One of the most oft-quoted verses in all of Scripture is found in John 8:7:
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone...”
Most know the context of this verse. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. They want her stoned, meaning, they wanted her dead for breaking the commands of their Law.
To this, Jesus replies to the leaders: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone...”
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I remember moving to Belgium. It was hard. For the longest time I denied having any kind of culture shock. I thought I was ok, for I had previously lived in Britain for 3 years, I had traveled to Central America, southern Africa, and a few other places in the world. I was cultured, I thought.
But after almost 4 years in Belgium, looking back over our time there, I can only describe what I went through as culture shock. Belgium is within the western world, so it is not as different from America as say Zambia or India or Fiji. But it is quite different – linguistically, politically, socially and more.
I can recall a very good friend, an American pastor friend who had been in Belgium for some 20+ years, challenging me to change my expectations. You see, I had brought a whole load of American expectations into a non-American society. Why would I expect Belgium to function anything like America? It was time I change, not Belgium.
And this is what I think we do with the Bible on so many levels.
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I love reading the Bible. I love studying the Bible. I love teaching the Bible.
I will admit I am not the best at teaching it. There are others that surpass me, surpass me significantly. Yet, after a sense of God’s call in my life in 2001 to teach the Bible, going to seminary, and now teaching the Bible for fifteen years both as a pastor and in higher education, I know it is one of my deep loves.
In these fifteen years of studying and teaching the Bible, I have encountered some interesting perspectives on studying the Bible – “prodigal thoughts,” if you will. I have embraced some of these myself, but over time I have learned there are better ways in approaching the study of Scripture.
In all, I would highlight two easy mistakes we make in studying the Bible. Continue reading
Yesterday, I saw some people posting a link to an article written by Dr. Russell Moore: Does Jeremiah 29:11 Apply to You?
I think Moore hits on some very good points. One point he emphasizes is how this verse is situated within the context of Jeremiah 29, as well as the whole book of Jeremiah. As Moore says himself: Continue reading
The storied accounts of Scripture are there to challenge us, transform us, and shock us at times. However, we have become so acquainted with Scripture that we rarely have such encounters, me included. I’m not necessarily talking about a writhing moment of crying out at the top of our lungs in repentance, though that surely might be needed at times.
But many of these biblical accounts have lost their punch.
Knowing this, I like to re-tell stories at times. I’ve done this before with the Good Samaritan, so I want to do it again. Continue reading
The Prodigal Thought 