Week One: The Clues We Need

Week One: The Clues We Need DAY ONE: GOD S SELF-COMMUNICATION All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, New Living Translation) If one of the goals of our journey together is to grow our faith in ways that strengthen our ability to live God s teachings and thus enhance the connection between faith and daily life, the best place to begin is with Scripture itself the place where we find God s teaching. Looking at Scripture is important not simply to locate God s teaching in an effort to apply it to our lives. Exploring the Bible is important because discovering how we feel about Scripture, its role in influencing our choices, and the power and authority we give it over our decision-making processes will have an impact on our ability to make God the main thing. I often teach DISCIPLE: BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY, a rigorous 34-week study of the Old and New Testaments. In the first session, we raise the question of attention to Scripture. When do we usually attend to it? When do we most often ignore it? More often than not, folks respond that we usually attend to Scripture when we are in need or struggling. Invariably, people agree that we most often ignore Scripture when its message to us is inconvenient or goes against our preconceived notions or inclinations. As Christians, we believe the Bible is God s chosen means of self-communication. It is one of the ways in which God continues to reveal God s self to us in the midst of our current situation. Our sincerity in viewing Scripture this way 17

Knowing God: Making God the Main Thing in My Life will determine our success in making God the main thing. Some of us do not always associate the God with whom we feel intimate with the God we read about in the Bible. There can be for some a gap between the God we experience in worship or in our devotional life and the God who inhabits our sacred stories of faith, which are so frequently dominated by male characters, male authors, and the patriarchal perspective of the ancient world. Yet, dedicating ourselves to a genuine understanding of Scripture as a means of God s selfcommunication, as a means through which God is active now, not just in the realm of ancient times, opens us to the reality that God s voice transcends not only all primeval perspectives but our own post-modern perspective as well. Rather than viewing the God of Scripture as captured somehow in the pages of an antiquated book, we will be aware of the variety of ways in which God desires to speak to us through Scripture, worship, and prayer. Understanding Scripture as God s means of self-communication is hindered by the view of some that the biblical word is constraining rather than life giving. It is as though we believe God is trying to hog-tie us with this complex and sometimes confusing jumble of teachings. If we are disposed to view Scripture in this way, our path toward making God the main thing will be much more difficult, filled with roadblocks of rationalization and self-justification when God s Word does not easily fit into our existing worldview. Thomas Hobbes s metaphor of the hedge fence is helpful in freeing us from a hog-tying sense of Scripture. Many centuries ago, the hedge fence grew on each side of the king s highway. It was placed there not to stop travelers but to keep them safely on the path. Anyone could jump the hedge to take a shortcut, but they did so at their own risk. Leaving the highway meant traveling through open country where there were no maps and many unforeseen dangers. The Bible provides a hedge as we travel on the spiritual highway. There are many places where the hedge is distinct the Ten Commandments for example. Jumping the hedge is always a possibility; but then we will be on our own in open country. There will be few maps and many risks. Unfortunately, there are also places where we cannot always discern the hedge, places where it is sparse and indistinct. It is not always easy to apply biblical teaching to our current world situation. That moral ambiguity, however, should not be an excuse to jump over clearly marked and well-defined hedges. As Christians we affirm that moral principles do exist, principles that are always right and that breaking them is always wrong. 18

Rather than constraining us, Scripture provides a hedge to protect us as we journey, providing us with a safe arena in which to face the moral ambiguities that are an unavoidable part of living. Respect for God is the beginning of wisdom. When we move to an understanding of Scripture as God s means of communicating with us for our benefit, we will be more committed to connecting all of Scripture to our daily lives rather than just the parts that are convenient, or that fit into our current mode of thinking. Reflecting and Recording Week One: The Clues We Need Spend some time thinking about how you feel about Scripture, its role in influencing your choices, the power and authority you give it over your decisionmaking processes. When do you usually attend to Scripture? Describe a situation in your life when you attended to Scripture. Why did you behave in this way? How did you feel about this experience? When do you usually ignore Scripture? Describe a situation in your life when you ignored Scripture. Why did you make these choices? How did you feel about this experience? 19

Knowing God: Making God the Main Thing in My Life Reflect on the idea that the Bible is God s means of self-communication, that God is active in speaking to us through Scripture now, and that God s selfcommunication is for our benefit. Spend a few minutes in prayer. Pray that the life-giving power of God s Word will be revealed to you as you begin this study. During the Day Be aware of situations in which you are inclined to ignore God s Word. Make note of your thoughts and reasons for choosing to ignore. 20

Week One: The Clues We Need DAY TWO: THE BREATH OF GOD God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me promises made to all who fear you. (Psalm 119:33-38, THE MESSAGE) Indiana Jones is one of my favorite adventure film characters. In the third installment of the Indiana Jones movie series, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones, the World War II-era daredevil archeologist who time and again battles Nazi evildoers. In the Last Crusade, Indy s father, played by Sean Connery, joins him in his adventures. Indy s father has devoted his life to searching for the Holy Grail. According to legend, anyone who drinks from the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, will never die. During his lifelong search, Indy s father has kept a diary. All the clues that he has discovered, instructions, maps, drawings, everything needed to solve the mystery of the whereabouts of the Grail, is included in this special 21

Knowing God: Making God the Main Thing in My Life book. Not surprisingly, the Nazis are searching for the Grail as well and have heard of this special diary. As the exciting events of the movie unfold, the book changes hands several times, and we follow the adventures of Indy and his father as they race the Nazis for the Holy Grail. At one point, Indy and his father, following the clues in the diary, are headed for Alexandria. Indy s father reads from the diary, When we get to Alexandria, we will face these challenges. First, the breath of God, only the penitent man may pass. Second, the word of God, only in the footsteps of God will he succeed. Third, the path of God, only in the leap from the lion s head will he prove his worth. (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Paramount Pictures/ Lucasfilm, Ltd., 1989) This scene is meaningful for me because it illustrates what the Bible is all about the breath of God, the word of God, the path of God. The Bible is more than a book, more even than a collection of books. The Bible is the breath of God. This is not a new idea, and reading it often brings to mind the view of Scripture as divinely inspired. This is true. Many years ago, God inspired folks to write what we now hold as our sacred Scripture. But that is not the whole story. That is not what moves me when I think of Scripture as the breath of God as God-breathed. When I speak of the Bible as being the breath of God, I m talking about something alive and dynamic. The breath of God is what animates all of creation. The breath of God is what brought Adam and Eve to life and thus into relationship with God. The breath of God is interactive, energetic, vibrant. Thus, for me, asserting my belief that all Scripture is God-breathed is asserting that not just many years ago, but right now, Scripture is alive with God s breath and able to speak to us. Look at today s reading from Psalm 119. The psalmist desires to be immersed in God s word, to understand God s teaching, to make my whole life one long, obedient response (verse 34, THE MESSAGE). This is not a desire for some future time, nor is it a reflection on an earlier time of insight. It is a presenttense desire, a desire that right now, in this moment, God s word would permeate the psalmist s entire being. Understanding Scripture as God-breathed is to understand that it is a present-tense experience. When we unite our voice with that of the psalmist, we are not simply reciting an ancient prayer; we are praying in the present tense, with an implied now. Teach me, give me insight, guide me... now. 22

Week One: The Clues We Need The God-breathed nature of Scripture, its present-tense quality, becomes real for me over and over again as I read and reread the Bible. I am aware of the fact that Scripture is alive with the breath of God each time I read a familiar passage and come away with a slightly different understanding, one that fits my need at that particular moment. I recall attending a clergy meeting with Bishop Woodie White of the North Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church. To begin our time together, he gave a devotional on a story in Luke 5. A crowd had gathered around Jesus while he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret. There were fishermen who were nearby washing their nets after a night of fishing. Jesus saw their empty boats and decided to use them for his purposes. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets. When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. (Luke 5:3-7, New Revised Standard Version) As Bishop White began to speak on this passage, I wondered what his focus would be. We were meeting in the weeks following September 11, 2001, and I remember feeling a great deal of pressure to meet the needs of my congregation in those turbulent days. I recall feeling slightly distracted as I wondered how he would be able to speak to my need through this passage. It was not that I did not appreciate the story. Aspects of it had been very meaningful for me over the years. Jesus request that Peter move into deeper water has always been a challenging word for me. Peter s obedience in letting down the nets even though he was tired and didn t think it would be a fruitful endeavor has always been a source of encouragement. Yet neither of those elements of the story jumped out at me. Nothing seemed to speak to me as the bishop continued his talk. Then I had the distinct awareness that the story had changed. It was nothing specific. Bishop White had actually reached the end. He had mentioned the deeper water; he had highlighted Peter s obedience in the midst of fatigue. He 23

Knowing God: Making God the Main Thing in My Life was simply wrapping it up by rereading what happened when Peter obeyed: They caught so many fish their nets were beginning to break. But then he stopped and asked us to pay special attention, and as I listened I could feel the Scripture coming alive for me. I could feel God s breath as it moved toward me from the text. So they signaled their partners... to come and help them. My need in that moment was in front of me. I had felt alone in my attempts to lead my congregation through tumultuous times. I had believed that I alone carried the weight of giving them guidance in the midst of tragedy and spiritual questioning. But I was not alone. I had partners that I could signal for help. The breath of God awakened in me the need to reach out for support during those difficult days. The Bible is like Indy s father s diary it has all the clues we need to negotiate our journey of faith. It is God s diary and holds the very breath of God. Making God the main thing begins with an openness to experiencing God breathing through Scripture, an openness to experiencing the dynamic, vibrant, right now quality of God s Word. As we seek to move God to the center of our lives, we need to be aware of the movement of God s Spirit breathing through the Word and be open to its power to touch us in the uniqueness of every situation in our lives. Reflecting and Recording Describe a time when Scripture touched you at an important point of need. 24

Week One: The Clues We Need List several Scripture passages that have been meaningful to you. Make note of the variety of ways each passage has touched you. During the Day Paul reminded Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that all God s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Today s New International Version) This is a helpful reminder of the aliveness of Scripture. You can find this passage reprinted in the back of this workbook. Cut it out and put it somewhere where you will see it on a regular basis as a reminder of God s desire to speak to you through Scripture right now. 25