Posted: 12/19/03

EDITORIAL:
Begin at the manger, but follow Jesus through his life

Do you ever wonder what became of the shepherds?

They experienced history's penultimate “Do you remember where you were when … ?” moments. (You know about lesser memorable moments: Where were you when you heard World War II was over? Where were you when you learned President Kennedy had been assassinated? When Elvis died? When the space shuttle disintegrated over Texas?)

Even 2,000 years later, we know where those Hebrew shepherds were when they received the second-best news of eternity: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

How could those shepherds ever forget that night? First, an angel appeared out of nowhere, telling them the long-awaited Messiah had been born in a little town just down the road. Some of them probably lived in Bethlehem. This angel, wrapped in a tornado of light, tells them where to go to find the Savior, the Lord. Hint: Don't run down to the nearest military base; look in the barn. Chances are, the shepherds even knew the innkeeper who rented out his stable to the poor couple from over in Nazareth.

I can't help but wonder what became of the shepherds. Did they think back to the angels and the manger and the baby when they heard the best news of all time–that Jesus rose up from the grave?

And as if they didn't hear the first angel, an entire heavenly choir, as big and loud as the Aggie marching band, drove home the point. The angelic chorus sang words penned by the prophet Isaiah: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” That had to have been the best concert in the history of music. I can't even begin to imagine, although I try. On some winter evenings, I put on my CD of Handel's “Messiah,” turn it up as loud as I can stand, and listen to a wonderful choir sing those words. The experience is so sweet and powerful and hopeful, it takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. And it's not even a smidgen as good as what those shepherds heard that night.

You know they didn't forget. They talked, oh yes. When Luke researched his Gospel decades later, he learned exactly what the shepherds heard and saw that night. They remembered, and they talked. They quoted all the angels word for word. Even if Jesus' mother, Mary, were Luke's source, the shepherds must have told her. And the Scriptures tell us they had left the manger “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen.”

Still, I can't help but wonder what became of the shepherds. Thirty years later, when a young rabbi fed thousands out of the first century equivalent of a Happy Meal, did they think about that night? When this Jesus healed the sick, preached to huge crowds and walked on water, did it remind them of the baby Messiah? Were they on the roadside during Palm Sunday? Were they–and one shudders to think it–among the crowd who screamed to Pilate, “Give us Barabas”? Did they cry when they heard young Jesus had been crucified? Did they think back to the angels and the manger and the baby when they heard the best news of all time–that Jesus rose up from the grave?

The shepherds intrigue me because they are the Everyman and Everywoman of the Christmas story. Jesus is the Messiah, of course, fully human yet completely divine. Mary and Joseph were humans, and we reverence them, but I don't know anybody who can relate to them directly. Their roles were incomparably singular. The angels were heavenly beings, the Magi rich and powerful, and Herod corrupt and powerful. But the shepherds, they were “just folks.”

So, I wonder as my mind wanders: What became of the shepherds?

I wonder about the shepherds, because the question I ask of them could–and should–be asked of us as we journey away from Christmas year after year. What becomes of us–of our relationship to this Holy Baby, who went on to live a hard yet faithful life, who suffered crucifixion for our sins, then defeated death, rising again to offer us the greatest gift of all, eternal life and never-ending relationship with God Almighty?

This time of year, well-meaning folks lament how society has taken “Christ out of Christmas.” Unfortunately, many Christians do too. When we leave Jesus in the manger, we take Christ out of Christmas. When all we think about is a sweet, cuddly baby, we take Christ out of Christmas. “Christ” means “Messiah,” and although Jesus was already God in the flesh at his birth, he didn't fully pay for the gift of our salvation until his crucifixion and resurrection 33 years later.

So, when we get caught up with the sweetness and surprise of Christ's birth at Christmas and fail to reflect upon and celebrate his entire ministry, we miss the message of Christmas.

We don't know if the shepherds kept Jesus in mind and worshipped him later. But if we embrace the Holy Baby without submitting to the Savior, and if we pack up our nativity sets and don't follow him daily throughout the coming year, we'll take Christ out of Christmas.

–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Explore Bible Series for Dec. 28

When God doesn't make sense, trust him still

Jonah 4:1-11

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

James Dobson wrote a book titled “When God Doesn't Make Sense.” Jonah might well have written a book with a similar title.

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah ran from God (Jonah 1). A large fish swallowed Jonah, and Jonah ran to God, crying out and seeking God as God's mercy spit him on the shore (Jonah 2). Jonah followed God's call to preach judgment to Nineveh as Jonah ran with God by doing his will (Jonah 3). Jonah proclaimed thunder, lightning and God's judgment so strongly that God moved, and the people of Nineveh listened to God, confessed their sin and repented of their actions. God spared Nineveh and the people by his tender mercy.

Jonah, in chapter 4, does not understand why God did not finish destroying the people of Nineveh. God did not make sense to Jonah.

Anger

When God did not bring disaster on Nineveh (Jonah 3:10), Jonah became displeased and angry (Jonah 4:1). The idea of “displeasure” is that Jonah felt highly irritated, crushed, embarrassed and restless. Things moved beyond Jonah's control. Jonah felt like a fool before the people of Nineveh. The concept of his “anger” meant Jonah boiled with a burning anger at God yet failed to understand God's compassion and the repentant relief of the people as God showered his mercy on them. Jonah possessed a narrow view of God, an inflated sense of embarrassment and a lack of love for the sinners whom God loved.

Jonah's responses to God in his displeasure and anger are typical of a pouting prophet: (1) “I told you so!” (2) Get me out of here! (3) Life is not fair! (4) I've earned the right to act this way!

Jonah whines, “I told you so!” (v. 2). He acknowledged God's character, nature and quality as one of grace, mercy and patience that goes beyond what is often necessary. Jonah prays much like he did in the belly of the large fish (2:1). Jonah's prayer indicates that his “storm trouble” (Eugene Peterson) returns.

Jonah's troubles often come because of his attitude toward God and his stubborn unwillingness to listen faithfully to God and understand his plan–in this case, God's tender compassion that spares sinners who repent. Jonah is angry, but God in his loving kindness withholds his fury, rage and harm.

Jonah then cries out, “Get me out of here!” Jonah is like the children of Israel in the wilderness who desire to turn back to Egypt (Exodus 14). He groans like Elijah in a cave on Mount Carmel, begging God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4). Jonah asks God to do to his life what he would not do to the people of Nineveh: Take my life! Destroy me! Remove my soul from earth! Jonah's anger rages like a fire out of control because he cannot control life or God. God asks, “Is it right for you to rage in anger?” (Jonah 4:4).

Jonah continues his tirade as if to say, “Life is not fair!” Jonah moves to the east side of the city, pouts, waits in hope God will change his mind again, and then watches as a plant grows above him producing shade (vv. 5-6). Eugene Peterson calls it “the unpredictable plant.” Jonah feels happiness and gratitude for the shade (v. 6).

However, morning dawned as a worm ate the shade tree and it withered (“dried up”). The scholar Banks says the worm is God's orchestrated message “of man's insignificance.” The hot sun and fierce wind beat down on Jonah and led him to the point of exhaustion (v. 8). Jonah's emotions went from anger to gratitude to weariness to a maddening, internalized frustration both with himself and God. Again, Jonah wished for death (v. 8).

Jonah's frustration with the God who does not make sense was, “I've earned the right to act this way!” God asks Jonah if it is right for him to act the way he is acting in his rage and anger. Jonah, surprisingly, replies, “Yes, it is right for me to be angry even unto death!” (v. 9). Jonah feels he has earned the right to contest God and his activity. Beware of such pride. C.S. Lewis says, “Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Jonah's anger boiled and his pride swelled. Then God spoke.

God's word

God spoke to Jonah, saying, in essence, “Just as I created the tree and gave it life and growth and made it shade for you, so too I made human beings, have grown them and supplied life for them, and provided for them in ways they do not even comprehend. When you cannot understand and when I do not make sense, trust me” (vv. 10-11). Jonah's anger problem became a pride problem that became a trust problem. God asks for simple trust and an acknowledgment that he is in control.

How can you trust God under the unpredictable plant and in moments when you do not understand him or his ways? Focus on who God is, not what you want him to do for you. His thoughts and ways are higher than yours (Isaiah 55:7-8). Pray God's good for others and welcome God's blessing for all. Rejoice in mercy for all. Trust celebrates God's mercy.

Question for discussion

How would you counsel someone having a hard time deciphering what God was trying to do in her of his life?

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 11

Rejecting wisdom is tantamount to rejecting God

Proverbs 1:20-3:8

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

“There is no happiness where there is no wisdom, and proud men in old age learn to be wise,” Shakespeare once poetically opined. Wisdom returns life to the basics. It is as essential for the Christian as an engine to a car or a heart pumping blood through the body. God's wisdom creates an inner happiness. Where there is no wisdom, there is no happiness and no joy. Where there is no wisdom, there is no security in the soul or in life (Proverbs 1:33). Eternal wisdom provides every person an opportunity to stop, look and listen. Wisdom announces an invitation.

Wisdom calls

Proverbs pictures wisdom as a person calling to people in the marketplace (v. 20). Wisdom raises her voice in the chief concourses where people move to buy, sell and transact business. Wisdom sings (v. 20, literally, “hymn”), attracting attention to the musical score of God's symphony. Wisdom also preaches (v. 21), signaling a cry from one heart to another the message of good news that falls from heaven. Wisdom goes forth singing and preaching, while inviting people to look into the happiness and joy of life lived under God's wisdom. The scholar Duane Garrett says: “Wisdom is not abstract, secular or academic but personal and theological. To reject wisdom is to reject God.”

What words does a personified wisdom speak? Wisdom shouts on the streets, “How long will you act unwisely?” (v. 22). Eugene Peterson's “The Message” clearly gives the force of the Hebrew translation: “Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance? Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism? Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?”

The writer of Proverbs mentions three kinds of people who need wisdom–the simple ones who refuse wisdom's good; the scorners or mockers who desire to boldly laugh in the face of wisdom; and the foolish who, literally, have “thick skulls” that refuse to listen to the voice of wisdom. Wisdom calls out wise words that, if believed, will supply grace and truth for life (John 1:14).

Wisdom and the human machine

C.S. Lewis once remarked, “Now God designed the human machine to run on himself.” Lewis feared many men and women tried to go at life alone, trying, in Lewis' own words, “to invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God–apart from God.” Wisdom supplants the self apart from God and joins the heart, soul and mind to the joy of God. Wisdom yearns for a return to life's most basic need: God's pure and holy wisdom (v. 23). Wisdom invites the people on the streets from all walks of life to simply turn their hearts toward God in his wisdom. Turn, literally, to God's proof and to his conviction. In the New Testament, such a turning would require confession of sin and repentance.

What will God do when people turn their lives toward him? God will do two things: (1) He will create an eternal spring (literally, “gush forth”) of his Spirit that will fall like dew on the morning grass; (2) he will make clear his words and provide purpose for life like the lifting of a window shade to reveal light (v. 23).

God desires to refresh and reveal himself in your life, but many people refuse (v. 24). God begs with wisdom to draw people near to his security and grace, but some stubbornly refuse. Chuck Swindoll warns, “A stubborn will stiff-arms reproofs.” Not only have many people stiff-armed God's reproofs; they have also treated God's counsel as if it were nothing (literally, “zero,” v. 25). Wisdom pleads for an answer. What happens when God's wisdom is stiff-armed and counted as nothing?

Answer?

God returns on the heads of those who refuse his wisdom that which the foolish practiced in life: Simpletons receive the judgment of their choices; mockers brace for the laughing whirlwind of God's terror as if in a storm; and the foolish swim in the misery of their own foolishness while crying out in distress and anguish (vv. 24-27). Storm winds blow. Who will the people in the marketplace, on the streets and in the concourses of business cry out to now? Who will listen?

The unwise refused to listen to God in his wisdom when he warned them. God called. They refused to listen or answer. They heard the noise of the streets but turned a deaf ear to God's voice. How will God answer their calls in a storm?

God will not answer (v. 28). God will do to them what they did to him. They will search for God in the fury of the storm, but like a man stumbling in the rain, wind and fog while reaching for something to hold on to, they will not be able to balance their feet beneath them (v. 28). The fools refused knowledge and lifted their faces away from God (v. 29). They anxiously clamored for a hold on life but found nothing to grasp (v. 30). The storm destroyed the fruit of their lives (v. 31). In the chaos of the storm, the people destroyed themselves and each other (v. 32). Complacency surrounded them like the wind- blown trash from a storm (v. 32).

As the storm calms, God gives one final call. Who will turn to me? Who will listen to wisdom? Who will receive the final message? Those who do are wise. They “settle down” as God settles down in them and peace calms their hearts (v. 33). The Son shines again. Mourning turns to joy and laughter.

Question for discussion

How would you describe wisdom?

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Jan. 4

The beginning of wisdom is a fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:1-19

By John Duncan

Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury

We live by proverbs. One man speaks to his son, “If the shoe fits, wear it.” A businessman says, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” A coach says, “Don't count your chickens before they hatch.” A police detective says, “Where there's smoke there's fire.” In Texas, a wise person says, “Don't squat with your spurs on.”

We live by proverbial wisdom–short sayings that provide meaning for everyday circumstances like raising children, running a business to make money, trying to keep a team from overconfidence during a winning streak, solving crimes or the plain use of common sense. Proverbial wisdom, biblically, moves beyond common sense to insight for living gained from a personal knowledge of God. The Book of Proverbs supplies practical wisdom from God for daily living in real circumstances.

Knowledge of God

Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Fools despise wisdom and instruction. The starting line for wisdom is the fear of God. When God says, “Let's go!” He invites the follower of Christ to gain a personal knowledge of God's ways.

What two kinds of knowledge does Proverbs offer? One, the writer mentions a wisdom that comes from above (James 1:5; 3:17-18). Two, he also identifies instruction that leads to good and godly choices in the daily realties of life like work, marriage, school, relationships, and in private thoughts and personal actions.

J.I. Packer, in his classic work, “Knowing God” asks, “What were we made for? To know God.” Packer also adds, “Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a person's heart.”

When a person knows God, he or she will perceive truth in understanding of God's ways and also will receive instruction (Proverbs 1:2-3). The writer of Proverbs considers the person who is wise in God's wisdom as one who will listen to God and the counsel of others (v. 5). The wise person grows and learns. The wise person sees God at work in his or her heart, in the lives of others and in the world. As poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” The wise person acknowledges and sees God's grandeur in daily life.

Wisdom excels

Who will the wise person listen to and hear? Obviously, the echo of Proverbs is that God speaks and his people listen. Wisdom is not philosophical chin stroking and ponderous thoughts about deep things in life. Rather, wisdom inspires godly action. Sons and daughters listen to their God-honoring parents (v. 8). A listening heart responds to life in ways that honor God. Wisdom adorns the head with grace and creates an inner beauty (v. 9). The Greek Septuagint labels such adornment as a “stephanos crown,” or “the victor's crown of grace.” God's grace produces both the wisdom and the victory.

Still, the writer of Proverbs is not spinning homespun wisdom; he yearns for people to follow God in his ways. To know God requires two key intentional actions in life: (1) the ability not to cast off or abandon wise instruction from godly people and (2) the discipline to hear, understand, discern and apply wisdom to every facet of daily life.

As one street-wise person said, “God did not make no junk, but you can't junk the wisdom of God if you will become all God wants!” Wisdom excels the world's wisdom in that it possesses a depth and richness that shapes the heart, soul and mind, unifying them for one purpose, that is, to glorify God. What actions glorify God? God is glorified when people practice justice, make good choices and treat people honestly and with dignity (v. 3).

Wisdom adorns and adapts

Wisdom adorns the soul like a crown or a golden chain around the neck (v. 9). Wisdom also adapts to circumstances and situations that arise in daily life. Sinners may entice you with bait to grab their every plan hook-line-and-sinker (v. 10). Sinners may stand at the gate and invite you to join their sins like murder or theft (vv. 10-12). Sinners may talk a game of joining the party (v. 14).

Wisdom prepares the heart for such a moment. God's instruction changes the heart. God's wisdom supplies the soul with strength. God's grace adorns the mind with spiritual knowledge. When sinners call, wisdom works God's power and plan, thus giving the servant of God the ample supply for facing and resisting sin's temptation.

Sinners say, “Come! Look! Sin!” Sinners advertise more than they can deliver. God in his supply of wisdom says, “Do not walk with sinners or in their paths” (v. 15). God's wisdom urges the servant of God to flee temptation and sin (v. 16). God's wisdom warns of the hidden trap into which sin can lead a person.

The trap is like a hunter's trap for catching birds (v. 17). God says, “Flee, fly, but do not frolic with temptation, sin, or sinners who aim to trap you and devour you like a bird!” Wisdom warns but also reminds the listener, “To refuse God's wisdom is to invite personal pain, trouble difficult to escape (like a trap), and a soul diminished in the abundant life Christ offers” (vv. 18-19). Ultimately, Jesus came to give you an abundant life filled with his wisdom.

Questions for discussion

What proverbs do you find yourself quoting?

Who personifies wisdom for you?

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Dec. 28

Jesus Christ is life and the light of the world

John 1:1-18

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

From the beginning of human history, people have asked, “Where is God?” Some ask with the cynicism of the scientist, looking for God in a test tube. Others, having been nurtured all of their lives in a secure “family religion,” have accepted God's existence with their minds, but not their hearts. Between these two groups are those of us who have a natural, healthy desire to know more about God. This desire begins to develop when we are born into God's family.

The Apostle John wrote his Gospel approximately 30 years later than Mark, the earliest of the synoptic gospel writers. After that time lapse, John had the advantage of perspective. He did not deal with the virgin birth of Jesus as did Matthew and Luke. He began when Jesus was one with his Father in heaven.

The majestic beginning

Most people define “word” as merely a vehicle by which a thought or action is expressed. Sometimes our words are artificial and fickle. We say one thing and mean something else, or someone misinterprets our choice of words and takes what we say to mean something entirely different. Sometimes we purposely say something in assumed innocence, when in reality there is another meaning behind what we say. Yet when John speaks of the “Word,” he has in mind something far beyond what we usually think about words. For the Jews, a word spoken had unique power. It was a living reality, so they used words sparingly.

The greatest illustration of the power of words was demonstrated when God spoke at creation and life appeared. God's words continue to be active and creative spiritually, as well as physically (Isaiah 55:10-11). God spoke to the heart of Abraham, and he left Ur. He spoke to Moses at the burning bush, and he appeared before Pharaoh. Then we have discovered that one cannot be exposed to the word of God and do nothing about it. It has such power that neutrality is out of the question.

In verses 1-3, John gave a remarkable progression. First, there is the beginning of salvation history, where Jesus was presented as the foundation of God's plan of redemption. Second, Jesus was not only the Word of God, but also the expression of God. Third, he was the one who brings repenting sinners to recognize what God is truly like, as he is reflected in Jesus Christ.

Then, in verses 4-5, we discover Jesus was the life that resides in God–the everlasting life that both creates and redeems. It is an eternal gift that comes to us through his word. In short, God was in Christ, redeeming the world to himself. God is in his Holy Spirit, revealing to us our sins and also showing us the love, mercy and forgiveness of the Heavenly Father.

When God came

Beginning with verse 6, John moved from the vast expanse of eternity where God has always been, to the earth and to a simple, solitary person. He introduced John the Baptist who was “sent from God.” We see here the sovereignty of God in choosing John to be the herald of the Messiah. He, too, had a miracle birth, though not as miraculous as the virgin birth of Jesus.

John was quick to note that this herald who would come was not the true light he had introduced in Jesus. The light God gave John the Baptist was that of understanding, perception, and moral and spiritual awareness. John was a reflection of the true light found in Jesus.

Yet when Jesus came to his own world, his own people ignored him and passed him by. But those who did receive him were given power to become his sons and daughters because they believed on his name. We were not born “of blood,” or inheritance, nor of “the will of the flesh” by human decision apart from the Holy Spirit, or by “the will of man,” or by a legal transaction based on a cold, calculated business decision. In the verb “become,” there is both a sense of instantaneous regeneration and of progressive growth. Those who receive Christ are constantly in a state of “becoming.” Each of us is a work in progress.

When the Word became flesh

Jesus, who was one with the Father, was an eternal spirit with no limit nor restriction. When he came to earth, he descended from that loftiest of all heights to become flesh–the lowly, earthly matter from which God formed Adam.

Jesus began a new dimension of existence. He came and “pitched his tent” among us. He did not establish a permanent residence but remained here just long enough to identify with human beings, to understand their temptations, emotions, physical pain and mental anguish. Yet he was filled with grace toward undeserving people, and he became the communicator of truth. He was unique, specially loved by the Father. He came to bring us to God and God to us. In him, the distant, unknowable, invisible, unreachable God has come to us. God can never be a stranger to us again.

Question for discussion

In what ways is Jesus unique in his relationship with us?

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Jan. 11

Courage plus faith produces incredible results

1 Samuel 17:1-58

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

On a visit to the Valley of Elah in Israel, the traditional site of the contest between David and Goliath, an Israeli friend accompanying us had brought along a slingshot fashioned like those used in ancient times. It was made of two strips of leather attached to either side of a small leather cup in which the stone was placed. The two strips were held in the hand and swung overhead. At the proper moment, one strip was released, and the stone was flung from the cup toward the target. My Israeli friend demonstrated the procedure for me, and expertly caused the stone to sail across the small valley. He invited me to try it. My effort was a total disaster. I learned he had developed his skill with the slingshot through practice since he was a child.

Likewise David, no doubt, had spent the long days alone in the fields with his sheep practicing with his slingshot. Yet more important than his skill in using that primitive weapon was his faith in God's presence with him. His boldness was not presumption but reliance on God's power.

Goliath's challenge

The story of David and Goliath is so familiar it is used to describe any conflict in which a considerable inequity exists between the combatants. We often hear such conflicts, whether between athletes, companies or nations, referred to as “David-and-Goliath” situations. The event has a special appeal not only to children who delight in hearing and retelling the story, but also to adults who are faced often with the giants of the world. We find courage and inspiration in the simple faith of David.

The Philistines had been enemies of God's people from ancient times. They had a highly trained military organization, equipped with horses, chariots, numerous foot soldiers and archers (1 Samuel 13:5; 31:3). The armor of Philistine soldiers included bronze helmets, coats of mail, leg protectors, spears and shields.

This particular skirmish with the Philistines was one of many during King Saul's reign. Once again the two armies faced each other in this particular valley. On this occasion, the Philistines used a unique ploy. Among their troops was a giant of a man who was a frightening spectacle to the Israelites. This giant Goliath was more than nine feet tall. His armor and weapons were formidable indeed. Furthermore, he was quite the actor, and his brazen taunts had terrified Saul's army.

An unexpected response

With verse 12, the scene changes from the encampment of the Israelite and Philistine armies to David's home in Bethlehem. Jesse, David's father, was an old man. Three of his eight sons had enlisted in Saul's army and were engaged in the confrontation with the Philistines in the Valley of Elah.

David, the youngest son, was responsible for keeping his father's sheep. David learned early the art of shepherding, which prepared him for the awesome task of shepherding a nation as their king. Moses had 40 years' experience shepherding his father-in-law's sheep before God sent him to Egypt to deliver his people and “shepherd” them through 40 years of wilderness wandering.

Jesse's concern for his older sons in Saul's army was reflected in the assignment given David. He was to take food for his brothers and the commander, find out how his brothers were faring and bring back a report to his father. David arrived at the front in time to hear Goliath's daily challenge. David could not believe Saul's army trembled in fear because of Goliath. He considered their cowardice a disgrace, because they were the “armies of the living God” (v. 26).

David's oldest brother, Eliab, was embarrassed because of David's boldness, rebuked and chided him, and demanded he go home. He refused, and eventually secured Saul's permission to accept Goliath's challenge. After refusing to wear Saul's armor, David took his shepherd's staff, “five smooth stones” which he had retrieved from the bed of the brook, and with his slingshot in his hand, he approached Goliath.

Claiming victory for the Lord

Goliath was livid with anger when he saw David representing the army of Saul. David's reply to the Philistine's curses was that he had come only “in the name of the Lord.” When the enraged Goliath rushed to meet David, David ran toward him, put one of the stones in his sling and struck Goliath in the forehead. The Philistine fell on his face. David ran to the giant, took his sword from its sheath, and cut off his head. The army of the Philistines suddenly lost their courage and fled, for their champion was dead.

The army of the Israelites then pursued the Philistines, killing and wounding many of them. It is important to note that David countered Goliath's speech not with a threat, but with an announcement. David emphasized the difference between their armor. David came “in the name of the Lord” and not with weapons of warfare. Most important of all, David vowed that because of the outcome of their contest, everyone would know that there “is a God in Israel” (v. 46).

Question for discussion

How has God enabled you to overcome a difficult situation and brought honor to his name?

Posted: 12/19/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Jan. 4

God chooses the unlikely and equips them well

1 Samuel 16:1-13

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

Bill was a stutterer. All through his childhood and youth, he was the victim of unkind taunts from his peers. Prolonged speech therapy had helped, but he still stuttered and often could not complete a sentence.

But he was a devoted Christian. One Sunday morning at the close of the worship hour, Bill came forward and spoke to his pastor. The congregation was stunned when the pastor reported that Bill was convinced God was calling him to preach. Many asked, “How could Bill ever preach with his stuttering problem?” The pastor asked the congregation to pray for Bill as he followed God's leadership in his life.

After Bill finished high school, college and was about to enter seminary, he asked his pastor if he could preach on a Sunday evening. When Bill stood to deliver the sermon, the congregation again was stunned, but this time because of the miracle they witnessed. Bill did not stutter, but spoke with confidence and conviction. Many wept, and everyone learned a valuable lesson. Those whom God calls to serve him, he equips for the task.

The anointer learns obedience

How much time had elapsed between the end of chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 16 is not certain. King Saul had disobeyed God's command through Samuel to totally destroy the Amalekites and everything that belonged to them (15:2-3). Because Saul spared Agag, the Amalekite king, and took spoils of the best of the cattle, God rejected him as king over Israel.

Samuel was still mourning because of what had happened to Saul, in spite of the fact God “was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel” (15:35). Samuel was reproved for his mourning for Saul, since God had rejected him as king over Israel. God instructed Samuel to take a horn of oil and go to Bethlehem, where he would anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king of Israel.

Samuel hesitated to follow the Lord's instructions because he was afraid Saul would find out and kill him. We are often slow to follow God's leadership because of fear, forgetting that God has promised to be with us and to empower us to do his will.

Furthermore, the choice of one of Jesse's sons would not be up to Samuel, for God had already chosen him. God also told Samuel there would be a secondary reason for his journey to Bethlehem. He must be prepared to sacrifice a heifer. This ceremony would be for a select few, which would include Jesse, his sons and the elders of Bethlehem. God assured Samuel he would show him what to do. The elders of Bethlehem trembled when they saw Samuel coming, for he was held in high regard as God's spokesman. They also may have heard the recent news that Samuel had executed Agag, king of the Amalekites, whom Saul had spared.

Outward appearances are deceptive

Samuel likely still was nervous about what he was going to do, realizing his action would be an act of treason should Saul learn about it. He was anxious to get on with his assignment, and he saw Eliab, Jesse's eldest son, and was impressed with the tall, handsome young man. He was ready to anoint Eliab, when God reminded him that he did not look on the outward appearance of a person, but on the heart.

Samuel learned something we must all understand. What we see in a person is not necessarily what God sees. Abinadab and Shammah, the second and third sons of Jesse, were also impressive young men, but by this time Samuel had learned his lesson. He relied on God's impressions in his heart, and not on his own assessments. In all, seven sons of Jesse were interviewed by Samuel, and none received God's approval.

The wonder of God's surprises

By this time, Samuel may have been a bit confused. He was convinced God had chosen one of Jesse's sons to be Israel's next king. So, probably with a tone of desperation in his voice, he asked Jesse if these seven were indeed all of his sons.

Possibly with some reluctance, Jesse admitted the youngest son was in the fields, tending the sheep. “Youngest” also means “smallest” in Hebrew. Because of his youth, David likely was small in stature–quite different from Eliab, whose height had impressed Samuel. Kings often were described as shepherds in Israel and in other countries in the ancient Near East. David's role as a shepherd may have been a prophetic indication of his coming position as the shepherd of God's people, Israel.

At Samuel's request, David was brought in from the fields. He was a handsome, striking young man. The Lord immediately commanded Samuel to anoint David as Israel's next king. David's name appears here for the first time in the books of Samuel. Two significant things happened–he was anointed in the presence of his brothers, who were witnesses of God's choice, and “the Spirit of the Lord” came upon him “in power” (v. 13).

Question for discussion

Can you think of a time when God used someone in a remarkable way whom you would never have chosen for the task?

Posted: 12/19/03

Faith-based prison touted in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. (RNS)–Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has announced the creation of what he calls the nation's first entirely faith-based prison at a facility in his state.

Bush made the announcement in Tampa at one of a series of conferences sponsored by his brother's White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.

He applauded the work done by the office instituted by President George W. Bush, as well as the efforts by Attorney General John Ashcroft to recognize faith-based organizations.

“It is imperative for government to work in close and careful coordination with community and faith-based organizations, because government alone will never solve the problems tearing the fabric of our society,” he said.

The governor's plan is for more than 790 inmates to live in eight dormitories at the Lawtey Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla. Participation by inmates is voluntary, and entry into the program will not depend on the inmate's faith preference or lack of faith. Those who choose to be part of the program will be involved in faith-based activities seven days a week. Programs will focus on family life, personal growth and life skills.

Posted: 12/19/03

Religious beliefs, experience impact views on homosexuality

By Michelle Gabriel

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Religious beliefs and personal experience are the two biggest factors shaping Americans' attitudes toward homosexuality and the volatile issue of gay marriage, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted in mid-October by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, was released the same day as Massachusetts' highest court ruled that denying civil marriage to gays and lesbians violates the state's constitution. The court gave the legislature 180 days to find ways for homosexuals to marry.

The Pew poll found 59 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, but the percentage was significantly higher–80 percent–among people who frequently attend church services and describe themselves as “highly religious.”

Evangelicals are most strongly opposed to the idea of gay marriage and also are the most likely to hear homosexuality denounced from the pulpit. Among evangelicals, 80 percent oppose gay marriage, compared to 54 percent of mainline Protestants and 55 percent of Catholics.

Opposition to gay marriage was up since July, when pollsters last asked the question. In the July poll, 71 percent of highly religious respondents opposed gay marriages. Those who supported it dropped from 21 percent in July to just 12 percent.

Scott Keeter, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, said the change might mean churches, particularly evangelical churches, have mobilized their members to more strongly oppose gay marriage.

Evangelicals, such as Southern Baptists and Pentecostals, are generally theologically conservative, while mainline churches, such as Presbyterians, Lutherans and Methodists, tend to be more theologically and socially liberal.

In the poll, a majority of Americans (55 percent) said homosexual behavior is a sin, a view shared most strongly by “highly committed white evangelicals” (88 percent), black Protestants (74 percent) and “committed” Catholics (64 percent).

Sixty-eight percent of evangelicals said homosexuality is frequently discussed in their churches, compared to only 33 percent of mainline Protestants and 49 percent of Catholics.

The poll found 59 percent of evangelicals heard negative references to gays in church and only 1 percent heard accepting references. Eight percent classified the gay references as “no position” or “other.”

Thirteen percent of mainline Protestants heard negative gay references in church, while 4 percent heard accepting references. More than a quarter (28 percent) of Catholics heard negative references, while 3 percent heard positive ones.

The poll also showed that when gay issues arise in church, parishioners tend to absorb what they are told.

More than half (55 percent) of evangelicals whose clergy talk about gays report a “very unfavorable” view of gay men, while those whose clergy do not discuss gays reported only a 32 percent “very unfavorable” view.

Among mainline Protestants and Catholics, 28 percent of people who heard about gay issues in church reported “very unfavorable” views of gay men, while only 18 percent of those who did not hear gay issues discussed in church said they held “very unfavorable” views.

Although most evangelicals do not support homosexuality, 60 percent said they feel comfortable around gay people, compared to three-quarters of the general population. Highly religious white evangelicals reported the most discomfort with gay people, at 34 percent.

Keeter said the widespread support and comfort around gays could be indicative of Americans' increasing contact with gay issues–the poll found that 60 percent of Americans have a gay friend, family member or co-worker.

In a society brimming with stereotypical portrayals of gays in the media, Keeter said, a personal relationship provides the only accurate way to understand the homosexual community's perspective.

The poll was based on a survey of 1,515 adults conducted Oct. 15-19. It has a sampling error of between 3 and 4 percentage points.

Posted: 12/19/03

Austin church adopts 50 families for care

By George Henson

Staff Writer

AUSTIN–The Christmas season marks a new, more personal relationship between God and humanity. Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin hopes to engender some new and personal relationships this holiday season as well.

Families within the church have adopted 50 families with ties to the Christian Women's Job Corps classes the church sponsors or one of the church's four church starts. The church starts were facilitated with funds from the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Austin Baptist Association.

Three of those congregations are in multi-housing projects of the Austin Housing Authority, and the fourth is in a mobile-home park.

Chris Rowley, director of Mission Austin and the Christian Women's Job Corps program, said in the past, church members have brought gifts to the church for families, and the gifts were distributed at a party held at the church.

“It was big and it was fun, but it was a bit impersonal. The families didn't get much of a chance to know one another,” she said. “People are really excited about how we're doing it this year.”

This year, Hyde Park families will deliver their gifts to each recipient family's residence. Most of the families are headed by single mothers, “who are notorious for being overlooked,” Rowley said. In addition to gifts, food also will be given along with a “What Christmas is All About” evangelistic tract.

Rowley encourages the Hyde Park volunteers not only to make a visit but to establish a relationship that lasts beyond Christmas.

“It's relationships that make the difference,” she said. “We're trying to take it to the next level, not just play Santa.”

Posted: 12/19/03

IMB's goal is one worker in every unreached people group

RICHMOND, Va.–The International Mission Board has a simple goal: One missionary assigned to every unreached people group in the world.

Sounds simple, but the numbers tell a different story.

Researchers have identified nearly 6,500 unreached people groups, with a combined population of about 3.4 billion people.

For the IMB, the foreign missions arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, to touch each people group would require doubling the number of existing full-time personnel. From that perspective, the task may appear overwhelming, IMB administrators acknowledge.

People groups refer to groups of individuals, families and clans who share a common language and ethnic identity.

An unreached people group is a “people group in which the number of evangelical Christians totals less than 2 percent of the population,” explained Scott Holste, director of the IMB's global research department.

Already, about one-third of IMB personnel are engaging unreached people groups with little or no access to the gospel. Expanding that reach will require more resources.

IMB President Jerry Rankin stresses that the point of missions is “to eliminate lostness.” Unfortunately, he said, “many churches are forfeiting the very thing that would result in their growth and vitality by depriving their people of being involved in God's mission. He has called us as the people of God to make him known among all peoples. We must continue to be driven by the question: 'By what criteria should any people be denied the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel?'”

The challenge of unreached people groups is illustrated by a case study in Sumatra, the largest unevangelized island on earth. Sumatra is part of Indonesia, a nation spanning 17,000 islands of the Indonesian archipelago.

If Sumatra were a nation, only nine other nations would have more unreached peoples. Sumatra is the home of 52 known unreached people groups consisting of 25 million people. Of the 52, 48 have no indigenous churches and 34 have no known gospel workers.

“There was a time when we could mark initial progress in this task of world evangelism by keeping track of and learning about the countries in which we had missionaries,” Holste explained. “We have learned, however, that reality is much more complex than that. Virtually every country in the world contains scores, if not hundreds, of diverse people groups. We can no longer be satisfied that we have made disciples and established the church in one or two people groups in a country.”

Missions agencies have always been about winning people to Christ, but up until the last 20 years, agencies “were content to work only where missionaries were welcomed, while more than a third of the world remained isolated from access to the gospel,” Rankin said.

The motivation behind the IMB's mission statement–“Making Christ known among all peoples”–is anchored in the instructions of Christ to “make disciples of all nations,” he added.

“When Jesus gave us the Great Commission, the terminology he used was 'panta ta ethne,' which literally means all the peoples of the world. Every people group deserves the opportunity to hear, understand and respond to the gospel in their own language and cultural context.

“They should not have to cross barriers of ethnicity and language to know Jesus.”

For this to happen, the church in America must wake up and look beyond itself, Rankin asserted.

“The Great Commission was not given to a mission agency to carry out on behalf of the churches but was given to every church, every believer and every denominational agency,” he stressed. “The role of the IMB is to channel, enable and facilitate all Southern Baptists being obedient to the Great Commission.”

Still, many in the church hold to the view that “there is plenty of work and evangelism for me to do right here in my neighborhood and town.”

The church in America must realize the gravity of a lost world, Rankin declared.

Posted: 12/19/03

Why do we know not Joseph?

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Poor Joseph.

For someone who is otherwise a crucial character in the Christmas story, the earthly father of Jesus is often overlooked, some would say neglected, or worse, ignored.

Each year, the Madonna and child are featured on a postage stamp, but not with Joseph. In the Bible itself, Joseph appears briefly at the beginning in Bethlehem, again when Jesus is 12 years old, but then disappears from the story. There is no mention of his life, or curiously, his death.

“Churches named after him are everywhere, his altars and statues abound, yet he is seldom referred to and often seems to be the forgotten saint,” writes Ann Ball in the new Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices. “At Christmas, Joseph is always depicted at the nativity, yet the songs sing of the child and mother, the star, wise men, angels and shepherds. Joseph is there, yet hardly noticed.”

A mosaic portrait of Saint Joseph from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Scholars who have examined Joseph–and there aren't many–seem to agree on one thing. While he may seem to play a minor role in Jesus' life, he was by no means insignificant and should not be overlooked.

If nothing else, Joseph was an “unsung hero” who provided Jesus with protection, royal lineage, a livelihood and, perhaps, a worldview that shaped his outreach to the poor and downtrodden.

“All of us are kind of bit players in bringing about God's purposes,” said Stephen Davis, a professor of philosophy and religion at Claremont McKenna College. “The vast majority of us, like Joseph, will not get headlines or our 15 minutes of fame, but we all have our parts.”

The main reason Joseph is such an enigma is that the Bible says so little about him–only that he was a pious carpenter from Nazareth, although some think he was an architect, or maybe a general contractor.

Other texts that never were accepted as Scripture go into much more detail. The Protogospel of James, written about 150 A.D., says Joseph was an elderly widower when he was chosen by lot to be with Mary, who was only 12.

“I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl,” Joseph protested in the account. “I am afraid, lest I become a laughingstock to the sons of Israel.”

The Legend of Joseph the Carpenter, from the 4th century, goes further, saying Joseph was a 93-year-old father of six when he met Mary and died at 111, when Jesus was about 18 years old.

The Christian gospels are less precise–Matthew calls him “a just man” who is betrothed to Mary and tempted to “send her away quietly” when she becomes pregnant with Jesus. An angel appears in a dream and convinces him to stick by the virgin.

Both Matthew and Luke trace his lineage back to King David, which provides the family pedigree necessary for Jesus to be the Messiah. Still, Jesus is dogged by questions of his legitimacy, frequently called “the son of Mary.”

“It is uncommon, and somewhat insulting, to refer in that day to a man as the son of his mother,” said Timothy Friedrichsen, assistant professor of New Testament at Catholic University. “That's sort of like calling someone a mama's boy.”

After Jesus was born, Joseph fled with the family to Egypt to escape the death sentence imposed by a paranoid King Herod. Paul Perry, author of the new book “Jesus in Egypt,” spent two years tracing local legends about the refugee family and discovered a “rousing chase scene up and down the Nile.”

“Jesus kept getting the holy family into trouble in Egypt,” Perry said. “He was destroying idols and getting them run out of town. That was a concern for Joseph because we wanted to slow down and rest easy.”

When the family returned to Israel–Perry said Jesus was probably 7–they resettled in Nazareth. Again, colorful legends emerge that never were accepted as part of the Christian canon.

Joseph is portrayed as a vexed father of an impish teenage son with super powers. In the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the adolescent Jesus is a source of constant headaches for his father, even striking dead a teacher who threatens to whip Jesus for petulance.

“Henceforth we will not allow him to go out of the house,” Joseph says, “for everyone who displeases him is killed.”

There is no biblical mention of the family again until Jesus goes missing at age 12 and is found by Mary and Joseph instructing rabbis in the temple. From then on, Joseph is not mentioned. The popular explanation is that he died without so much as an obituary.

“I have the image of a fading picture, where a character just starts to disappear,” said Philip Sellew, a professor of New Testament at the University of Minnesota. “Eventually you look around and he's not on the stage anymore.”

Some scholars think Joseph, like other members of Jesus' family, takes a secondary role in order to keep the focus on Jesus. Others say the family was strained to the point of dysfunction because of Jesus' radical ministry.

“The truth of the matter is, we're not surprised not to hear about the demise of Joseph, because frankly, the family had little to do with Jesus,” said Ben Witherington, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. “Jesus was so out of the box, such a radical figure, that his family couldn't figure him out.”

The debate over Jesus' family and conflicting views on Mary's virginity are crucial to Joseph's secondary role, scholars say.

Most Protestants say it is clear that Joseph and Mary had other children after Jesus. Catholics say no, because they believe Mary was a perpetual virgin and say Jesus' siblings are actually cousins.

Orthodox Christians, meanwhile, say the siblings were Joseph's children from an earlier marriage. They refer to Joseph as “the betrothed of Mary” who never married the woman who helped incarnate God in human flesh.

“Joseph is kind of a neglected saintly figure,” said Theodore Stylianopoulos, professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. “Compared to the Roman Catholic tradition, one could talk of a silence about Joseph in Orthodoxy.”