that are working in the flooded areas.  The existence of many scams and fraudulent email appeals for money make it wiser to contribute directly through the websites of recognized charities, such as the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

But even if we are unable to give physically, we can give spiritually on this day of prayer by interceding for those who need help.  And we should not limit our prayers to help for those within our own nation.  At this same time millions of people are suffering from massive floods that have occurred in Asia where  over 1200 have been killed and some 40 million people affected by flooding in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Parts of many cities are underwater and the storm front continues to move into Pakistan, where much more damage is expected.  In Sierra Leone a mudslide caused by rising storm waters killed over 1,000 people recently in the worst flooding that West African nation has faced in recent memory. 

The amount of suffering caused by these and other recent storms, like the total cost of damage done, cannot be calculated and is ongoing.  Government, state, and local agencies as well as charities and civilian groups are doing what can be done to help the people in need, but even if we are not involved directly, our part can be one of praying for that which cannot be accomplished humanly.

“When you pass through the waters,” the word of God tells us, “I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2).  That is a promise we should be humbly claiming today – for all those suffering from great flooding in our own nation and throughout the world. 

The Four Gospels are a focal part of the Bible for all Christians and one most of us spend a good deal of time in reading each year.  Although simply reading through the four accounts of the life of Jesus is certainly all we need to do to grasp their essential message, there are other ways we can occasionally approach these books for a fresh perspective and to help us see things we otherwise would have missed.

One of the best alternative ways of reading the Gospels is to use a “harmony” that arranges the material of the four books in such a way that we can read the different accounts of each event together.  The value of doing this has been understood for centuries. In fact, the earliest known harmony of the Gospels, the Diatessaron by the ancient Christian scholar Tatian, was compiled in the 2nd century – almost two thousand years ago! This work attempted to merge all four accounts of Christ’s life into one continuous story.  More refined variations of the Diatessaron using this or other techniques have continued to be made up to the present day, when we can now choose from among many print and online harmonies.

So what can we get out of using a harmony of the Gospels that we would not learn by simply reading through them separately?  Not only do we find all the information on a given event together in one place, but also a harmony makes it possible for us to see things that one Gospel account has that may not be mentioned in the others – unique details that may help us better understand the same story in the other Gospels. 

In addition to helping us to notice small but important details, harmonies also help us to get the larger overview – almost like merging photographs of a person taken from four different angles into one complete “three-dimensional” image. A harmony also often allows us to understand where stories which only appear in one of the Gospels fit into the overall flow of the others – to see them in their original setting.   Seeing what is unique in each Gospel helps us get a sense of what is important to each writer, what he is trying to focus on and what his particular message is.

For example, the birth of Jesus is described in two of the Gospels – Matthew and Luke.  The two accounts tell the same basic story, but when we put them side by side we find many details in Luke’s account that fill out Matthew’s story of the Nativity – such as the census that forced Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem and the story of the Annunciation to the shepherds.  Matthew, on the other hand, gives us details such as the story of the wise men, the flight into Egypt, and King Herod’s massacre of the children in his attempt to kill Jesus.  Both accounts tell us the essential story, but a harmony helps us to bring all the details together and in proper order. It also helps us to see that in many cases Luke focuses on the social background of the life of Jesus, while Matthew’s focus is more often on political aspects of the time that affected Jesus’ life.   While this is just a simple example, in cases where events are described in three or all four of the Gospels, a harmony can be even more useful in bringing all the facts together.  

Harmonies are usually of two types – “synthetic” or “parallel.”  Either they synthesize or merge the different accounts into one single story flow as Tatian’s original Diatessaron did, or (more commonly today) they use a format with the material from the Gospels placed side by side in parallel columns.  The parallel harmonies are often more useful because they help us to see what is not in a given Gospel as well as what is there so we get the clearest picture of what each author wanted to stress.

Making such a harmony is not simple, however. In the course of his ministry Jesus travelled around preaching in many of the cities and towns of ancient Galilee, Judea and their surrounding areas.  This makes it likely that he repeated the same messages at different times and in several places.  For example, both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke include Jesus’ instruction on how to pray – the Lord’s Prayer – but Matthew gives this as part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13), while Luke sets the prayer at a separate time after Jesus had been praying and his disciples asked him how to pray (Luke 11:2-4). This means that in some cases it might seem that material in a harmony is not in the correct place or is being duplicated, but most modern harmonies are constructed with careful scholarship that takes this situation into account.

Today there are many harmonies that you can consult or read through in your regular Bible study.  Some just compare the three similar or “synoptic” Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – while others also include John’s Gospel, which is sometimes difficult to mesh with the others, but which often adds much additional material, of course.

For a single column harmony with all the Gospels merged into one story, you can try the one online at:   https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/harmony/index.cfm
For an online multiple-column parallel harmony, you can look at the one here:    http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/
You can also download a parallel harmony based on the NET Bible here:
https://bible.org/assets/pdf/Peyton_GospelHarmony.pdf

Whether you choose to purchase a printed harmony for use in your study of the Gospels or elect to use one of the available free online versions such as those mentioned here, using a harmony can give you a fresh and often fascinating view of the story these books tell.  Whether you are a new student of the Bible or have read it for many years, using a harmony can enrich your study in ways that deepen your understanding of the gospel story and give you a much better knowledge of the unique and special emphasis of each verbal portrait of Christ. 

Scripture in Focus:
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Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No” (John 19-21).

When the Jewish religious leaders questioned John the Baptist about his identity, he told them he was not the Messiah (the Christ), Elijah, or “the Prophet.”  These were three figures mentioned in the Scriptures who the Jews believed would be revealed in the end time: the longed for Messiah (Isaiah 11:1-10, etc.), a second “Elijah” (Malachi 4:5-6), and a great prophet “like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15).   From our perspective as Christians today, we know the Messiah was, of course, Jesus. 

We also know that just as Elijah was a forerunner of his successor Elisha, John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus (Isaiah 40:3, John 3:30); and in that way and others, John fulfilled the role of a second Elijah (Matthew 11:7–14, Luke 1:17).  But the prophecy of the second Elijah could also be applied to Jesus himself, who did many of the same signs as Elijah in his ministry (2 Kings 2:11, etc.).

But that leaves the expected “Prophet.” Was that individual a second Jeremiah or other Old Testament prophet, as many of the Jews of Christ’s time thought?  Or could the prophecy relate to some modern day spiritual leader, as some religious groups have claimed – or even the prophet Mohammed, as many Muslims claim?

There was certainly confusion as to the identity of “the prophet” in the time of Jesus. The Jews knew that Moses had told their ancestors “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). But some thought that prophet would be synonymous with the Messiah, while others thought he would be a different individual. Some understood the words “God will raise up” a prophet to mean that God would resurrect one of the Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah or Jeremiah, which is why we read in Matthew’s Gospel that when Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was, they replied, “…Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14).

However, the New Testament clearly shows that the prophet spoken of by Moses was not one of the individuals active in Old Testament times (much less some more recent or modern individual), but Jesus Christ himself.  Jesus plainly stated that Moses wrote about him: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me” (John 5:46).  The disciple Philip told Nathaniel: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law ..” (John 1:45).

If we believe what the Scriptures say regarding the eventual appearance of another prophet like Moses, we must also believe what the Bible says in telling us who that prophet was.  In his great Pentecost sermon the apostle Peter confirmed that the prophet was Christ himself:

“… that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people’”(Acts 3:20-23).

So the New Testament makes it clear that the prophet to come was neither one of the Old Testament prophets nor any individual after the time of Jesus.  The Messiah, the Elijah, and the Prophet like Moses are all clearly identified in the New Testament.   In some ways, Jesus Christ fulfilled the promised roles of all these individuals, though we have seen that John the Baptist did fulfill at least a partial role as a second Elijah.
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Interestingly, in the transfiguration of Jesus before his chief disciples (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36), Jesus appeared in a glorified state along with Elijah and Moses.  The vision of these three individuals is not coincidental and reflects the Jewish expectation and longing for the Messiah, a second Elijah, and the Prophet like Moses. When we understand this, we realize that the transfiguration revealed Jesus not only as being with Elijah and Moses, but also as a manifestation of the Messiah, the Elijah, and the Prophet like Moses.

The idea of “running” the Christian “race” is a motif frequently found in the New Testament to describe the successful Christian life. 

​The apostle Paul uses the metaphor a number of times, for example describing his own running (“Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly…” – 1 Corinthians 9:26) and urging others to run with care (“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” – Galatians  5:7).  Likewise the Book of Hebrews urges believers:  “… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Countless articles have been written and sermons preached on this concept of “running the race marked out for us,” but one scripture that is rarely quoted in this context is found in the second epistle of John:

“Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9, emphasis added).

This verse is not often quoted, as it is not as easy to understand as most scriptures that use the analogy of running.  What does John mean in saying that we must not “run ahead"?  Even some modern versions of the Bible seem to have had difficulty understanding the verse, as they translate the expression “whoever sins” rather than “whoever runs ahead.”  But it is clear that John wrote “runs ahead,” and we need to understand what he meant by this if we are to understand what the sin is.

While it is possible that John meant that everyone who sets himself forward as a leader – putting himself “ahead” of others – is doing wrong, this does not fit the context of the verse very well.  It is far more likely, considering the overall message of John’s letter, that the apostle was warning his readers against going ahead of or beyond the truth of the Gospel that had been delivered to them.   This meaning seems to be clear, in fact, in the second half of 2 John 1:9 which says: “… whoever continues in the teaching.…” This does not directly apply to those who advance their own positions, but it does apply to those who somehow distort the teaching of Christianity.

If this is John’s meaning, his admonition that we should not “run ahead” is clear, because his letters continually argue against those who were adding to the original gospel message.  False Christians who were forerunners of the Gnostic philosophers of that age considered themselves to be advanced in their thinking and to be in possession of “higher” knowledge.  John shows that these individuals lured many Christians away from the original truth that they had been given (1 John 2:24, 26). 

John counsels us not to “run ahead of” or add to the truth we have been given in any way. It is a message he repeats elsewhere in his writings: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll …” (Revelation 22:18).   Taking away from the teaching God gives us is an equally serious problem (Revelation 22:18), but John makes it clear that adding to what God instructs us is not only an error but also a sign that we “… do not have God” (2 John 1:9).

We need not be openly mixing pagan philosophy with the teachings of Christianity – as the ancient Gnostics did – to “add to” the word of God. We can add to the truth God gives us more subtly by basing what we believe and do on human traditions  rather than on what the Bible actually teaches (Matthew 15:9), for example, or we can break the principle of not adding  to the word of God by accepting the pronouncements of astrology as a guide in our lives.

We can even “add to” the word of God by excusing things in our behavior through carefully selected “proof scriptures” that do not give the whole biblical picture and therefore create a meaning different  from what the Bible intends overall.  The principle that John stresses can apply to us in many ways, and it is one we might think about to ensure that it does not.  John’s words remind us that we are called to run, but we are also cautioned not to “run ahead.”

Every Christian knows Jesus’ words that his followers were to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16).  Being the light of the world seems easy to understand – it clearly involves the responsibility to “illuminate” the world through the witness of our lives and, of course, to reflect the light of the God who himself can be described as “Light.”

​But what about the salt – what exactly does that represent?  Salt was used for many different purposes in the Middle East during the 1st century, so there are a number of possibilities regarding what Jesus intended. We should consider all of the most likely meanings.

1. Perhaps the most obvious possibility is that Jesus’ reference to our being “salt” has to do with the use of salt as a flavor enhancer (Job 6:6) –  that we are to make the world more pleasing or “palatable” to God (Romans 8:8).

2. Salt was also widely used to preserve food, especially meat which would spoil quickly in the heat of the Palestinian desert environment.   The sense of long-lasting preservation is seen in the biblical expression “a covenant of salt” (2 Chronicles 13:5).

3. Salt was utilized to purify things such as offerings made in the tabernacle or temple (Leviticus 2:13).  This is the meaning behind Jesus’ words “For everyone will be salted with fire ...” (Mark 9:49) and Paul’s words “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).

4. On the other hand, the ability of large quantities of salt to kill vegetation and render land unusable led to salt being used metaphorically for the concept of emptiness and destruction (Job 39:6, Ezekiel 16:4, etc.). 

5. Despite the fact that large quantities of salt kill all plants, much smaller quantities were used as the world’s oldest chemical fertilizer.  In fact, after vegetation has been killed by a heavy application of salt, the plants often eventually come back more profusely.  Because the word “earth” in Jesus’ expression “you are the salt of the earth” can mean “soil,” some commentators feel that he may have meant his followers were to bring new life to the world, like a little salt to soil; but the likelihood of this meaning is certainly unsure in this context. 

6. Ancient peoples also often put salt on the wicks of oil lamps to cut smoke and increase their brightness.  This meaning seems attractive as the use of salt in this sense would then be parallel with light, in believers being both “salt and light.”  But in Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16, salt is discussed before light is mentioned, indicating he probably had a more common use of salt in mind.

Many other meanings have been claimed for Jesus’ words based on other uses or characteristics of salt. For example, some have claimed that just like salt, believers can make the world thirsty for God’s truth.  But this and similar ideas are somewhat fanciful and would not have been understandable in the context of what Jesus said without explanation. Likewise, it is commonly thought that Roman soldiers were paid in salt (hence the word “salary”), so that salt might have been a symbol of the disciples’ “worth,” but in fact the Empire’s soldiers were paid in normal money (or not at all), but not with salt.

Because Jesus did not explain which aspect of salt he intended in using the metaphor, we must presume that he had the most basic aspect in mind, which would mean that either or both meanings 1 and 3 above – salt as a flavor enhancer or a purifier – are most likely what he had in mind and how his hearers would have understood the expression. Understood in either of these ways, being the “salt” of the earth would certainly mean that we represent the world to God, just as in being the light of the world we represent God to humanity (Matthew 5:16).

But Jesus’ words also hold some practical aspects in his use of salt as a metaphor. After saying “you are the salt of the earth,” Jesus proceeded to say “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5:13). This is interesting as salt cannot actually lose its saltiness unless it is diluted by water or mixed with other substances. Salt spoiled in such a way might often have simply been thrown out on the street, and it is also possible that such low grade salt was spread on Roman roads to inhibit vegetation growth. In either case it would be “trampled by men,” but the lesson would be that our belief and behavior must not be diluted by things of the world around us.

There is another way that spiritually we might lose our “saltiness.”  Jesus also told his disciples “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other” (Mark 9:50, emphasis added). This suggests that our saltiness can be lost through a lack of peace with one another, and that we may cease to fulfill our function of making the world more acceptable to God by our “saltiness” either being diluted, as we saw above, or by not living peaceably with others.   These obstacles to successful discipleship are both worth thinking about.  

The New Testament is clear in its teaching that every Christian is given one or more “gifts” through the Spirit of God (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, etc.).  These gifts include the propensity or ability for serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, healing and many other things. These gifts are given to enable the individual to better serve the Church and the world at large, and we are instructed to be sure to use them (1 Peter 4:10).  But many Christians never find or fully utilize their own unique gifts – sometimes because they do not realize they have been given them, or because they have never attempted to identify what those gifts may be.

Even for those who understand the role of special talents or gifts in the Church, the question inevitably comes to mind – How do I know what my gift is?  In this article we will look at a number of points that can help us answer that question.

Ask to See Your Gift

The starting point in ascertaining what gift we may have been given is always to ask to see the gift!  We should pray to be shown what gift or gifts may have been bestowed on us and for help to utilize them as we should.   Asking God this question presumes we will be listening for an answer; a good place to start is in our regular study of the Bible.  Some people find it helpful to do a word search to study the specific scriptures that mention gifts, but we should be careful to read these scriptures in context.  For example, Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthian church has a number of verses about spiritual gifts – we could say that 1 Corinthians is the Bible’s “gift book.”  But other verses in the letter help us to see gifts in perspective and to understand how they are to be properly used. We should also remember that biblical examples of gifts given to people are not always labeled as such – we need to stay alert to examples of gifts and their use in the Scriptures whenever we study in order to come to fully appreciate and understand the range of gifts and the roles that they play.  

Examine Yourself

Many people presume that their gift is something mysterious that has been somehow poured into them regardless of their personalities, background and aptitudes.  This is always possible, but experience shows that more frequently God blesses us by enhancing abilities with which we were born and interests that we have already developed.   It is rare indeed for Christians who feel sure they understand the nature of their own gifts to feel that they involve doing things they do not enjoy or feel a natural affinity for.  We see a wonderful example of this in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire when the Christian Olympic runner Eric Liddell explained why he ran: “I believe God made me … fast!  And when I run I feel His pleasure.”  If we know we have a natural proclivity, talent or skill, it is more than likely that we already know what our gift is.  Humanly we enjoy what we are good at – and what we are good at is usually our gift.

Get Counsel 

Although we may feel that no one knows us better than we know ourselves, it can be extremely helpful to get the opinions of those who know us well as to what our significant strengths might be.  Because we are talking about spiritual gifts, we should, of course, seek the advice of those who are of like mind to us and who understand the question from a spiritual perspective.  In that sense, pastors and friends in our churches may be the best ones to ask.  I remember a situation where a number of people were discussing a problem that had arisen in a local church.  The responses varied greatly, from those who said “we need to pray about this” to those who said “maybe there is a bright side to this problem,“ and others who immediately suggested action to alleviate the problem. These responses fit the characteristics and doubtless the gifts of each individual – in this case the prayer warriors, the encouragers, and the leaders.  Other people see how we act and react in situations like this and can often see where our strengths lie.  

Experiment

If we are still unsure of our gifts, one of the best ways to identify and ascertain talents we may have been given is to throw ourselves into a wide range of service activities – to serve in whatever opportunity comes our way. It is often in doing something that we realize we are good at it; a good sign that we have found our gift is the satisfaction we feel when we utilize it. But this takes a certain amount of courage and determination to experiment until we find what works best – not only for us, but also for those we are trying to serve.  And we need not limit ourselves to the idea of only one gift. Sometimes we are given multiple gifts and it is only in experimenting that we discover some of the less obvious ones. Another fact to remember is that some gifts are given only for a time – while a specific need exists. Staying flexible and being willing to experiment in our service can help us find new gifts when they are bestowed as circumstances and needs change.

Above All

In considering our gifts and seeking to develop and use them as best we can, we should never lose sight of the fact that although our gifts are given for service, we can still serve apart from the use of any particular specialized gift.  Sometimes people become worried or even obsessive about trying to find “their” gift, but gifts are never for our own good – they are always for the good of others – and the end is more important than the means.  If it is not clear what your special gift is – even after following the principles mentioned above – you need not worry or become discouraged.  Sometimes we just need to concentrate on serving as well as we can in any way we have opportunity. Sometimes it is the ability to do just that … that is our gift.  

"…The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him..." (John 7:53-8:11).






The story of the woman caught in adultery and taken before Christ is often said to be of doubtful authenticity, but there is good evidence to show it belongs in our Bibles (see our article on this on our sister site, here).  Although it is a story we may know well, it is one that deserves a closer look.

Entrapment

The story makes it clear that this event was orchestrated by the religious authorities in an attempt to trap Jesus.  If he condemned the woman – who was clearly guilty – to stoning (the biblical punishment for adultery – Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:24), the Jewish authorities would doubtless accuse him of sedition because the occupying Romans had forbidden the Jews to enact capital punishment (John 18:31).  But if Jesus said the woman should not be stoned, they could then accuse him of rejection of the Law of Moses and of being guilty of religious heresy.   From the perspective of the Jews, it was a watertight trap that they did not expect Jesus to escape.  Even if Jesus declined to pronounce the woman guilty or innocent and refused to answer their question, his authority with the people would have been greatly undermined, and the exchange would be seen as a victory of the authorities over Jesus and his teaching.

But this situation was not the only trap the religious authorities appear to have set.  The account clearly shows that only the woman was brought before Jesus and charged with adultery. But the Pharisees and teachers of the law said that the woman had been “caught in the act” of adultery – so where was the man who was involved, and why was only the woman being charged?   The Law of Moses specifically commanded that “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife … both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22-24).   

It seems more than likely that the man was hired by the Jews to entice the woman so that the Pharisees could then catch them “in the act,” as this was necessary for the death penalty to be administered (Numbers 5:13). In this case, of course, the man would have been promised immunity and not arrested, as arranged. That an individual could be hired to do such a thing and that the Jewish authorities of the time would organize it is made clear by the “witnesses” hired to falsely accuse both Christ (Matthew 26:59) and Stephen (Acts 6:13).
 
Escape

We are told that Jesus responded to the trap set for him by stooping down and beginning to write on the ground.  What he wrote has been a source of centuries of speculation.  Commentators have suggested everything ranging from writing out the charge as for a Roman trial to one or more of the Ten Commandments or even the personal sins of the accusing Jews.  But we should notice that after he wrote for a while the accusers still did not go away – it was only after Jesus stood up and said “let him who is without sin cast the first stone at her” (vs. 7) and then proceeded to write again that the Pharisees and those with them left.

Yet there need be no mystery in why what Jesus wrote is not recorded.  C. S. Lewis believed that the narrative of Jesus writing in the dust has the ring of an eyewitness account and it may well be that the eyewitness saw Jesus writing but was not close enough to see what it was that he wrote.

That it was what Jesus said, not what he wrote, that dismissed the accusers is seen in the account itself: “… those who heard began to go away one at a time …” (vs. 9, emphasis added).  When Jesus said that the one “without sin” should cast the first stone, the Greek expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament and may mean “without the possibility of sin” or “without actual sin,” though in either case its point was clear and obviously effective. 

When the throng of accusing Jews left, one by one, Jesus and the woman were left alone – except of course, for the group of bystanders that had gathered there (vs. 1). That group was probably standing at a short distance and included the eyewitness through whom we have the details of the story.

Lessons

So the story of the woman caught in adultery is a fascinating one which becomes more intriguing the more we look at it. But there are clear and important conclusions we can draw from the account.

Christ’s words “let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (vs. 7) and “… neither do I condemn you …” (vs. 11) have sometimes been misused to suggest that we should never judge even proven wrongdoing or that it should be excused. But Jesus was not rejecting punishment being administered to the guilty – as we see in his teaching in many other scriptures – but extending grace to a woman who had been entrapped. He was doubtless aware of the woman’s attitude and if it was a repentant one, but while he did not condemn the woman, he certainly condemned the sin by saying “Go now and leave your life of sin” (vs. 11 and compare John 5:14).   
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At one level, we can see ourselves in this story.  From this perspective the entrapped woman represents every human. The apostle James tells us that  we are “enticed” to sin by our own human nature (James 1:14), but the word translated “enticed” that he uses is from a root meaning to “trap” and is rendered this way in a number of Bible translations.  Like the woman, we have been trapped by sin and are worthy of the penalty of death. The symbolic role of the Pharisees who arranged the trap in this story is just as clearly that of the enemy who tempts us (2 Timothy 2:26), and Christ is the one who frees us from the trap and who calls us, like the woman, to leave our lives of sin. Perhaps above all, Christ’s words remind us that we do not change in order to be freed and accepted; we must change because we have been freed and accepted.

When you read the word “lamp” in the Scriptures, what comes to mind?  Usually we might think of the kind of ancient oil lamp mentioned by Jesus in his Parable of the Lamp placed on a stand to light a room (Matthew 5:15).  But the word “lamp” occurs frequently in the Bible (some 100 times), and the meaning of the word can be surprisingly varied. 

In cases where a literal lamp is involved, it is most frequently a small saucer or bowl-like holder for oil and a wick that is being discussed (Job 18:62, 2 Kings 4:10), though the large and elaborate seven-branched menorah lamp that illuminated the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 25:31-37) is simply called a “lamp” in many instances. But we also find a number of figurative or symbolic uses of the word, especially in the Old Testament, as we see in the following scriptures:

Inner Illumination:  “The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one's inmost being” (Proverbs 20:27).

Instruction: “For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23).

These two meanings are fairly obvious ones, but sometimes the connotation of “lamp” is not so obvious unless we look closely at the context in which it appears. For example:

Protection: “How I long for the … days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:2-3).

Life:  “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning” (Job 18:5).

Once we think about them, it is not difficult to see how “lamp” is being used in these examples, although the connection between the word and its intended meaning may sometimes be even more symbolic: 

Descendants:  “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong” (1 Kings 15:4).

Hope:  “But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished” (2 Samuel 21:17).

Once we become aware of these different meanings of “lamp” in the Scriptures, we begin to see that the meaning of the word is often not what it first appears to be. Take for example a passage we find in 1 Samuel: “The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was” (1 Samuel 3:3). We might naturally presume that this verse is speaking of the menorah light in the tabernacle, but the Law of Moses made it clear that that lamp was never to be allowed to burn out and that it had to be kept burning all night  from twilight to the light of the following day (Exodus 27:21, Leviticus 24:3-4). So if this verse is not speaking of a literal lamp, what is the “lamp of God” to which it refers? 

When we look at the possible meanings given above, the answer is that “lamp” in 1 Samuel 3:3 most probably refers figuratively to Israel’s “hope” in God.  Similar expressions are used in 2 Samuel 21:17 (the lamp of Israel), 1 Kings 11:36 (the lamp of David), and 2 Kings 8: 19 (the lamp of David and his descendants). The meaning of “hope” is made even more likely when we look at the immediate context of 1 Samuel 3:3, which tells us:

“One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel” (1 Samuel 3:2-3).

In this case, “lamp” seems to refer to the fact that, despite Eli’s decline, hope was present regarding the boy Samuel whom God was about to call.   Similarly, when Samuel records the words of David: “You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light” (2 Samuel 22:29), it is hope, not literal light, that is in mind.

These are small examples, but in many cases in the Old Testament we should pause to think a moment when we read the word “lamp.”  While context may make it clear that a literal lamp is involved, on the other hand, it may sometimes show that another, more symbolic, meaning is intended. 

​As Christians, we must listen to both the “word” of God – the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and the “Word” of God – Jesus Christ (John 1:1).  In fact, as Jesus himself showed, the one testifies to the other: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39, emphasis added). But Jesus’ point in saying this was that we can be studying – even diligently – and still not hearing the One we should be hearing.   

So how do we most effectively listen to the Word and his word?  Read our new article on practical strategies for hearing the Word through Scripture here.

Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and the New Testament stresses that his followers are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven (Philippians 3:20).  But does this mean that as Christians we should not love and identify with our individual countries?  Some feel that honoring a physical country is contrary to the understanding of Christian “citizenship” – what does the Bible teach on this?

It is certainly true that every Christian is called to a universal family in which there is no distinction between Jew or Gentile, male or female (Galatians 3:28 ) – or for that matter,  Americans, English, French, Nigerians or citizens of any nation.  But many scriptures show that as members of the family of God, we can still appreciate and celebrate our own individual cultural heritage or nationality. 

A verse often used to help show that our identity with our own nation is acceptable is Jeremiah 29:7, where God’s people were encouraged to pray for their city (which was, at that time, Babylon!) and country.  In a similar manner, we find Psalm 122:6 urging us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”  and many other psalms praying for, or encouraging  others to pray for, the land and people of Israel.

So identity with and support of one’s nation is certainly found in the Old Testament, but what about the New Testament – did Christ’s teaching and the establishment of the Christian faith do away with love and concern for one’s country?
   
When we remember that Jesus wept over the fate of Jerusalem  (Matthew 23:37-39, Luke 19:41-44) and the apostle Paul wrote that one of his chief desires was for his fellow Jews to be saved (Romans 10:1), we see the expression of a specific attitude.  That attitude does not view the Israelites as being more important than other peoples (John 10:16; 1 Timothy 2:4), but it shows the importance of the welfare of one’s country and fellow citizens for both Jesus and Paul.

At the most basic level,  the question “Is love of country biblical?” revolves around the concept of nations within the Bible.  Are the nations themselves purely human constructs that somehow are in opposition to God’s will?  The Scriptures give overwhelming evidence that this is not so.  Abraham was told by God that all the nations of the world – not just the peoples – would be blessed through him (Genesis 22:18).   Deuteronomy 32:8 tells us that God himself gave the nations their inheritance and set their boundaries, and we see the continuation of the individual nations in God’s plan for humanity throughout the books of the Bible.

Consider the many verses that show this in the Bible’s final book.  The Book of Revelation tells us that those who overcome will rule over the nations (Revelation 2:26), and that all nations will eventually worship before God (Revelation 15:4).  At its conclusion, in its description of the New Earth, Revelation stresses that the nations will walk according to God’s light (Revelation 21:24), that the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:26), and that the tree of life will be there for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2).
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So the Bible does not show that human nations are simply part of human government that will be superseded by the government of God – nations are clearly in existence in the Kingdom of God itself.  We should never place our physical nation, like anything else, before our allegiance to God (Acts 5:29), but we are free to appreciate and support our individual nations and, like Jesus and Paul, to love them. 

Something to think about: 

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." – Thomas Jefferson

The Bible shows that honesty is of primary importance in any society. It is represented by many biblical concepts such as truth and faithfulness and is used as the opposite of negative and destructive qualities such as lying, cheating and deceit.

But in today’s world we see dishonesty in every aspect of life – from “fake news” and false claims made in resumes and job applications to failure to report income that would be taxed.  Lack of honesty is so widespread that we have a situation strikingly similar to that described by the Old Testament prophets. The prophet Isaiah wrote “… justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14), and Jeremiah affirmed that “Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity” (Jeremiah 9:5).
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It is always easy to find reasons why being dishonest might seem to be advantageous, but Thomas Jefferson’s statement that “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom” is solidly rooted in what the Bible has to say about this vital quality.  The Book of Proverbs – the Bible’s own “book of wisdom” – contains more references to aspects of what we call “honesty” than to any other quality associated with wisdom.  The proverbs reflect the fact that sooner or later dishonesty always brings unhappiness to ourselves and to others, and it is truly wiser to simply make honesty a practice in every aspect of our lives.  Anything less than honesty is not only wrong, it is also a tragic lack of wisdom.  

​Most people tend to think of forgiveness in a somewhat limited way,  as though it were a matter of choice – we either choose to forgive those who wrong us or we do not.

But even as Christians, knowing  that we must forgive if we expect to be forgiven ourselves,  we do not always realize that there are different degrees of forgiveness and that we must be careful not to accept something that feels like forgiveness on our part, but really is not.

The simplest way to understand this is to realize the difference between what we might call active and passive forgiveness. 

Passive Forgiveness

When we find it difficult to forgive someone, we sometimes forgive them passively.  This means that we may stop ourselves from talking and thinking negatively about the person and certainly from considering any kind of revenge or “getting even”  with them.  Yet the level of forgiveness stops there – at a kind of “letter of the law” level.   Ultimately we may settle into a kind of indifference toward the individual. We do not see the  person  who has wronged us as either a friend or an enemy, but we feel  content in not actively being negative about him or her.  Unfortunately, if we fall into this kind of passive attitude, we may never cross over into a more positive attitude of true forgiveness toward the person.
  
How do we know if we are guilty of this kind of minimal, “passive” forgiveness?   We can often determine this by considering how we react to the person.  Do we tend to keep interaction with them to a minimum, or at least to a lesser degree than before they hurt us in some way?  Do we never really say or do anything positive to them?  If someone else says something complimentary about the person, do we simply smile and not comment?  Any of these reactions can indicate that our relationship with them is a passive compromise and not the result of true forgiveness. 

Active Forgiveness

Unlike passive forgiveness, true active forgiveness goes beyond  emotional and spiritual indifference.  That is why true forgiveness is so hard to accomplish when we have been deeply hurt. It’s not human to want to help the person who hurts us – especially if the person who hurt us clearly did so intentionally.  Yet completely forgiving someone means that, regardless of what they have done, we treat them in the same way we did before they hurt us, that we live with a feeling of compassion for the other person.
 
That is the kind of forgiveness demonstrated by Christ in his words on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34),  by Stephen  regarding those who killed him: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”  (Acts 7:60), and by countless Christians who have been wronged since that time.   In fact, these two prayers show us how we can know that our forgiveness is active and not passive.  We do not pray for those we only nominally forgive.  If we can pray for those we need to forgive, we are actively forgiving them.

Active forgiveness does not mean we need to stay in abusive or hurtful relationships or situations. We must certainly forgive endlessly and without restriction (Matthew 18:21-22), but sometimes it is necessary to forgive from a distance in order to stop the wrongful cycle of hurt or harm (Acts 12:17, etc.).

But whether we are able to stay in situations or it is wiser to remove ourselves from them, our forgiveness must always be active and full. Whenever possible our forgiveness should be accompanied with active love: “… Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 26:27-28).  Such a fully active demonstration of forgiveness is not always possible, but as we saw in the prayers of Jesus and Stephen, we can always forgive actively by praying for those who have hurt or offended us.   Anything less is passive forgiveness.
 
* See also our article “The Second Step of Forgiveness.”

 
"Root and branch" is an ancient Hebrew expression, but one that is easily understood today. The “roots and branches” of something represent its entirety, just as the roots and branches of an actual tree represent the whole plant – as when we read in the Book of Job “His roots dry up below and his branches wither above” (Job 18:16), or in Malachi “…Not a root or a branch will be left to them” (Malachi 4:1).

Sometimes the expression can also mean the beginning and end, the past and future, as when it is used metaphorically to represent Christ himself as the “Root and branch” – the one who both lived before and was also the descendant – of David, the son of Jesse (Revelation 22:16).

But let’s go back to the basic meaning of “root and branch” meaning “the whole thing” or “every part.” It’s a simple metaphor for completeness that can remind us of an important lesson in Christian living. When we read how Jesus told his disciples “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away…” (Matthew 18:8), we understand that this does not mean literally, and that Christ was talking about sin rather than literal body parts.  But we may miss the fact that “hand and foot” was a parallel expression to “root and branch” – it could mean every part of something. Christ’s clear teaching was that we should become perfect (Matthew 5:48), and sin must be cast out of our lives in its entirety – no part of it must remain in us.
 
Now let’s take that understanding back to the idea of “root and branch.”  Most people know that if you cut down a tree you must also dig out the roots or the plant may grow back up from the roots left in the soil. But it is also true that if we cut down a  tree and even dig out the roots, but leave some of the branches lying around on the ground, sometimes the branches may produce roots from which the tree will grow again.

What does all this have to do with Christian living?  Simply that we must always remember that sin must be torn out of our lives “root and branch” or, like a partially cut down tree, it will return again.   Digging out the roots of sin is equivalent to removing the thoughts that initiate the growth of sin in our minds. If we remove the outward visible branches – for example, pornographic materials from our home – the problem will still grow back again if the wrongful thoughts are not completely removed from our minds.  In the opposite way, even if we decide, for example, that we will turn from alcohol dependency, but we leave “branches”  such as wine “for cooking” around our home, it will only be a matter of time before those “branches” take root again as they initiate thoughts – the “roots” of the problem – in our minds. 
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These examples are obvious ones, but the principle applies in many situations. As the apostle Paul wrote: “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” (Galatians 5:9 and 1 Corinthians 5:6). Leaving either a few roots (thoughts) or a few branches (anything that triggers the thoughts) in our lives will result in the problem growing back again.   There is only one way to fully put a sin out of our lives – it has to be removed “root and branch.”

When we think of prayer, many of our ideas may be more cultural than biblical. For example, different cultures hold their hands in different ways in prayer. But the examples of prayer we find in the Bible rarely speak of how the hands are held –and when they do it is usually to say that the praying person's hands were outstretched to the heavens rather than in the manner with which most of us are familiar.  How we extend our hearts in prayer is clearly more important than how we hold our hands.
    
In the same way, when we think of prayer we may think of closing our eyes, but this is not necessary or  biblical.  We can certainly pray with our eyes closed just as well as with them open, but the reverse is also just as true.  In some parts of the world, where Christianity is outlawed and punishable by severe penalties, believers routinely pray with their eyes open to avoid unnecessary arrest and punishment.

In fact, praying with open eyes was probably the norm in biblical times.  On two occasions when Jesus prayed to the Father, we are told that he looked up to heaven.  In the first instance he was giving thanks: “Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me’” (John 11:41), and in the second he was making a request: “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father … Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). Interestingly, the only other time a praying person’s eyes are mentioned in the New Testament is in the story of the repentant tax collector who was so distraught that when he prayed “… He would not even look up to heaven” (Luke 18:13), indicating that looking up to heaven would have been the normal way to pray.

There is a great deal of corroborating evidence to show that prayer in the Bible and in the early Church usually involved praying with open eyes, but acceptable prayer has nothing to do with whether our eyes are open or closed – any more than how we hold our hands.  Sometimes we may wish to close our eyes in order to not be distracted by things happening around us, but often we may prefer to keep our eyes open to see that for which we are giving thanks or to feel a closer connection with the One who is "near to all who call on him" (Psalm 145:18).

​​You know the situations.  As you walk out of a shopping center you are approached by someone who asks: "Could you spare a few dollars? – I need help.”  We have seen the signs many people carry - pulling at heart strings from every possible direction -  “Homeless,” “Veteran,” “Injured,”  “Hungry,” “Please help – God bless.”

Some of these cases may reflect genuine need, of course, but police officers and social welfare agents know that this is just a business for a good number of people and that they are not destitute at all.  You know this, too, but how are we to judge a given case? What is the Christian's right response when asked for help in such circumstances – should you always give?   Our article "The Savvy Samaritan" published on this website today provides some answers that may be helpful.  You can read the article here.