The Rambling Disciple

One of the greatest threats the people of God have ever faced is complacency. This can be incredibly hard to spot, but the effects are devastating. It is hard to see because on the surface nothing appears to be wrong. There is no blatant disobedience of God's commands to be seen. Idolatry seems to be absent. Still, while these are good things, they do not guarantee a healthy spiritual life. The people of Judah were struggling with this very issue. They had returned from exile, the temple had been rebuilt, and an entire generation had been born once again in the Promised Land. Everything seemed to be fine, so why did God send the prophet Malachi? Complacency. Background The book of Malachi was written by the prophet Malachi, whose name means "my messenger." The book was written around 450 BC, about the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah. This makes it one of the last Old Testament books to be written. The book condemns many of the same sins that Ezra and Nehemiah deal

Life can be discouraging. Often times this happens after some great victory. Something good happens to us and we feel great. Everything seems to be going right, but it doesn't last. Typically after the mountains comes the valleys. What goes up must come down. The people of Judah began to feel this way after returning from exile. Finally they were allowed to live in their homeland again. They were able to worship God on Mt. Zion again. Everything seemed to be going their way. Then the realities of a harsh world set in. While they were able to go home, they were still ruled over by a foreign power. They were able to begin rebuilding God's temple, but they were surrounded by enemies who wanted nothing more than to see Judah destroyed. The people became discouraged. Background The book of Zechariah was written by the prophet Zechariah and was written over the course of twenty years or so, from 520 BC to about 500 BC. We see this sharp divide between chapters 1-8 and ch

Today is Thanksgiving, the day that we are supposed to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. It is a time of family reunions, football, and turkey eating. I sincerely pray that each and every one of you has a good day today. I'll admit that being thankful has not been easy for me this year. As pretty much all of you know, my mother passed away December of last year. Though she had been in the hospital for months, we were not expecting it. In fact I was sure she would be finally able to come home within a matter of weeks. Instead she peacefully passed on into the arms of Jesus, whom she loved more dearly than anyone else. As you can imagine, the entire family was heart broken. After what can easily be described as the worst Christmas ever, I returned to home to Illinois. It was here that I finally broke down. I spent the next months doing everything except being thankful. I cursed God, wept, screamed, begged to have her back, and was generally not the nicest person to be

The book of Haggai is a short book with a very specific message. It can be easy for us to gloss over this entry of the Bible. After all it deals with very specific people during a specific time doing a specific task. We don't live in the time of Darius. We aren't rebuilding God's temple. Or are we? Background The book of Haggai is written by the prophet Haggai. Not much is known about this man. The book itself was written over a several month span around the year 520 BC. This makes it the first prophetic book to take place after Judah's return from the Exile. This gives the book of Haggai a very different tone than previous books. This is the first generation of the exiles returning home. They are highly motivated to rebuild their city, as we see in the first seven chapters of Ezra. Haggai is sent to encourage them as they rebuild the temple. Themes There is only one theme in the book of Haggai; rebuild. The people of Judah have been called to rebuild the

The next segment of history that we are going to overview is the Early Middle Ages. This dates roughly from AD 450 to AD 1100. This is intended to be a very general overview. There are probably historians that would classify some other time period as the "Early Middle Ages" or a more specific time period. For our purposes this will cover the aforementioned time period. This was a very influential period in the history of Christianity. It saw the formation of what we now call the Roman Catholic Church and its separation from what we would now call the Eastern Orthodox Church. Before this time there was only ONE church. There weren't different denominations or groups. It is hard for us to think about in our modern context, but there was a time when Christianity was visibly unified. Brief History The first major thing to happen during this time period is the remaining three ecumenical councils. We discussed the first four several weeks ago. These councils discussed va

Doom and gloom. That is what most people think of when they read the prophets. To be fair we have seen a lot of judgment and wrath these last several books. God takes sin very seriously and it is important for us as God's people to realize this. Our sin is offensive to God. He hates our sin because of what it does to us and the world around us. God will not sit by and idly let the corruption of sin consume our lives. So comes the judgment. It is designed not merely for punishment but to inspire repentance. It is the spanking a parent gives after repeated warnings to stop. It is the last effort to bring about a change when reason, words, and begging have failed. But, now what? When judgment has had its effect, when we are now repentant and aware of our sin, God welcomes us back with open arms. He promises restoration and revival. He promises to change our hearts and renew our minds. Few books make this as clear as Zephaniah. Background The book of Zephaniah was written by

We pause our overview of the history of Christianity to talk about an extremely influential figure, whether we realize it or not. Augustine of Hippo, so called because he lived in the town of Hippo Regius, has had a tremendous amount of influence on Christianity in the western world. Many of the theological conversations we have in our churches today have been directly shaped by this man. Many of the terms and ideas we throw around originated with Augustine.  Today we are going to look at SOME of the ideas that Augustine has shaped. In reality this man has touched in some way or another every aspect of Christian thought. If I had to choose the most influential people on Christianity outside of Jesus and the Apostles, Augustine might very well be number one alongside Martin Luther. Before we get into the theological ideas, a brief biography is in order. Brief Biography Augustine's story is actually very interesting, one I cannot hope to do justice here. If you are intereste

Have you ever looked at the world and wondered why God isn't doing anything about it? We are constantly bombarded with reports of murder, abuse, and senseless loss of life. Evil seems to be everywhere, at home and abroad. We look at our government and politics and wonder how any good can come from it. Looking at our churches we see much of the same thing. We see people leaving in droves simply because Christianity is no longer socially advantageous. The sin that plagues the outside world is just as prevalent in the body. Everything seems to be going wrong. It is in these situations and moments that we wonder what God is doing. It seems like he isn't doing anything at all. How could he let such evil go unpunished? How could he sit idly by while his people dwindle and stagnate? Surprisingly, the Bible asks these very questions in the book of Habakkuk. Background The book of Habakkuk was written by the prophet Habakkuk around 630 BC. Not much else is known about him. What

Two weeks ago we covered the Early Church Period in our broad overview of the history of Christianity. We now move onto the next period; the time of Constantine and the ecumenical councils. This time period ranges from about AD 310 to AD 450. There were more councils after this period, but these are some of the most influential. Brief History In 311 the Edict of Toleration was passed in the Roman Empire. This gave Christianity legal status; meaning that the government was not allowed to formally persecute Christians. This was brought about by Constantine, a major proponent of the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity.  This newfound freedom also brought about newfound heresies. A man named Arius began teaching that the Son (Jesus) was not fully God like the Father is. This teaching spread rapidly because it made it much easier to defend Christian monotheism. Soon this division was affecting the whole church, and something had to be done. The answer was to call an

Vengeance is a very common theme in our society. It seems to be the motivation for many of our movie heroes. One of the most profitable franchises around is The Avengers . We cry out for vengeance every time terrorists take innocent lives. We have an innate desire to see evil punished. This desire for vengeance is often confusing to us Christians. It comes so easily to us yet also feels so wrong. Sometimes we embrace calls for vengeance against evildoers. Other times we try to show grace and mercy. Issues like the death penalty are very divisive amongst Christians as they struggle to balance a hunger for justice and a desire for mercy. The book of Nahum is all about vengeance; God's vengeance.  Background The book of Nahum was written by the prophet Nahum around 645 BC. The book focuses on the inevitable destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians had long been a problem for the kingdom of Judah. During the reign of Hezekiah they had laid

Today, October 31, is a very important day. Yes it is Halloween, but that's not why today is considered important. Today, 499 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. This was the start of the Reformation. We don't usually think of today as being anything other than the day we pass out candy and dress up in scary costumes. What's ironic is that the events of October 31, 1517 led to an atmosphere and a culture where we CAN dress up and be silly. Luther standing up against corruption and proclaiming that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that leads to salvation led to people everywhere reading the Bible for themselves. I didn't post the usual historical blog on Friday because I knew Reformation Day was just around the corner. Halloween is a fun holiday, but I think it is sad that it has overshadowed one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity and the world. Whether you agree with Luther or not, the

When many people try to read the prophetic books they frequently get discouraged. They read the numerous pronouncements of judgment and wrath and don't really know how to handle it. It seemingly goes against everything they know about God. This can be a real problem. Typically in our churches we only ever look at the New Testament. There we see what most would consider a more positive view of God. It is in the New Testament where "God is love" comes about. In the New Testament we see God sacrificing his own son to save the universe. It is in the New Testament that we see Jesus showing compassion to the weak and healing the sick. When these "New Testament Christians" (so called because this is the only part of the Bible they read) open the Old Testament, they are often horrified at what they see. The reaction is typically to stick to the New Testament and only read those stories or passages from the Old that seem to agree with it.  This mindset gives

As we move past the New Testament period things begin to change. The Apostles are gone, and with them the first hand accounts of Jesus Christ. We now look to those who sat at the feet of the Apostles who have now become leaders in the church. The void left by the Apostles is felt in every church, and their absence leaves room for dangerous new heresies to arise. Brief History The Early Church Period is a time of both persecution and growth for Christians. This time period produced some of the most influential and important theological work of all time. Over the next two hundred several very important thinkers and writers will emerge that will shape Christian thought for ages to come. This period truly begins around the year AD 100 with the death of the Apostle John. The last books of the New Testament, written by John, are just now being circulated amongst the churches. A new threat has emerged; Gnosticism. This weird religion takes elements of Christianity (and many other rel

The story of Jonah is one of the most well known in the entire Bible. It is one of the very first stories we learn about in Sunday school. It is the story of a man who tries to run away from God, but is swallowed by a big fish! To a child, and quite a few adults, that sounds like an incredible story. It is. The problem we have with the book of Jonah is that we never move beyond this way of looking at things. We see it as a kid's story and nothing more. Rarely would do we as adults ever open the book of Jonah outside of teaching little ones. We've already touched on this with the story of the Flood and the Battle of Jericho. This week we are going to look at the book of Jonah and discover just how intense this book really is. Background We do not know who wrote the book of Jonah. It is unlike the other prophetic books in that it doesn't contain oracles and proclamations from God to Israel. The book of Jonah tells a story. This doesn't mean, however, that the boo

Today marks the beginning of a long series over viewing the history of Christianity. With all the things we've been discussing, I feel that it is important that we all have a basic framework to reference. Today's section, the New Testament period, is one most already are pretty familiar with. Since that is the case, allow me to briefly describe how this will work. Each time period will have three sections; a brief overarching history, important events, and important people. From time to time we will take a break from the usual big picture pieces in order to focus on particular events or people that are very important. Overall these may be a little longer than normal since there is so much ground to cover. So today we begin with the New Testament period. This is basically the first century AD; the time of Christ and the Apostles. This blog will be shorter than most since we are familiar with this period from the New Testament. Brief History The story of Christianity rea

Obadiah is one of the shortest books in the Bible. It is a whopping twenty one verses long. It is entirely possible that this blog entry will be longer than the book itself. Still just because it is short doesn't mean there isn't something there for us to learn. Background The book of Obadiah was written after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It was written by the prophet Obadiah, but we don't know much about him. Obadiah was a common name during that time (there are multiple Obadiahs in the Old Testament).  Themes Obadiah is a book with a singular focus; denouncing the actions of the nation of Edom. Edom was a country that bordered the south east of Judah. They were descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob from whom the Israelites were descendants. As such the Israelites typically viewed the Edomites as brothers, though the two nations seldom got along. We learn in Jeremiah that the king of Judah had gathered the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms in order to m

The last several Fridays have been devoted to examining ancient heresies and how they still influence Christianity today. I pray that this has been an educational couple of weeks that has helped you grow in understanding about our faith. Spotting these heresies matters because they can cause a lot of damage to some one's walk with Christ. Studying about these heresies has strengthened my conviction that we need a strong theology. I have talked about the importance of theology before, but now seems like an appropriate time to reiterate this. Seeing the various misinterpretations that have cropped up over the centuries, sometimes with good intentions, should make all of us take pause and reconsider our faith. Theology is the backdrop against which we live out our faith, sort of like the backdrop of a play. What the actors/actresses are doing on stage must fit within the backdrop of the play. If the stage was set up to be the arctic it would make no sense for the actors/actresses

One of the most essential and proclaimed attributes of God is his justice. God is completely just. Everything he does is the perfectly just thing to do. This central aspect of God's character is a relief to some and unsettling to others. Many find comfort in the knowledge that God will one day take care of all evil. Still many others find this news to be nerve racking, probably because they realize that this includes them. God's justice does not end with himself. He expects those who follow him to be just as well. In the Law of Moses there are many statutes and commands concerning the treatment of prisoners and the punishments for various crimes. This is obviously an important aspect of justice, but this is far from a complete definition. Our world and culture defines justice much like described above. It is punishment for those who do wrong. Justice is really only used when describing criminals or those who work to punish evil. This definition, though partially correct, is

Last week we looked at the heresy of Arianism; the belief that Jesus is not God. As we discussed this belief is prevalent in our culture today. They view Jesus as a man, even a great man, but that's it. We in the church have been very good about identifying and combating this heresy when it crops up in our congregations. However, there is another heresy we have let slip by. What is Gnosticism? Many Christians have heard of Gnosticism, but few actually know what it is. There is no easy way to explain Gnosticism. It was a complicated religion that arose in the late first and early second centuries. It was full of strange beliefs and tried to incorporate elements from many religions of the time, including Christianity. The main effect of Gnosticism on Christianity is spiritual dualism. Gnostics believed that there are two realities, the spiritual and the physical. The spiritual world, where God lives, is entirely good. The physical world is evil. The goal of the Gnostics was

The book of Joel is a very interesting book of the Bible. It seems like no one can ever agree over what this book is about. Some say it is about a locust plague while others claim it has to do with the invading Assyrians or Babylonians. The most famous passage in Joel is what is quoted in Acts 2 by Peter about the outpouring of the Spirit. Besides that passage many Christians couldn't quote a single line from this book. This issue here is that the book of Joel is dealing with something incredibly specific without giving very many details. While many scholars find this annoying others have found that this is quite intentional. The book of Joel was written as a response to a specific national tragedy to be used for future national tragedies. Background One problem we have with the book of Joel is that we don't really know anything about the background. We know the author is Joel, but we don't know anything about him. We also don't know precisely when the book was w

As we continue our discussions on heresy we arrive now at the Arian controversy. Please note that this is not Arian in the sense of race or ethnicity (that would be aryan.) This is a heresy that cropped up in the early 300's and started with a man named Arius. This particular heresy quite possibly shaped the Christian faith more than any other before it. Arianism Then The Arians believed in the totality of Scripture, unlike the Marcionites we discussed last week. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God to save us from sin. They believed that God created all things and sustains all things. On the surface the Arians seem like normal Christians, but there is one big difference. The Arians didn't believe that Jesus was God. The Arians believed that Jesus was superior to humanity, but that he wasn't equal to the Father as God. They thought he was the first created thing; that God made Jesus before making everything else. Where did they get this idea? Well,

What would you do if God commanded you to marry someone to prove a point? Most of us probably wouldn't be OK with that. What if the person God commanded you to marry is best described as a whore? Then we really wouldn't be OK with that. In fact many of us would openly refuse. That's a crazy request! Well this is exactly what God commands of Hosea. It is a phenomenal circumstance designed to show the people of Israel just how they are treating God. Despite this most unusual command, Hosea obeys. This real world marriage gives us a look into how sin has affected our relationship with God. Background The book of Hosea was written by the prophet Hosea. He lived and wrote in the latter part of the eighth century BC (circa 750 BC - 710 BC). He lived in northern nation of Israel, and the book of Hosea was mostly intended for them.  While we primarily remember the story at the beginning of the book, it is important to realize that the majority of the book is prophetic po

As we begin our discussion about some of the various heresies that began during the early Christian period, I think a good place to start is with someone we have already touched on before; Marcion (pronounced Mar-see-on).We talked briefly about this man and the ensuing heresy when we discussed the historical process of assembling the Bible, way back at the beginning of Historical Fridays. So let's take a closer look at Marcion and see what he taught, why it was wrong, and how his beliefs have found their way into our churches today. Marcion vs the Bible Marcion was a man who lived from about AD 85 to AD 160. Marcion had a problem with the Old Testament. As he read the Old Testament and the the documents that would officially become the New Testament, he had some trouble. Marcion looked at the "God of the Old Testament" and couldn't understand how this being was the same one described in the New Testament. Marcion's solution to this perceived issue was to