Bob Rakestraw
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
Greetings to each of you dear readers! I trust that your celebrations of the birth of Jesus included some awareness of and experiencing of the gentle yet powerful grace of God unleashed by the miracle of the Incarnation.
In this posting I will offer five more categories of “What I most love doing.” You may wish to read the post of November 30, 2011 before reading these thoughts.
Spending Time with Family and Friends
While actually an introvert by nature, I am still a “people-person.” It is a privilege and pleasure to talk with, eat with and play with my dear family members, and to interact with good friends. Substantial, stimulating conversation is a special treat. In the interest of full disclosure, however, I should add that time with family and friends, while priceless, is becoming more and more difficult for me due to my failing heart and difficult breathing.
Spending Time with God
This activity and the one following are my favorites of the ten items in these two blog postings. Which of these has priority? Well, they intertwine quite a bit, but I have to say that spending time with God is what I love doing most.
I find that sitting in bed, stretching out on a recliner, and sitting at my home office desk are three postures/places that are most conducive to listening to God, confessing to God, offering praises to God, and discussing with God the needs of others and myself. Sometimes I am reading the Bible during this time, sometimes I am reading stimulating literature, and sometimes I am just floating along weaving in and out of the above practices and subject matter.
Resting and Thinking Good Thoughts
As indicated above, this activity overlaps significantly with the previous one. One way I distinguish these two is my posture. In resting I am more horizontal, while in spending time with God I am somewhat more vertical (from my waist up, that is—I rarely stand or kneel, and I walk only enough to transport my anatomy from point A to point B).
I call this category “resting and thinking good thoughts.” Some of the time I fall asleep, but often I lie on the bed with no need for sleep—just rest and restoration. I love these times, not because I can simply “do nothing,” but because I can do everything—in my mind. I might close my eyes and recite a list of things very important to me (such as my top twelve scripture texts) or place myself (in my thoughts) in the middle of an adventure story that I make up as I go along. Or I teach a class or preach a sermon. I am in my glory (actually God’s glory) during these times.
Entertaining Myself
Lest some of you doubt that I am normal, I do enjoy good entertainment and things that are just plain fun. Because I seldom leave the house, however, my fun activities are now much more limited than ever: listening to music, listening to talk radio, playing computer games, romancing, playing table games, enjoying food and drink, doing crossword puzzles, reading, and watching television about thirty to sixty minutes a day. I also enjoy sitting or lying in the yard, as long as I am totally in the shade. Because I am immunosuppressed I must be diligent about avoiding sunlight, which may cause—and already has in my case—skin cancer.
Participating in the Work of God Around the World
My final activity—the last category of things I most love doing—is being actively involved in the work of the Holy Spirit advancing Christ’s kingdom ministry through love, justice and mercy.
I deliberately used the word “actively” even though I cannot pack groceries for local and global folks in need, work a telephone crisis hotline, or help caulk a drafty house in Uzbekistan or Minneapolis. I no longer preach or teach in formal settings, nor do I attend planning meetings for wholistic ministry strategy or participate in group prayer meetings.
I try, however, to be alert to and active in the great advancement of God’s kingdom around the world. I write both for national and international audiences. I follow closely several excellent publications that document the exciting developments in my country and many others. I pray for specific missionaries and ministries, including my own church, and find great delight in being able to give financially so that others may continue to do the works of Jesus in this terribly needy world.
Well, these are a few of my favorite things. As I said in the previous posting, I am not presenting these items as some ideal list. Your list may look different, but as long as you try to put down on paper what you most enjoy doing and actually do, I believe you will be helped greatly as you set the direction for the rest of your life. A truly blessed New Year to each of you!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What I Most Love Doing – Part One
Bob Rakestraw
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
For this posting and the next I decided to take a break from the series “Books that Have Shaped Me.” There is no particular reason for this other than that I have been thinking recently about what I really love most to participate in, and actually do, and what other people might really love to do, and actually do.
This seems important to me because, out of a 168-hour week, we devote (broadly speaking) about one-third to work (including travel), one-third to sleep, and one-third to everything else. It is in this third category where we may find out, if we wish, who we really are. Our true self—who we are at our core—is not necessarily revealed at our paid job. We may do a good job at work but have a not-so-good life outside of work.
During the third of our lives when we are not asleep or at work, most of us do some necessary things to keep ourselves and our households going, and some things that may be called relaxation, entertainment or pleasant diversion. In this two-part posting I am presenting the top ten things I most love to do during the relaxation-entertainment-pleasant diversion category of my time.
I am not presenting this list in any particular order of importance, nor am I suggesting that my top ten should be your top ten. But I am writing to encourage you to consider carefully what your top ten might be and whether you should add or delete any practices while trying to limit your total to ten activities. Don’t compose a list of ideal favorite things, but an honest list of your real favorite things—how you actually spend your diversionary time. Just as Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” so I believe he is saying to us, “What activities occupy your time, there you can find the real you.” Here is my list which I recently composed for the first time in my life.
Observing Beauty. I am so very thankful that God gave me eyes, a mind and a set of emotions to enjoy the beauties of the natural world and the beautiful creations made by people. I love the shapes of trees, shrubs, flowers, pine cones, grasses, bark, rocks, sunrises and sunsets, any body of water, the deserts, animals, the faces and forms of human beings, lightning, the northern lights, and gazing into the starry night away from city brightness.
Only twice in my life have I literally had my breath taken away by something I saw. Once was when I caught sight of the Grand Canyon for the first time. Its depth and immensity struck me with an overpowering emotional force as it suddenly came into view, moments after I had been hurrying toward the rim but without having seen any of the canyon. Seemingly out of nowhere it burst upon my senses as nothing before.
The second time I had such an experience was when viewing Michelangelo’s “Pieta” – the famous sculpture in St. Peter’s Basilica. Mary is holding in her arms the lifeless body of Jesus after he was taken from the cross. I remember most the exquisite curvature and balance of the human forms, and the look of serene compassion and sorrow as Mary gazed down at the body of her son.
Reading. I have always loved to read anything stimulating. I enjoy good fiction, non-fiction, poetry, autobiography, and biography. The latter two categories, along with the Bible, constitute the most profitable block of reading materials for me. The Bible, more than any other book, repays slow and careful reading of specific portions, over and over, after a quicker first-read. I also read a major daily newspaper and several valuable magazines and journals.
There have been many times throughout my life when the advice, “Read for your life,” was literally what I did, especially in the years of serious suffering before and after my heart transplant. Sometimes it was a major escape mechanism for me, as when I read many Louis L’Amour novels of the old west – sometimes several a month. Sometimes my reading was for comfort and gentle advice, as when I gave a full year to the Psalms or spent many hours lingering in two sensitive and powerful works by Amy Carmichael (Rose from Briar) and Claire Weekes (Hope and Help for Your Nerves). High quality writers and their high quality writings are some of God’s greatest gifs to men, women and children of all ages.
Learning. I love learning about almost everything. I love to grow in head knowledge, practical skills, experience and wisdom. I also enjoy growing in people skills – the most important of all categories of learning after the knowledge of God. I love learning history, the sciences, human cultures, languages (I have studied seven, but speak only one), biblical teachings and backgrounds, and the lives and thoughts of wise men and women, especially those who have known and served God well. I hope to be a lifelong learner, and one who is always grateful for the privilege.
Gathering With the People of God. I cannot imagine where I would be today if I had not been welcomed as a new Christian into a group of Christ-followers who gathered regularly (twice on Sundays and two other times during the work week) for collective worship, learning, giving testimony, hearing the Word of God preached, discussion, prayer, evangelism, proportionate giving, and the benefit of one another’s company.
Over the years, many strong churches (including two I was privileged to serve as pastor) have welcomed me and built me up spiritually, socially, intellectually and in the practice of shared ministry. Even though, because of poor health, I have not been able to gather with large groups of God’s people for several years, I love to follow and pray about the activities of my local church and welcome individuals and small groups from the fellowship into my home. Sometimes we sing, read scripture, share the truths of God, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. These times are very special, and for them I am grateful.
Working. I actually enjoy work, even as a diversionary activity. For this reason I am including work in this list. I can’t say, however, that I loved every kind of work I have ever done. Slashing with a machete through tangles of weeds, brush and vines on a hot, humid day while fighting off mosquitos is only “enjoyable” (if such a word is even appropriate) in the sense that one may watch the overgrown briar patch begin to fall away and leave the ground exposed for its intended use. There is a sense of satisfaction that is quite pleasant when the work is done, and in the midst of work itself.
Most people have to work for a living. This is a good and noble thing. It is significant how often the Bible denounces idleness and laziness, and even states that those who do not work should not eat. I have great respect for workers, whether they work in the home, outside the home, for pay or for some good purpose without pay.
While my work in recent years has been limited—almost totally—to writing on a small scale, I enjoy very much thinking back on the kinds of jobs I have had since the age of eight or nine: landscaping, tree trimming and removal, chain sawing, splitting wood, selling ice cream on a daily route, building construction and demolition, directing traffic for “the world’s largest automobile dealer” (their advertisements), cleaning to perfection every day (as required by law) the huge circular vat in a milk pasteurizing plant, being a grader and teaching assistant, a high school counselor, an accountant’s assistant, a filler of sheet-music orders, a newspaper columnist, an all-night clerk at a convenience store, a high school custodian, a scholar earning several professional degrees, a youth pastor, a senior pastor, a writer of both popular and scholarly materials, and a teacher of preaching, biblical studies, theology and ethics in three different schools of higher learning for twenty-five years. I am exceedingly thankful for being able to learn (and give, I trust) something in the midst of each of these forms of work.
In the next posting I hope to present five more of my favorite things. Until then, may the good Lord who made us guide our thoughts and actions toward enjoyable, fruitful and grateful lives.
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
For this posting and the next I decided to take a break from the series “Books that Have Shaped Me.” There is no particular reason for this other than that I have been thinking recently about what I really love most to participate in, and actually do, and what other people might really love to do, and actually do.
This seems important to me because, out of a 168-hour week, we devote (broadly speaking) about one-third to work (including travel), one-third to sleep, and one-third to everything else. It is in this third category where we may find out, if we wish, who we really are. Our true self—who we are at our core—is not necessarily revealed at our paid job. We may do a good job at work but have a not-so-good life outside of work.
During the third of our lives when we are not asleep or at work, most of us do some necessary things to keep ourselves and our households going, and some things that may be called relaxation, entertainment or pleasant diversion. In this two-part posting I am presenting the top ten things I most love to do during the relaxation-entertainment-pleasant diversion category of my time.
I am not presenting this list in any particular order of importance, nor am I suggesting that my top ten should be your top ten. But I am writing to encourage you to consider carefully what your top ten might be and whether you should add or delete any practices while trying to limit your total to ten activities. Don’t compose a list of ideal favorite things, but an honest list of your real favorite things—how you actually spend your diversionary time. Just as Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” so I believe he is saying to us, “What activities occupy your time, there you can find the real you.” Here is my list which I recently composed for the first time in my life.
Observing Beauty. I am so very thankful that God gave me eyes, a mind and a set of emotions to enjoy the beauties of the natural world and the beautiful creations made by people. I love the shapes of trees, shrubs, flowers, pine cones, grasses, bark, rocks, sunrises and sunsets, any body of water, the deserts, animals, the faces and forms of human beings, lightning, the northern lights, and gazing into the starry night away from city brightness.
Only twice in my life have I literally had my breath taken away by something I saw. Once was when I caught sight of the Grand Canyon for the first time. Its depth and immensity struck me with an overpowering emotional force as it suddenly came into view, moments after I had been hurrying toward the rim but without having seen any of the canyon. Seemingly out of nowhere it burst upon my senses as nothing before.
The second time I had such an experience was when viewing Michelangelo’s “Pieta” – the famous sculpture in St. Peter’s Basilica. Mary is holding in her arms the lifeless body of Jesus after he was taken from the cross. I remember most the exquisite curvature and balance of the human forms, and the look of serene compassion and sorrow as Mary gazed down at the body of her son.
Reading. I have always loved to read anything stimulating. I enjoy good fiction, non-fiction, poetry, autobiography, and biography. The latter two categories, along with the Bible, constitute the most profitable block of reading materials for me. The Bible, more than any other book, repays slow and careful reading of specific portions, over and over, after a quicker first-read. I also read a major daily newspaper and several valuable magazines and journals.
There have been many times throughout my life when the advice, “Read for your life,” was literally what I did, especially in the years of serious suffering before and after my heart transplant. Sometimes it was a major escape mechanism for me, as when I read many Louis L’Amour novels of the old west – sometimes several a month. Sometimes my reading was for comfort and gentle advice, as when I gave a full year to the Psalms or spent many hours lingering in two sensitive and powerful works by Amy Carmichael (Rose from Briar) and Claire Weekes (Hope and Help for Your Nerves). High quality writers and their high quality writings are some of God’s greatest gifs to men, women and children of all ages.
Learning. I love learning about almost everything. I love to grow in head knowledge, practical skills, experience and wisdom. I also enjoy growing in people skills – the most important of all categories of learning after the knowledge of God. I love learning history, the sciences, human cultures, languages (I have studied seven, but speak only one), biblical teachings and backgrounds, and the lives and thoughts of wise men and women, especially those who have known and served God well. I hope to be a lifelong learner, and one who is always grateful for the privilege.
Gathering With the People of God. I cannot imagine where I would be today if I had not been welcomed as a new Christian into a group of Christ-followers who gathered regularly (twice on Sundays and two other times during the work week) for collective worship, learning, giving testimony, hearing the Word of God preached, discussion, prayer, evangelism, proportionate giving, and the benefit of one another’s company.
Over the years, many strong churches (including two I was privileged to serve as pastor) have welcomed me and built me up spiritually, socially, intellectually and in the practice of shared ministry. Even though, because of poor health, I have not been able to gather with large groups of God’s people for several years, I love to follow and pray about the activities of my local church and welcome individuals and small groups from the fellowship into my home. Sometimes we sing, read scripture, share the truths of God, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. These times are very special, and for them I am grateful.
Working. I actually enjoy work, even as a diversionary activity. For this reason I am including work in this list. I can’t say, however, that I loved every kind of work I have ever done. Slashing with a machete through tangles of weeds, brush and vines on a hot, humid day while fighting off mosquitos is only “enjoyable” (if such a word is even appropriate) in the sense that one may watch the overgrown briar patch begin to fall away and leave the ground exposed for its intended use. There is a sense of satisfaction that is quite pleasant when the work is done, and in the midst of work itself.
Most people have to work for a living. This is a good and noble thing. It is significant how often the Bible denounces idleness and laziness, and even states that those who do not work should not eat. I have great respect for workers, whether they work in the home, outside the home, for pay or for some good purpose without pay.
While my work in recent years has been limited—almost totally—to writing on a small scale, I enjoy very much thinking back on the kinds of jobs I have had since the age of eight or nine: landscaping, tree trimming and removal, chain sawing, splitting wood, selling ice cream on a daily route, building construction and demolition, directing traffic for “the world’s largest automobile dealer” (their advertisements), cleaning to perfection every day (as required by law) the huge circular vat in a milk pasteurizing plant, being a grader and teaching assistant, a high school counselor, an accountant’s assistant, a filler of sheet-music orders, a newspaper columnist, an all-night clerk at a convenience store, a high school custodian, a scholar earning several professional degrees, a youth pastor, a senior pastor, a writer of both popular and scholarly materials, and a teacher of preaching, biblical studies, theology and ethics in three different schools of higher learning for twenty-five years. I am exceedingly thankful for being able to learn (and give, I trust) something in the midst of each of these forms of work.
In the next posting I hope to present five more of my favorite things. Until then, may the good Lord who made us guide our thoughts and actions toward enjoyable, fruitful and grateful lives.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Body Life
Books That Have Shaped Me – Part Five
Bob Rakestraw
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
8. "Body Life", by Ray C. Stedman (Regal, 1972, second ed.) 149 pp. Softcover.
This was my first book on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. During my schooling I had read materials on spiritual gifts, but these were fairly brief sections on the topic found in larger books, short articles, or polemical tracts and booklets warning the reader against erroneous teachings and practices concerning the gifts.
One chapter I had read (in The Holy Spirit by Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Moody, 1965) presents the different gifts briefly, and then concludes that seven of the gifts were quite likely limited to the life of the apostles and the early church: apostleship, prophecy, miracles, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, and discerning of spirits. According to this view, these spiritual gifts had been given by God to help the infant church get established but were then withdrawn by the Spirit from the life of the church by the end of the first century. Anyone who claims to have one or more of these gifts today is probably mistaken, led astray by emotion or false teachings. While I appreciated Ryrie’s clear and devout manner of writing, and while I (in the late 1960’s) accepted his explanation, I became increasingly uncomfortable with his biblically questionable (in my view) division of the gifts into temporary gifts and permanent gifts.
The other spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible, in addition to those mentioned above, are evangelism, pastor-teaching, teaching, ministry, exhortation, giving, leadership, showing mercy, wisdom, knowledge and faith. While the complete number of eighteen gifts is not found together in any one biblical list, two or more of the gifts are mentioned in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; 13:1-3; 14:1-40; Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Peter 4:11.
Ray Stedman’s book led me on a quest to discover the biblical perspective on the gifts of the Holy Spirit for myself. Even after many years of study and teaching on the topic, and after writing a small book on the gifts, now in its third edition (Serving by the Spirit: Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Preaching, Christian Growth Ministries, 2004), I am still on this quest.
By 1973 I had moved away from the view of Ryrie and other dispensationalists on the subject of spiritual gifts (as well as some other distinctives of this theological system, known for its emphasis on the different ways God has worked throughout the different eras of human history). In order to be consistent with my new approach to the gifts, I had to resign (reluctantly) from a ministerial association that held to the early-church-only view of the more controversial gifts.
One of the main reasons, it seemed to me, why some (not all) scholars and pastors preferred this view is because it appears to solve a whole host of problems that can arise in a local church setting where such gifts as healing, tongues, prophecy and discerning of spirits are accepted as part of the life of the Spirit in the church body. After all, it can get messy if such practices are allowed to take place. If we do not permit such practices, then we will, according to this viewpoint, avoid offending our regular members (and givers) and be following the biblical command that “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” Paul states, however, just before these words, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39-40).
Such exhortations at the very end of Paul’s long chapter comparing prophecy and tongues should prompt us to be more open to the mysterious ways of the Spirit, especially since there are no clear biblical texts that say that the more “controversial” gifts of the Spirit were only for the early church. I was excited that Stedman had a more “open” view on these gifts than the dispensational perspective (even though Stedman is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, a center of dispensationalism and the school where Charles Ryrie taught).
Stedman is not pushing a charismatic agenda as commonly understood, however, but he is urging all of God’s people to believe that, according to the Bible, ¬¬¬¬¬¬every Christian has one (possibly more) of the “spiritual gifts” (Greek charismata). This is taught in 1 Peter 4:10 and 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, and clearly implied in Romans 12:6-8. And this is the truth that excited me most: I am gifted by the Holy Spirit with at least one of his marvelous gifts. In my case I understood that to be teaching. My gift was no more or less important than any other gift, however. And you, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, have a spiritual gift also. We all need one another working together in the unity of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12).
Most of Stedman’s book is not about the individual spiritual gifts, but about the body life of the Spirit-filled church, how God intended it to be. According to the author, “the purpose of this book is to search out from the Scripture the nature and function of true Christianity and thus to recover the dynamic quality of early Christianity…. There is no reason why the church in the twentieth century [or the 21st century – my addition] should not be what it was in the first century. True Christianity operates now on exactly the same basis as it did then. The same dynamic impact described in the book of Acts is possible today” (p. 5).
These words, along with the first-person accounts of the Body Life services of the author’s church excited me 40 years ago and do so every bit as much now. I close with this powerful statement from Ray Stedman: “The supreme task of every Christian’s life is to discover his [or her] gift and put it to work” (p. 131).
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Power of Godliness
Books That Have Shaped Me – Part Four
Bob Rakestraw
September 30, 2011
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
The book I am writing about in this posting has been, after the Bible, the most important and influential book in my life and service for God. I bought it on September 25, 1965, for 75 cents, in a bookstore in western Canada. I have read it several times, especially in my early years as a Christian.
7. “The Life of Robert Murray McCheyne,” by Andrew A. Bonar (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960. First published 1844). 192 pp.
Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and entered university at the age of 14. He had an early aptitude for the arts, especially music and poetry, and enjoyed sports, especially gymnastics. At 18 he was accepted to study divinity at the University of Edinburgh, where he met his mentor, Thomas Chalmers, Professor of Divinity. Chalmers became the pattern for his thought, life and ministry. Upon completion of his studies he became a Scottish Presbyterian minister. After a short assistantship in one parish, he became the pastor of St. Peter’s, Dundee, at the age of 23. Here he served with excellence until his death seven-and-a half years later.
In addition to Thomas Chalmers, another strong influence on McCheyne was Andrew A. Bonar, the author of the book discussed here and the brother of the hymn-writer Horatius Bonar. When McCheyne died in 1843, it was inevitable that his associates turned to Bonar for a memoir of the one whose brief ministry had “stamped an indelible impress on Scotland.” Bonar was also born in Edinburgh, three years earlier than McCheyne, and from the time they entered the Divinity Hall together in 1831 they were the closest friends.
The two distinguishing features of McCheyne’s brief life were his deep concern for evangelism and missionary work (with a special burden for the conversion of the Jewish people) and his quest for personal holiness. The strong evangelistic/missionary zeal emerged under the influence of Professor Chalmers and his desire for holiness was deepened and cultivated during his years in the Divinity Hall through his close personal friendship with Bonar, one who thirsted for intimacy with God as much as did McCheyne.
According to the superb article on McCheyne by D.A. Robertson (the present pastor of St. Peter’s) in “Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals” (ed. Timothy Larson), St. Peter’s church was situated in a rapidly expanding industrial area of Dundee, and McCheyne’s ministry here was innovative and radical. He saw the prime need of the area as evangelism and acted accordingly. He sought to make the church services as attractive as possible and did his utmost to ensure that the singing was melodious and enthusiastic. He sometimes led the singing itself. His preaching was simple. He sought deliberately to keep his speech plain and to use plenty of word pictures. He preached with authority, diligence and wholesomeness. His sermons varied in length from 20 minutes to one-and-a-half hours.
In addition to the Sunday services there was a Bible study on Thursday evenings. This was a less formal meeting for which the building (able to seat 1,100 people) was often full. “McCheyne’s pastorate in working class Dundee was characterized by evangelistic preaching, local mission, diligent home visitation, and compassion for the sick and poor” (Todd Stratham, in “Dictionary of Christian Spirituality,” ed. Glen G. Scorgie).
More than any pastoral accomplishments, however, McCheyne’s lasting legacy has to do with his pursuit of God. From his life we see the reality of the truth, “it is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Christ.” In their introduction, the publishers write that “it may be doubted whether any Christian can seriously read these pages without having an example of the power of godliness stamped upon his conscience in a manner that will abide with him all his days.” According to Bonar, “holiness in him was manifested, not by efforts to perform duty, but in a way so natural that you recognized therein the easy outflowing of the indwelling Spirit.”
McCheyne had a strong interest in the land and people of Palestine. He devoted one hour every morning to prayer for the Jews, in addition to the hour he spent in other prayer and scripture meditation. In 1839, McCheyne, Andrew Bonar and two other ministers were appointed by the Church of Scotland to travel to Israel and locations in Europe to investigate the condition of the Jewish people, to see how they might be ministered to. They were gone six months. While they were away, revival broke out in St. Peter’s under the interim ministry of William Chalmers Burns. The revival continued until 1843. McCheyne thus returned to a church that was packed nightly and had become the object of national press attention. He estimated (very conservatively) that over 700 people had been “savingly influenced” in St. Peter’s during this period.
McCheyne’s yearning for godliness and his high level of scholarship blended together in his personal formation. He pursued diligently the study of the Bible in Hebrew and Greek, as well as the Greek Septuagint. He could work with the Hebrew Old Testament as easily as most ministers of his day could work with the Greek New Testament. He met often with friends to study the scriptures closely, but even more often for prayer and serious conversation. They “watched each other’s steps in the narrow way.”
McCheyne was continually on guard for temptation, and knew well the subtleties of sin in his life. While in the Bible lands, for example, he wrote the following to a fellow minister in Scotland. “Use your health while you have it, my dear friend and brother. Do not cast away peculiar opportunities that may never come again. You know not when your last Sabbath with your people may come. Speak for eternity. Above all things, cultivate your own spirit. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear, and your heart full of God’s Spirit, is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin. This was my great fault in the ministry. Remember it is God, and not man, that must have the glory.”
Many of the entries in McCheyne’s diary are striking. “Clear conviction of sin is the only true origin of dependence on another’s righteousness, and, therefore, (strange to say!) of the Christian’s peace of mind and cheerfulness.” He did not experience good health and was particularly subject to attacks of fever. “If nothing else will do to sever me from my sins, Lord send me such sore and trying calamities as shall awaken me from earthly slumbers.” “Bodily weakness, too, depresses me.”
McCheyne suffered much throughout his life, and that not only in the physical realm. Bonar writes that “he had been taught a minister’s heart; he had been tried in the furnace; he had tasted deep personal sorrow, little of which has been recorded….” “His voice, and his very eye, spoke tenderness; for personal affliction had taught him to feel sympathy with the sorrowing.” “From personal experience of deep temptation he could lay open the secrets of the heart….” “It was his own persuasion that few had more to struggle with in the inner man. Who can tell what wars go on within?” McCheyne wrote on one occasion, “Paul’s thorn, 2 Cor. 12, is the experience of the greater part of my life.”
Through it all, however, he prayed, “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made.” “Often, often I would like to depart and be with Christ.” “I do not expect to live long. I expect a sudden call some day—perhaps soon—and therefore I speak very plainly.” He had long been persuaded that his course would be brief, and he must have said to himself as he often said to others, “Live so as to be missed.”
His “sudden call” came on March 25, 1843, at the age of 29. While visiting in the Hawkhill area of his parish he contracted typhus. When the fever came, he lay down upon the bed from which he was never to rise. For over two weeks he suffered from high fever, extreme weakness and delirium. The church was full of people every night, praying for his recovery. During this time on his sickbed he was often heard speaking to or praying for his people. On one occasion he was heard praying, “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me.” As his condition worsened, his medical attendants prohibited visitors.
Andrew Bonar describes the end. “Thus he continued most generally engaged, while the delirium lasted, either in prayer or in preaching to his people, and always apparently in happy frame, till the morning of Saturday the 25th. On that morning, while his kind medical attendant, Dr. Gibson, stood by, he lifted up his hands as if in the attitude of pronouncing the blessing, and then sank down. Not a groan or a sigh, but only a quiver of the lip, and his soul was at rest.”
His people gathered in the church that evening, and “such a scene of sorrow has not often been witnessed in Scotland. It was like the weeping for King Josiah…. Every heart seemed bursting with grief, so that the weeping and the cries could be heard afar off.” Over 6000 people attended his funeral. “The streets and every window, from the house to the grave, were crowded with those who felt that a Prince in Israel had fallen.” His work was finished—to the glory of God. His tomb may be seen today on the pathway at the northwest corner of St. Peter’s burying ground.
Bob Rakestraw
September 30, 2011
“The Benediction Project”
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
The book I am writing about in this posting has been, after the Bible, the most important and influential book in my life and service for God. I bought it on September 25, 1965, for 75 cents, in a bookstore in western Canada. I have read it several times, especially in my early years as a Christian.
7. “The Life of Robert Murray McCheyne,” by Andrew A. Bonar (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960. First published 1844). 192 pp.
Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and entered university at the age of 14. He had an early aptitude for the arts, especially music and poetry, and enjoyed sports, especially gymnastics. At 18 he was accepted to study divinity at the University of Edinburgh, where he met his mentor, Thomas Chalmers, Professor of Divinity. Chalmers became the pattern for his thought, life and ministry. Upon completion of his studies he became a Scottish Presbyterian minister. After a short assistantship in one parish, he became the pastor of St. Peter’s, Dundee, at the age of 23. Here he served with excellence until his death seven-and-a half years later.
In addition to Thomas Chalmers, another strong influence on McCheyne was Andrew A. Bonar, the author of the book discussed here and the brother of the hymn-writer Horatius Bonar. When McCheyne died in 1843, it was inevitable that his associates turned to Bonar for a memoir of the one whose brief ministry had “stamped an indelible impress on Scotland.” Bonar was also born in Edinburgh, three years earlier than McCheyne, and from the time they entered the Divinity Hall together in 1831 they were the closest friends.
The two distinguishing features of McCheyne’s brief life were his deep concern for evangelism and missionary work (with a special burden for the conversion of the Jewish people) and his quest for personal holiness. The strong evangelistic/missionary zeal emerged under the influence of Professor Chalmers and his desire for holiness was deepened and cultivated during his years in the Divinity Hall through his close personal friendship with Bonar, one who thirsted for intimacy with God as much as did McCheyne.
According to the superb article on McCheyne by D.A. Robertson (the present pastor of St. Peter’s) in “Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals” (ed. Timothy Larson), St. Peter’s church was situated in a rapidly expanding industrial area of Dundee, and McCheyne’s ministry here was innovative and radical. He saw the prime need of the area as evangelism and acted accordingly. He sought to make the church services as attractive as possible and did his utmost to ensure that the singing was melodious and enthusiastic. He sometimes led the singing itself. His preaching was simple. He sought deliberately to keep his speech plain and to use plenty of word pictures. He preached with authority, diligence and wholesomeness. His sermons varied in length from 20 minutes to one-and-a-half hours.
In addition to the Sunday services there was a Bible study on Thursday evenings. This was a less formal meeting for which the building (able to seat 1,100 people) was often full. “McCheyne’s pastorate in working class Dundee was characterized by evangelistic preaching, local mission, diligent home visitation, and compassion for the sick and poor” (Todd Stratham, in “Dictionary of Christian Spirituality,” ed. Glen G. Scorgie).
More than any pastoral accomplishments, however, McCheyne’s lasting legacy has to do with his pursuit of God. From his life we see the reality of the truth, “it is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Christ.” In their introduction, the publishers write that “it may be doubted whether any Christian can seriously read these pages without having an example of the power of godliness stamped upon his conscience in a manner that will abide with him all his days.” According to Bonar, “holiness in him was manifested, not by efforts to perform duty, but in a way so natural that you recognized therein the easy outflowing of the indwelling Spirit.”
McCheyne had a strong interest in the land and people of Palestine. He devoted one hour every morning to prayer for the Jews, in addition to the hour he spent in other prayer and scripture meditation. In 1839, McCheyne, Andrew Bonar and two other ministers were appointed by the Church of Scotland to travel to Israel and locations in Europe to investigate the condition of the Jewish people, to see how they might be ministered to. They were gone six months. While they were away, revival broke out in St. Peter’s under the interim ministry of William Chalmers Burns. The revival continued until 1843. McCheyne thus returned to a church that was packed nightly and had become the object of national press attention. He estimated (very conservatively) that over 700 people had been “savingly influenced” in St. Peter’s during this period.
McCheyne’s yearning for godliness and his high level of scholarship blended together in his personal formation. He pursued diligently the study of the Bible in Hebrew and Greek, as well as the Greek Septuagint. He could work with the Hebrew Old Testament as easily as most ministers of his day could work with the Greek New Testament. He met often with friends to study the scriptures closely, but even more often for prayer and serious conversation. They “watched each other’s steps in the narrow way.”
McCheyne was continually on guard for temptation, and knew well the subtleties of sin in his life. While in the Bible lands, for example, he wrote the following to a fellow minister in Scotland. “Use your health while you have it, my dear friend and brother. Do not cast away peculiar opportunities that may never come again. You know not when your last Sabbath with your people may come. Speak for eternity. Above all things, cultivate your own spirit. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear, and your heart full of God’s Spirit, is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin. This was my great fault in the ministry. Remember it is God, and not man, that must have the glory.”
Many of the entries in McCheyne’s diary are striking. “Clear conviction of sin is the only true origin of dependence on another’s righteousness, and, therefore, (strange to say!) of the Christian’s peace of mind and cheerfulness.” He did not experience good health and was particularly subject to attacks of fever. “If nothing else will do to sever me from my sins, Lord send me such sore and trying calamities as shall awaken me from earthly slumbers.” “Bodily weakness, too, depresses me.”
McCheyne suffered much throughout his life, and that not only in the physical realm. Bonar writes that “he had been taught a minister’s heart; he had been tried in the furnace; he had tasted deep personal sorrow, little of which has been recorded….” “His voice, and his very eye, spoke tenderness; for personal affliction had taught him to feel sympathy with the sorrowing.” “From personal experience of deep temptation he could lay open the secrets of the heart….” “It was his own persuasion that few had more to struggle with in the inner man. Who can tell what wars go on within?” McCheyne wrote on one occasion, “Paul’s thorn, 2 Cor. 12, is the experience of the greater part of my life.”
Through it all, however, he prayed, “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made.” “Often, often I would like to depart and be with Christ.” “I do not expect to live long. I expect a sudden call some day—perhaps soon—and therefore I speak very plainly.” He had long been persuaded that his course would be brief, and he must have said to himself as he often said to others, “Live so as to be missed.”
His “sudden call” came on March 25, 1843, at the age of 29. While visiting in the Hawkhill area of his parish he contracted typhus. When the fever came, he lay down upon the bed from which he was never to rise. For over two weeks he suffered from high fever, extreme weakness and delirium. The church was full of people every night, praying for his recovery. During this time on his sickbed he was often heard speaking to or praying for his people. On one occasion he was heard praying, “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me.” As his condition worsened, his medical attendants prohibited visitors.
Andrew Bonar describes the end. “Thus he continued most generally engaged, while the delirium lasted, either in prayer or in preaching to his people, and always apparently in happy frame, till the morning of Saturday the 25th. On that morning, while his kind medical attendant, Dr. Gibson, stood by, he lifted up his hands as if in the attitude of pronouncing the blessing, and then sank down. Not a groan or a sigh, but only a quiver of the lip, and his soul was at rest.”
His people gathered in the church that evening, and “such a scene of sorrow has not often been witnessed in Scotland. It was like the weeping for King Josiah…. Every heart seemed bursting with grief, so that the weeping and the cries could be heard afar off.” Over 6000 people attended his funeral. “The streets and every window, from the house to the grave, were crowded with those who felt that a Prince in Israel had fallen.” His work was finished—to the glory of God. His tomb may be seen today on the pathway at the northwest corner of St. Peter’s burying ground.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Melancholic, Choleric, or Something Else? Books That Have Shaped Me – Part Three
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
“Temperament and the Christian Faith,” by O. Hallesby (Augsburg).
As a young man in my early twenties, only a few years into the Christian life, I was becoming increasingly aware of who and what I was. I had a healthy degree of self-confidence, I think, but was aware that I was different from many—perhaps most—of my fellow college students. This book by Hallesby, a well-known and highly respected theologian from Norway, made a great impact on me for good.
Hallesby’s very simple (but not simplistic) definition of “temperament” is “the soul’s essential response to its surroundings.” He examines four basic temperaments: sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic, and believes that each of us fits—for the most part—into one of these four temperament types.
Hallesby cautions, however, that “the temperaments are imaginary quantities. They are certainly never found in life just as we describe them here. Every person constitutes some sort of mixture of temperaments…. When we say that a person has a sanguine temperament, we do not mean that he lacks the other traits, but merely that the sanguine predominates in his blending of traits.”
Hallesby treats each of the temperaments under five headings: characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, hints for pastors and spiritual counselors, and self-discipline of the temperament being considered. As for the difference between temperament and personality, he states that the temperament “is just one of the elements in the life of the soul responsible for developing variations in personality.” He adds that “the temperament is reflected in the appearance and actions of the physical form, especially in one’s features and facial expressions.” I am able to mention only a couple of thoughts on each temperament type. The whole book deserves careful study.
The Sanguine may be summarized by the word emotional. The Apostle Peter is the biblical example. The sanguine lives in the present, enters into the feelings of others, is tender and sympathetic, and lives an abundant life. Some weaknesses are that he or she may be inconsistent, superficial and unreliable.
The Melancholic may be spoken of as deep. The apostle John is an example. The melancholic has a rich, sensitive nature, is deep and thorough, faithful and dependable. Some weaknesses are that he or she tends to be self-centered, too sensitive, uncompromising, pessimistic, passive, proud, impractical and hard to get along with.
The Choleric can be thought of as willful. The apostle Paul is an example. The choleric has strong will power, has natural qualifications for building character, is practical, has a keen mind, is quick and bold in emergencies, and is not dismayed by adversities. Some weaknesses are that he or she may be hard, impetuous, violent, too self-confident, haughty and domineering. The choleric is likely to be crafty, revengeful and dangerous as a criminal.
Finally, the Phlegmatic, who may be described as calm. James, the brother of Jesus, seems to have been a phlegmatic. This person is good-natured, calm, dependable, and has a practical mind. However, he or she tends to be slow, lazy, opportunistic, indifferent about others and supercilious.
Hallesby reminds his readers that there is no one “preferred” temperament. He states that each type is valuable and necessary in the work of God’s kingdom. He emphasizes that no one should think of himself or herself as “purely” one type, and he encourages us to discipline, modify and sanctify our basic temperament, without trying to obliterate who we are fundamentally.
Each one of us possesses potentialities for the other temperaments, and, as stated above, has some of the qualities of the other temperaments. While our temperament will change somewhat during each of the periods of life (childhood, youth, maturity, and old age), our basic inborn temperament will be an essential part of who we are throughout life. We are to thank God for how he has made us, and ask him to change those tendencies in us which are harmful to others or ourselves.
I was a very grateful young man when I learned that I was a melancholic. I understood myself much more fully after reading Hallesby than I ever had before. I praise God abundantly for this life-changing little book. Thank you, Lord, for informed and wise writers, with a strong love for you and a sensitive, compassionate heart for seekers of truth and godliness.
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
“Temperament and the Christian Faith,” by O. Hallesby (Augsburg).
As a young man in my early twenties, only a few years into the Christian life, I was becoming increasingly aware of who and what I was. I had a healthy degree of self-confidence, I think, but was aware that I was different from many—perhaps most—of my fellow college students. This book by Hallesby, a well-known and highly respected theologian from Norway, made a great impact on me for good.
Hallesby’s very simple (but not simplistic) definition of “temperament” is “the soul’s essential response to its surroundings.” He examines four basic temperaments: sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic, and believes that each of us fits—for the most part—into one of these four temperament types.
Hallesby cautions, however, that “the temperaments are imaginary quantities. They are certainly never found in life just as we describe them here. Every person constitutes some sort of mixture of temperaments…. When we say that a person has a sanguine temperament, we do not mean that he lacks the other traits, but merely that the sanguine predominates in his blending of traits.”
Hallesby treats each of the temperaments under five headings: characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, hints for pastors and spiritual counselors, and self-discipline of the temperament being considered. As for the difference between temperament and personality, he states that the temperament “is just one of the elements in the life of the soul responsible for developing variations in personality.” He adds that “the temperament is reflected in the appearance and actions of the physical form, especially in one’s features and facial expressions.” I am able to mention only a couple of thoughts on each temperament type. The whole book deserves careful study.
The Sanguine may be summarized by the word emotional. The Apostle Peter is the biblical example. The sanguine lives in the present, enters into the feelings of others, is tender and sympathetic, and lives an abundant life. Some weaknesses are that he or she may be inconsistent, superficial and unreliable.
The Melancholic may be spoken of as deep. The apostle John is an example. The melancholic has a rich, sensitive nature, is deep and thorough, faithful and dependable. Some weaknesses are that he or she tends to be self-centered, too sensitive, uncompromising, pessimistic, passive, proud, impractical and hard to get along with.
The Choleric can be thought of as willful. The apostle Paul is an example. The choleric has strong will power, has natural qualifications for building character, is practical, has a keen mind, is quick and bold in emergencies, and is not dismayed by adversities. Some weaknesses are that he or she may be hard, impetuous, violent, too self-confident, haughty and domineering. The choleric is likely to be crafty, revengeful and dangerous as a criminal.
Finally, the Phlegmatic, who may be described as calm. James, the brother of Jesus, seems to have been a phlegmatic. This person is good-natured, calm, dependable, and has a practical mind. However, he or she tends to be slow, lazy, opportunistic, indifferent about others and supercilious.
Hallesby reminds his readers that there is no one “preferred” temperament. He states that each type is valuable and necessary in the work of God’s kingdom. He emphasizes that no one should think of himself or herself as “purely” one type, and he encourages us to discipline, modify and sanctify our basic temperament, without trying to obliterate who we are fundamentally.
Each one of us possesses potentialities for the other temperaments, and, as stated above, has some of the qualities of the other temperaments. While our temperament will change somewhat during each of the periods of life (childhood, youth, maturity, and old age), our basic inborn temperament will be an essential part of who we are throughout life. We are to thank God for how he has made us, and ask him to change those tendencies in us which are harmful to others or ourselves.
I was a very grateful young man when I learned that I was a melancholic. I understood myself much more fully after reading Hallesby than I ever had before. I praise God abundantly for this life-changing little book. Thank you, Lord, for informed and wise writers, with a strong love for you and a sensitive, compassionate heart for seekers of truth and godliness.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Why the Bible? Books That Have Shaped Me – Part Two
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
In the June posting I listed and briefly considered four books that God has used to make me into the person I have been becoming—from my teenage years to today. I am writing a number of posts on this theme of influential books because I believe strongly in the life-changing and life-shaping power of reading, especially of books with substance and pertinence to daily life in this world.
As I said last month, these are not anyone’s “best books,” nor necessarily my “favorite books,” nor are they taken from any list of classics. They are simply those books that I came across—one here and one there—that made a major impact for good on my life, character, behavior and usefulness to God. Today, there are “better books” on some of the topics covered but I am writing about those works (only one this time) that entered my life at a specific period of questioning or need, and affected me significantly.
“The Divine Inspiration of the Bible,” by Arthur W. Pink (Distributed by Baker Book House). On 9-11-65 I bought this book in Canada for $1.50. By that time I was a Christian for nearly three years, with a firm belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. But I really wasn’t sure why I believed that. The doctrine had been handed down to me from church teachers, even though they emphasized that when the Bible and church tradition come into conflict, official church teaching overrides anyone’s personal interpretation of the scriptures. After reading Pink’s book I had a more solid understanding of why I believed what I said I believed, including the conviction that God’s Holy Spirit illumines the scriptures for individuals as well as for religious bodies, and that the devout, informed Christian believer facing two or more opinions is free to follow his or her own understanding of a given biblical passage.
Pink gives 14 arguments for the divine inspiration of the Bible—“inspiration” meaning that the human authors of the scripture books were guided by God in a supernatural way (whether the writers were aware of this or not). The resulting documents are not only trustworthy records of God’s activity in the course of human history, but infallibly explain the nature of God and the grand design of God’s gracious program for humanity through all eternity. These documents are not only unique and “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) but are divinely authoritative—above all other writings—in matters of theological teachings and ethics. Belief in and submission to their doctrinal and moral instructions is thus mandatory, not optional. Because of space I am able to mention only a few of Pink’s reasons for this view.
First, the Bible has a remarkable unity in theological and ethical matters, even though some 40 different authors (mostly unknown to one another) wrote in widely different genres of literature over a period of 1600 years without any human supervisor or governing body. There is a strikingly unified message about the kindness and severity of God, the sinful condition of humanity, and the salvation offered to all by grace through Christ. Such a work could hardly have come about by coincidence, or even by careful human planning alone.
Second, there is an amazing correspondence between prophecy and fulfillment, as in the cases of Jesus’ birthplace (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6) and his sufferings and death (Isaiah 53 and the gospel accounts). There are dozens of prophecies that were written sometimes centuries before their fulfillment. To read Ezekiel’s detailed prophecy of the destruction of Tyre (chapter 26), and then read the historical accounts of Tyre’s downfall in the secular records of later years, is to be confirmed in my belief in divine inspiration. To then stand, as I did years ago, on the ruins of ancient Tyre jutting out from the Lebanese coast into the Mediterranean, is to be in awe of the detailed, prophesied workings of God and nations in history. Such prophetic accuracy, over and over in the Bible, is not explainable in human terms.
Third, there is an inward confirmation by the indwelling Holy Spirit, deep within God’s people, of the divine inspiration, trustworthiness and authority of the Bible. God’s people who seek him in truth know, from the burning in their hearts and the continual experiencing of the reality of the Bible’s teachings in their everyday lives, that this book is indeed the written Word of God.
Fourth, a final reason (not covered by Pink but one that I cannot possibly leave out) concerns the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as seen in the four gospels primarily: Jesus affirmed the inspiration and authority of the Old Testament and the yet-to-be developed body of New Testament materials. While this may appear to be circular reasoning (using the Bible itself to argue for its own inspiration), it is not if we, for example, simply study the gospels as the generally accepted historical records of this first-century man named Jesus.
An examination of this highly unusual religious teacher—his life, teachings, death and resurrection—reveals without doubt that he believed and taught that the biblical books were indeed the Word of God. Such a teacher—backed by a remarkable life of signs, wonders, sterling character and deep compassion for the poor and the suffering—should be taken very seriously regarding his attitude toward the Bible’s divine origin.
Some of the preceding reasons—perhaps all of them—will carry no weight in the minds of atheists and confirmed skeptics. Even some good thinkers within Christian circles tend to minimize the argumentative force of one or more of these reasons, as well as the additional reasons Pink offers. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Some devout Christian thinkers prefer not to consider arguments for the Bible’s inspiration, or even the existence of God, as very important in contending for the faith, especially in our postmodern cultures. Their focus tends to be on living the life, which of course we should all do.
There is no infallible “proof” that the Bible is the Word of God written. God does not need logical proofs to accomplish his work in the world. But for me and millions of others there is great encouragement in contemplating the solid reasoning behind our centuries-old beliefs. No one argument proves, nor can prove, the doctrine of biblical inspiration, but when these and other reasons are offered, taken together, they have a strong, persuasive force in assuring you and me (and our children) that we indeed follow, proclaim, and base our eternal salvation on the unique, infallible, and supremely authoritative written Word of God.
Thanks to you, Mr. Pink, for writing this book many years ago. And you, dear readers who regard yourselves to be committed Christians, ponder from time to time why you believe that the Bible is the unique Word of God. Everything you claim to believe and practice is based on this book. We all do well to answer carefully, “Why the Bible?”
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Books That Have Shaped Me – Part One
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
To begin the fifth year of “The Benediction Project” I’d like to write about the fifteen books that have been most used by God to shape me into the person I am today. Perhaps one or more of these works will be helpful to you at some time or another. These are not necessarily the books that I turn to frequently in my life now. Most of them sit on my bookshelves as quiet knowing friends—powerful reminders of their service to me in years past.
Nor are these the books that I would put on this list if I wanted to impress you. In that case I would designate books that are classics, such as Augustine’s “Confessions,” Calvin’s “Institutes” and Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship.” But the books I include in my list have actually changed or reinforced something major in me, sometimes because they were the first books to introduce me to an important truth or way of thinking. They are thus “life-changing” in this sense, not because they are necessarily the “best books” or are famous works that have greatly influenced large numbers of men and women.
I will cover the first four books in this posting and the others in subsequent postings. In these pieces I will omit works on the Hebrew and Greek languages. While my study of these languages has shaped my life and thought in major ways, I am omitting these biblical language materials because of the non-specialized nature of this blog.
1. “30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary,” by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis (Pocket Books). When I was a junior or senior in high school I bought this paperback for 25 cents. It introduced me to the romance of words and confirmed my love of the English language, and all languages. Through the daily exercises I learned such terms as parvenu, megalomaniac, and esprit de corps that have stayed with me all my life, and enriched my reading, writing and imagination immensely.
2. “Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.” When I began my freshman year of college, this was one of the required textbooks I had to buy. I have learned that a good dictionary is one of the most valuable tools one will ever have. I especially appreciate the attention to pronunciations, derivations and categories and subcategories based on the use of words. A dictionary that includes synonyms and expressions containing the given word are especially helpful. Though I now use dictionaries different from the one named above, it strengthened my life and ministry immeasurably. I still love to read a good dictionary, and I have never (well, almost never) considered it a waste of time to check on the spelling or usage of a word when I am not sure. I used to tell my theology students that theology is all about words (sometimes “just” about prepositions), so understand clearly what you mean by the word, and what the other person means by the word, before you get into a discussion in which the term plays a major role. There might be more light and less heat in the discussion.
3. “The Holy Bible.” The Christian Bible, especially in the language one is most familiar with, is without the slightest doubt in my mind the most important and therefore most valuable book one can ever own. But, as one of my teachers often said, “The Bible is burglar–proof against unsanctified learning.” The Bible will make little or no spiritual sense to those who attempt to understand it without a desire to know the truth (I Corinthians 2:14).
In high school I heard that everyone who wishes to be well-read and successful in life should read the Bible. I started at Genesis 1:1 and found myself bored almost to tears. It was only by sheer determination that I read to the end of Genesis. But, years later, after God had awakened my heart to seek him, I devoured the Bible over and over. I love every book of the Bible, but the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles (Romans to Jude), being totally new to me, were especially a fountain of truth and light about how to know God and live a meaningful life. I suggest the NIV (New International Version) and the NIV Study Bible. Try to get a Bible with cross-references in the margins, possible alternative translations and study materials in the footnotes.
4. “When the Spirit Came,” by James Alexander Stewart (Revival Literature). This little book (87 pp.) was given to me as a new Christian, at the age of nineteen, by the church I started attending after my conversion and in which I was later ordained. The wording on the front cover summarizes the book well: “The Story of Evan Roberts and The Welsh Revival.” Perhaps it should say, “and the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905,” since there was also a great revival in Wales in 1859.
God used this book to create in me a lifelong interest in revival and revivals. I simply cannot express here how the book stirred me and gave me a deep thirst, to this day, to see the power and glory of God revealed in diverse meetings and whole communities as these were in 1904-1905. The author frequently distinguishes between a spontaneous work of God in revival and a planned and prepared evangelistic campaign or series of “deeper-life” meetings. This book has to do with spontaneous revival. Evan Roberts was only one—though the most prominent—of the young men and women God used in this unplanned, unpredictable and unadvertised series of gatherings. According to the author, this was a revival for young people (Roberts was only 26), a revival of singing, a revival of prayer (mingled largely with praise), a revival of soul-winning, and a revival of personal experience. Tens of thousands came to know Christ as Savior, and great numbers of believers were drawn closer to him. Communities were transformed. The prison population decreased remarkably. Even in the universities revival scenes were commonplace day after day for months. “Longstanding debts were paid, stolen goods returned, drinking taverns forsaken, oaths ceased to be heard so that it was said in the mines the horses could not understand the language of their drivers.” O Lord, let the fire fall! Come, Holy Spirit, come!
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
To begin the fifth year of “The Benediction Project” I’d like to write about the fifteen books that have been most used by God to shape me into the person I am today. Perhaps one or more of these works will be helpful to you at some time or another. These are not necessarily the books that I turn to frequently in my life now. Most of them sit on my bookshelves as quiet knowing friends—powerful reminders of their service to me in years past.
Nor are these the books that I would put on this list if I wanted to impress you. In that case I would designate books that are classics, such as Augustine’s “Confessions,” Calvin’s “Institutes” and Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship.” But the books I include in my list have actually changed or reinforced something major in me, sometimes because they were the first books to introduce me to an important truth or way of thinking. They are thus “life-changing” in this sense, not because they are necessarily the “best books” or are famous works that have greatly influenced large numbers of men and women.
I will cover the first four books in this posting and the others in subsequent postings. In these pieces I will omit works on the Hebrew and Greek languages. While my study of these languages has shaped my life and thought in major ways, I am omitting these biblical language materials because of the non-specialized nature of this blog.
1. “30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary,” by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis (Pocket Books). When I was a junior or senior in high school I bought this paperback for 25 cents. It introduced me to the romance of words and confirmed my love of the English language, and all languages. Through the daily exercises I learned such terms as parvenu, megalomaniac, and esprit de corps that have stayed with me all my life, and enriched my reading, writing and imagination immensely.
2. “Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.” When I began my freshman year of college, this was one of the required textbooks I had to buy. I have learned that a good dictionary is one of the most valuable tools one will ever have. I especially appreciate the attention to pronunciations, derivations and categories and subcategories based on the use of words. A dictionary that includes synonyms and expressions containing the given word are especially helpful. Though I now use dictionaries different from the one named above, it strengthened my life and ministry immeasurably. I still love to read a good dictionary, and I have never (well, almost never) considered it a waste of time to check on the spelling or usage of a word when I am not sure. I used to tell my theology students that theology is all about words (sometimes “just” about prepositions), so understand clearly what you mean by the word, and what the other person means by the word, before you get into a discussion in which the term plays a major role. There might be more light and less heat in the discussion.
3. “The Holy Bible.” The Christian Bible, especially in the language one is most familiar with, is without the slightest doubt in my mind the most important and therefore most valuable book one can ever own. But, as one of my teachers often said, “The Bible is burglar–proof against unsanctified learning.” The Bible will make little or no spiritual sense to those who attempt to understand it without a desire to know the truth (I Corinthians 2:14).
In high school I heard that everyone who wishes to be well-read and successful in life should read the Bible. I started at Genesis 1:1 and found myself bored almost to tears. It was only by sheer determination that I read to the end of Genesis. But, years later, after God had awakened my heart to seek him, I devoured the Bible over and over. I love every book of the Bible, but the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles (Romans to Jude), being totally new to me, were especially a fountain of truth and light about how to know God and live a meaningful life. I suggest the NIV (New International Version) and the NIV Study Bible. Try to get a Bible with cross-references in the margins, possible alternative translations and study materials in the footnotes.
4. “When the Spirit Came,” by James Alexander Stewart (Revival Literature). This little book (87 pp.) was given to me as a new Christian, at the age of nineteen, by the church I started attending after my conversion and in which I was later ordained. The wording on the front cover summarizes the book well: “The Story of Evan Roberts and The Welsh Revival.” Perhaps it should say, “and the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905,” since there was also a great revival in Wales in 1859.
God used this book to create in me a lifelong interest in revival and revivals. I simply cannot express here how the book stirred me and gave me a deep thirst, to this day, to see the power and glory of God revealed in diverse meetings and whole communities as these were in 1904-1905. The author frequently distinguishes between a spontaneous work of God in revival and a planned and prepared evangelistic campaign or series of “deeper-life” meetings. This book has to do with spontaneous revival. Evan Roberts was only one—though the most prominent—of the young men and women God used in this unplanned, unpredictable and unadvertised series of gatherings. According to the author, this was a revival for young people (Roberts was only 26), a revival of singing, a revival of prayer (mingled largely with praise), a revival of soul-winning, and a revival of personal experience. Tens of thousands came to know Christ as Savior, and great numbers of believers were drawn closer to him. Communities were transformed. The prison population decreased remarkably. Even in the universities revival scenes were commonplace day after day for months. “Longstanding debts were paid, stolen goods returned, drinking taverns forsaken, oaths ceased to be heard so that it was said in the mines the horses could not understand the language of their drivers.” O Lord, let the fire fall! Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
After Four Years…Moving Ahead
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
A little over four years ago, in March, 2007, I was placed in hospice care, during which time I would be able to live at home and be visited regularly by a nurse, a social worker, a massage therapist and a chaplain. I would have all the pain medications and palliative care I needed. My transplanted heart was diagnosed as being in a condition known as chronic (permanent) rejection, and I most likely had no more than six months to live.
Rather than simply wait to die I wanted to do something beneficial to others and encouraging to myself as long as I was able. So in May of that year a good friend, former faculty secretary and former student, Abigail Miller, helped me set up a blog, “The Benediction Project,” because I wanted the rest of my life, and my writings, to be a benediction to those I knew and to others around the world.
This month marks the four-year anniversary of “The Benediction Project,” and I am very grateful to God for his direction and strength, and to Abigail for her faithful and skillful management of the blog. In the past four years I have sent out 80 blog postings. There have been 9817 visitors, though with some of these the visitor just touched down briefly. Many, however, have stopped and read for a while. Some of you have even replied with your thoughts on the issue or issues before you. I read each of these replies carefully, although I sometimes find it difficult to respond as I would like. Keep sending them, however! I intend to do better.
As I have reviewed the past four years of postings, two broad themes seem to have emerged: the prevalence of pain, suffering, confusion and distress in this world, and God’s assurances of hope and triumph in the midst of these trials. In brief: life is tough but God is good. Or, as the old chorus says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” From time to time I have thought about writing on some controversial theological and ethical matters, even politics and world events, since I feel strongly about many issues. I usually refrain, however, because my primary calling (in writing) is to lead people around the world to real hope and fullness of life in Jesus Christ, no matter how difficult their existence may be, and to encourage people to “walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one” (George Fox). In other words, know God and make him known.
Returning to my situation in May, 2007, in addition to starting the blog, I began to think (actually, think more) of a possible book on prayer. Jane Spriggs, a good friend, Bethel Seminary graduate, and minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church, graciously offered to help with the book. The result is shown in the picture at the very beginning of this blog: “Heart Cries: Praying by the Spirit in the Midst of Life,” a 210 page paperback concerning the meaning of prayer, how we can pray well, and 52 prayers I have written on numerous topics that concern all of us. There is even a chapter on Benedictions of the Bible. Jane and I are receiving feedback that the book is proving to be helpful to others. For this, we praise and thank God. The book was published in 2008 in the Philippines and in 2010 in the United States. It can be ordered by clicking on the line above the cover picture.
Now, as God gives me the wisdom and strength, I am beginning to work on another book. This one will be to people who are suffering and to those who desire to help them. I will be writing this primarily for the international community, speaking directly to those in the developing nations, as I have with “Heart Cries” and its predecessor in this series, “Serving by the Spirit: Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Preaching” (now distributed in Cuba, in a Spanish edition). Of course I desire that my books be used to minister to people in every situation, but especially those living at the lowest economic levels of this world. Most copies of my recent books are distributed free of charge to some of the 3.2 million pastors and Christian workers in the developing nations who have little or no formal theological training.
It has been seven-and-a-half years since the heart transplant, and my immune system has been working overtime from the start to reject my heart. I was removed from hospice care after eight months, praise God. The rejection is, however, full-blown, and the condition of my heart (especially how it struggles to receive oxygen) is precarious. I appreciate your prayers very, very much, for the ability to move through each day, or lie on the bed, with the peace of God in my heart. The depression and anxiety which were quite serious a few years ago are mostly in the past. To God be the glory!
In gratitude for each of you, including the large number I have never met, wherever you live, I offer this closing benediction:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
A little over four years ago, in March, 2007, I was placed in hospice care, during which time I would be able to live at home and be visited regularly by a nurse, a social worker, a massage therapist and a chaplain. I would have all the pain medications and palliative care I needed. My transplanted heart was diagnosed as being in a condition known as chronic (permanent) rejection, and I most likely had no more than six months to live.
Rather than simply wait to die I wanted to do something beneficial to others and encouraging to myself as long as I was able. So in May of that year a good friend, former faculty secretary and former student, Abigail Miller, helped me set up a blog, “The Benediction Project,” because I wanted the rest of my life, and my writings, to be a benediction to those I knew and to others around the world.
This month marks the four-year anniversary of “The Benediction Project,” and I am very grateful to God for his direction and strength, and to Abigail for her faithful and skillful management of the blog. In the past four years I have sent out 80 blog postings. There have been 9817 visitors, though with some of these the visitor just touched down briefly. Many, however, have stopped and read for a while. Some of you have even replied with your thoughts on the issue or issues before you. I read each of these replies carefully, although I sometimes find it difficult to respond as I would like. Keep sending them, however! I intend to do better.
As I have reviewed the past four years of postings, two broad themes seem to have emerged: the prevalence of pain, suffering, confusion and distress in this world, and God’s assurances of hope and triumph in the midst of these trials. In brief: life is tough but God is good. Or, as the old chorus says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” From time to time I have thought about writing on some controversial theological and ethical matters, even politics and world events, since I feel strongly about many issues. I usually refrain, however, because my primary calling (in writing) is to lead people around the world to real hope and fullness of life in Jesus Christ, no matter how difficult their existence may be, and to encourage people to “walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one” (George Fox). In other words, know God and make him known.
Returning to my situation in May, 2007, in addition to starting the blog, I began to think (actually, think more) of a possible book on prayer. Jane Spriggs, a good friend, Bethel Seminary graduate, and minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church, graciously offered to help with the book. The result is shown in the picture at the very beginning of this blog: “Heart Cries: Praying by the Spirit in the Midst of Life,” a 210 page paperback concerning the meaning of prayer, how we can pray well, and 52 prayers I have written on numerous topics that concern all of us. There is even a chapter on Benedictions of the Bible. Jane and I are receiving feedback that the book is proving to be helpful to others. For this, we praise and thank God. The book was published in 2008 in the Philippines and in 2010 in the United States. It can be ordered by clicking on the line above the cover picture.
Now, as God gives me the wisdom and strength, I am beginning to work on another book. This one will be to people who are suffering and to those who desire to help them. I will be writing this primarily for the international community, speaking directly to those in the developing nations, as I have with “Heart Cries” and its predecessor in this series, “Serving by the Spirit: Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Preaching” (now distributed in Cuba, in a Spanish edition). Of course I desire that my books be used to minister to people in every situation, but especially those living at the lowest economic levels of this world. Most copies of my recent books are distributed free of charge to some of the 3.2 million pastors and Christian workers in the developing nations who have little or no formal theological training.
It has been seven-and-a-half years since the heart transplant, and my immune system has been working overtime from the start to reject my heart. I was removed from hospice care after eight months, praise God. The rejection is, however, full-blown, and the condition of my heart (especially how it struggles to receive oxygen) is precarious. I appreciate your prayers very, very much, for the ability to move through each day, or lie on the bed, with the peace of God in my heart. The depression and anxiety which were quite serious a few years ago are mostly in the past. To God be the glory!
In gratitude for each of you, including the large number I have never met, wherever you live, I offer this closing benediction:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Saturday, April 30, 2011
A World of Hope
Bob Rakestraw
April 30, 2011
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
As I thought and prayed recently about writing this month’s posting, I assumed I would be developing the same theme as last month: the world. I felt that I barely scratched the surface in “Ways of the World.” Today, however, God seemed to shift my focus to the topic of hope. My wife spoke to me this morning about hope and her words struck a resonant chord within me. Also this morning, while reading in the truly remarkable Gospel of John (I have been reading and meditating in it for months), I was continually made aware of the powerful gift of hope from God to his people.
As I pondered which direction to go, I felt that I should combine these themes while using the Gospel of John as my guide. But in John, the word hope is used only once, referring to those who set their hopes in Moses (5:45). However, the word world (Greek, cosmos or kosmos) is used 78 times in John’s gospel. Where, then, do I find hope in this Bible book?
In my posting of October 30, 2010 (“Is There any Hope?”), I defined the word hope. As a noun, hope can mean, in part, “a feeling of expectation and desire combined,” or “what one hopes for.” As a verb it can mean “to feel hope, to expect and desire, feel fairly confident.” The word itself is not needed in John’s gospel to convey a strong sense of hope. The book, read as a whole, can engender great expectations and desires in the one reading it with a mind and heart listening for God.
In the New Testament cosmos is used in several ways, referring, for example, to the earth, the universe, and the human race. Most of the time in the New Testament, however, and almost always in the Gospel of John, it refers to the world of people. Yet cosmos does not connote individuals as merely inhabitants of planet earth, but has a much more sinister side to it. When understood as the world of men and women, cosmos
"constitutes a uniform subject which opposes God in enmity, resists the redeeming work of the Son, does not believe in him, and indeed hates him (7:7; 15; 18ff.). It is ruled by the prince of this cosmos (12:31; 16:11), i.e. the Evil One (1Jn. 5:18). Nonetheless, the Son remains the victor over the world (16:33). This does not lead to the extinction of the cosmos but to the redeemer of the world creating [human beings] who are not born “from out of the cosmos” (15:19; 17:14, 16) but of God (1:12f.) and the Holy Spirit (3:5). They endure much anguish in the world, but are removed from its domination (16:33)” (J. Guhrt, in “The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology”).
If Jesus and the Gospel of John refer repeatedly to the world in such severely negative terms, doesn’t a reading of this book lead more to despair than to hope? While it is certain that John’s gospel gives no comfort to those who are living according to the patterns and cravings of this world, it is also certain that those who trust in Jesus and, through his power, resist the seductive and pervasive pull of the world, are the most peaceful, joyful and hopeful of all inhabitants of the world. A brief overview of some statements concerning the world in John’s gospel engenders the hope we all need so mightily.
One of the most striking teachings of Jesus concerning this world, mentioned above, is that it is governed by a prince (archon, meaning ruler). This personal being, identified as Satan elsewhere in scripture (Mt. 12:24-28) does not have absolute authority, but is permitted by God to preside over the cosmos as a manipulator, deceiver and destroyer of souls (1 John 5:18-19). Three times Jesus refers to this prince in John’s gospel, and speaks of him in relation to his judgment on Christ’s cross. “The prince of this world is coming, [but] he has no hold on me” (14:30). “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (12:31). “The prince of this world now stands condemned” (16:11). Even though Satan still wanders over this cosmos as the prince of darkness, he has been fatally wounded and officially dethroned by the Lord of all (see also Col. 2:13-15).
While the book of John heartens us by assuring us of the judgment of the evil one on the cross, we are emboldened and given even greater hope from further comments about the world. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (1:9). “Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). “For God so loved the world.” He “did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (3:16-17). “We know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (4:42). “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (6:33). “Those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (12:25, NRSV). “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (12:46).
On the night before he died Jesus prayed a remarkable prayer. With all that he had on his heart, he prayed extensively about the relationship of his children to the world, both for our protection from the world and for Christian unity as a powerful witness to the world (17:6-23). He gives us his peace, of which he says, “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (14:27). “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33).
One of my favorite songs is “It’s a Wonderful World,” sung by Louis Armstrong. The melody and the sentiment are truly beautiful. But in the sense in which Jesus and the New Testament writers speak of the world, it is not wonderful at all. I still sing the song for its uplifting quality, but I also keep in mind the cosmos. (I can’t help it; I’m a theologian!) When I look over a big city at night from a high vantage point, and I see the bright lights, the graceful bridges, the tall, elegant buildings with their thousands of glass panels, and perhaps a river winding through the city, I also can’t help but think of the angry prince of darkness who rules over this world and this city.
I think of the rats. Someone said there are eight million rats in New York City—one for each of the eight million residents. I think of the drug houses and the drug deals. I think of the prostitution, the corrupt big-money deals, the poverty, the malnutrition, the overeating, overdrinking and overindulging in every imaginable way. I think of the deep sorrow in the hearts of the victimized children and adults. This is not the world that the creators of “It’s a Wonderful World” or “This is my Father’s World” had in mind. Yet it is the world God so loved.
It is the world Jesus entered, not to condemn it but to save it. It is the world Christ’s followers are not removed from just because the world hates them, (John 17:14-23). Rather, we are left here, showing the world by our love and unity, that there is great hope today, tomorrow and every day to come. Our Lord has overcome the world, and this victory in which we share here and now is ours to experience by faith and obedience, “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Have hope, dear friends, for whatever your concerns are today. Your hope is not in vain.
April 30, 2011
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
As I thought and prayed recently about writing this month’s posting, I assumed I would be developing the same theme as last month: the world. I felt that I barely scratched the surface in “Ways of the World.” Today, however, God seemed to shift my focus to the topic of hope. My wife spoke to me this morning about hope and her words struck a resonant chord within me. Also this morning, while reading in the truly remarkable Gospel of John (I have been reading and meditating in it for months), I was continually made aware of the powerful gift of hope from God to his people.
As I pondered which direction to go, I felt that I should combine these themes while using the Gospel of John as my guide. But in John, the word hope is used only once, referring to those who set their hopes in Moses (5:45). However, the word world (Greek, cosmos or kosmos) is used 78 times in John’s gospel. Where, then, do I find hope in this Bible book?
In my posting of October 30, 2010 (“Is There any Hope?”), I defined the word hope. As a noun, hope can mean, in part, “a feeling of expectation and desire combined,” or “what one hopes for.” As a verb it can mean “to feel hope, to expect and desire, feel fairly confident.” The word itself is not needed in John’s gospel to convey a strong sense of hope. The book, read as a whole, can engender great expectations and desires in the one reading it with a mind and heart listening for God.
In the New Testament cosmos is used in several ways, referring, for example, to the earth, the universe, and the human race. Most of the time in the New Testament, however, and almost always in the Gospel of John, it refers to the world of people. Yet cosmos does not connote individuals as merely inhabitants of planet earth, but has a much more sinister side to it. When understood as the world of men and women, cosmos
"constitutes a uniform subject which opposes God in enmity, resists the redeeming work of the Son, does not believe in him, and indeed hates him (7:7; 15; 18ff.). It is ruled by the prince of this cosmos (12:31; 16:11), i.e. the Evil One (1Jn. 5:18). Nonetheless, the Son remains the victor over the world (16:33). This does not lead to the extinction of the cosmos but to the redeemer of the world creating [human beings] who are not born “from out of the cosmos” (15:19; 17:14, 16) but of God (1:12f.) and the Holy Spirit (3:5). They endure much anguish in the world, but are removed from its domination (16:33)” (J. Guhrt, in “The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology”).
If Jesus and the Gospel of John refer repeatedly to the world in such severely negative terms, doesn’t a reading of this book lead more to despair than to hope? While it is certain that John’s gospel gives no comfort to those who are living according to the patterns and cravings of this world, it is also certain that those who trust in Jesus and, through his power, resist the seductive and pervasive pull of the world, are the most peaceful, joyful and hopeful of all inhabitants of the world. A brief overview of some statements concerning the world in John’s gospel engenders the hope we all need so mightily.
One of the most striking teachings of Jesus concerning this world, mentioned above, is that it is governed by a prince (archon, meaning ruler). This personal being, identified as Satan elsewhere in scripture (Mt. 12:24-28) does not have absolute authority, but is permitted by God to preside over the cosmos as a manipulator, deceiver and destroyer of souls (1 John 5:18-19). Three times Jesus refers to this prince in John’s gospel, and speaks of him in relation to his judgment on Christ’s cross. “The prince of this world is coming, [but] he has no hold on me” (14:30). “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (12:31). “The prince of this world now stands condemned” (16:11). Even though Satan still wanders over this cosmos as the prince of darkness, he has been fatally wounded and officially dethroned by the Lord of all (see also Col. 2:13-15).
While the book of John heartens us by assuring us of the judgment of the evil one on the cross, we are emboldened and given even greater hope from further comments about the world. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (1:9). “Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). “For God so loved the world.” He “did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (3:16-17). “We know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (4:42). “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (6:33). “Those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (12:25, NRSV). “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (12:46).
On the night before he died Jesus prayed a remarkable prayer. With all that he had on his heart, he prayed extensively about the relationship of his children to the world, both for our protection from the world and for Christian unity as a powerful witness to the world (17:6-23). He gives us his peace, of which he says, “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (14:27). “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33).
One of my favorite songs is “It’s a Wonderful World,” sung by Louis Armstrong. The melody and the sentiment are truly beautiful. But in the sense in which Jesus and the New Testament writers speak of the world, it is not wonderful at all. I still sing the song for its uplifting quality, but I also keep in mind the cosmos. (I can’t help it; I’m a theologian!) When I look over a big city at night from a high vantage point, and I see the bright lights, the graceful bridges, the tall, elegant buildings with their thousands of glass panels, and perhaps a river winding through the city, I also can’t help but think of the angry prince of darkness who rules over this world and this city.
I think of the rats. Someone said there are eight million rats in New York City—one for each of the eight million residents. I think of the drug houses and the drug deals. I think of the prostitution, the corrupt big-money deals, the poverty, the malnutrition, the overeating, overdrinking and overindulging in every imaginable way. I think of the deep sorrow in the hearts of the victimized children and adults. This is not the world that the creators of “It’s a Wonderful World” or “This is my Father’s World” had in mind. Yet it is the world God so loved.
It is the world Jesus entered, not to condemn it but to save it. It is the world Christ’s followers are not removed from just because the world hates them, (John 17:14-23). Rather, we are left here, showing the world by our love and unity, that there is great hope today, tomorrow and every day to come. Our Lord has overcome the world, and this victory in which we share here and now is ours to experience by faith and obedience, “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Have hope, dear friends, for whatever your concerns are today. Your hope is not in vain.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Ways of the World
Bob Rakestraw
March 31, 2011
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
Recently I was struck by a scripture verse that I had first studied decades ago: “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, NASB). What startled me most was the idea of apparently Christian people (2:1) becoming God’s enemies. I especially focused on what it means to be a friend of the world, since it is this condition that leads to the awful reality of being God’s enemy.
I hadn’t thought about “the world” in quite some time, at least not in the sense of this scripture and the worldly attitudes and actions it condemns. While I am often aware that “this world is not my home” (as the song goes) and that, as Christians, our citizenship is in heaven, I am reluctant to spell out specific identifiers of “the world” that Christians are commanded not to love (1 John 2:15).
Part of my hesitancy to write or speak about the world comes from my early years as a believer. I put my trust in Christ as my Savoir and Lord at the age of 19, and was profoundly changed as to my views of God, forgiveness, church, my purpose for living, and the condition of those who do not know Christ.
Lifestyle changes were part of my conversion experience also. In the small, independent church I started attending after I began my new life, I heard much preaching and cautioning against the world and worldliness. I soon learned that some of the things I was expected to avoid included drinking, dancing, swearing, smoking, attending movies, playing cards, bowling (because alcohol was often sold at the bowling alleys), popular music, “mixed bathing” (guys and girls swimming together), and all inappropriate dress. As a new believer I accepted most of these prohibitions without much thought because I was reveling in Bible study and in the enjoyment of my new-found freedom in Christ.
To use the word “freedom” might sound contradictory in view of the numerous restrictions above, but I was basking in my glorious release from guilt, shame and especially from the fear of eternal condemnation. I still feel the freshness and life-giving essence of these freedoms every day I live. While it is no longer easy for me to walk with a spring in my step because of health issues, in my soul I run and skip daily with the Creator of the Universe, who is also my Redeemer, Friend and sovereign Lord.
In the New Testament the word “world” is usually translated from the Greek word kosmos, used 186 times in the manuscripts of the New Testament. kosmos means primarily order, arrangement, ornament, or adornment. The focus of the word is on the orderly arrangement of things. It has numerous senses (uses), such as the earth, the universe, and the human race, but the sense of kosmos for our purposes here is “the present condition of human affairs, in alienation from and opposition to God” (W. E. Vine, “An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words”). It is this understanding of kosmos that lies behind the scriptures referred to in this piece.
Even more important than a dictionary definition, however, is the context—the scripture portion leading into the text being studied, as well as the verses following, and the purpose and flow of the Bible book (and author) as a whole. The concluding section of James 3 and the opening lines of James 4 are especially important for us to see clearly what James, the brother of Jesus, is referring to in 4:4. The word “therefore” at the start of our verse provides a tight link with the preceding thoughts. Here we read of bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, and an ungodly “wisdom” that is earthly, unspiritual and even demonic. These in turn lead to “disorder and every evil thing.”
Ungodly pleasures (hedonistic desires in the Greek) are mentioned twice in 4:1-3, as is lust, quarrels, conflicts, fights, murder (in the heart), and praying with wrong motives. Those who live this way are referred to as “adulteresses,” because they are spiritually unfaithful. They are giving their love to the world rather than to Jesus Christ, whose bride they profess (or once did profess) to be. In another scripture we are told that “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” and the context here describes the world as “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:15-16).
It is not my purpose here to give a code of activities that I consider “worldly” Rather, I want the scriptures just given to speak (in part) on this crucial topic. Some of the “worldly” local church prohibitions I listed earlier are, to be sure, displeasing to God. But, as I said, I barely thought about such matters. I was gloriously “Free from the law, O happy condition,” as the old hymn states, and the book of Galatians teaches. I just wanted to live totally for Christ, receiving my beliefs and guidelines for living from the Bible.
I cannot help thinking, however, that I would have benefited much more than I did in my early years as a Christian if I had been taught the full biblical truth about the world and worldliness. Even though (and praise be to God) Christ is the light of the kosmos (John 1:9; 3:16; 8:12), the world is no friend of God.
Worldly people are not necessarily constituted such by the cars they drive, the labels on their clothes, or how much they pay for their hair styling. A “friend of the world,” rather, is one who is captivated by the things, the culture, the patterns, the schemes, and the jealousy, selfish ambitions and lustful cravings for money, sex and power that dominate the minds, words and actions of those who live in opposition (knowingly or not) to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All of us must live in this world—it is the world God so loved. “As he is, so also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Even though there is much in this world that we can (and must) use for our benefit, and for making known the saving gospel of Christ, the awful truth remains that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” (James 4:4). They were the rulers of this world who crucified our Lord, therefore: “Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). There is glorious hope, however, and with this we close: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
March 31, 2011
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
Recently I was struck by a scripture verse that I had first studied decades ago: “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, NASB). What startled me most was the idea of apparently Christian people (2:1) becoming God’s enemies. I especially focused on what it means to be a friend of the world, since it is this condition that leads to the awful reality of being God’s enemy.
I hadn’t thought about “the world” in quite some time, at least not in the sense of this scripture and the worldly attitudes and actions it condemns. While I am often aware that “this world is not my home” (as the song goes) and that, as Christians, our citizenship is in heaven, I am reluctant to spell out specific identifiers of “the world” that Christians are commanded not to love (1 John 2:15).
Part of my hesitancy to write or speak about the world comes from my early years as a believer. I put my trust in Christ as my Savoir and Lord at the age of 19, and was profoundly changed as to my views of God, forgiveness, church, my purpose for living, and the condition of those who do not know Christ.
Lifestyle changes were part of my conversion experience also. In the small, independent church I started attending after I began my new life, I heard much preaching and cautioning against the world and worldliness. I soon learned that some of the things I was expected to avoid included drinking, dancing, swearing, smoking, attending movies, playing cards, bowling (because alcohol was often sold at the bowling alleys), popular music, “mixed bathing” (guys and girls swimming together), and all inappropriate dress. As a new believer I accepted most of these prohibitions without much thought because I was reveling in Bible study and in the enjoyment of my new-found freedom in Christ.
To use the word “freedom” might sound contradictory in view of the numerous restrictions above, but I was basking in my glorious release from guilt, shame and especially from the fear of eternal condemnation. I still feel the freshness and life-giving essence of these freedoms every day I live. While it is no longer easy for me to walk with a spring in my step because of health issues, in my soul I run and skip daily with the Creator of the Universe, who is also my Redeemer, Friend and sovereign Lord.
In the New Testament the word “world” is usually translated from the Greek word kosmos, used 186 times in the manuscripts of the New Testament. kosmos means primarily order, arrangement, ornament, or adornment. The focus of the word is on the orderly arrangement of things. It has numerous senses (uses), such as the earth, the universe, and the human race, but the sense of kosmos for our purposes here is “the present condition of human affairs, in alienation from and opposition to God” (W. E. Vine, “An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words”). It is this understanding of kosmos that lies behind the scriptures referred to in this piece.
Even more important than a dictionary definition, however, is the context—the scripture portion leading into the text being studied, as well as the verses following, and the purpose and flow of the Bible book (and author) as a whole. The concluding section of James 3 and the opening lines of James 4 are especially important for us to see clearly what James, the brother of Jesus, is referring to in 4:4. The word “therefore” at the start of our verse provides a tight link with the preceding thoughts. Here we read of bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, and an ungodly “wisdom” that is earthly, unspiritual and even demonic. These in turn lead to “disorder and every evil thing.”
Ungodly pleasures (hedonistic desires in the Greek) are mentioned twice in 4:1-3, as is lust, quarrels, conflicts, fights, murder (in the heart), and praying with wrong motives. Those who live this way are referred to as “adulteresses,” because they are spiritually unfaithful. They are giving their love to the world rather than to Jesus Christ, whose bride they profess (or once did profess) to be. In another scripture we are told that “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” and the context here describes the world as “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:15-16).
It is not my purpose here to give a code of activities that I consider “worldly” Rather, I want the scriptures just given to speak (in part) on this crucial topic. Some of the “worldly” local church prohibitions I listed earlier are, to be sure, displeasing to God. But, as I said, I barely thought about such matters. I was gloriously “Free from the law, O happy condition,” as the old hymn states, and the book of Galatians teaches. I just wanted to live totally for Christ, receiving my beliefs and guidelines for living from the Bible.
I cannot help thinking, however, that I would have benefited much more than I did in my early years as a Christian if I had been taught the full biblical truth about the world and worldliness. Even though (and praise be to God) Christ is the light of the kosmos (John 1:9; 3:16; 8:12), the world is no friend of God.
Worldly people are not necessarily constituted such by the cars they drive, the labels on their clothes, or how much they pay for their hair styling. A “friend of the world,” rather, is one who is captivated by the things, the culture, the patterns, the schemes, and the jealousy, selfish ambitions and lustful cravings for money, sex and power that dominate the minds, words and actions of those who live in opposition (knowingly or not) to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All of us must live in this world—it is the world God so loved. “As he is, so also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Even though there is much in this world that we can (and must) use for our benefit, and for making known the saving gospel of Christ, the awful truth remains that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” (James 4:4). They were the rulers of this world who crucified our Lord, therefore: “Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). There is glorious hope, however, and with this we close: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Adversity,…and High Ambition
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
I think often of you who read this blog. Some of you I know, but most I do not. The sitemeter map shows red dots around the world where you live, and I love to contemplate you in your various countries, seeking earnestly (I trust) for some insight, encouragement or blessing from The Benediction Project. Thank you for reading and for sending your comments from time to time.
These are difficult days. Numerous friends and acquaintances are going through some kind of adversity. Just within the past few weeks I have become aware of friends and/or family members struggling with job issues, financial stresses, physical health problems, losses, relationship breakdowns, loneliness, disillusionment with life, psychological illnesses, discouragement with children, and so on. No doubt you have those in your life grappling with these or similar issues. Perhaps you yourself are suffering in one or more of the above ways.
Over the years I have become increasingly aware of the sufferings of others, including both the varieties of suffering and the extent/severity of these afflictions. Especially since 2003, when I had a heart transplant that would give me, I thought, an improved quality of life, I have been reading books and materials (especially autobiographical accounts) on the issues of suffering.
One of the truly great books on the topic of suffering, particularly physical illness and pain—a book Ruth Bell Graham called “by far the best I have found”—is by the former missionary to India, Amy Carmichael. Through her years of serious pain and disability she wrote down her thoughts in "Rose from Briar", a book that has helped me more than any other, except the Bible, during the past seven-and-a-half years of post-transplant difficulties. While Carmichael’s book comes out of her physical trials, her words have great pertinence to other categories of suffering. I wish to share some thoughts from her book so that you may find strength in whatever adversity you find yourself.
Carmichael begins one chapter with a personal word from Julian of Norwich, who wrote some 500 years ago that when she was earnestly thinking of our Lord’s suffering, and trying to see (as it were) his dying,
…suddenly, He changed the look of His blessed Countenance. The changing of His blessed Countenance changed mine, and I was as glad and merry as it was possible. Then brought our Lord merrily to my mind: “Where is now any point of the pain or of thy grief?” And I was full merry.
Carmichael then presents Julian’s reflections on the mystery of our identification with Christ on the cross.
I understood that we be now, in our Lord’s meaning, in His cross with Him in His pains and His passion, dying; and we, willingly abiding in the same Cross with His help and His grace unto the last point, suddenly He shall change His Cheer to us, and we shall be with Him in Heaven. Betwixt that one and that other shall be no time, and then shall all be brought to joy.
The following words of Amy Carmichael, after she ponders Julian’s being “full merry,” are some of the most remarkably bold that I know of in Christian literature. From these I thought of the title for this posting: “Adversity,…and High Ambition.”
It seems to me clear beyond question that in the lives of God’s beloved there are sometimes periods when the adversary is “given power to overcome.” This power need never overwhelm the inner courts of the spirit, but it may press hard on the outworks of being. And so I have been asking that our dearest Lord may have the joy (surely it must be a joy to Him) of saying about each one of us, and about us all as a little company of His children: “I can count on him, on her, on them for anything. I can count on them for peace under any disappointment or series of disappointments, under any strain. I can trust them never to set limits, saying, ‘Thus far, and no farther.’ I can trust them not to offer the reluctant obedience of a doubtful faith, but to be as glad and merry as it is possible.”
And all that begins in the gift of a great contentment.
It is my desire for myself, and each of you, that these words, coming from the pen of one of God’s choice suffering servants (and now in glory with him), may express our High Ambition in the midst of any adversity. For it is then that we will be “as glad and merry as it is possible” in this life.
http://bobrakestraw.blogspot.com
I think often of you who read this blog. Some of you I know, but most I do not. The sitemeter map shows red dots around the world where you live, and I love to contemplate you in your various countries, seeking earnestly (I trust) for some insight, encouragement or blessing from The Benediction Project. Thank you for reading and for sending your comments from time to time.
These are difficult days. Numerous friends and acquaintances are going through some kind of adversity. Just within the past few weeks I have become aware of friends and/or family members struggling with job issues, financial stresses, physical health problems, losses, relationship breakdowns, loneliness, disillusionment with life, psychological illnesses, discouragement with children, and so on. No doubt you have those in your life grappling with these or similar issues. Perhaps you yourself are suffering in one or more of the above ways.
Over the years I have become increasingly aware of the sufferings of others, including both the varieties of suffering and the extent/severity of these afflictions. Especially since 2003, when I had a heart transplant that would give me, I thought, an improved quality of life, I have been reading books and materials (especially autobiographical accounts) on the issues of suffering.
One of the truly great books on the topic of suffering, particularly physical illness and pain—a book Ruth Bell Graham called “by far the best I have found”—is by the former missionary to India, Amy Carmichael. Through her years of serious pain and disability she wrote down her thoughts in "Rose from Briar", a book that has helped me more than any other, except the Bible, during the past seven-and-a-half years of post-transplant difficulties. While Carmichael’s book comes out of her physical trials, her words have great pertinence to other categories of suffering. I wish to share some thoughts from her book so that you may find strength in whatever adversity you find yourself.
Carmichael begins one chapter with a personal word from Julian of Norwich, who wrote some 500 years ago that when she was earnestly thinking of our Lord’s suffering, and trying to see (as it were) his dying,
…suddenly, He changed the look of His blessed Countenance. The changing of His blessed Countenance changed mine, and I was as glad and merry as it was possible. Then brought our Lord merrily to my mind: “Where is now any point of the pain or of thy grief?” And I was full merry.
Carmichael then presents Julian’s reflections on the mystery of our identification with Christ on the cross.
I understood that we be now, in our Lord’s meaning, in His cross with Him in His pains and His passion, dying; and we, willingly abiding in the same Cross with His help and His grace unto the last point, suddenly He shall change His Cheer to us, and we shall be with Him in Heaven. Betwixt that one and that other shall be no time, and then shall all be brought to joy.
The following words of Amy Carmichael, after she ponders Julian’s being “full merry,” are some of the most remarkably bold that I know of in Christian literature. From these I thought of the title for this posting: “Adversity,…and High Ambition.”
It seems to me clear beyond question that in the lives of God’s beloved there are sometimes periods when the adversary is “given power to overcome.” This power need never overwhelm the inner courts of the spirit, but it may press hard on the outworks of being. And so I have been asking that our dearest Lord may have the joy (surely it must be a joy to Him) of saying about each one of us, and about us all as a little company of His children: “I can count on him, on her, on them for anything. I can count on them for peace under any disappointment or series of disappointments, under any strain. I can trust them never to set limits, saying, ‘Thus far, and no farther.’ I can trust them not to offer the reluctant obedience of a doubtful faith, but to be as glad and merry as it is possible.”
And all that begins in the gift of a great contentment.
It is my desire for myself, and each of you, that these words, coming from the pen of one of God’s choice suffering servants (and now in glory with him), may express our High Ambition in the midst of any adversity. For it is then that we will be “as glad and merry as it is possible” in this life.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Playing God, Believing God
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.com
When people suffer severely they sometimes try to play God or have someone else play God for them. The term “playing God” is usually not mentioned in discussions between the suffering person and his/her family, friends and medical care team. It is, however, an underlying component—often unrecognized—in the swirl of conflicting ideas and emotions. Whenever the expression is mentioned it is done so as a negative thing.
People may or may not be thought of as playing God depending on the decisions they make about human life, especially concerning the beginning and ending of life, but throughout one’s lifetime as well. Abortion, infanticide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are all looked upon as playing God by right-to-life Christians, with whom I seriously and gladly identify. In the cases just mentioned, people are taking into their own hands the right to end their life or someone else’s life, even though such a right belongs to God alone. Right-to-life Christians feel strongly that nothing should be done to deliberately end another’s life (although they often make exceptions in cases of warfare and capital punishment). To intend to shorten life is to play God.
There is another way we may play God, however, and that is by trying to extend life. This can happen when the suffering person is in such a condition that it is evident to those prayerfully concerned for him or her, and those offering medical care, that the patient’s life is nearly over, and that technology (whether in use or about to be attached) is, in reality, prolonging death (and possibly suffering) rather than advancing life.
As you realize, I have bitten off a big chunk of material in the paragraphs above. Please forgive me for not addressing every nuance (and there are many) that is tied to the concepts and words above. These issues are highly controversial. I hesitated about writing on them but felt that God wanted me to make a point—not primarily about playing God but about believing God.
Many of you, dear readers, know that I have struggled for twenty-five years with heart problems. I had open-heart surgery in 1991 and a heart transplant in 2003. Because my health continued to be poor after the transplant, I reluctantly retired from teaching at Bethel Seminary in 2005. In the seven years since my transplant I have had numerous bouts of acute rejection, frequent invasive medical procedures, tests, consultations, trips to the emergency room, and hospital stays. I am now in a condition called permanent (chronic) transplant vasculopathy, and in March, 2007, two doctors told me I likely had no more than six months to live. Well, God keeps me going, and he gives me peace.
This leads to the interaction of playing God and believing God. At what point might our inclination to play God conflict with our intention to trust God (I am using “trust” and “believe” interchangeably)? In some crises of life, it is not always clear-cut that a decision is playing God. A teenage boy rushed to the hospital after a serious motorcycle crash may lead to a critical choice concerning high-risk brain surgery. The surgery may take the boy’s life or leave him as a vegetable, or it may help him return to normal life.
Some family members—strong believers—want the surgery, because they think it may be playing God to withhold a chance at recovery. Whatever is possible should be done, they believe. Other family members—equally strong believers—think it may be playing God to request the surgery and that the family should, given the surgical risk to their loved one’s life, entrust him to God’s care, believing that God does all things well. Whatever can be done does not always need to be done, they believe.
Where do we draw the line between playing God and trusting God? Who decides what is the one or the other? Who is the more faithful servant of God, the family member who authorizes the surgery, or the one who chooses to withhold it (and possibly withhold other means of life support)?
My own story is not that of the teenager. His case involves an urgent, immediate decision. I have grappled much, however, with bioethical decisions over the course of my illness. I hesitated to have my mitral valve surgery in 1991 because of the huge cost, even though I had good insurance. It didn’t seem right to have so much money spent on me when the vast majority of the world’s people could never afford such a procedure. I had the same hesitation about my heart transplant in 2003.
Now I am at the point where nothing can be done for my otherwise terminal condition except a second transplant. When I was first offered this possibility I said “Thanks but no thanks.” Then, after family discussion and prayer, I said, “Yes.” A while later I said “No” again, and for the past few years my family and I have settled comfortably on this final decision. It is not primarily the financial factor holding me back, although my sense of justice is still shocked, and even repulsed, by the anticipated cost of the surgery—a second time. I am not receiving another heart because I believe, with good reason, that the level of suffering of the past seven years since my transplant will be no different after the surgery than before. Since my post-transplant experience has been more “mysterious” (my nurse’s words just a few weeks ago) than that of others, my suffering could very well be worse.
I am also concerned about the issue of playing God. With medical care, everything possible is not mandatory. Doctors (whom I admire and appreciate) are trained in such a way that they are extremely reluctant to say that nothing more can be done for a patient. On January 3 I was on the table in the heart catheterization lab, with the IV and other measuring devices hooked up to me, and with the angiogram tubes in me. My coronary artery blockages were so severe that the cardiologist wanted to try an experimental and risky procedure in one of the arteries. I said “no” and he became quite agitated at me. He ended the angiogram right there, omitting the other half of my heart, since I did not consent to what would have been the start of numerous such procedures. After I was wheeled back to my hospital room, another cardiologist told me that the procedures in question, if done, would not have lengthened my life or prevented heart attacks. They might have helped for a time with my labored breathing and nausea, two of my daily difficulties, but such an outcome would not have been certain.
I feel good about this recent decision, especially since my wife, Judy, and I had prayed about this very issue according to James 1:5-8 just moments before the nurse came to take me to the cath lab. I feel good as well about the decision to refuse a second transplant.
Decision-making in matters of medical care is not always easy. My situation is just one of a multitude of possible scenarios. Other people might have made different decisions, and I fully admit and respect the possibility that two or more choices in a given situation may be admissible. My view—about the overall issue of playing God, as well as my personal condition—is not infallible. I believe God is pleased with my decision, but I admit that he may have been just as pleased if I had chosen differently at different points on my journey.
At some time or another in life, most or all of us will need to think about playing God, either by shortening or by extending human life by certain technologies, when the wiser choice would seem to others to leave the situation with God who does all things well. Palliative care, such as pain relief, is mandatory, of course.
In many cases, in my view, the actual decision is not as important as the attitude and state of mind of the one or ones making the decision, especially if the decision-makers claim to belong to and believe their God and Father. Am I trusting God for wisdom according to James 1, since he knows that I am weak and unable to calculate the risks and benefits with precision? Yes, we must make tough decisions at times—for our own care and that of others, and if we do so with an attitude of composure and rest in God’s arms, our decisions will be acceptable in God’s eyes.
http://bobrakestraw.com
When people suffer severely they sometimes try to play God or have someone else play God for them. The term “playing God” is usually not mentioned in discussions between the suffering person and his/her family, friends and medical care team. It is, however, an underlying component—often unrecognized—in the swirl of conflicting ideas and emotions. Whenever the expression is mentioned it is done so as a negative thing.
People may or may not be thought of as playing God depending on the decisions they make about human life, especially concerning the beginning and ending of life, but throughout one’s lifetime as well. Abortion, infanticide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are all looked upon as playing God by right-to-life Christians, with whom I seriously and gladly identify. In the cases just mentioned, people are taking into their own hands the right to end their life or someone else’s life, even though such a right belongs to God alone. Right-to-life Christians feel strongly that nothing should be done to deliberately end another’s life (although they often make exceptions in cases of warfare and capital punishment). To intend to shorten life is to play God.
There is another way we may play God, however, and that is by trying to extend life. This can happen when the suffering person is in such a condition that it is evident to those prayerfully concerned for him or her, and those offering medical care, that the patient’s life is nearly over, and that technology (whether in use or about to be attached) is, in reality, prolonging death (and possibly suffering) rather than advancing life.
As you realize, I have bitten off a big chunk of material in the paragraphs above. Please forgive me for not addressing every nuance (and there are many) that is tied to the concepts and words above. These issues are highly controversial. I hesitated about writing on them but felt that God wanted me to make a point—not primarily about playing God but about believing God.
Many of you, dear readers, know that I have struggled for twenty-five years with heart problems. I had open-heart surgery in 1991 and a heart transplant in 2003. Because my health continued to be poor after the transplant, I reluctantly retired from teaching at Bethel Seminary in 2005. In the seven years since my transplant I have had numerous bouts of acute rejection, frequent invasive medical procedures, tests, consultations, trips to the emergency room, and hospital stays. I am now in a condition called permanent (chronic) transplant vasculopathy, and in March, 2007, two doctors told me I likely had no more than six months to live. Well, God keeps me going, and he gives me peace.
This leads to the interaction of playing God and believing God. At what point might our inclination to play God conflict with our intention to trust God (I am using “trust” and “believe” interchangeably)? In some crises of life, it is not always clear-cut that a decision is playing God. A teenage boy rushed to the hospital after a serious motorcycle crash may lead to a critical choice concerning high-risk brain surgery. The surgery may take the boy’s life or leave him as a vegetable, or it may help him return to normal life.
Some family members—strong believers—want the surgery, because they think it may be playing God to withhold a chance at recovery. Whatever is possible should be done, they believe. Other family members—equally strong believers—think it may be playing God to request the surgery and that the family should, given the surgical risk to their loved one’s life, entrust him to God’s care, believing that God does all things well. Whatever can be done does not always need to be done, they believe.
Where do we draw the line between playing God and trusting God? Who decides what is the one or the other? Who is the more faithful servant of God, the family member who authorizes the surgery, or the one who chooses to withhold it (and possibly withhold other means of life support)?
My own story is not that of the teenager. His case involves an urgent, immediate decision. I have grappled much, however, with bioethical decisions over the course of my illness. I hesitated to have my mitral valve surgery in 1991 because of the huge cost, even though I had good insurance. It didn’t seem right to have so much money spent on me when the vast majority of the world’s people could never afford such a procedure. I had the same hesitation about my heart transplant in 2003.
Now I am at the point where nothing can be done for my otherwise terminal condition except a second transplant. When I was first offered this possibility I said “Thanks but no thanks.” Then, after family discussion and prayer, I said, “Yes.” A while later I said “No” again, and for the past few years my family and I have settled comfortably on this final decision. It is not primarily the financial factor holding me back, although my sense of justice is still shocked, and even repulsed, by the anticipated cost of the surgery—a second time. I am not receiving another heart because I believe, with good reason, that the level of suffering of the past seven years since my transplant will be no different after the surgery than before. Since my post-transplant experience has been more “mysterious” (my nurse’s words just a few weeks ago) than that of others, my suffering could very well be worse.
I am also concerned about the issue of playing God. With medical care, everything possible is not mandatory. Doctors (whom I admire and appreciate) are trained in such a way that they are extremely reluctant to say that nothing more can be done for a patient. On January 3 I was on the table in the heart catheterization lab, with the IV and other measuring devices hooked up to me, and with the angiogram tubes in me. My coronary artery blockages were so severe that the cardiologist wanted to try an experimental and risky procedure in one of the arteries. I said “no” and he became quite agitated at me. He ended the angiogram right there, omitting the other half of my heart, since I did not consent to what would have been the start of numerous such procedures. After I was wheeled back to my hospital room, another cardiologist told me that the procedures in question, if done, would not have lengthened my life or prevented heart attacks. They might have helped for a time with my labored breathing and nausea, two of my daily difficulties, but such an outcome would not have been certain.
I feel good about this recent decision, especially since my wife, Judy, and I had prayed about this very issue according to James 1:5-8 just moments before the nurse came to take me to the cath lab. I feel good as well about the decision to refuse a second transplant.
Decision-making in matters of medical care is not always easy. My situation is just one of a multitude of possible scenarios. Other people might have made different decisions, and I fully admit and respect the possibility that two or more choices in a given situation may be admissible. My view—about the overall issue of playing God, as well as my personal condition—is not infallible. I believe God is pleased with my decision, but I admit that he may have been just as pleased if I had chosen differently at different points on my journey.
At some time or another in life, most or all of us will need to think about playing God, either by shortening or by extending human life by certain technologies, when the wiser choice would seem to others to leave the situation with God who does all things well. Palliative care, such as pain relief, is mandatory, of course.
In many cases, in my view, the actual decision is not as important as the attitude and state of mind of the one or ones making the decision, especially if the decision-makers claim to belong to and believe their God and Father. Am I trusting God for wisdom according to James 1, since he knows that I am weak and unable to calculate the risks and benefits with precision? Yes, we must make tough decisions at times—for our own care and that of others, and if we do so with an attitude of composure and rest in God’s arms, our decisions will be acceptable in God’s eyes.
Playing God, Believing God
Bob Rakestraw
http://bobrakestraw.com
When people suffer severely they sometimes try to play God or have someone else play God for them. The term “playing God” is usually not mentioned in discussions between the suffering person and his/her family, friends and medical care team. It is, however, an underlying component—often unrecognized—in the swirl of conflicting ideas and emotions. Whenever the expression is mentioned it is done so as a negative thing.
People may or may not be thought of as playing God depending on the decisions they make about human life, especially concerning the beginning and ending of life, but throughout one’s lifetime as well. Abortion, infanticide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are all looked upon as playing God by right-to-life Christians, with whom I seriously and gladly identify. In the cases just mentioned, people are taking into their own hands the right to end their life or someone else’s life, even though such a right belongs to God alone. Right-to-life Christians feel strongly that nothing should be done to deliberately end another’s life (although they often make exceptions in cases of warfare and capital punishment). To intend to shorten life is to play God.
There is another way we may play God, however, and that is by trying to extend life. This can happen when the suffering person is in such a condition that it is evident to those prayerfully concerned for him or her, and those offering medical care, that the patient’s life is nearly over, and that technology (whether in use or about to be attached) is, in reality, prolonging death (and possibly suffering) rather than advancing life.
As you realize, I have bitten off a big chunk of material in the paragraphs above. Please forgive me for not addressing every nuance (and there are many) that is tied to the concepts and words above. These issues are highly controversial. I hesitated about writing on them but felt that God wanted me to make a point—not primarily about playing God but about believing God.
Many of you, dear readers, know that I have struggled for twenty-five years with heart problems. I had open-heart surgery in 1991 and a heart transplant in 2003. Because my health continued to be poor after the transplant, I reluctantly retired from teaching at Bethel Seminary in 2005. In the seven years since my transplant I have had numerous bouts of acute rejection, frequent invasive medical procedures, tests, consultations, trips to the emergency room, and hospital stays. I am now in a condition called permanent (chronic) transplant vasculopathy, and in March, 2007, two doctors told me I likely had no more than six months to live. Well, God keeps me going, and he gives me peace.
This leads to the interaction of playing God and believing God. At what point might our inclination to play God conflict with our intention to trust God (I am using “trust” and “believe” interchangeably)? In some crises of life, it is not always clear-cut that a decision is playing God. A teenage boy rushed to the hospital after a serious motorcycle crash may lead to a critical choice concerning high-risk brain surgery. The surgery may take the boy’s life or leave him as a vegetable, or it may help him return to normal life.
Some family members—strong believers—want the surgery, because they think it may be playing God to withhold a chance at recovery. Whatever is possible should be done, they believe. Other family members—equally strong believers—think it may be playing God to request the surgery and that the family should, given the surgical risk to their loved one’s life, entrust him to God’s care, believing that God does all things well. Whatever can be done does not always need to be done, they believe.
Where do we draw the line between playing God and trusting God? Who decides what is the one or the other? Who is the more faithful servant of God, the family member who authorizes the surgery, or the one who chooses to withhold it (and possibly withhold other means of life support)?
My own story is not that of the teenager. His case involves an urgent, immediate decision. I have grappled much, however, with bioethical decisions over the course of my illness. I hesitated to have my mitral valve surgery in 1991 because of the huge cost, even though I had good insurance. It didn’t seem right to have so much money spent on me when the vast majority of the world’s people could never afford such a procedure. I had the same hesitation about my heart transplant in 2003.
Now I am at the point where nothing can be done for my otherwise terminal condition except a second transplant. When I was first offered this possibility I said “Thanks but no thanks.” Then, after family discussion and prayer, I said, “Yes.” A while later I said “No” again, and for the past few years my family and I have settled comfortably on this final decision. It is not primarily the financial factor holding me back, although my sense of justice is still shocked, and even repulsed, by the anticipated cost of the surgery—a second time. I am not receiving another heart because I believe, with good reason, that the level of suffering of the past seven years since my transplant will be no different after the surgery than before. Since my post-transplant experience has been more “mysterious” (my nurse’s words just a few weeks ago) than that of others, my suffering could very well be worse.
I am also concerned about the issue of playing God. With medical care, everything possible is not mandatory. Doctors (whom I admire and appreciate) are trained in such a way that they are extremely reluctant to say that nothing more can be done for a patient. On January 3 I was on the table in the heart catheterization lab, with the IV and other measuring devices hooked up to me, and with the angiogram tubes in me. My coronary artery blockages were so severe that the cardiologist wanted to try an experimental and risky procedure in one of the arteries. I said “no” and he became quite agitated at me. He ended the angiogram right there, omitting the other half of my heart, since I did not consent to what would have been the start of numerous such procedures. After I was wheeled back to my hospital room, another cardiologist told me that the procedures in question, if done, would not have lengthened my life or prevented heart attacks. They might have helped for a time with my labored breathing and nausea, two of my daily difficulties, but such an outcome would not have been certain.
I feel good about this recent decision, especially since my wife, Judy, and I had prayed about this very issue according to James 1:5-8 just moments before the nurse came to take me to the cath lab. I feel good as well about the decision to refuse a second transplant.
Decision-making in matters of medical care is not always easy. My situation is just one of a multitude of possible scenarios. Other people might have made different decisions, and I fully admit and respect the possibility that two or more choices in a given situation may be admissible. My view—about the overall issue of playing God, as well as my personal condition—is not infallible. I believe God is pleased with my decision, but I admit that he may have been just as pleased if I had chosen differently at different points on my journey.
At some time or another in life, most or all of us will need to think about playing God, either by shortening or by extending human life by certain technologies, when the wiser choice would seem to others to leave the situation with God who does all things well. Palliative care, such as pain relief, is mandatory, of course.
In many cases, in my view, the actual decision is not as important as the attitude and state of mind of the one or ones making the decision, especially if the decision-makers claim to belong to and believe their God and Father. Am I trusting God for wisdom according to James 1, since he knows that I am weak and unable to calculate the risks and benefits with precision? Yes, we must make tough decisions at times—for our own care and that of others, and if we do so with an attitude of composure and rest in God’s arms, our decisions will be acceptable in God’s eyes.
http://bobrakestraw.com
When people suffer severely they sometimes try to play God or have someone else play God for them. The term “playing God” is usually not mentioned in discussions between the suffering person and his/her family, friends and medical care team. It is, however, an underlying component—often unrecognized—in the swirl of conflicting ideas and emotions. Whenever the expression is mentioned it is done so as a negative thing.
People may or may not be thought of as playing God depending on the decisions they make about human life, especially concerning the beginning and ending of life, but throughout one’s lifetime as well. Abortion, infanticide, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are all looked upon as playing God by right-to-life Christians, with whom I seriously and gladly identify. In the cases just mentioned, people are taking into their own hands the right to end their life or someone else’s life, even though such a right belongs to God alone. Right-to-life Christians feel strongly that nothing should be done to deliberately end another’s life (although they often make exceptions in cases of warfare and capital punishment). To intend to shorten life is to play God.
There is another way we may play God, however, and that is by trying to extend life. This can happen when the suffering person is in such a condition that it is evident to those prayerfully concerned for him or her, and those offering medical care, that the patient’s life is nearly over, and that technology (whether in use or about to be attached) is, in reality, prolonging death (and possibly suffering) rather than advancing life.
As you realize, I have bitten off a big chunk of material in the paragraphs above. Please forgive me for not addressing every nuance (and there are many) that is tied to the concepts and words above. These issues are highly controversial. I hesitated about writing on them but felt that God wanted me to make a point—not primarily about playing God but about believing God.
Many of you, dear readers, know that I have struggled for twenty-five years with heart problems. I had open-heart surgery in 1991 and a heart transplant in 2003. Because my health continued to be poor after the transplant, I reluctantly retired from teaching at Bethel Seminary in 2005. In the seven years since my transplant I have had numerous bouts of acute rejection, frequent invasive medical procedures, tests, consultations, trips to the emergency room, and hospital stays. I am now in a condition called permanent (chronic) transplant vasculopathy, and in March, 2007, two doctors told me I likely had no more than six months to live. Well, God keeps me going, and he gives me peace.
This leads to the interaction of playing God and believing God. At what point might our inclination to play God conflict with our intention to trust God (I am using “trust” and “believe” interchangeably)? In some crises of life, it is not always clear-cut that a decision is playing God. A teenage boy rushed to the hospital after a serious motorcycle crash may lead to a critical choice concerning high-risk brain surgery. The surgery may take the boy’s life or leave him as a vegetable, or it may help him return to normal life.
Some family members—strong believers—want the surgery, because they think it may be playing God to withhold a chance at recovery. Whatever is possible should be done, they believe. Other family members—equally strong believers—think it may be playing God to request the surgery and that the family should, given the surgical risk to their loved one’s life, entrust him to God’s care, believing that God does all things well. Whatever can be done does not always need to be done, they believe.
Where do we draw the line between playing God and trusting God? Who decides what is the one or the other? Who is the more faithful servant of God, the family member who authorizes the surgery, or the one who chooses to withhold it (and possibly withhold other means of life support)?
My own story is not that of the teenager. His case involves an urgent, immediate decision. I have grappled much, however, with bioethical decisions over the course of my illness. I hesitated to have my mitral valve surgery in 1991 because of the huge cost, even though I had good insurance. It didn’t seem right to have so much money spent on me when the vast majority of the world’s people could never afford such a procedure. I had the same hesitation about my heart transplant in 2003.
Now I am at the point where nothing can be done for my otherwise terminal condition except a second transplant. When I was first offered this possibility I said “Thanks but no thanks.” Then, after family discussion and prayer, I said, “Yes.” A while later I said “No” again, and for the past few years my family and I have settled comfortably on this final decision. It is not primarily the financial factor holding me back, although my sense of justice is still shocked, and even repulsed, by the anticipated cost of the surgery—a second time. I am not receiving another heart because I believe, with good reason, that the level of suffering of the past seven years since my transplant will be no different after the surgery than before. Since my post-transplant experience has been more “mysterious” (my nurse’s words just a few weeks ago) than that of others, my suffering could very well be worse.
I am also concerned about the issue of playing God. With medical care, everything possible is not mandatory. Doctors (whom I admire and appreciate) are trained in such a way that they are extremely reluctant to say that nothing more can be done for a patient. On January 3 I was on the table in the heart catheterization lab, with the IV and other measuring devices hooked up to me, and with the angiogram tubes in me. My coronary artery blockages were so severe that the cardiologist wanted to try an experimental and risky procedure in one of the arteries. I said “no” and he became quite agitated at me. He ended the angiogram right there, omitting the other half of my heart, since I did not consent to what would have been the start of numerous such procedures. After I was wheeled back to my hospital room, another cardiologist told me that the procedures in question, if done, would not have lengthened my life or prevented heart attacks. They might have helped for a time with my labored breathing and nausea, two of my daily difficulties, but such an outcome would not have been certain.
I feel good about this recent decision, especially since my wife, Judy, and I had prayed about this very issue according to James 1:5-8 just moments before the nurse came to take me to the cath lab. I feel good as well about the decision to refuse a second transplant.
Decision-making in matters of medical care is not always easy. My situation is just one of a multitude of possible scenarios. Other people might have made different decisions, and I fully admit and respect the possibility that two or more choices in a given situation may be admissible. My view—about the overall issue of playing God, as well as my personal condition—is not infallible. I believe God is pleased with my decision, but I admit that he may have been just as pleased if I had chosen differently at different points on my journey.
At some time or another in life, most or all of us will need to think about playing God, either by shortening or by extending human life by certain technologies, when the wiser choice would seem to others to leave the situation with God who does all things well. Palliative care, such as pain relief, is mandatory, of course.
In many cases, in my view, the actual decision is not as important as the attitude and state of mind of the one or ones making the decision, especially if the decision-makers claim to belong to and believe their God and Father. Am I trusting God for wisdom according to James 1, since he knows that I am weak and unable to calculate the risks and benefits with precision? Yes, we must make tough decisions at times—for our own care and that of others, and if we do so with an attitude of composure and rest in God’s arms, our decisions will be acceptable in God’s eyes.
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