Tag Archives: Bible Study

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED – Context Is Everything

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Read 2 Timothy 3:14-16

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalms 119:18)

Context Is Everything

What if I were to tell you that the Bible says that “there is no God”? What if I were to tell you that the Bible comes to the conclusion that “everything, including life, is meaningless, like chasing the wind”? What if I were to tell you that the Bible says that God wants people to endure slavery because God put the slave masters in authority over them? Or that God punishes generations of family members for the sins of their ancestors. Or that women are inferior to men and should be silent in churches as they are not fit to teach? Or that the Bible says that women are saved through childbearing?

On the one hand, the Bible does say such things. The words “there is no God” can be found in Psalm 14:1; the words “everything is meaningless” can be found in Ecclesiastes 1:2 and elsewhere in Ecclesiastes; God wishing people to remain slaves can be found in Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, Titus 2:9-10, and 1 Peter 2:18. That God punishes the descendants of sinful ancestors is found in Numbers 14:18, among other places. That women are inferior to men, are to be silent in churches, are not fit to teach and are saved through child-bearing can be found in 1 Timothy 2:11-15.

On the other hand, each one of these verses has something in common tying them together. That common thread is that they’ve all been taken out of context, perhaps in different ways, but they are definitely all out of context. In Psalm 14:1, the Psalmist is ACTUALLY saying that “the fool says in his or her heart that ‘there is no God.'” The words “there is no God was taken textually out of context. Ecclesiastes 1:2 is the opening to a philosophical treatise on how life, and all of its trappings, leads to emptiness and that, at the end of the day, people need to “fear God and keep his commandments” (12:13). While Ephesians and Colossians do state that slaves are to obey their masters, the historical context of this passage shows us a Christian community that is reacting to accusations that Christians are inciting slaves to riot against their masters (which was one of  many accusations that Romans were levying against Christians of the time period). That doesn’t justify the passage, but helps us understand it so that we don’t fall into the same trap.

It was a common tone in the ancient world that if you make God angry, God will punish you. Some of these texts were written in times of tribulation, such as the Babylonian Exile where people were wondering why they had been exiled to begin with. What had they done to deserve such an awful fate…or what had their parents or their parents’ parents done? This understanding is less “God’s word” as much as it is people grappling with their circumstances, though there certainly are many unintended and far reaching consequences to sin. And the bit on women is also a reaction to the fact that women, up until that point, had played prominent roles in the church (e.g., Romans 16:1-4, 7) and the Romans were levying that against Christians as yet another example of how Christians were vile and against Roman order.  Again, this historical context (plus Paul’s commendation of women leaders) helps us to discern and affirm that indeed God DOES call women into ministry and leadership, and that they are saved equally and in the same manner that all of human beings are: through faith (Romans 3:19-25; Galatians 3:28).

This is not an exhaustive discussion of those particular topics, but hopefully makes the point that CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING. The Bible is THE MOST IMPORTANT, and INSPIRED, source of our faith; however, it can be made to say anything when the context (textual, socio-economic, and/or historical) is missing. Don’t just read your Bible, but study it. Get into a good Bible Study that dives deep into the texts and gives you a good foundation not only on what the Bible says (keep in mind that we are not reading it in its original languages), but the context behind what it says. Buy books that delve into the Bible and provide the context behind it. Today’s challenge is for you to begin to not only read the Bible, but to build up a solid means of understanding it so that you can relevantly apply it to your life in a way that is true to the Spirit of the Word.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Context is worth 80 IQ points.” – Alan Kay

PRAYER
Lord, guide me in my studying of Scripture so that I may grow, not just in knowledge but also in understanding. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: The Book of Books

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Read Psalm 119:1-16

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4)

BiblesI am a firm believer in the importance of reading Scripture and in studying scripture; however, I also recognize that without some sort of guidance, that can be easier said than done. After all, where does one being when it comes to reading the Bible? Does one start at Genesis and read all the way through Revelation? Which translation is the best translation to get? How should one approach reading the Bible? Should one approach it as a sort of oracle that is there to answer all of one’s questions? Should one approach the Bible as the literal word of God? Is reading the Bible such a black and white experience, or is it something one should approach with broader lenses?

In terms of reading the Bible, one should pick the translation that they connect with the most. One can go to a website such as BibleGateway.com to peruse different translations to see which one is best suited to them. Having the right translation can be vital to building a relationship with one’s Bible. Yes, you heard me right. When we begin to be disciplined in reading the Bible, we truly do begin to build a relationship with it’s authors, with the characters, with the people it was originally written for and, of course, with God.

It is also important to remember that “inspired by God”, does not mean “written by God.” The Bible is the authoritative book of the Christian faith, no doubt. That is because it does point us, overall, to a deeper and more profoundly rich relationship with God and with our neighbor. The heart of who God is can be found within it’s pages. Yet, it is also important to note that it was written by people, and that is not a bad thing. After all, the Bible is as relatable of a text as it is for that very reason. With that said, it is okay to question things that don’t make sense to us. After all, it is an ancient text written by people with different cultural, historical, socio-economic and even religious experiences than our own.

Just because you pause, reflect, question, or even challenge certain aspects of the Bible, does not mean you do not take it seriously. It is far different to question than to singly dismiss something. Questioning is a part of the human experience and God gave us the ability to ask questions and to seek answers. God gave us the ability to read, to search and to discern. In fact, it is the act of questioning and discerning that led to different books of the Bible being written. For instance, Leviticus says altars to God could be erected anywhere, whereas, in Deuteronomy, the only temple that should be erected and worshiped in was the one in Jerusalem. Two different authors and communities equaled two different opinions about the appropriate places of worshiping God

Regardless of what Bible you choose, or how you choose to read the Bible, and how you go about spiritually discerning the message of the Bible for your life, what is important is that you read the Bible. You do not have to read it front to back as it was not written that way. Just pick a book and read it. Then move on to another book. Read the Bible one book at a time as that is the way it was written. The Bible is not one book, but 66. Also, study the historical context of the books you are written.

No matter how you choose to go about it, today’s challenge is for you to begin to make the Bible a part of your daily walk with God. If your faith is important to you then reading your Bible should be important to you, for that is foundational to our Christian faith. Make reading the scripture a part of WHO YOU ARE and watch your faith grow from a mustard seed to a giant, LIVING tree!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness.” – Helen Keller

PRAYER
Lord, guide me in the reading of the Bible. Open my eyes to what I do not see and vivify the things I think I see, so that I might live them. Amen.

Devotional

REVISITED: The Book of Books

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Read Psalm 119:1-16

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4)

BiblesI am a firm believer in the importance of reading Scripture and in studying scripture; however, I also recognize that without some sort of guidance, that can be easier said than done. After all, where does one being when it comes to reading the Bible? Does one start at Genesis and read all the way through Revelation? Which translation is the best translation to get? How should one approach reading the Bible? Should one approach it as a sort of oracle that is there to answer all of one’s questions? Should one approach the Bible as the literal word of God? Is reading the Bible such a black and white experience, or is it something one should approach with broader lenses?

In terms of reading the Bible, one should pick the translation that they connect with the most. One can go to a website such as BibleGateway.com to peruse different translations to see which one is best suited to them. Having the right translation can be vital to building a relationship with one’s Bible. Yes, you heard me right. When we begin to be disciplined in reading the Bible, we truly do begin to build a relationship with it’s authors, with the characters, with the people it was originally written for and, of course, with God.

It is also important to remember that “inspired by God”, does not mean “written by God.” The Bible is the authoritative book of the Christian faith, no doubt. That is because it does point us, overall, to a deeper and more profoundly rich relationship with God and with our neighbor. The heart of who God is can be found within it’s pages. Yet, it is also important to note that it was written by people, and that is not a bad thing. After all, the Bible is as relatable of a text as it is for that very reason. With that said, it is okay to question things that don’t make sense to us. After all, it is an ancient text written by people with different cultural, historical, socio-economic and even religious experiences than our own.

Just because you pause, reflect, question, or even challenge certain aspects of the Bible, does not mean you do not take it seriously. It is far different to question than to singly dismiss something. Questioning is a part of the human experience and God gave us the ability to ask questions and to seek answers. God gave us the ability to read, to search and to discern. In fact, it is the act of questioning and discerning that led to different books of the Bible being written. For instance, Leviticus says altars to God could be erected anywhere, whereas, in Deuteronomy, the only temple that should be erected and worshiped in was the one in Jerusalem. Two different authors and communities equaled two different opinions about the appropriate places of worshiping God

Regardless of what Bible you choose, or how you choose to read the Bible, and how you go about spiritually discerning the message of the Bible for your life, what is important is that you read the Bible. You do not have to read it front to back as it was not written that way. Just pick a book and read it. Then move on to another book. Read the Bible one book at a time as that is the way it was written. The Bible is not one book, but 66. Also, study the historical context of the books you are written.

No matter how you choose to go about it, today’s challenge is for you to begin to make the Bible a part of your daily walk with God. If your faith is important to you then reading your Bible should be important to you, for that is foundational to our Christian faith. Make reading the scripture a part of WHO YOU ARE and watch your faith grow from a mustard seed to a giant, LIVING tree!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness.” – Helen Keller

PRAYER
Lord, guide me in the reading of the Bible. Open my eyes to what I do not see and vivify the things I think I see, so that I might live them. Amen.

Online Worship

Online Worship for Sunday, February 28, 2021

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Welcome to our Sunday Worship Service for February 28, 2021. We will be continuing on in the new Lenten worship series entitled, Purple Theory. Today we will be discovering the importance of reading Scripture as a daily practice, which makes us healthier through connecting us and drawing us closer to God. Let us not forget about the power of the Bible!

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216​ or https://paypal.me/newtonumc​ Your support is vital, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. You can also write and mail a check to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ 07860. If you are from another church that is not able to host online worship, we would strongly encourage you give to YOUR church and support them. They no doubt need that support as much as we do. God bless you all for your generosity.

RECLAIM Video Series

RECLAIM, Episode 1: “The Bible”

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In this brand new video series, Pastor Todd of First United Methodist Church of Newton, NJ brings passionate awareness and helpful tips on various transformational Christian practices and theology. Each episode will inspire and motivate spiritual growth through time-tested practices and and wisdom.

This week’s episode invites you to RECLAIM the Bible as a means of grace for us in our daily lives. In this episode, Pastor Todd will discuss how to know which translation to pick, how to read the Bible and why it is important to make reading Scripture a part of our daily routine.

Continue reading RECLAIM, Episode 1: “The Bible” →
Devotional

God’s People, part 169: Nathanael

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Read John 1:43-51

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“‘But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,’ says the LORD. ‘I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’”  (Jeremiah 31:33, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

nathanael-under-fig-treePart 169: Nathanael. Nathanael is a bit of a mystery. He is only ever mentioned of in the Gospel of John and is found nowhere in Mark, Matthew, or Luke. Yet, Nathanael, in John’s Gospel, is mentioned as one of the earlier of the twelve to be counted among Jesus’ disciples. There is a tradition of thought that may link Nathanael with one the twelve who is mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels but is nowhere to be found in the Gospel of John.

Nathanael is a Hebrew name that means, “God has given.” We are told in the narrative that, following by being called by Jesus, Philip ran to find Nathanael and told him all about the Messiah whom he had met and was not following. We are never told Nathanael’s relationship with Philip, they clearly know each other and are friends.

“Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” To us this sounds exciting, right? Philip had just come face-to-face with Jesus, so how could he be less than enamored? He had just witnessed the presence of God incarnate and had been called as a disciple by him? How could anyone NOT find this exciting? Well, in truth, those types of questions only come in hindsight. Nathanael was less than impressed, and made that known to Philip,

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael’s was not rejoicing at Philip’s news; rather, he was skeptical of Jesus’ being the Messiah. How could the Messiah, the one who is supposedly going to kick the Romans out and reestablish Israel to her rightful place as a sovereign kingdom under God, ever come from a dinky little village such as Nazareth?

That village “boasted” of maybe 150 residents and was a pocket for those who were discontent with the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  Besides, according to the Scriptures, the Messiah would come from David’s hometown, Bethlehem. Never, in all of the Torah, the Psalms, the Wisdom texts, or the prophets, is Nazareth even hinted at.

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.” (John 1:45-46, NLT) Skeptical as he might be, Nathanael takes Philip on his offer to come and meet Jesus. It is then where his eyes and heart are opened to see Jesus as the Messiah. Why? Because Jesus spoke to him in a way that revealed Nathanael’s heart’s desire: to follow God faithfully. When Jesus saw him, he said, “‘Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.’

“‘How do you know about me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, ‘I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.’”  (John 1:47-48, NLT) There are differing interpretations of what Jesus meant when he said “I could see you under the fig tree”; however, the one thing that is for certain is that Jesus true identity was revealed to Nathanael in that moment. As such he responded, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”  (John 1:49, NLT)

Like Nathanael, we too can be skeptical of the things claimed about Jesus. Were they just first century fairytales? Did Jesus really do the things he was claimed to have done? Does the Christian witness really have any sway in today’s time? What allowed Nathanael to see Jesus as the Messiah, was his deep desire to know God and to know God’s word. Some have even suggested that the reference to the fig tree was an allusion to Nathanael’s deep devotion to the Torah, God’s Law.

Perhaps that is an in for us too. Not the attempting to live up to the letter of the Law, but to begin to discern who God is through a faithful studying of God’s word. It is that word that will, in the end, lead us to the Word mad flesh…to Jesus Christ. If we make that a part of our daily discipline, we will find that indeed we do know the teacher, the Son of God, the King of Israel. Challenge yourself the discipline of studying the Bible.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Relationships must be a two-way street. If you put nothing into discovering and relating to others, you will get nothing out of it. The same is true in our relationship with God.

PRAYER
Lord, draw me close to you and teach me who you are so that I may know, follow, and have a relationship with you. Amen.

Devotional

15 Ailments of the Church #8: Suffering from ‘Existential Schizophrenia’

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Read John 17:17-14

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.” (Galatians 5:19-21a NLT)

imagesWhen Jesus commissioned his disciples to build his “church”, he knew that there were going to be bumps along the way. He knew that divisiveness, bitterness, jealousy, infighting, politics and other things would creep into it. How did he know that? Because those things affected his disciples while he was he was with them. If that was a reality with him there, it would surely be a reality when he was no longer there to guide them. The truth is that humans so easily lose sight of their calling, as well as to whom they owe their allegiance. We get so caught up in our own self-interests that we end up serving ourselves as Lord as opposed to Christ…but we do so in the guise of serving Christ. Hence Pope Francis I’s next Ailment of the Church.

Ailment of the Church #8: Suffering from ‘Existential Schizophrenia’. When we lose sight of who we serve and the calling that has been placed upon us, we fall into what the Pope is calling ‘Existential Schizophrenia’. That’s a fancy way of saying that we end up hypocritically living double lives. On the one end, we claim to be Christians and we claim to be serving Christ; on the other end, we have lost our way and have stopped actually serving Christ. For a Christian, this is an existential crisis.

One of my favorite modern-day theologians and philosophers is Søren Kierkegaard. In his “Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the ‘Philosophical Fragments'”, Kierkegaard (writing pseudonymous as Johannes Climacus) tells a story of a pastor who preaches that one ought “not to depend on the world, and not upon men, and not upon yourself, but only and alone upon God; for a human being can of [him/herself] do nothing.” He then goes on to say that a spy was at the service, heard the sermon and wanted to see if people understood the message. When asked, everyone stated what a powerful and true message was preached on that Sunday; however, each person then contradicted their supposed understanding of the sermon by stating that they were responsible for doing this or that. Even the pastor, when the spy complimented him on his sermon, stated how hard he had worked on it. The spy was perplexed because he discovered that no one truly believed what they were claiming.

Of course, Kierkegaard (of which I captured the essence of his parable…not necessarily the exact parable itself) is using humor to make a broader point. Many Christians claim one thing, but live out something completely different. What’s more, they do so in ways that are far more egregious than a contradiction in belief. For instance, Christians claim to believe that we are all apart of the body of Christ, that we are all equally important in carrying out Christ’s mission in the world, but then they bicker, fight and cut each other down in order to climb the proverbial ladder up the ranks.

This kind of behavior, this kind of existential schizophrenia, is damning for the church and it’s mission to spread the love of God in the world. If we cannot get our own act together, how can we ever expect people to see Christ’s message as Good News? We need to remember who we follow. We, as the church, need to remember Jesus’ prayer for his disciples prior to his arrest. We need to put our self-interests aside and make God’s hope, healing and wholeness our interest. Remember that when you bear a name, you represent that name. If you are bearing the name of Christ (e.g. CHRISTian), then you are representing Christ. Let’s represent Christ faithfully by living and serving AS Christ called us to.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“I invite everyone to choose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal ambition.” – Jean-Francois Cope

PRAYER
Lord, help me to rise above the existential crisis of the church and into the glory of your hope, healing and wholeness. Amen.

Devotional

The Ultimate Reality

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Read Ruth 4:13-17

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Mat 1:17)

11-Moab-MapDo you know Ruth? Some people might be saying, “sure, I know a ‘Ruth’ or two.” So, I will ask this question again, do you you know Ruth? I am not referring to someone you might know with the name “Ruth” who may or may not be among your family, friends, and/or neighbors; however, I am referring to the Biblical character of Ruth, who happens to have her own book in the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, out of all of the books that bear a person’s name throughout all of the Bible, Ruth is just one of two books bearing the name of a woman. What’s more, Ruth wasn’t even a Hebrew by birth; rather, she was a Moabite. In fact, the author of Ruth reminds us that she is a Moabite seven times, and that she was from the land of Moab (in other words, she’s a Moabite) four times; that’s a total of eleven times within four short chapters, which is the length of this small, yet important, book.

Now let me ask, how many of you know Moabite when you see one? The fact is that Moab was a kingdom that existed in what is now modern-day Jordan. The Moabites worshiped the god Chemosh and would, as was customary for the time and geographical location, often offer human sacrifices to their god. This kingdom also found itself at odds with the Kingdom of Israel, which eventually split into the kingdoms of Israel (in the North) and Judah (in the South) following the reign of Solomon. To make matters worse, in the eyes of the Israelites, Solomon had built a temple to Chemosh to help promote trade between the two kingdoms. That may have been a wise political move, but it did not sit well with the devout followers of Yahweh, the God of the Israelites.

So, Ruth was from a Kingdom that the Israelites detested; yet, there we see her not only prominently displayed in Hebrew religious literature, but also prominently revered in Hebrew history. As it turns out, this Moabite woman named Ruth ended up marrying a Hebrew man named Boaz (read the book of Ruth for the full story) and bearing him a son named Obed. From there we find out that Obed was the father of Jesse who, in turn, was the father of David. Yes, as in King David…arguably the greatest King that Israel ever had. What an odd, odd story. What kind of people attest to their King being born of a woman who was not even one of their own? And don’t forget the ancient Mosaic law that forbid the Israelites from marrying outside of the Hebrew gene pool for fear that the they would forget their covenantal relationship with God (Deuteronomy 7:2-4). Yet, here is Ruth, a convert to Judaism from Moab (the enemy of Israel), shown to be the mother of Israel’s greatest King…and the ancestor of, if we believe the Gospel recording of lineage, Jesus of Nazareth.

The power of this story is that it reminds us that GOD does not choose sides, or favor one people over the other. It does not matter who we are, what religion we do or don’t claim to follow, or anything else we humans choose to be divided over, God is the LORD of us all. And God will choose ANYONE who is open to the call to LOVE GOD with all of our being and to LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR as ourselves.

That is what the LORD requires of all creation…LOVE. Ruth was filled with LOVE. She LOVED GOD, she LOVED HER NEIGHBORS, she even LOVED HER ENEMIES, and God blessed her for it. And, as with all people who have been truly blessed, Ruth BECAME A BLESSING to and entire kingdom of people, and went on to be a BLESSING to many throughout the whole world through the followers of her descendant, Jesus of Nazareth. I pray that you, too, will open yourself up to GOD, who is the ULTIMATE REALITY, just as this remarkable Ruth did so many years ago!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.” – Ruth (Ruth 1:16-17)

PRAYER
LORD, build up in me the faith of Ruth that I may boldly go where you lead me and boldly love everyone, no matter how different they are from me. Amen.