I'm not an angry person, but I can be an angry person. And when I am angry, I wonder a bit who this angry person is who looks like me, sounds like me, and is wearing my clothes. I'm not very fond of that person, and I wonder where he comes from.
I've studied this angry person - well after the fact. I don't get much out of him while he's angry, so I have to wait until he's gone before I can examine what he said and why he said it. He remains a mystery to me.
Sometimes, he shows up when someone else cuts him off on the road - which is a bit strange, because there a lot of times when someone does the exact same move, and this angry person doesn't show up at all. He can show up when people don't do what he wants, when people tell him things he doesn't want to hear, when people ignore him, or even when his sleep is interrupted. He usually shows up when he disappoints himself. And sometimes, he's in the same room as you, but he pretends to be me, so you just don't recognize him.
Where does he come from?
God has anger, but He has this thing called "righteous anger," which is very rarely true for me. God's righteous anger is that of a perfectly holy God intent on eradicating evil from us for our own good. Yeah ... that's usually not me. That's not where my doppleganger angry person comes from.
I've noticed a pattern. This angry person only shows up when reality doesn't match my expectations. I expect A, reality turns out to be B, and then he shows up! We can't change reality, so perhaps there's something to do with my expectations. I can't always expect what will end up being reality - the solution must be something else.
There's only one Being who has the right for reality to always match His expectations. The same One who has that perfect righteous anger, oddly enough. He's God. I'm not. And that's why I get angry.
This angry person that looks like me shows up when reality proves I'm not the one who can demand that reality match my expectations. I don't like being shown that I don't have this privilege that only God has. I don't like admitting it, so I throw a fit. That's when this odd stranger shows up.
Where does he come from? He comes from my demandingness to be treated like God. And I'm not very fond of that angry person. Perhaps you know one of his friends?
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
More Cool Stuff in Scripture
Our reading through the New Testament together now has us in the Book of Acts, Luke's "sequel" to his Gospel, tracing the key events of the early church. There's something very cool in Acts that could well be Luke's cues to us about the structure of the book. There are six summary statements throughout Acts that seem to summarize the action that has preceded, and prepare for what follows. These six verses create six "panels," or sections, to Acts, which help us to see the important progression of the book.
The first summary verse is 6:7 ("And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith"). All of this action happening (especially persecution), and then all of the sudden, a summary verse that talks about the Word spreading, even to Jewish priests (success, despite the persecution). In the first section, the main character is Peter, the location is Jerusalem, and the audience is entirely Jewish. The very next thing is the story of Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the church, and as the persecution intensifies, many of the disciples are driven out from Jerusalem.
The second summary verse is 9:31 ("So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase"). Again, the narrative is talking about amazing events, and then out of the blue, a summary statement about the progress of the Gospel. In this second section, the main character is still Peter, but the location now includes Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and therefore the audience of the Gospel now includes "half-Jews" - people who are not fully Jewish, but still have similar history and connections with Israel. The Gospel is beginning to spread out of Judaism, forced by the persecution. The very next thing are the accounts of Peter coming to terms with the Gospel spreading to, of all people, Gentiles. That was a huge paradigm shift for Peter and the others.
The third summary verse is 12:24 ("But the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied") - the Word is continuing to spread. The main character is still Peter, but the location is now Palestine and Syria, which means the audience is primarily Gentile. The very next thing is the calling of Barnabas and Saul to become missionaries to the Gentile lands.
The fourth summary verse is 16:5 ("So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily") - another statement about the progress of the Gospel, despite the persecution of the new missionaries. The main character is now Paul (the Greek name for Saul, which he used as soon as he started going into Gentile lands). The location is now vastly different - Antioch and Asia Minor. The audience follows the same pattern in every town. First, the Jews, and then the Gentiles, who get far more attention because they are now more receptive than the Jews. The very next thing is the vision Paul has in a dream to go over to Europe (specifically, Macedonia), crossing greater boundaries with the Gospel.
The fifth summary verse is 19:20 ("So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing"). Still more progress with the Gospel despite violent rejection of the missionaries. The main character is still Paul, but the geography is Europe (Greece in particular) and the audience is overwhelmingly Gentile. The very next thing is Paul emphatically stating his determination to get to Rome with the Gospel. Rome is the center of the Western pagan world, the epicenter of Gentile politics, military, and religion.
The last summary verse is the final verse of the book, 28:31 ("And he [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered"), a statement of how Paul, even though under arrest on false charges, has freedom to preach the Gospel of Christ right in the center of power of the pagan West, the most influential city of the Greco-Roman world! The main character of this section is still Paul, the geography is Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome, and the audience is again mostly Gentile. The very next thing is ... the rest of church history!
The book starts in occupied, Jewish Jerusalem with a small band of scared Jesus freaks who have nothing but a command to make disciples of all nations and to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. The book ends in Rome, the Gentile capital, with the missionary to the Gentiles preaching the Gospel freely even within the household of Caesar himself. All along the way, Luke appears to give us summaries of the Gospel's progress even while telling us of the difficulties suffered by the apostles and missionaries. In every case, the very next thing is some brand new barrier that will be successfully crossed by this Gospel.
So, what is the book of Acts about? The structure itself tells us: by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the real main character of every section, the Gospel will advance, not only in spite of the suffering of those willing to carry it across new boundaries, but even through their suffering. And the very next thing is the rest of church history!
As you read the Book of Acts with us, check out this structure and keep it in mind as you follow the storyline. It's a ripping good story!
The first summary verse is 6:7 ("And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith"). All of this action happening (especially persecution), and then all of the sudden, a summary verse that talks about the Word spreading, even to Jewish priests (success, despite the persecution). In the first section, the main character is Peter, the location is Jerusalem, and the audience is entirely Jewish. The very next thing is the story of Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the church, and as the persecution intensifies, many of the disciples are driven out from Jerusalem.
The second summary verse is 9:31 ("So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase"). Again, the narrative is talking about amazing events, and then out of the blue, a summary statement about the progress of the Gospel. In this second section, the main character is still Peter, but the location now includes Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and therefore the audience of the Gospel now includes "half-Jews" - people who are not fully Jewish, but still have similar history and connections with Israel. The Gospel is beginning to spread out of Judaism, forced by the persecution. The very next thing are the accounts of Peter coming to terms with the Gospel spreading to, of all people, Gentiles. That was a huge paradigm shift for Peter and the others.
The third summary verse is 12:24 ("But the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied") - the Word is continuing to spread. The main character is still Peter, but the location is now Palestine and Syria, which means the audience is primarily Gentile. The very next thing is the calling of Barnabas and Saul to become missionaries to the Gentile lands.
The fourth summary verse is 16:5 ("So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily") - another statement about the progress of the Gospel, despite the persecution of the new missionaries. The main character is now Paul (the Greek name for Saul, which he used as soon as he started going into Gentile lands). The location is now vastly different - Antioch and Asia Minor. The audience follows the same pattern in every town. First, the Jews, and then the Gentiles, who get far more attention because they are now more receptive than the Jews. The very next thing is the vision Paul has in a dream to go over to Europe (specifically, Macedonia), crossing greater boundaries with the Gospel.
The fifth summary verse is 19:20 ("So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing"). Still more progress with the Gospel despite violent rejection of the missionaries. The main character is still Paul, but the geography is Europe (Greece in particular) and the audience is overwhelmingly Gentile. The very next thing is Paul emphatically stating his determination to get to Rome with the Gospel. Rome is the center of the Western pagan world, the epicenter of Gentile politics, military, and religion.
The last summary verse is the final verse of the book, 28:31 ("And he [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered"), a statement of how Paul, even though under arrest on false charges, has freedom to preach the Gospel of Christ right in the center of power of the pagan West, the most influential city of the Greco-Roman world! The main character of this section is still Paul, the geography is Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome, and the audience is again mostly Gentile. The very next thing is ... the rest of church history!
The book starts in occupied, Jewish Jerusalem with a small band of scared Jesus freaks who have nothing but a command to make disciples of all nations and to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. The book ends in Rome, the Gentile capital, with the missionary to the Gentiles preaching the Gospel freely even within the household of Caesar himself. All along the way, Luke appears to give us summaries of the Gospel's progress even while telling us of the difficulties suffered by the apostles and missionaries. In every case, the very next thing is some brand new barrier that will be successfully crossed by this Gospel.
So, what is the book of Acts about? The structure itself tells us: by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the real main character of every section, the Gospel will advance, not only in spite of the suffering of those willing to carry it across new boundaries, but even through their suffering. And the very next thing is the rest of church history!
As you read the Book of Acts with us, check out this structure and keep it in mind as you follow the storyline. It's a ripping good story!
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