Significance

My small group is going through a study called The Truth Project. It's a 12 week study and each week we focus on a different aspect of God's Truth. It's a very interesting study and it really gets you thinking about what you believe and why. "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"

This week's study really hit home with me, and I tossed and turned for a while last night as I wrestled with the concept of Significance. Where do I draw my significance from? And why? What was discussed last night was that we are all born with a desire to be significant. And that the desire was placed there by our creator, so that we'd find significance in Him.

Matthew 4:4 states that Man does not live on Bread alone. John 4:10 talks about never thirsting again. John 6:33 through59 talks about Jesus being the Bread of Life.

I'm sure that by Jesus being our Bread that we need to draw our significance from Him. That the things of this world, the bread we eat here is gone after consumption. And it's not even just bread, it's things like our jobs, our incomes, our giving, our children, our art, and our feelings that are all fleeting. That we try and we try to gain significance from things in this world. I love "Thank you's" and "Job Well Done's", it makes me feel significant. From experience though, once it's said, it's fuel for only a little while before I'm looking for the next "Thank You" or "Job Well Done". Nothing here on earth can satisfy my longing for significance. We drive ourselves each day looking for that piece of significance that will satisfy us to stop looking, but it's never there.

I'm wrestling with this because I haven't looked at my life like this before. I haven't seen that I'm chasing after significance in things of this earth. I haven't seen that I'm not looking for my significance in Jesus. I've been wanting it to be out in the world, to be in success or what the world sees as success. I haven't been wanting it to be in private, like it says in Mathew 6. For if I'm looking for reward here on earth it has been paid in full, but if I'm doing it in secret, for my God, then my reward is in Him.

Have you thought about this in your life? How does this fit into what we are learning in Ecclesiates? Where do you draw your significance from?

God in Ecclesiastes

In our passage this week, God is introduced into the picture for the very first time. God's role in such a bleak book has been debated for a long time but unfortunately I won't be able to go there this weekend. So here is some food for thought on the subject:






The Name of God
Although this may come as a surprise to some, the word "God" is not God's name. This is obvious. We use the word to refer to something other than the Christian god all the time: The Greek gods, the Nordic gods, the Muslim god (Allah is Arabic for "God"), humans as gods, etc. However, since Christianity has dominated society for so long we most often don't need to specify which God we are talking about.

This was actually the case in the Ancient Near East (the world in which the Old Testament was written). If you wanted to say god in the generic sense you would use elohim (אֱלֹהִים). Many times in the Bible this word is used for both 'idols' or 'other gods' as well as for the God of the Bible. The context determines which.

But if you wanted to be specific you would use the name revealed to Moses where God said: This is my name. Out of reverence for this name in the Hebrew text there are no vowels, so it is YHWH (יְהוָה), although most simply say yahweh.

All of this to say that in the book of Ecclesiastes God is only referred to by the name elohim. We don't want to read into it too much but it does seem like the writer did this on purpose.

In the book God is seen as a distant God who controls the universe from afar. If that is the image you would want portrayed, you would use elohim and you would stay away from the more intimate name of God, YHWH.

Of course, as Christians, we affirm both. God is both distant and very near. He is both hidden and revealed. He is both all powerful (God the Father) and the one who gave up his power (Christ). This is even more reason why the coming of Christ and his claim to be God would have been such a transformation of how many people viewed God. The one who rules over the universe is here on the earth?

What has been your contemplation?

Have you contemplated what Jared spoke about on Ecclesiastes? Have you thought about what is Hebel in your life? What kinds of things do you worry about that maybe in the big picture of life are really nothing? What kinds of things do you worry about that are Big Things, but in the end is Hebel?

I've been looking at my life a little differently this week after listening to Jared and reading through this book myself. Because eventually it all does go away, we all eventually die. I'm not saying this because it's depressing, but because maybe there needs to be a re-prioritization on what's important. Sometimes our prioritization in life comes from the world, but maybe we need to cling to scripture and re-prioritize. I'm just thinking out loud here, just pondering on what it is I need to learn/gleen from this study.

What are your thoughts? What have you contemplated? Tell us.

A day late...

And a dollar short? Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there! Here's a photo from our Father's day celebration yesturday. We had a picnic (which was very nice because we saw the sun!), and played some games (pretty pretty princess is what we were playing in the pic), and enjoyed the US open. Jason's uncles and grandfather had tickets (that were free) to the US open so we watched to see them in the crowd. (which we did!)

Anyway... What did you do to celebrate Father's Day in your family? Did you honor your dad? Or were you the one being honored? Tell us about it...

PurposeLess Life Teaching Schedule

Jun 20 Ecc 1:1-11 Jared Byas
Jun 27 Ecc 1:12-2:26 Jared Byas
Jul 4 Ecc 3:1-22 Jared Byas
Jul 11 Ecc 4:1-16 Jared Byas
Jul 18 Ecc 5:1-6:9 Jared Byas
Jul 25 Ecc 6:10-7:14 Dave Detwiler
Aug 1 Ecc 7:15-29 Rick Martin
Aug 8 Ecc 8:1-17 Dave Detwiler
Aug 15 Ecc 9:1-10 Jared Byas
Aug 22 Ecc 9:11-10:15 Jared Byas
Aug 29 Ecc 10:16-11:6 Jared Byas
Sep 5 Ecc 11:7-12:8 Dave Detwiler
Sep 12 Ecc 12:9-14 Jared Byas

On a Serious Note: Are you Content?

Heb 13:5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”

This is the verse that has been sticking to me the last couple of days. Well, Actually it's the first half of the verse because I tend to forget the last half more often than not. I ebb and flow with spriritual growth in different areas at different times. The term contentment has been floating around me for a week now and I've been wrestling with it.

What does contentment mean? Wiki says: Contentment (also called complacence) is the neuro-physiological experience of satisfaction and being at ease in one's situation, bodymind (cf. John Money[1]), body, and/or mind (read full article here)

I am not content if that is the definition. I'm not content according to Hebrews either. It's not like I want the biggest and bestest new and newest stuff because I don't. I never have wanted that stuff. I may have had fleeting desires to own a vacation home or a boat, or the biggest badest camera available... But for the most part, those are fleeting and I am content not having those things. The contentlessness (I'm not sure that's a word and I'm just making it up) I'm feeling is that I desire to not be struggling so much financially, and how I dream / long for this struggle to be over. I'm not stating all this for pity, but because it's a struggle I've been ebbing and flowing over lately. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that turns this concept around in their hearts.

I'm not talking about the kind of struggle where things seem tight, but the kinda struggle where at any moment if something came along it could destroy you instead of just set you back. The kinda struggle where there is no cushion, there is nothing left to downsize, and you live each day to get out of the struggle. This could also be put in terms of health, etc.... I mention finances because I know a lot of people are struggling now, but take out that word and fill in your blank. Are you content? How do we find contentment in our struggles? Glass half full Attitude? Numb the pain? Am I faithless because I'm not content? As it says in Hebrews; that he won't leave or forsake me... If I can't be content in my struggle, do I find contentment in that promise? Is that all there is to it?

If this is your struggle as well, or if you have struggled in the past about being content, please share your story. How did you come to peace with it? Or if you're like me and you're still wrestling, how is this affecting you? What questions do you have? (and as a side note: please if you are really struggling in any area, talk to someone about it. Call a friend, pastor, small group leader, counselor.)

Encounter July 4th

Unfortunately, July 4th falls on a Saturday this year. Fortunately, that gives us the excuse to throw a party! So, here's the deal:

• Instead of meeting in the main auditorium for our service we will be meeting down at the pavilion (near the softball field)


• Instead of a long teaching and long sets of songs we'll be having a short teaching, a few songs, and lots of hamburgers and hot dogs as we grow closer together in relationship with one another (the long-winded and yet less "Christianese" way of saying "fellowship")


• Instead of communion...Actually, we will still be having communion as we emphasize communion with each other through our communion with Christ!

We will still end at 7:30 for those of you who want to run off and get to other parties but we will also be sticking around after the service just to hang out and have a good time. In fact, Mike Repsher will be doing his bi-weekly free Swing Dance Lesson at the church afterwards for anyone interested.

What we need (The church will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, buns/rolls, and drinks):

• Grills - Please let us know if you would be willing to "donate" your grill for the day


• Cooks - Please let us know if you would be willing to cook Saturday from about 5:30-6:30


• Sides/Desserts - Please let us know if you would like to bring a side or a dessert

Please feel free to also bring games, blankets, chairs, etc. We hope you plan on making it out July 4 as we learn from the Scriptures, sing some songs, and share a meal as the Body of Christ!

How easily edified are you?

I just took my family to the airport to start our family vacation (without me - I'll join them on Monday, after my weekend responsibilities are over).

So, as is often the case, I find myself sitting around wondering what to do as I adjust to the temporary single life. But in so doing, I found the following thoughtful post on Justin Taylor's blog.

Give it a read, and share your thoughts. I know I'd like to be more easily edified. How about you?

Hello! My Name is:

Julia Spencer

Yes that's me in the photo... Behind the camera... I'm afraid if I sent you a photo of my face nobody would recognize me as I'm normally behind the camera and looking like this photo anyway. LOL!

So, if you haven't guessed it already, I take photos for fun and business. I'm on the Branch Creek Photography Team, and you'll probably see me at various events shooting. Although that's not all there is to this "guest" blogger.

I've been married to Jason Spencer for 10 years now (May was our anniversary, and I'll still accept well wishes!). We have two gorgeous children, Jordan age 7 and Jorianna age 5. I'll probably be a proud mama and post photos of them this summer. Summer is our absolute favorite time of the year. We love outdoor activities like the Beach, the Chesapeake Bay, Hiking, Finding new parks/playgrounds, picnics, barbeques, camp fires, smores, icecream, boating (if any of you have one, we'll be happy to accept an invite to take a spin) waterjetting, etc...

I love to read, mostly fiction, but I have been known to pick up a few non-fiction works in my "off" time. John Eldredge is among my favorites in the non-fiction category, but CS Lewis isn't bad either. LOL! I'm totally stoked (can I say that?) about the upcoming Ecclesiates study at Encounter. I love reading blogs, and participating in online discussions as time permits me. I have a blog of my own, but that's dedicted to photography and I throw in my other love of digital scrapbooking every now and then. (if you want to know what that blog is, you'll have to e-mail me.)

Little Known fact about me: I like Rock Music. Not just your Christian Rock Band Music (although I do enjoy that too). I'm talking, I grew up listening to the sounds of Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc... I won't be discussing the theology of these bands or how they fit into Christianity, but I do love to ROCK OUT everyonce in a while.

This is just a taste of the artist known as Julia Spencer, and I hope that I can find interesting things to discuss on the Blog that will interest you too. Please feel free to join in on any discussions as I'd love to hear your point of view. I also would feel loved if you left me a comment telling me how much you love or hate the muppets. :)

The PurposeLess Life

This week, we begin our new series on the book of Ecclesiastes. I absolutely love this book and have had such a transformative and entertaining few weeks as I have started to prepare for this new teaching series. Along with much prayer and meditation on the text, here are a few guides I have been reading through in preparation for these next several weeks:

A Time to Tear Down & A Time to Build Up: A Re-Reading of Ecclesiastes by Michael V. Fox

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart by Dan Allender & Tremper Longman

Ecclesiastes by Choon-Leong Seow

Reason for Being by Jacques Ellul

Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Ecclesiastes by Tremper Longman

Let's Be Clear About This...

One of the points of debate in the previous discussion on evolution was on how to interpret the Bible. It may comes as a surprise to many of you but I am not a scientist. But when it comes to linguistics, interpretation, and biblical hermeneutics (how we interpret the Bible) I think I can help clarify things.

And that is my point of this post, to help us at least get on same page when we say words like "simple," "plain," and "literal" in relation to understanding the Bible. I think we are often ships passing in the night who think we understand each other because we are using the same words, but don't mean the same things with those words.

To start this conversation, please take a look at a very good introduction to help us clarify what we mean when we say that we "take the Bible literally" by Dr. Vern Poythress.

Click here to read the article.

Please read the article and let me know your thoughts. If we're going to get anywhere in this discussion, we need to agree that we're talking the same language.

Be Prepared - Not just the Boy Scout Motto

Last week one of my points was that we should "be prepared" for Christ's return. I conveyed what this didn't mean - namely, trying to figure out the signs of the times, figuring out what events in the Middle East mean that Christ is coming back, knowing the 2009 reasons Christ will return in 2009, etc.

But what does it mean to be prepared? Think about this question, read Matthew 25, and let me know what you think. I have been pondering this question all week and haven't come to a conclusive answer yet.

Evolution - 150th Anniversary

In light of tomorrow night's teaching by Rob on how to dialogue with Christian and non-Christian friends about evolution (good luck Rob!) and in light of this being the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (1859) I have decided to let Darwin speak for himself about the affects of evolution on religion:

"I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one. It is satisfactory, as showing how transient such impressions are, to remember that the greatest discovery ever made by man, namely, the law of the attraction of gravity, was also attacked by Leibnitz, "as subversive of natural, and inferentially of revealed, religion." A celebrated author and divine has written to me that he has "gradually learned to see that it is just as noble a conception of the Deity to believe that He created a few original forms capable of self- development into other and needful forms, as to believe that He required a fresh act of creation to supply the voids caused by the action of His laws.""

Any thoughts?

Some Books I used From Saturday

For the teaching this past Saturday night I used several very good books and so I thought I would share them. I have listed them in order of difficulty from "average reader" (Wright) to "has a college-level vocabulary and can use google and wikipedia well" (Ridderbos) to "has a degree in biblical studies" (Vos & Gowan). Of course if you're brave I encourage you to try and tackle all of them. You can click on the title for more information. If you would like to pick one up and need a recommendation or more information feel free to leave a comment or email me (or facebook me, or text me, and so on, ad infinitum):


1. The God i Don't Understand by Chris Wright (the last few sections)
2. The Coming of the Kingdom by Herman Ridderbos
3. Redemptive History & Biblical Interpretation by Geerhardus Vos
4. Eschatology in the Old Testament by Donald Gowan

On the Horizon for Encounter

As many of you know we typically go through a portion of the Hebrew Bible during the summer. This year is no exception. However, we have a few weeks until we get there so here are the upcoming topics until then:

May 23: "End Times" (Jared)
May 30: Evolution (Rob)
June 6: Globalization (Dave)
June 13: TBD (Craig)

My time in Romania

As perhaps most of you are aware, I spent the last week and a half in the eastern part of Romania, being sent by our world outreach team to teach at a mission school just outside of Constanta, on the Black Sea (pictured).

The school, The Romanian Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, is situated in Agigea, about 10 kilometers from Constanta. It draws students from throughout the region to be trained as missionaries to the less reached countries in that part of the world - esp. among Muslims.

Here is the school, at which I taught a week-long intensive course on apologetics. I also lived on campus, eating with the students, and sharing life with them throughout that week.

Here is the action in the classroom, where my teaching was translated by the school's director, Ina Hrisca (in front of the screen - I used a lot of images to help convey what we were talking about).

At the end of the week, I was one of the featured speakers at the school's first mission symposium, designed to challenge and encourage Christian leaders and students from throughout the country. We had about 60 people attend (about as much as the school could handle), and addressed the issue of globalization as it relates to mission. Here I am giving my talk on "Does globalization hinder mission?"

The following day (this past Sunday) I preached at the Pentecostal church in Medgidea, about an hour west of Agigea, and had a great time with the believers there.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunty to serve our Lord in this way. Thank you for your faithful giving to BranchCreek which made this trip (and perhaps future trips!) possible.

godtalk

I just had a conversation with a lady who wanted to know "how to invite an atheist friend to the sermon on evolution" that Rob will be giving at Encounter and Sunday May 30-31. Just like most of us, she wanted information to defend Christianity against the onslaught of atheistic arguments. But I told her to ask questions instead. We don't need to defend, we need to understand, listen, engage, and love. It is not that good arguments are not important but almost always they overshadow the more important things.

As I am sitting here at Main St Java working on stuff for my Small Group tonight, I ran across this from Eugene Peterson. The concept is definitely worth exploring, probably because most of us are guilty of it without even realizing it:

"It is common among many of us when we become more aware of what is involved in following Jesus and the urgencies that this involves, especially when we find ourselves in Samaritan territory [among non-Christians], that we become more intense in our language. Because it is so much more clear and focused we use the language learned from sermons and teachings to tell others what is eternally important. But the very intensity of the language can very well reduce our attentiveness to the people to whom we are speaking - he or she is no longer a person but a cause. Impatient to get our message out, we depersonalize what we have to say in to rote phrases or a programmatic formula without regard to the person we are meeting. As the urgency to speak God's word increases, listening relationships diminish. We end up with a bone pile of fleshless words - godtalk."

Some OT/NT Thoughts

In a previous post we received some very good questions about the OT that I thought would be important to share with everyone. I have reserved some of the more technical discussion as a comment on the said previous post so if you want the nitty-gritty then check out the comments under "An OT Survey" below.



1. Did the NT writers know Hebrew?

For those of you who don't know the OT was written in Hebrew. However, it is almost certain that most of the NT writers didn't know Hebrew. The Bible they used and quoted from most often was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, what is called the Septuagint (or LXX for short). Is this important? I think so.

It shows me that God is okay with the messiness of what it means to be human. He is okay with translations. This may be taken for granted in our Protestant evangelical world but religions like Islam do not allow for translations (Allah, quite literally, speaks Arabic). And if you notice, Allah in Islam is not a very "hands-on" God, he is very remote, transcendent, and authoritarian. However, the Christian God is very "hands-on," and is okay with translations. Just what we would expect from a God who loved the world by becoming human.

It's not precise and clean-cut and pretty. But God is okay with that, and we should be too.

2. If the Bible is so important, what did Christians do for the first century, before the NT existed?

The first thing to remember is that Christianity is not a separate religion from Judaism but is the conclusion to that story (although those practicing Judaism would disagree. They have their own conclusion to the same story). So, for the first century, it is likely that a Christian gathering would have looked very much like a Jewish one. One does not strip off their cultural and religious identity so quickly or so thoroughly. This includes the importance of reading, studying, and applying the OT, which is part of the Bible.

Also, as Protestant evangelicals, we tend to dismiss tradition as a burden or something that holds us back. That is incredibly unfortunate. For one, we do have a tradition we just pretend we don't. Secondly, without tradition we are floating in the present with no ties or connections to the past. And that can be a very dangerous road to travel. Anyway, the first century was rich in tradition and ritual, so there was plenty to do in the religious setting of the day. So while the NT is incredibly important today, and rightly so, there was plenty of Scripture (OT) to go around in those days, as well as some important traditions, oral and written.

As I said before, if this post leaves you feeling unsatisfied, check the comment section of the post "An OT Survey" where I will answer the questions more directly.

Tov

For those who don't know Sarah & I found out yesterday that our second will be a boy. We have decided to name him Tov Kierkegaard Byas. Many have asked us what "Tov" means so I thought I would post about it.

Literally, Tov is "good" in Hebrew. More importantly for us is that it is used to describe what God thinks of creation and is also the statement Moses's mother makes about Moses when he was born:

וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב.
"And God saw that [it was] good."

וַתֵּרֶא אֹתוֹ כִּי-טוֹב הוּא
"And she saw him, that he was good."

Happy Birthday Kierkegaard!

In celebration of 'ole S.K.'s 196th birthday I have one quotation from him on the importance of decision followed by a story on the same theme by Dante in his Inferno. Truly, what we do not like in our life is changed by decision, however small, however weak. No more, "I will do it tomorrow..."


"Can there be something in life that has power over us which little by little causes us to forget all that is good? And can this ever happen to anyone who has heard the call of eternity quite clearly and strongly?

If this can ever be, then one must look for a cure against it. Praise be to God that such a cure exists–to quietly make a decision. A decision joins us to the eternal. It brings what is eternal into time. A decision raises us with a shock from the slumber of
monotony. A decision breaks the magic spell of custom. A decision breaks the long row of weary thoughts. A decision pronounces its blessing upon even the weakest beginning, as long as it is a real beginning. Decision is the awakening to the eternal."
- From Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses

In Dante's Inferno he describes the worst place for humans. It is not in the 9th circle of hell but is at the gates of hell, the place for people who have no place. This place is reserved for those who made no choice, who belonged to no camp but their own. And their punishment is to forever be ambivalent, always chasing but never deciding, always seeking but never finding.

"What souls are these who run through this black haze?"
And he said to me: "These are the nearly soulless
whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise.

They are mixed here with that despicable corps
of angels who were neither for God nor Satan,
but only for themselves. The High Creator

scourged them from Heaven for its perfect beauty,
and Hell will not receive them since the wicked
might feel some glory over them." And I:

"Master, what gnaws at them so hideously
their lamentation stuns the very air?"
"They have no hope of death," he answered me,

"and in their blind and unattaining state
their miserable lives have sunk so low
that they must envy every other fate..."

At once I understood for certain: these
were of that retrograde and faithless crew
hateful to God and to His enemies

So, good Father, may I make decisions. Decisions bring movement. Even if I risk everything and fail, I will be content because not making decisions is to have failed already. And my identity comes from you, not my ability to "succeed." Amen.