How’s your reading going? I’ll admit, lately the chapters have seemed to blur together a bit. So, to combat this I have switched versions to give a fresh perspective. I had been reading the New Living Translation, but have switched to The Message, a paraphrase which I find good for reading, but not really for study. Lately, I’ve also found the English Standard Version to be good for both study and reading. If your readings are getting a bit stale, try a new version!

Our reading from this week includes one of my favorite verses from 1 Corinthians:

“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17

When I was in seminary, our philosophy professor questioned us on what it would take for us to renounce our faith. The question came to this – would you renounce Christianity if it could be proven that they found Jesus body? It’s an intriguing question, but a vital one to our faith. Without the resurrection, Christianity has no truth and faith has no power. At the essence of Christianity is the empty tomb. The cross means nothing if there is no resurrection. The teachings of Jesus are good guidance, but hold no real truth without the resurrection. It is Jesus’ victory over death that gives us the assurance of salvation. It is only through Jesus’ resurrection that our sins are overcome, the price is paid, and we are made right with God through faith.

How about you – how would you answer? Is the resurrection vital to your faith? I believe Paul has it right – without Christ being raised our faith is useless. Our faith is founded on the truth of the empty tomb.

There’s an old preacher’s story about a man who was locked in prison for years alone with only a bible to read.  When the man eventually died they went in and the walls were covered with writings from the man of all he had learned from his readings.  At first it was fascinating, but then at closer examination, it was heartbreaking.  The walls were covered not with great wisdom, but with trivial facts (which verse is the center of scripture, how many times the bible speaks about pomegranates, etc.)  The story is told to illustrate that reading scripture can be just a trivial act, but God offers us so much more.  I hope you are getting wisdom from God out of our readings together.

Today’s reading from Mark highlights the importance of taking a full approach to your spiritual life.  The disciples tried to cast out a demon, but were told they could only cast it out through ‘prayer and fasting’.  Jesus challenges a rich man to give everything up and follow him, to choose devotion over riches.  As important as our time in the bible is, we must realize that there is more to our spiritual lives than just reading scripture.  If we focus solely on our reading as the only means for spiritual growth, then we run the risk of our time in scripture being trivialized – learning facts about God, but not having any impact in how we live.  God wants more for us than a trivial understanding of Him.  He wants to live with us.  We can live with God and live the life he wants for us when we live our faith out in all that we do through prayer, reading scripture, action, and other means of faith.

I’m enjoying our readings.  I hope you are as well.  Let me know if you have any questions that I can answer.

Why should we read the bible?  I think one good reason is to see the struggles in our lives are not much different than the struggles in the lives of the men and women of the bible.  The same frustrations that we have in life are not much different in their core than the frustrations of the men and women who sought to live for God throughout scripture.  We all struggle with choosing our own way instead of God’s way.  We all struggle with seeking our own vengeance instead of allowing God to bring justice.  Our struggles with anger, lust, devotion,… the list could go on – they are all in scripture.

Psalm 39:1-3, written by David, could just as well have been written by any of us who struggle with keeping our peace when we are being defamed:

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence– not even speaking of good things– the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. My thoughts grew hot within me and began to burn, igniting a fire of words.

If one who scripture describes as “a man after God’s own heart” has these struggles, maybe it’s ok if I struggle with them as well.  God isn’t looking for perfection from us.  He wants devotion.  He wants us to be faithful to Him, even when life is hard.  Seeing others in scripture struggle is a good reminder that God doesn’t reject us if we falter.  God’s grace abounds, even to you and me.

Have you ever had one of those busy weeks where you just can’t get everything done that you wanted? Holy Week, as wonderful as it was, was one of those weeks for me. I got a bit behind in my readings (I’ve caught up now) and I’m just now getting to writing a reflection. Thanks for sticking to it. Hopefully you too will be able to catch up if you are a bit behind.

This week marks a significant milestone in our readings – we are now ¼ of our way through the year! We’ve now read through 7 complete books and are starting to see some of the recurring themes of scripture. We continue to read of Israel and others failing to remain faithful to God and his continued love towards His people. Sometimes His love comes through harsh discipline and sometimes through impassioned pleas, but throughout it all we can see Him seeking relationship with humanity. We have also seen how God works through situations that are not what we would expect. Indeed, some of these stories (Joseph, for example) seem to be difficulties brought on by man that God turns around for good. It is amazing to see that God works to make all things right in His time and in His ways.

God is at work, but we must also learn to trust in Him. Our reading from Mark 5-6 reiterate this point – the people of Nazareth did not trust in God, so Jesus couldn’t perform miracles, but the daughter of Jarius was healed when He trusted in Christ. God does work all things for good, but we must trust that He will and seek to live within His will. When we do, we are blessed.

I hope you are enjoying these readings. As the school year winds down and summer draws closer, I urge you to remain diligent. Your faith will be richly rewarded if you stay in His word!