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A good student of the written word knows the content; an outstanding student knows the author. Insurgence podcast #55, with Frank Viola and Nick Vasiliades, is a discussion of how people who “seek first the kingdom of heaven” approach the scripture. One of their very first points is that in the written word we can encounter Jesus, the living Word. We just have to look for him. Instead of coming to scripture to get something, we come to meet Someone. This entire podcast episode is a blessing, but I want to pursue that thought.

In an earlier blog post I shared a story about an experience my wife had, and how I came to see Christ in it. The truth is that if we seek Him we can find Him in many places in this world, including other people, events, and various media such as books and music and movies. And let’s not leave out nature: ancient believers understood all of nature as a kind of book that revealed its creator. 

For instance, life on earth demonstrates intricacy and beauty at every size scale, from atomic level to the level of ecosystems. You can see amazing examples of the microscopic scale at https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/ . Atoms, by means electromagnetic forces, are joined with other atoms into orderly arrangements: molecules, crystals, etc. Molecules of widely varying kinds are built together to form the many components of living cells. Cells may go about on their own, but in higher organisms they are assembled into tissues and organs. Organs are sculpted into the body systems that enable a diversity of creatures to inhabit sea, earth and sky. For many such creatures there is a provision to live in societies. And each kind of creature interacts with other kinds, and their common environment, in complex ways. What the psalmist said about being fearfully and wonderfully made is true. In this the wisdom of Christ, apart from whom nothing was made, is on public display. Simplicity and complexity, order and harmony, form and function. Jesus is here.

We who are hiking the transformation trail need to live in the awareness of the presence of Jesus. Earlier I mentioned the Insurgence podcast, which focuses on Christ and His gospel of the Kingdom. As I write, there are 74 episodes, and a new one comes out every week. You can check it out here: https://theinsurgence.org/podcast/ . Whenever possible I play them more than once because I get different insights each time. Immersing ourselves in the Lord’s presence means opening ourselves to the scripture. It also means taking advantage of the experiences of more seasoned followers of our Lord. Many mature brothers and sisters have shared Christ in writings and recordings. Just like scripture, the best of these can illuminate the path in front of us. I plan to point out more of these opportunities in future posts. 

The Pharisees were a group of Jewish men who thoroughly studied the law that God had given to Moses, known as the Torah. They were members of a religious movement that dedicated itself to the preservation of the one true faith, given by God. They had appointed themselves as its guardians. They lived, however, in a political setting that precluded observance of the full Torah. This led them to adapt the rules of Torah to the existing conditions, something being better than nothing. 

Their intentions in this were good, but they carried out their purpose in their own wisdom. They were among the Jews who were zealous for Torah about whom Paul wrote in Romans 10:2: the zeal they had was not enlightened by God who gave the Torah. So, when Jesus, who embodied the Torah (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:4), came, they did not receive him as the Christ. In making an idol of Torah, rather than faithfully pursuing the Lord, their service to the Torah became corrupt. Jesus said that one day they would be accused by Moses, whom they claimed to be following (John 5:45-47). 

In scripture we see God raising prophets to correct His people when they strayed from His path. Part of the ministry of Jesus, when he lived on the earth, was as prophet to the Pharisees, to correct their idolatry. He pointed out that, even if they were able to observe some aspects of the letter of Torah, they had departed from its spirit, which is rooted in the character of God. This departure led to all kinds of abuses that grieved God. And they were not even faithful in observing the rules that they placed on others (Matthew 23:1-4).

The large majority of them, however, refused to accept that correction, which originated in God and was meant for their salvation. In fact, many of them actively opposed Jesus. The Pharisees, as a religious movement, joined with other forces that gathered to execute Jesus.

It’s easy for us to condemn them. But it’s also easy for us to stray from the path of faithfully pursuing the Lord. The apostle John ended his first letter with a warning: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” We who are starting out on the transformation trail should keep alert for anything, even if it was given to us by God Himself, that is or might become an idol. Jesus the mighty prophet is ready to reveal this to us. And he is willing and able, in love, to give grace for our deliverance. 

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It’s obvious, but please bear with me as I say it anyway. If God doesn’t reveal Himself to us, we don’t know Him and we don’t even really know about Him. He is beyond human comprehension. Scripture is one of God’s gracious provisions to us that reveals Him. So, what does scripture, our Bible, say about Him—and itself?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4

Jesus is the personified Word of God, and he has been since the beginning of creation. He is the source of all created things, including scripture. All scripture bears his stamp of authorship.

All Scripture is breathed out by God…. 2 Timothy 3:16

There is a life in scripture, and it is the life of Christ. The human spirit, too, is breathed out by God (Genesis 2:7). According to Job 32:8, “it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” The God-breathed scripture and the God-breathed human spirit can work together with the Holy Spirit to produce in us something called understanding—a greater measure of the indwelling life of Christ.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. John 5:39-40

These are the words of Jesus, addressed to religious people who were intimately familiar with the scriptures of their day. Despite their knowledge of those scriptures most of them failed to recognize Jesus as the Promised One, the one who has the exclusive right to confer eternal life. They missed seeing him because they had been blinded by their traditions and prejudices to the point where they were informing the scripture rather than allowing the scripture to inform them. All scripture bears witness to him. However, if we approach it with the wrong attitude, we will not see him in it. May we set our hearts on having a more intimate walk with Jesus, yielding ourselves to him! He will show us the causes of our own blindness and give us opportunities to discard them. Then we can come to scripture with an open mind. Then the scripture will inform us about the life of this astonishing Christ.

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27

The two followers of Jesus who walked the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus encountered the risen Christ but did not recognize him. He interpreted the scripture to them, things concerning himself that were to be found throughout all the scriptures. All scripture directs our attention to Jesus. And he is for us the interpreter of all scripture, so that God’s purpose in giving scripture to us can be fulfilled.

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I recalled a family memory and got a glimpse of our Lord Jesus.

My wife ran her first 5K a few years ago. Before attempting the race, she signed up for a training program that was sponsored by a local purveyor of running gear. They assigned her to a coach and group of fellow trainees. As a group they met with the coach for several weeks. During that time they acquired the essential equipment and practiced running. 

When race day came, the coach assembled the group at the starting line. They set out together. As the group spread out during the race, he went with the leaders and then dropped back to encourage those with a slower pace. Back and forth he went. As my wife began the last stretch, struggling but still running, he appeared beside her and matched her pace. He stayed alongside until she neared the finish line, then dropped back once again. He persisted in this way until the whole group finished the race.

In remembering this event, it occured to me that Jesus is like that coach. He provides us with everything we need and supports us all along the way. Or, to use the metaphor of the wilderness trail, Jesus is like the expert hiker who makes sure that we have the essential equipment and provides support along the way. Jesus also is the one who blazed the trails. And he awaits us at the end. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, with us from start to finish and at all points in between. 

The last few blog posts had to do with prayer, which is one of those essential pieces of equipment. This post gives an example of seeing Christ in everyday things. In the next post I plan to say something about another essential item: scripture.

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I can’t help it—prayer is so important to transformation that I want to post on it again before moving on.

Something struck me a few days ago, and I am sharing it in hopes that it might encourage you, too. We are familiar with passages in the Bible that explicitly are prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’s High Priestly Prayer. The Psalms are full of prayers, and the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was convinced that the psalms are the recorded prayers of Jesus. He even wrote a book about it, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 

However, I am just becoming aware that we can pray other passages in scripture, permitting them to set our attention on the Father and the Son. And I have not been familiar with praying these prayers as my own, while staying faithful to the spirit of the scripture.

For instance, take this paraphrase of Ruth’s reply to Naomi, based on Ruth 1:16-17:

Stop asking me to turn back!
Lord, where you walk I will walk;
Where you stop to rest I will stop. 
Your other followers are my sisters and brothers,
And your Father is our Father.

Just a comment on that first line. It is not that Jesus asks me to turn back from following him. But my own feelings of unworthiness can cause me to do this. Am I unworthy of his presence, attention and love? Yes. But he has justified me and put his life in me. Because of him I have an open invitation to sit at his feet and walk by his side. To anything that hinders me from exercising my right of access I always have to say “stop!”

If you find the above example engaging, try it for yourself. You might take the encounter of the prophet Elijah with the widow of Zarephath as recounted in 1 Kings 17:8-16, and referenced by Jesus in Luke 4:25-26. Make a prayer out of it, from the widow’s point of view. Just think, what would you or I say to Jesus if he came to us under similar circumstances?

The goal is to develop an intimate relationship with our Lord. Prayer that leads us to better understand Jesus Christ; prayer that convinces us to surrender ourselves more and more to God’s ultimate intention; prayer that results in the life of Christ, which already indwells us, having more and more authority over the inner being—this kind of prayer is a tool in God’s hand to transform us. Scripture is a treasure-trove of prayers that give us access to God and allow God greater access to us. In scripture I find God’s house portrayed as a house of prayer for all who are devoted to Him (Isaiah 56:1-8). I want to live in that house forever!

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God really does have an expansive view of prayer! This week I spent some time in Romans 8:26-27, prompting me to return to this subject sooner than I expected. 

Paul mentioned that God’s remedy for our weakness in prayer is having the Holy Spirit draw near and help us. The word he used for weakness is the same one as in 2 Corinthians 12:9, when God informed him that “My power is made perfect in weakness.” The original can also be translated, “My power comes to full strength in weakness.” It has been said that transformation is following God to a place of weakness. 

I think that our principal weakness in prayer is ignorance of God’s intentions. Also, the fact that Christ often is not the center of our attention as we pray. So, in a sense, my weakness in prayer is my propensity to pray from a position of strength: what I feel that God should do, as I am focused on my needs. We have to rely on God’s provision to pray as we ought (that is, in a way that has God’s approval). If we recognize our inadequacy and enter into partnership with the Spirit, then he can transform our prayer into the prayer that is according to the will of God—a prayer that empowers God to act according to His purpose.

Clearly God means for our prayer to involve the entire trinity. This is astonishing. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. This intercession happens in the Godhead, to reveal to us the will of the Father and to establish the Son as the center and organizing principal of our lives. Even my very limited understanding of this gives me direction in prayer: in fellowship as I acknowledge the wonder of what God has accomplished and has in store for the future, and in supplication as I harmonize my requests with what I know of God’s will. What a transformation!

Just one more word, something important that I am only starting to see. This is the distinction between the individual and the corporate approach to following Christ. The letter to the Romans, as is true of most of Paul’s letters, was written to a group of Christians who were living in community. So, although I am applying Paul’s remarks about prayer to individual believers, he originally directed them to a body of believers. Certainly, the Lord uses individuals to pray. But prayer as an expression of the life of Christ—whose life cannot be fully expressed in any individual—is wider, deeper and freer in the corporate setting.

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My motivation for a reflection on prayer is something from personal experience: I find that I can’t pray as I once did. 

The first scripture I have for consideration is Matthew 6:1 – 6:18. In this familiar passage, Jesus speaks of prayer but he does so in the context of a message about what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. The references to prayer are sandwiched in between instructions about giving to the needy (almsgiving) and about fasting. “When you give to the needy…,” “When you pray…,” “When you fast….” It seems that God intends that all of these activities should be part of our normal lifestyle. Scripture particularly links prayer and fasting. I want to focus on how this played out in the life of St. Paul. 

Luke describes the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9. After the “light from heaven” struck him to the ground, and struck him blind, his companions brought him into Damascus. “And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.…” What was Paul doing during those 3 days of blindness? Praying and fasting. 

Later, in Acts 13:1-3 we see Paul as a member of the church in Antioch, one of a group of prophets and teachers. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” In this passage, prayer and fasting appear together in the early church. 

The last passage I want to look at is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Here, Paul mentions the thorn in his flesh, and recounts how he pleaded with the Lord that he should be liberated from it. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

We know that one aspect of prayer is fellowship with God. Another is presenting requests (supplication). Jesus told the disciples that the Father would grant anything they asked in his name. He also said that the Father always heard his own requests. James points out that we ask and do not receive because we ask out of selfish considerations. So it seems that we should present only those requests that Jesus also is praying alongside of us. In other words, prayer is an opportunity for us to join ourselves to the goals and desires of Jesus. Paul, in regard to his thorn in the flesh, requested deliverance on three separate occasions. But after God answered his prayer—in the negative—Paul turned from seeking deliverance to allowing the power of Christ to rest on him at whatever personal cost. 

The concept I once had of prayer is much too narrow. It is not primarily for me or for others. It is part of an expression of the life of Jesus. It is not about asking God to get on board with my program. Jesus speaks of it in the context of almsgiving and fasting, both of which are aimed at personal loss and surrender. So maybe prayer is about that, too. It seems to be about ascertaining God’s heart and then coming into agreement with Him. In Paul’s case prayer went beyond mere words and opened him to become a dwelling place for the power of Christ. 

One really precious characteristic of God that shines out from Paul’s experience is that our Lord will override what we are seeking explicitly to give us something better that we are seeking implicitly. Saul of Tarsus traveled to Damascus with the intention of defending what he understood to be the one true faith; God revealed the actual Truth in Jesus Christ and changed his trajectory 180 degrees. Paul pleaded with the Lord that his thorn in the flesh would leave him; God permitted that condition to persist but transformed his perspective on weaknesses, insults, troubles, persecutions and calamities suffered for the sake of Christ. The prayer of fellowship, in which we pledge ourselves to the King and His Kingdom, supersedes the prayer of supplication. 

God has an expansive view of prayer. There is much more to say on this topic, and I hope to return to it.

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