Utterly Contemned

Song of Solomon 8:7

I decided to dig into the Word this morning and started looking at the usage of the phrase "many waters" - which shows up dozens of times throughout the Bible.  While reviewing its usage, I ran into this verse; it is as follows:

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

The first part is clear enough - love is functionally indomitable.  And we fallible creatures CRAVE things that will last.

The second part, however, provides an odd counterpoint - in brief, someone who is willing to give everything for love will be seen as contemptible.


I thought, perhaps, the word-usage here would help.  Perhaps the word used for "love" in the first clause was different than in the second.
But nope - they're both apparently H160; however, it's a slippery word - potentially meaning the abstraction of love, the object of love, and even God's love for His people.


Perhaps it is a judgment on the man who is willing to sacrifice everything (even himself) for his love; this would be akin to not counting the cost.
However, grammatically this doesn't seem to follow; because of the colon, I suppose the second clause is supposed to exemplify the first.


Then perhaps a "man giving all of the substance of his house" is the attempt of a man to "drown" love ... maybe to effectually buy her affection?
This would suggest that he already has his love and he's trying to satisfy her by giving her everything - and she isn't satisfied.


In summary:
1. I do not believe I have quite nailed this verse; there seems to be much, much more here.
2. Paying for affection will result in being held in contempt (this is the most obvious interpretation, to me at  least)
3. Giving up literally everything for someone will ALSO result in being held in contempt.

Ponderings: women in authority

I was thinking the other day about the idea of women pastors.  Or really, women in authority.  Anywhere.
It seems that, biblically, a Proverbs 31 woman has some major sway in her household - not letting her candle go out at night (v18), considers a field and buys it (v16), etc; she clearly not only has influence and responsibilities, but some authority.

This seems to contrast her authority mentioned in other ways; the most obvious is in Numbers 3:2-18 which deals with women in two classes: a girl/wife, and a widow.  It deals predominantly with oaths (which, to be clear, I'm entirely certain of a definition - is this ANY promise or a promise in writing or some clear line in between) and whether or not they are binding.  If the female is not widowed, then they have someone in authority over them; the girl has a father (or family, presumably) and the wife has a husband.  This authority figure may, within a "reasonable" amount of time, negate any oaths that were made.

The root question I am hinting around is simply: Should women be given authority over people?

In addition, secular authority and have spiritual authority are not easily separated - it is rare that one is present without the other, and so it might more easily be asked:

Should a woman be given spiritual authority over others?

It would logically seem that the biblical example of Deborah is a healthy response here. She was given a position of authority in being a judge (ref); however, she is an anomaly, both being a woman in authority and because she judged from a palm tree.  She was also a prophetess; perhaps this was part of the reason she was a judge; perhaps, as a prophetess, her authority was acknowledged as that of God.

The one proposition that I've not been able to address directly is simply the mention of the "Creation Order".  The proposition seems to go like this - God created man first, then woman.  In Genesis 2, we a model of how man and woman act - woman reacts (and sins by leading), man acts (and sins by blaming and avoiding the leadership role).  So perhaps this is the resolution and the basis for the perspective.

It just seems excessive to take this observation - that all leadership is the role of a man - and apply it to every area of life; that may be my own sin talking and it may be wise reluctance.

Perhaps the proper role of women in our society would be more obvious if men were trained to consider things biblically.

Pre-Cursor to Single Book Perusals

I haven't been posting lately; this is chiefly because other matters have drawn me away.

But of all the various means of documenting my thoughts, this has always been the one I intend to have the most positive impact - at the very least the one that has the least amount of muck / apathy / emptiness.

Here is my new goal.

I intend to read a single book of the Bible a day.

I'll post questions/thoughts here.
This will both be for tracking what God has quickened in my heart but also (hopefully) to help me appreciate what God has shown me over time.  Certainly I find it very, very easy to forget.

How can I expect the children of Israel to have an even higher standard, over multiple generations?

Today's target Book: 2 Kings

Apoligetica ad finitum

The title feels right, though, it is likely wrong in some way.  If you have a superior post title, please leave it in the comments or email it to me: I'll likely update/change it.

I've been thinking on something ... recently a blog post on some random blog reminded me that there are a huge number of people who believe homosexuals were born that way.  This is fascinating to me - I believe something rather different; but, I realize that without some strong evidence to the contrary, it is easy to "know" or assume that, indeed, homosexual people were indeed born that way.

Which led to: This is one of those topics, among so many others, whereby if you have a biblical basis for your paradigm, you likely pull from one group of opinions and, if you are in the world, you likely pull from another rather different group of opinions.

I added to this that it is easy to draw wrong conclusions: From logic, I have learned that you can have all the right thinking in the world and come up with wonderful and astonishing results; but, if your initial premises are wrong or your evidence is incomplete, you will necessarily draw conclusions and reach results that are either too shallow (and so don't include later evidence) or too deep (do include later evidence but assume inaccurate propositions).  And anyone, regardless of paradigm, without an objective standard by which to judge the results, will necessarily fall to one of these sides.

Certainly, it is easier to prove something true if you already believe it.  Your perceptions, your paradigm, and all your base assumptions, will be brought to bear on what you see - whether you're aware of it or not:
•    Is it plausible that someone who studies geology can look at the evidence and would reasonably conclude something that he might then find corroborated in scripture?
•    Is it plausible that someone who studies genetics can look at the evidence and would reasonably conclude something that is identical to what is found in scripture?
•    Or is it necessary for someone to have studied the bible first, then studied these topics, and *THEN* find that the evidence corroborates the statements in scripture?
•    Is it the case that only the inclusion of scripture will allow for results in a God-honoring conclusion, ever?

  Regardless it is a reminder that
... I live in a world with a paradigm far different than my own.
... paradigms always shift
... I must be mindful of my paradigm
... I must guard against slipping into agreement with the world's.

I like dark chocolate

I have always disliked dark chocolate. Perhaps it's because I've spent so much of my life preferring sweet foods or the fact I distinctly remember sneaking into the family larder and sneaking some baking chocolate - regardless, I've never liked the dark stuff.

But I've heard good things about dark chocolate. How eating some measure of it can be a good health choice. How it comes it a huge variety - and in fact, more of the world's high-end chocolates are often measured in degrees of cocoa present.

In other words, the darker the chocolate is, the better it is for you. Working with this perspective as well as the assumption that appreciating dark chocolate is, much like coffee and alcohol, an acquired taste, I realized that this could be a kind of spiritual model.

This got me to thinking about how God's grace is like dark chocolate; it is multi-layered, has textures, aspects, flavors, and elements that only exist to those who have the proper palette; it is better for you than what you might select of your own nature; and there are many who encourage you to appreciate it's depth and amazing character.

And this led me to realizing that without God, we wouldn't understand His grace. It's something we forget - that we need God to understand, perceive, appreciate, recognize, or even miss God. When we lose sight of this, we lose something precious.

Swayed

One of the foci of this perpetual novel of a blog was that it was intended to be my witness of what God is doing in my thought life as well as evidence of who God is in my life.

If this is accurate - this means that God only rarely speaks to me.

Regardless - I did mean this to be antiprattle.
I think I've been settling for a higher grade of prattle than that which I normally hear.
But I've still been prattling.

What about something more ... excellent?

If these thoughts are intended to be a humble exposition on what I've learned in walking with Christ ...
... and if these thoughts are intended to inspire actual change.

What is missing?

I think it's a biblical worldview.

I want one.

Do you?

Thoughts on rhetoric

I was thinking on something last night.

I've been intellectually swayed by a well-turned phrase for a long number of years. If you say the right words, in the right sequence, and nothing that you say contradicts my experience, I can often accept what you say as literally true. I can do this because I have no reason to question the veracity.

Then along comes reality - and those parts that bear no fruit, that don't match reality, often fall adrift.

I think this is good in some ways - building one's foundations on the sand of reason can often be understood implicitly as poor craftsmanship in addition to just being foolish.

I think this is bad in some ways - in as much as faith is belief without experience, if a new experience can thwart belief one wonders if there were any at the start.

I think that, ultimately, it's a good thing. It has allowed me to accept Christ without reservation much of my life - certainly ever since I was adopted by God as a new son. It has allowed me to hold my peace and feel less abandoned when others don't walk my path. And it has given me something concrete that I can share - something that none can remove or destroy.

And so I praise Christ who strengthens me that He has allowed me to accept He is sovereign without immediate, tangible evidence - for His evidence lasts longer and envelopes those who accept that reign.

How about you?

Waiting

I hate waiting. Mostly I hate knowing about something that is important and having to wait for it to happen. It is a weakness of mine, and God has certainly been working with me through various trials - I have seen myself improve immeasurably on this point. But I hate waiting. I bring this up because, in my most fierce times, when waiting is frustrating and painful, I am most humbled when my eyes turn to God. Because, God is love, and love is patient. And so God is patient.

Recently, in Virginia, America, NASA launched a rocket from Wallops Island. It was a relatively large project, involving dozens of people, a fair number of teams, millions of dollars in resources, and TIME. It took upwards of two years for this team to organize their efforts to the a single purpose.

Have you ever done this? Have you ever been part of a group that had a single goal, and worked together with that group over a period in excess of a year on that goal, and completed it successfully? I haven't. And I am amazed at the conscientious focus, character, and integrity behind the ability of any group to maintain mindfulness of an ideal long enough to accomplish this kind of task.

If we pan out, God has done this kind of focused and intentional waiting for far longer - in each of our lives, He is doing it right now. Waiting in His perfect time for His perfect help or patience or whatever we need.

He has the necessary character to see it through.
And he has the authority to accomplish it.
All we need to do is trust Him.
Do you?

Call to Action:
Recognize that God has short-term and long-term plans for you. Given this, most of the short term plans and trials you will experience will likely lead into His long-term plans. Your job, today and every day following, is to be mindful of the manner in which you can develop into the person God needs you to be to execute His long-term plans. Don't rush it but be mindful of opportunities, thoughts, and passions you have that may be drawing you away from Christ. Hold them up to Him and consider getting rid of them. Repeat daily.

What value perfection?

I - Perfection

One of the recurring themes in expression, whether artistic, personal, or otherwise, is that of perfection.  I believe we consider someone a master because they've "mastered" the ability to be perfect in some realm - whatever perfection means in that realm.  Everyone has something they're mastering - be it mastery of self, mastery of character, mastery of a profession/tool/skill, or mastery of presentation.  Desire for mastery abounds.  Actual mastery is found with far less frequency.

When identifying something universal to all people, I find it profoundly important to ask the question "why?”  Why would a desire for perfection be embedded in each of us?  Does it have a purpose?

 

II - Eden

The Garden of Eden must have been an amazing place.  First and foremost, it was the only garden created by God.  Can you imagine someone with the creative gifts of God, who made volcanoes, black-holes, anti-matter, time, space, trees, and clouds?  Can you then imagine what kind of wonder the garden must have possessed?  The variety of flora and fauna, the textures, colors, flavors, and sheer abundance must have been awe-inspiring.  Included in this mix were two interesting trees - one of Knowledge and one of Life.

Given God's creative nature, His ability to do things right the first time, it seems a small leap to consider that His plan for man was to love forever.  What would it mean for man to live forever?

 

III - Consider

* You were made to live forever.  It may be in your current body, a glorified body, or something in between.

* You were made to recognize and appreciate perfection.

* Neither is possible without God.

 

IV - Action

Imagine every thought you have today will reflect upon you forever.

Guide your eyes, hands, tongue, and mind to guide each thought to reflect this.

Select thoughts by which you would wish to be known.

Repeat.

What is love?

I think Jesus spent nearly his whole ministry answering this question.  In fact, you could say this question is the principal motivation for the whole of scripture.   And I believe, without the God, nobody on earth has the slightest idea what love IS.

This is mostly because we often define things the opposite of the absence of things.

We define cold as that which is not hot and vice versa.  Nobody really knows what heat is.

We define darkness as that which is not lit and vice versa.  Same thing as before.

We can't even identify what gravity is - we can simply predict, for the most part, when it shows up.

If we can't event identify such simple things as hot, light, and gravity, we certainly can't begin to know what LOVE is - the most complex and powerful emotion on the planet.

And we know this intuitively.  Poets dream about knowing true love - and all the best poets will tell you that they have but a fleeting whisper of this intangible.  Politicians offer the appearance of love in exchange for your pledge.  And philanthropists would have you believe that they are motivated by it.

But without God nobody gets it.  As a matter of fact, without God, nobody realizes they don't get it.

So this is my challenge to you today:

1. Assume you have no idea, in the natural, what love actually looks like.

2. Look up in the bible to identify what love looks like, how it appears, how to identify its particular characteristics.  It may be of use to visit Corinthians 13 (link).

3. Intention to be a walking representative of this - and when it gets hard (and it will), pray through and seek God's guidance.

4. Post your results here!

Wisdom hath builded her mansion

One of the easiest things to forget is that God is God.  It is in His nature to be God.  He does it without trying.

We forget because we're not God.  Out of habit, training, or perspective, we see God as massive enhancements to us.  And so begins, regardless of slope, a pattern that we spend the rest of our days either reckoning or hastening.  In addition, the only knowledge of God we have is what He gave us.  This means that we necessarily have an incomplete view of God.  That's okay - we can't handle all of God; but, we can handle what He has shown comprises Himself.

Today's five-minute moment focuses on this fact - wisdom is acting like God would in your situation.  Or, as God would have us act in our situation.  And without God's guidance, this is impossible.  So he leaves us clues.

As I mentioned in my last post, I challenged you to identify the wisest person you know.  I asked you to do this to help you recognize by what standard you evaluate wisdom.  Why did you pick that person?  Are they rich?  Are they happy?  Knowing by what standard you evaluate wisdom will help you recognize whether your own standard is reliable and how far your standard is from God's guidance.

Let's test how well you chose your person:

1. Does the person fear the Lord?

2. Is the person humble?

3. Are the fruit of the spirit ever present with the person?

As service is the manner in which Christ revealed and modeled his walk, may I thus suggest today's challenge:

Pray that God would reveal in what way you might be of service to your selected wise person.

What does wisdom look like?

This is one of those questions which appear to have no answer.
I believe this is because, unless two people read the same book, they are likely to answer the question differently. And I believe this different reflects more about what that person values (and defines as 'common sense') than anything else.

So what does wisdom look like?

Men and women, the world over and for many years, have sought her guidance, her arms, and certainly her attention. One could even argue that it is wisdom, not knowledge, that men of education often seek - and are misled into believing that the sane perspective they seek is found in textbooks of equally confused and often well-intentioned brilliance.

I will follow this post with some discussion of this topic - but I would be blessed if you, faithful reader, could ask yourself one thing:

What one person that you personally know best embodies wisdom?

How will this year differ from the last?

Two weeks ago Christmas commanded the attention of millions.
One week ago the New Year with resolutions commanding the attention of millions.
Today - not so much.

It has been said that, other than the books you read and the people you know, we don't change all that much.

I would argue this to be the case but would have used two slightly different words: wisdom and relationships. Thus, the phrase above can be said to focus upon:

The amount of wisdom a person possesses

The nature and character of the relationships in which a person finds themselves engaged.

Do YOU have a resource for Wisdom?
Have you chosen relationships that edify?

I believe ...
     if we don't actively seek wisdom,
          the wisdom we DO have slowly drains away.
     if we don't actively seek relationships that build up our relationship to Christ Jesus
          all other relationships can draw us away from Christ Jesus.

Let this year be the year that you grow and flourish!

Seek Wisdom!
Seek edifying relationships!

Everyone falls / anyone can fly

I haven't posted much.

It could be a sign of a busy life,

it could be a sign that I've got things on my plate

The reality is that it is a sign

that things have been taking precendence when they shouldn't.

This is Christmas.

For me it has always been a time of a kind of excessive joy.

I used to think it was about being around family.

Then I thought it was about hoping for a particular present.

Then I believed it was about Christ.

And later I believed it was about a kind of minimalism of Christ.

I have finally migrated between

    an arbitrary and intense desire

        to see God more clearly this time of year than any other

    and a kind of sadness that

        people would worship the idea of Christ

            more than Christ Himself.

Regardless, there has always been

        SIGNIFICANCE

                associated with it for me.

To quote a song that runs through my head this time of year ...

"And so this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over ...

A new year just begun."

Christ is about many things to me.

But my favorite, the one that always gives me hope

      - is redemption.

Jesus gives us a chance to start over without destroying the past.

He gives us a chance to become something amazing.

Let today be the beginning of a new year for you.

One filled with a choice of hope.

One filled with a desire for life.

One filled with a love of truth.

You've fallen.  So have I.

Don't focus on the failure.

Focus on His grace.

And claim it.

Should we seek an apologetic apology?

The more I think about God, the more I think justifying, arguing the case for, and defending God are silly. We're talking about an all-powerful God.

The problem is that we live in a world where we are called to speak to others.
This has the result that without the ability to justify God explicitly we are often only able to model God's presence.

Perhaps this is the best testimony which one could hope - to speak as Jesus, act as Jesus, think on Jesus, and breathe out Jesus.

Certainly He sneaks into more conversations that way than otherwise He might.

And really, we can codify morality all we'd like, punish laws we currently find abominable, persecute those whose hearts are quantitatively impure, and command respect and repentance of those who have crossed whatever line we've placed in the sand.

But we can't really see the hearts of people - only God can.
We can't really expect people to repent - only God can put true repentance in someone.
And we define that which is universally abominable by what God has put within our hearts.

Live as Jesus lived, for His father. And let God guide the rest.

How to turn a faithless nation in 21 days

There is a movement going around, one passed along in loud, hushed tones along internet lines. The crux of the movement is to emulate Daniel's righteous behavior in praying and purification.

Daniel's prayer is one of mourning.
Daniel's purification comes by chastening himself before the Lord Christ Jesus.

Daniel's walk may be discovered in Daniel 10 - his faithfulness and mourning are heard and his prayers are answered. And the movement's basic thrust is the same:

Can we, as a nation, join in a prayer of mourning?
Can we chasten ourselves to His glory?

Think of it as Jonah wailing in the streets. We are being called to pray for the our country. Pray that God will turn our nation around.

Will you do the same?

Turn back your heart to God today! Remember your first love! Purify yourself before His holy will and give the silent moments that comprise the space between events to God today.

Listen in the stillness. He is speaking. Will you choose to listen?

Alive by the faith of another

I was meditating on Galatians 2:20 again (I am crucified with Christ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave his life for me.)


I am alive now by the faith of Jesus Christ.


And so are you.


Ruminate on that a little bit - it is because of the faith and faithful of Jesus Christ that you can read these words, breathe this air, and think these thoughts.


It is because Jesus knew you would need a helping hand that he chose to suffer. On your behalf.


It is so easy to take it for granted. But it appears to lose its luster. People change. Jesus doesn't seem as bright any more.


Jesus didn't change - we did. We give up our first love for distraction, addiction, or election - but we have the choice right now!


Repent! Remember Jesus died for you!

Anti-Humanism

One of the least-popular aspects of scripture has got to be the suffering. Most of us live in a society where the human body is worshiped, human strengths are lauded, human weaknesses are hidden, and honor, glory, and truth in their own right are often replaced with respect for objects, worship of celebrities, and relative morality.
Therefore, it must be horrifying, confusing, and troubling to read anywhere in scripture where it suggests we should intentionally suffer. The scripture I point at today says
""I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Now, to be sure, this is a metaphor - the concept stands. Will you choose to suffer for Christ? Will you choose to voluntarily do the hard thing, to live out that life that Christ calls you to? Will you 'live by the faith of the Son of God'?

Say Yes! Choose to suffer for Christ - his burden is always easier to bear! Choose to do the hard thing - to live the live Christ calls you to! Choose to live by the faith of the Son of God!

Challenge for the day:
Reply to this post!
What does following Christ appear as in your life?
What is a challenge following Christ has wrought in your life?
Are you finding it hard to ever do it - share a struggle!

Everything old is new ... err.... still old

We know from Ecclesiastes (v 1:9) that "there is no new thing under the sun". And yet the concept of new-ness is mentioned in several places.
The verse I would like to mention today is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

Can you imagine - God, through Samuel, has said there is no new thing under the sun - and yet, we can be a new creature in Christ!

If you have ever labored to rebel against your own sinful nature - to choose ONLY those tasks and thoughts that are aligned with God's will for your life - you will inevitably find yourself struggling. If you do it long enough and you will feel old ... worn out ... aged. I imagine, on some level, Samuel felt the same thing. He had done every good and grand thing he could think of and so basically stated "yup - not only have I been there and done that, but nobody is doing anything truly new." The gravity of this loss - this fundamental self-awareness - of our fundamental inability to make new things or think truly new thoughts can be crushing.

And yet, we can be new creatures in Christ! We can choose, this day, this hour, this moment - to do something truly new!

This is the one thing Satan can never deliver. No matter how tempting that apple, no matter how alluring the drugs, and no matter how opportune that decision seems to be - it all leads down exactly the same road. There are different facets to the road, but it is a very, very old road.

Christ has a better road. It is so new, in fact, that most of us have a fundamental inability to even perceive it!

But it is there. Christ has built it. And he wants to walk it with you.

Will you join Him?

Love Songs

The world is addicted to love. If you have any doubt about it, look around you! On the internet, most of the things being offered (be they products, services, or a mélange of both) are attempts at expressions of love. Some are Machiavellian in their attempt, some are destructive - but the truly successful are either actual expressions of love or direct perversions of love. Truly there is something marvelous and enduring about love. The world itself is also full of expressions of love. From the color of the leaves to the manner in which sun dances across the sky, poets never run out of new ways to expression the apparently mundane, not because of the artistic capacity of the artist, but because of the enduring nature of love.

That being said, most of the things being offered are the short-route. Names are nicked, paths are shortened, and our culture pounds her drum of synchronicity, suggesting that those who do not adopt the popular expression of whatever is being offered are somehow in the wrong. Thus, the attempt at expressions of love being offered are also hindered - for they offer the alluring side of love most of us find easiest to appreciate - being on the receiving end of love.

Far more unpopular, by any stretch, are those that offer and observe techniques for providing love. And yet, everyone values being given love. Marriages that have the strength of hardened steel, friendships that stand the test of time, and relationships that do not falter due to circumstance or time are all common examples of this second kind of love - something most of us ache for but never find.

For a believer, the best way of directly and unabashedly offering that love is to share their faith - to talk about Christ Jesus. For a world seeking - nay starving and screaming - for that love, Christ offers that love, a means of acquiring that love, and a life-style that promises (and delivers!) that love in recurring, palatable, detectable, measurable, and profound instances of love. Of course, that offering needs to be done in God's time - one of the best ways of convincing someone you don't know Christ is to offer Christ when YOU think it needs to be offered. Remember: Some were sent, some just went.

Thus, your best bet is to live an abundant and full life giving perpetual credit to Christ and living in accordance with His scriptures.

Call to action:
Live today as if God were your co-pilot, sharing your decision making process with Him, giving ear to Him when you make actual decisions, and waiting patiently for His voice when you don't quite have peace about things.

Oh yes - and if a little voice suggests you need an umbrella or the like, act on it and don't argue!