Compost Tea

Bible Reading and Personal Application

Every Bible teacher both hears and asks variations on this question: "How does it apply to real life?" It is, of course, a vital question. Sometimes, though, I have felt a little uneasy about how the question is put. I have pasted the following post because it addresses that "uneasy feeling" that I had very well. Note that the contents comes from a guest post to The Jesus Creed Blog.

The Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg

from Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith for today - Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight

Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he's done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today. 

I have long been irritated by a common critique or complaint people have after listening to a biblical exposition of a passage.  This is especially true of teenagers after hearing their youth pastor unpack a dense portion of, say, Romans. "How does this apply to my life?"  "What does this have to do with me?"  I believe this simple request, which sounds so reasonable and innocent on the surface, has a darker side that has should at least be considered. Before we explore this darker side let me qualify this statement by saying:

1.   I believe personal application of the Bible's message is critical. Absolutely critical.
2.  I believe preachers should help hearers of the Word become doers of the Word.  Of course.
3.  As a youth pastor speaking weekly to teens I really need to work harder at this. I have much room for improvement.  

My irritation with the cult of personal application is the self-centered, self-absorbed posture of many as they approach God's Word. Now it seems perfectly appropriate after hearing one of Jesus' parables to ask oneself how his teaching is personally challenging us. But the operative word there is AFTER.

I am concerned about those who approach the text with their own issues and preoccupations already in mind and ask the Word to magically speak to those issues. I am irritated with an attitude (usually well-meaning and unintentional, by the way) that sounds like: "That's a nice story Jesus, but can you please address my problem with __________?"  Or, after reading Paul's monumental Letter to the Romans saying, "Wow, Paul, that was some deep stuff!  Can we talk about me now?"  And a thousand other variations. 

The hidden dark side of this posture toward God's Word is that it reveals a deep-seated self-absorption that keeps us at the center of our universe and insists that God and His Word orbit our needs and serve our interests. Do you see a problem with this posture toward God and the text?  

Instead, I would like to offer a different posture toward God's Word. In fact, it's the very opposite approach. 

1.  First, let's humbly approach God's Word as we would approach God himself.  Let's reverently bow in awe and listen intently to what he is actually saying to us.
2.  Instead of "applying the Bible to our lives" (which again assumes we are the fixed center point and the Word is just a holy ointment to be applied to our souls) let's instead try to "apply ourselves to the Bible."  Put narratively, let's not let give God a convenient place within our own story; but rather find ourselves swept up in God's much larger Story!
3.  Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let's instead let God's concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:2). Or, as The Message Bible puts it: "Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." When we get a glimpse of "God reality" all of our own earthly concerns are seen in a new light. 
4.  Finally, personal application must come only AFTER one has given God's Word a fair hearing. Let God lead the conversation where He so desires. When we're done letting God's Word speak then we can ask the Spirit to give us a personal assignment in response to God's challenge. 

I'm sure there is a better way to say all of this.  But I hope you see my point. Now I wonder what you all think.

 Am I the only one who has noticed this?  Do you agree that many approach the Bible with an irreverent, self-absorbed posture?  How should preachers handle the practical application piece?  How do you balance (a) letting God's Word have it's way and (b) personal application of its message?  What am I missing here?

Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he's done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today. 

I have long been irritated by a common critique or complaint people have after listening to a biblical exposition of a passage.  This is especially true of teenagers after hearing their youth pastor unpack a dense portion of, say, Romans. "How does this apply to my life?"  "What does this have to do with me?"  I believe this simple request, which sounds so reasonable and innocent on the surface, has a darker side that has should at least be considered. Before we explore this darker side let me qualify this statement by saying:

1.   I believe personal application of the Bible's message is critical. Absolutely critical.
2.  I believe preachers should help hearers of the Word become doers of the Word.  Of course.
3.  As a youth pastor speaking weekly to teens I really need to work harder at this. I have much room for improvement.  

My irritation with the cult of personal application is the self-centered, self-absorbed posture of many as they approach God's Word. Now it seems perfectly appropriate after hearing one of Jesus' parables to ask oneself how his teaching is personally challenging us. But the operative word there is AFTER.

I am concerned about those who approach the text with their own issues and preoccupations already in mind and ask the Word to magically speak to those issues. I am irritated with an attitude (usually well-meaning and unintentional, by the way) that sounds like: "That's a nice story Jesus, but can you please address my problem with __________?"  Or, after reading Paul's monumental Letter to the Romans saying, "Wow, Paul, that was some deep stuff!  Can we talk about me now?"  And a thousand other variations. 

The hidden dark side of this posture toward God's Word is that it reveals a deep-seated self-absorption that keeps us at the center of our universe and insists that God and His Word orbit our needs and serve our interests. Do you see a problem with this posture toward God and the text?  

Instead, I would like to offer a different posture toward God's Word. In fact, it's the very opposite approach. 

1.  First, let's humbly approach God's Word as we would approach God himself.  Let's reverently bow in awe and listen intently to what he is actually saying to us.
2.  Instead of "applying the Bible to our lives" (which again assumes we are the fixed center point and the Word is just a holy ointment to be applied to our souls) let's instead try to "apply ourselves to the Bible."  Put narratively, let's not let give God a convenient place within our own story; but rather find ourselves swept up in God's much larger Story!
3.  Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let's instead let God's concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:2). Or, as The Message Bible puts it: "Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." When we get a glimpse of "God reality" all of our own earthly concerns are seen in a new light. 
4.  Finally, personal application must come only AFTER one has given God's Word a fair hearing. Let God lead the conversation where He so desires. When we're done letting God's Word speak then we can ask the Spirit to give us a personal assignment in response to God's challenge. 

I'm sure there is a better way to say all of this.  But I hope you see my point. Now I wonder what you all think.

 Am I the only one who has noticed this?  Do you agree that many approach the Bible with an irreverent, self-absorbed posture?  How should preachers handle the practical application piece?  How do you balance (a) letting God's Word have it's way and (b) personal application of its message?  What am I missing here?

WordLive

My daily Scripture reading routines have varied through the years. The method I have used most is using the One Year Bible--a printed Bible divided up into 365 daily readings. Each day, one reads from the OT and NT and also a psalm and a few proverbs.

Anymore, though, I find that I am online checking email and my news feeds several times a day. I have been wondering about using a Scripture plan that uses email or rss. I have tried a couple, but one I found out about last week holds a lot of promise. It is called WordLive and is a ministry of the Scripture Union of the UK. So far, I have found it to be very helpful and would recommend it to anyone.

Here's the link: WordLive

Thanksgiving Training

If my memory serves me, I had never preached a Thanksgiving sermon before--a sermon on giving thanks around the holiday. Why not? As I was reminded, the Sunday following Thanksgiving is often the first Sunday of Advent. Hence, I normally would be following an Advent theme. Yet, another reason stands out: what new is there to say about thanksgiving? Everybody knows he or she should be more thankful and that message is echoed endlessly around the holiday.

I wondered if the Bible might take any different angles on gratitude. I thought first about the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, where the tax collector simply goes to the temple, beats his chest, and says, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." The Pharisee, however, is full of thanksgiving in his heart and says, "Thank you God that I am not like this sinner." A prayer of thanksgiving has never been so sinful. Point number one: some of our prayers of thanksgiving could actually be sinful. If we are thanking God for being better than others, or if we are thanking God for a huge feast while our next door neighbor is starving, our gratitude is self-centered and self-condemning.

Point Number Two: much of what we thank God for is transient. We may thank God for our new home . . . until we find out it is infested with black mold. We may thank God for the beautiful tree outside our kitchen window . . . until a windstorm blows it into the house. Not to be pessimistic, but many good things for which it is appropriate to give thanks, might just turn on us some day. So, for what can we be grateful and know that the situation won't change?

Point Number Three: We thank God for that which is unshakeable (Hebrews 12). God's goodness is unshakeable. Our past work for and investment in the Kingdom are unshakeable.

To Follow Up:

Today, I saw an article citing the work of Psychiatrist Robert Emmons:

First, the practice of gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%. Second, this is not hard to achieve - a few hours spent writing a gratitude journal over 3 weeks can create an effect that lasts 6 months if not more. Third, that cultivating gratitude brings other health effects, such as longer and better quality sleep time.

Gratitude is one of the highest and most fitting of virtues for Christians. Might there be a more effective way of becoming more grateful than simply telling ourselves that we should? Dr. Emmons is confirming what wise Christian teachers have been saying through the ages: Count your blessings. Many spiritual masters go further and intruct us to journal our lives before God . . . and that would certainly include a regular writing down of how God has blessed, is blessing, and will bless our lives and the world.

What's the result of such a discipline? Happiness and good rest. Instead of complaining that we are not as happy as we think we have a right to be, instead of complaining that we never get enough rest, let's pick up a pen and some paper, and nightly thank God for his goodness and his work in our lives. The result: Happiness and good rest. Ironic, isn't it?

Hosea 2: "But me she forgot"

How does it feel to be forgotten and ignored by someone we love? When we have done absolutely all the good we can for another and yet still get stiffed, what kind of heart turbulence will arise?

In this chapter, we peak inside the heart of a forgotten God. We don't see a cool, detached case being made against Israel, we see a God who passionately cares!

What's God going to do? All kinds of things.

Their mother has been unfaithful
       and has conceived them in disgrace.
       She said, 'I will go after my lovers,
       who give me my food and my water,
       my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'

The heart of Israel went to whomever would provide her the most stuff (sounds like the consumerism of our day). Given Israel's complacent wallowing in material things, God's strategy is to take the good things away (and it does seem that God isn't down on any of the material things, only that Israel would put "things" above a pure allegiance to him and an acknowledgment that the good things came from him).

Threats of disownership, exposure, and calamity come--only to be followed by a statement of God's absolute determination not to give up on Israel. Given the harsh language of calamity, one is almost surprised at the stark contrast. God is now so quick to "allure her . . . and speak tenderly to her."

The emphasis is on what God is going to do to make things right, not on the repentance or efforts of Israel. He will remove the name of Baal from their lips. He will betroth them in faithfulness and give them ability to acknowledge him. God describes the mended relationship as being even better and more intimate than the original one.

God's work here is also described in cosmic proportions. God makes the earth, sky, animals and birds all players in the drama. We see a renewed earth, flourishing and abounding in peace. Israel, herself, is firmly "planted" by God into the soil, over which the sun shines, the birds fly and the animals walk. "All is right with the world."

Hosea 1

Hosea receives the shocking instruction: "Find a promiscuous woman and marry her". Why did God go to this extreme? Why not just have Hosea say Israel is like a promiscuous woman?

Does this say something about how we learn? Do some messages be delivered in shocking ways to wake us up to a new reality? The real life parabolic message could not be ignored, but was a continuous emotion-producing lesson with which the people were forced to wrestle.

Next comes the message of judgment upon Israel and one of the most chilling phrases in Scripture, "I will no longer show love to the house of Israel." However, the House of Judah will still be in God's favor.

The naming of Hosea and Gomer's children was, of course, not about how it sounded, but was a further message from God: one child was named "not loved" and the other "not my people".

As bleak as the chapter starts out, hope closes out the chapter: a vision of the people of Israel being as numerous as the sand, a renaming of "you are not my people" to "children of the Living God", a reunion of Judah and Israel, and a future leader arising from their midst.

Reading the first part of the chapter raises our tension level: "Might God really give up on his people?" I think we are meant to struggle with that. Mercifully, though, God gives us some relief to the tension when his grace will override his judgment.

Prayer: Lord, guard our hearts, that our passion may be for you and your kingdom. May we remember that being called "children of the Living God" is a privilege and not a right. May we never presume upon your love.