Closed Doors – Open Windows

You have probably heard the saying that when God closes a door, He opens a window. As I am reading through the prophets in the Old Testament, I am reminded how true that was for Israel as a nation and for certain individuals especially. From the book of Judges through the return of the exiles from Babylon, the door of God’s blessing was repeatedly slammed shut, but before long a window opened.

This was true for Abraham. He waited twenty-five years for the promised son. That’s a long time to stare at a closed door. Then Isaac miraculously appeared. Before the boy even reached manhood, God asked Abraham to sacrifice him. I hear a door slam. Of course, God opened the window by stopping Abraham from following through, proving the depth of His chosen one’s faith.

Joseph literally heard a door close: a prison door. He had walked through an open door into Potifor’s household, but the jealous wife closed that door sending him to prison. Then the window opened when the jailer promoted him to head warden. The arrival of two of Pharoah’s servants seemed like a window opening, but it took two years for it to finally open letting Joseph out of prison. The entire course of Joseph’s life became the open window for the closed door his family experienced in the famine in their land. Open close; open close.

Moses went through a number of door/window cycles. Being rescued by Pharoah’s daughter seemed like an open door for him to somehow help his people, the enslaved Israelites. He kinda closed that door himself with his emotional overreaction resulting in murder and flight to the desert. The window cracked open at the burning bush when Yahweh gave him a mission (impossible?) Through nine plagues the door of escape for the Israelites opened and closed. Finally, they made it out into the desert only to find the door closed at the Red Sea. God really opened a window of opportunity there, freeing them and destroying Pharoah’s army.

I have often thought of my years as a truck driver as similar to Moses’ time in the desert. My chosen career in Christian education ended in burnout, a door apparently closed. What I thought would be a short sabbatical to rest and recoup became a twelve year experience. During that time virtually alone in the truck, God led me through a great deal of soul searching and learning; I finished my time in the “desert” a different man. I believe I was given an open window to my writing ministry. Maybe you have had a similar experience.

Here is a question that has bothered me for some time. What do we make of the promises of the prophets to errant Israel that God would have a king in David’s line and Levitical priests ministering forever if they would repent and worship Him alone? Most troubling is the Lord’s statement that if He could break His covenant with the sun to shine by day, then He could break His covenant with Israel. There has not been a king of any family on a throne in Israel since 70 AD, yet the sun still shines. Is the door open or closed?

God made a similar promise to Abraham that He would make of him a great nation, and that his seed would bring blessing to all the earth. We know that Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel, failed in this regard. Instead of spreading the good news of God’s love and grace, they became insular and proud of their special relationship with the maker of heaven and earth. There is no biblical record of any Jews setting out to share their faith with other nations. Instead, they considered it sinful to have anything to do with the gentiles. The story of Jonah is a good example of how the Jews felt about other nations.

Paul does clear this one up for us in what might be called a trick of the language. He says that the promise to Abraham was to Seed, not seeds. Jesus was the Seed who brought the blessing to all the earth. Some might say that a trivial thing like a word being plural or singular is meaningless. Not to Paul. He believed, as do I, that God inspired the exact words He wanted His Word to contain.

God closed the door on temple worship and the Levitical priesthood when the curtain separating the holy place was torn. That happened when the Messiah gave His life on the cross. Something else happened during the crucifixion: the sun failed to shine for three hours. There is no astronomical explanation for that. Those who try to say it was an eclipse are grasping at straws; an eclipse lasts only a few moments, not three hours. I believe what happened is that God broke His covenant with the sun. That gave Him license to break His covenant with errant Israel.

However, the window that God opened after the Cross let in the light of eternity: salvation through the blood of the Lamb. There is no need for a Levitical priesthood since Jesus is our high priest through the special line of Melchizedek. There is no need for an earthly temple because the final sacrifice has been made, and we have access to the heavenly temple where God dwells and Jesus intervenes on our behalf. I have argued repeatedly that some things in the Bible cannot be taken literally. In this case, I like to think that God literally broke His covenant with the sun so He could establish His new covenant through Christ.

If this all seems arcane or meaningless to you, allow me to explain. As with so many Scriptures, like Paul’s Seed reference, little things matter. This is a call to read the Bible deeply, thoroughly, and with the help of the Holy Spirit to guide. I can’t count the number of times a careful, prayerful reading of God’s Word has brought me insight into who He is and what He wants of me. Don’t neglect your Bible; read it expectantly. You may find the opening of a closed door or at least an open window. That is God’s promise, not mine.

Related posts: Take the Bible Literally?; Understanding the Bible as Literature; Why Did God Do That?

Fast Christians

When you read the title of this article, you probably thought it was going to be about Christians who are quick at something. If you were thinking more deeply, you might have thought of the Scriptures that encourage Christians to hold fast to their faith. That comes closer to what I am about to say, although that’s not quite it. The word “fast” as in hold fast is related to the word “fasten.” The biblical admonition is to fasten our lives to the truth of God’s Word. That’s closer to where I am going, but still not there.

The verb “to fast” and the related noun come from a different language chain (etymology) than our adjective “fast.” I know your eyes are glazing over and you are wishing the English teacher in me would get to the point. Almost there. We know that a fast is abstinence from a physical substance or activity. We know that in earlier times, religious fasting was a more common practice than it is now. I am going to suggest that we “fast” in a somewhat different way than usual. That makes my title an imperative sentence – a command: Fast, Christians. (What a difference a comma makes.)

If my pedantic English lesson hasn’t made you click off the page, you will be rewarded with the reason for my explanation of usage. Today I read Isaiah 56:6: “Isn’t this the fast I choose…” When I considered the fast God wanted the Israelites to practice, I was struck by the similarity of that fast to the marching orders given to Christians. In fact, Jesus initiated His ministry with a quotation from this section of Isaiah just a few verses later. Since we are commanded to follow in Jesus’ steps if we are followers, it makes sense that His actions should be our actions.

What I am trying to say is that the fast God desires of Christ followers is not necessarily what we normally think of as a fast – it’s not abstaining from one physical pleasure, although in truth, an old fashioned fast does have some value for today’s Christians. The fast God requires is one that “fasts” the material world altogether. Shocking, what?

Here’s what I mean. If we are following Jesus, we are supposed to be in the world but not of the world. God could have arranged things so that as soon as we accept His offer of salvation in Christ, He would beam us up to Heaven. He didn’t. He left us here so that we could do kingdom work. (See Bringing the Kingdom.) Jesus described that kind of work when He gave His first synagogue lesson in Nazareth from Isaiah sixty-one. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Ironically, the people in His hometown realized Jesus the carpenter was claiming to be the promised Messiah, and they rejected the idea completely. Too bad for them. I want to point out what the Messiah announced as His ministry because it is our ministry too. There are five aspects to the work Jesus set out to do, the work we are called to do if we would be His followers.

The first is easy to understand but not always easy to do. Proclaiming good news to the poor is not something most Christians find easy. Whether through embarrassment or fear of rejection, we often hide our light under a basket rather than letting it shine. If we are truly “fasting” the world’s opinion and seeking first the kingdom, we will be pointing out how poor and needy our neighbors really are and telling them the good news. (I gave some suggestions for engaging our neighbors in my book, Lead a Horse to Water.)

The second aspect of Christian ministry, releasing the captives, might begin with proving to people that they really are in captivity. Paul’s treatise on Christian doctrine, the book of Romans, explains that everyone is held captive by sin until they come to Jesus for deliverance. My wife and I have spent some time working with convicted felons and drug addicts. They know firsthand what it means to be in captivity. The truth is there are many people who have never been behind bars or drowning in a bottle who are just as much captives. We shy away from using the word sin with people because it sounds judgmental; it is. You can’t sell the idea of freedom to people who don’t know they are in bondage.

I am going to skip ahead to number four because it ties in with the idea of bondage. Offering freedom to those who are oppressed might be taken literally. The enemy of our souls oppresses people today in many different ways. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, and others are obvious oppressors. Not so obvious, but just as oppressive are work (when it overwhelms), hobbies (when they dominate), family (when it pushes God out), even “religious” activities (when they become drudgery.) Even Christians can lose their joy when oppression clouds their perception. By His grace, Jesus frees people from their oppression.

Number three, recovery of sight to the blind, does not require an eye surgeon. Back to Romans again where Paul explains that people everywhere are blind to the existence of God, even though His witness in creation is unmistakable. The Apostle also told the Ephesians that people were blind because they are, “darkened in understanding… because of the ignorance that is in them.” This kind of blindness requires teaching either by word or demonstration. Living the life of Christian love in front of people will often remove the scales from their eyes better than a religious talk or tract.

The final aspect Jesus announced as His ministry is to, “proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” A quick lesson from the Old Testament will explain what this means. Every fifty years the Jews were supposed to celebrate a Jubilee Year in which (here we are again) all slaves were to be released from their servitude. You should be seeing a theme here. Paul said we were all slaves to sin at one time. He also said it was for freedom that Christ set us free.

Those five things constitute Christian ministry. The world is in bondage; we have the keys to their prison. It is our responsibility to make that key available to as many as we can. Maybe it would be a good idea to undertake a literal fast and ask God to prick your heart with a dose of His love for the lost. Then get out and be a true Jesus follower. And be quick about it.

Related posts: Why Witness; God’s Choice or Mans; Many Called – Few Chosen

One or Two Isaiahs

I believe the Bible is God’s Word – every word of it. I concur with Paul’s statement that the Scripture is inspired, literally God-breathed. Paul also told Timothy to study the Word so that he might be an approved interpreter. There is a strong hint there that while the Bible contains truth, it might take some effort to mine the truth. If you haven’t read “Take the Bible Literally” and “Understanding the Bible as Literature,” I recommend them. What I wrote then is simply that the words in Scripture are often couched in imagery, symbolism, hyperbole, and metaphor. That means that the words convey truth, but they are not intended to be taken literally.

I also believe the process of gathering the books we now hold as the Bible was superintended by God. The Holy Spirit oversaw the councils who chose which writings to include and which to exclude from the canon of Scripture. Some things have been imposed on the text that were not in the original manuscripts. For example, chapter and verse numbering was added much later to aid in locating specific passages. Also, the names of some of the books had titles added that were drawn from assumptions about authorship. Sometimes there were multiple options for a book that was named: who was the James who wrote the New Testament epistle bearing his name? Was the author of Revelation John the apostle or some other man with the same name? These later additions and assumptions do nothing to invalidate the truth of the words they contain.

There is a long-standing debate about whether all the book of Isaiah was written by the same author. Some argue that the change in tone and apparent time gap at chapter forty indicates that someone other than the man named in the early chapters wrote the later chapters. If that were true (I don’t believe it is.), it would not detract from the truth of the message. The wonderful truths about the coming Messiah and the final state of God’s creation remain safe and sound regardless of who wrote them.

Another message that is contained in the book of Isaiah predicts that there would be people with eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear. The prophet was told to speak God’s word to them regardless. Paul told the Ephesians something similar. He said that because some people had denied the existence of God, their minds were blinded to His truth. This fact helps us understand what Paul told the Romans: God had given rebellious people over to their own destructive practices because they refused to accept the truth that was evident to all: God exists.

When I wrote “How Can They Think That?” after the 2020 election debacle, I reminded my readers that no matter who is elected to office, God remains in control. That was precisely Isaiah’s message to the people of Israel. They had been bounced around between Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, and Persia for generations. During their captivity in Babylon, God promised that another nation, namely Persia, would defeat the Babylonian oppressors and set them free to return to their homeland. That happened as foretold by Isaiah, and the portion of the book bearing his name that starts in chapter forty is a record of that as well as giving assurance of a future when all the nations would come to worship God.

The incorrect application of the truth of Scripture has led to some disastrous conclusions throughout history. The Crusades represent one of the most egregious. Thinking that Isaiah’s prophecies about a future Jerusalem were to be taken literally, the Crusaders committed horrible atrocities in the name of God. Thinking the cosmology of the Bible was literal, the Inquisitors murdered scientists who described the universe as it truly was made. Thinking they knew a witch when they saw one, the Inquisitors and the Puritans executed thousands of innocent women. Fear born out of ignorance and misapplication of Scripture led to the persecution and death of Catholics and Mormons in America.

Because many modern Christians (so-called) have ignored or misinterpreted Scripture, millions of unborn babies have been sacrificed on the altar of convenience. Countless teenagers have undergone “gender-affirming” surgery and have taken hormones because they believe God put them in the wrong body. The sanctity of marriage was destroyed when it was applied to same-sex couples. I am laying this at the feet of Christians in America for two reasons. First, many who call themselves Christians approve of these practices. That is clearly due to misunderstanding or ignoring Scripture. Second, I believe that if Christians in this country had voted as a block against unbiblical politicians and policies, they would have been defeated.

Isaiah warned the nations of his day that God would judge them for their sinful practices. Isaiah reminded Israel that they were being punished for their apostasy. The message could be applied to America today. I like what Matt Erbaugh wrote in Bible Study Magazine some years ago. “Don’t spend so much time trying to figure out the rules [or interpretation of rules] that you miss hearing his voice." The voice of God spoken through Isaiah, whether one man or two, needs to be heard today. Are you listening?

 

Matt Erbaugh, “Little White Lies,” in Moment with God: A Devotional on Every Biblical Book, ed. John D. Barry and Rebecca Van Noord (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

Tip of the Mitt Trip

We have been unintentionally off the grid for the last few days, so no news is no news in this case. (T-Mobile is n.g. in N MI. They haven’t discovered the Tip of the Mitt.) Now that I have Internet, I will catch up on the travel news. Our last post was from Ludington State Park. It was a very pleasant campsite, although I had to ride 2.5 miles to see the lighthouse at Big Sable. The beach was a little closer, but we never took advantage of it.

From Ludington we went to the Traverse City area. We stayed two nights at a Boondockers Welcome site that was excellent: shaded, flat (mostly), quiet, and firewood was available for free, as was water. The spot was called Old Mission Delight, and it was. We took in a couple wineries on the mission peninsula and did some laundry while we ate at one of our favorite breakfast places, The Omlettte Shop.

From T.C. we went to a Harvest Host winery/brewery, Burt Lake Brewerhy near Indian River. They had great parking and some interesting beverage offerings: wine from their own grapes, their own beer brews, and hard cider. The next night we went around the corner a mile or two and stayed in Burt Lake State Park for three nights. The first night was on a site with a view of the lake, but we had to move to another site in the woods for our last two days. It was OK, but I missed looking at the lake from the patio.

From Burt Lake we went to another Boondocker’s location near Onaway, Michigan because it was on-the-way to where we were going. Bonz Beach Farm and Sugar House was a real treat. It had several beautiful, shaded sites with power if needed; we hooked up so we didn’t have to bug our neighbors with our LOUD generator. The owner gave us a tour of the sugar house where they turn the sap of 4,200 maple trees into maple syrup. Fascinating. We learned it takes 10 gallons of sap to make one quart of syrup. The process involves a lot of boiling and an elaborate still to make the sap into syrup. Naturally, we took some home with us as well as some of the produce they grow on the farm in the clearings between the maple trees.

After the farm, we went a short way east to Lake Huron and P.H. Hoeft State Park. This was not our favorite park. It sits back from the shore of the lake, but it was a hike of about ½ mile to get to the beach from our campsite – too far for either of us in our condition (Karen’s back and my hip.) Hoeft is a more rustic state park than many with gravel roads and dirt sites that are none too level. We took a day-trip a few miles down the road to Rogers City to do laundry and visit a bakery we were told about. Mmmm-mmm. We ate our treats at a park overlooking the lake while our laundry was finishing up. Then we went inland a ways to Ocqueoc (Ahk-we-ock) Falls. It’s basically a miniature version of the famous Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Crystal clear, cold water cascades over ledges on its way to the lake. Lots of kids were playing in it; we just watched. Brrr.

Now we are just outside Mackinaw City in a private campground. I thought we were getting full hook-up, but it's water and electric only. We haven't had full service since we left Zeeland three weeks ago. We are self-contained, so we can do rustic, but our small trailer has small tanks which means we can only spend three days maximum unless we severely ration our water use. Then we have to dump sewer and refill fresh water. Fortunately, Michigan State parks have dump stations to accommodate that. Here at the private campground, we can hook up to city water and electric, but we still have to dump the sewer when we leave.

Our site is at Tee-Pee Campground on the shore of the Straits of Mackinaw. At night we can see the lights of Mighty Mac, the five-mile bridge connecting the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. We won’t be going to the island this year – been there; done that.  Maybe next year. We like to hit Mackinaw City for the unique shops and the big discount clothing store. We usually can’t resist having afternoon “tea” in one of the places overlooking the water. When we leave here, it’s back into Internet wasteland for three days at Aloha State Park (strange name for a town in Michigan), then we trek back to Montague for our last week in Michigan before heading west.

Let’s Get Intimate

I have just finished reading a book by John Eldridge, Waking the Dead. He reminded me in a very poignant way of the importance of small group fellowship in our church relationships. I want to quote a lengthy passage from Eldridge because I couldn’t say it better or more concisely.

Eldridge asserts that true biblical discipleship is: “something we learn, and grow into, and offer one another, within a small fellowship. We hear each other’s stories. We discover each other’s glories. We learn to walk with God together. We pray for each other’s healing. We cover each other’s backs. This small core fellowship is the essential ingredient for the Christian life. Jesus modeled it for us for a reason. Sure, he spoke to the masses. But he lived in a little platoon, a small fellowship of friends and allies. His followers took his example and lived this way too….

“Church is not a building; Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, it’s how we’ve come to think of it. “I go to First Baptist.” “We are members of St. Luke’s.” “Is it time to go to church?” Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. Certainly, the body of Christ is a vast throng, millions of people around the globe. But when Scripture talks about church it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other’s homes….

“Anytime an army goes to war, or an expedition takes to the field, it breaks down into little platoons and squads.  And every chronicle of war or quest will tell you that the men and women who fought so bravely fought for each other. That’s where the acts of heroism and sacrifice take place because that’s where the devotion is. You simply cannot be devoted to a mass of people; devotion takes place in small units, just as in family.”

The next question then arises: how many people constitute a “small” group? Eldridge quotes Brother Andrew as saying, “A group is the right size, I would guess, when each member can pray for every other member, individually and by name.” Unless you attend a really small church – a house church maybe – that means dividing the Sunday crowd into much smaller groups. Some large churches are pretty good at accomplishing this, although I doubt many of the groups reach the level of intimacy Eldridge recommends.

I think the creation of these groups needs to be organic rather than organizational. What I mean is the church leaders cannot assign people to a group and expect the kind of intimacy that is essential to the purpose of the group. I have begun praying and wracking my brain to think of a way to accomplish this. The concept of a neighborhood church is long past, attenders usually coming from far and wide to sit in the church of their choosing. This means that people don’t spend the weekdays sharing life with their fellow-attendees and then gather for Sunday “church” like they used to. Honestly, that wouldn’t work today anyway since few of us are close, intimately close to our physical neighbors.

The only idea that comes to mind is having more “fellowship time” at the regular meetings of the church, Sunday morning primarily since that is when the largest percentage of attendees will be present. You can’t force people to join in fellowship, although offering food usually draws a pretty good crowd. One of the churches I have attended in the past had a virtual coffee shop – beverages and pastries – available before each service. I know it sounds like commercializing the ministry, but everything was offered free of charge, and the intended purpose was to “force” fellowship. And it worked to a great degree. After a few weeks, natural groupings developed based on mutual interests or life situations. The last church I attended in Michigan had a small version of the coffee house model, and you could see people making little clutches every week. Unfortunately, not many of them grew into the discipleship vehicle Eldridge was imagining.

I suppose the church leaders could impose some organizational pressure on the fellowship expectations by recommending that the Sunday morning organic groups meet again sometime during the remainder of the week for deeper and more meaningful time together. I know that sounds forced, but I am at a loss to think of anything else at the moment. Despite the lack of a brilliant idea, I still want to recommend strongly that everyone who considers him/herself to be a member of Christ’s body find a way to get in a small group. I will also recommend Eldridge’s book.

To quote Eldridge again: “I’m not suggesting you not do whatever it is you do on Sunday mornings. I’m simply helping you accept reality – whatever else you do, you must have a small fellowship to walk with you and fight with you and bandage your wounds…. This is essential. This is what the Scriptures urge us to do. First. Foremost. Not as an addition to Sunday. Before anything else.” I want to have a group like that at my church. Don’t you?

Related posts: What is the Church?;  Why Bother With Church?