"Lifting at My Age?"-- Why Not?

A simple lifting hack: If you're a guy and getting older, it's time to get into shape. I don't want to hear it. You know I'm right. 

"That's My King!" (Heb. 12:2)

I loved being in the book of Hebrews again this morning. 

This has got to be my favorite epistle other than Philippians. I love how Jesus is described in Heb. 12:2 as the "Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith." Elsewhere I've argued that the word translated "Pioneer" refers to Jesus' role as the "Pacesetter" in the race we run as believers. In fact, if you'll notice the German below, you'll see that the New Geneva Bible actually says that Jesus is "den Wegbereiter des Glaubens, der uns ans Ziel vorausgegangen ist." 

I might render this into English as "the Trailblazer of faith who has gone before us to the goal." 

During my study this morning I ran across this poem by Shadrach Lockridge called "That's My King." May I share it with you?

He's enduringly strong

He's entirely sincere

He's eternally steadfast

He's immortally graceful

He's impeccably powerful

He's impartially merciful

That's my king!

He's God's Son

the sinner's Savior

the centerpiece of civilization

He's august and he's unique

He's unparalleled

He's unprecedented

He's supreme

He's preeminent

Do you know him?

My king is the key of knowledge

He's the wellspring of wisdom

He's the doorway of deliverance

He's the pathway of peace

He's the roadway of righteousness

He's the highway of holiness

He's the gateway of glory

He's the master of the mighty

He's the captain of the conquerors

He's the head of the heroes

He's the leader of the legislators

He's the overseer of the overcomers

He's the governor of the governors

He's the prince of princes

He's the King of kings

And he is the Lord of lords.

Yep. That's Jesus! No one and nothing compares to him, the "Pacesetter and Perfecter of our faith." When we're struggling to keep on running, we search for strength in all the wrong places. All that changes when we discover God's perfect provision for weary runners -- a fellow runner named Jesus. I would rather die than live without him. 

I spent this morning with my hero, friend, and inspiration. How about you? 

Lewis's Mere Christianity

Honestly, if I could buy a copy of Lewis's Mere Christianity for every student I've ever taught, I would do it. It's easily one of the best books I've ever read. Top 5. No hesitation. 

Happy Global Running Day!

It's Global Running Day. It's the day Runner Claus visits all the children and gives them free water bottles. It's the day I'll receive countless well wishes and Hallmark cards celebrating my career as a runner. It's a day your local running shoe store will sell out of Gus. It's a day to post a pic of yourself with a superficial, sappy caption.

"Where would I be without running?" 

It's a day when absolutely zero non-runners will be motivated to go out for a run and will therefore miss out on one of the greatest benefits of the sport -- the smiling selfie.

I do have one question, however. Since I am the world's biggest advocate of running, shouldn't Global Running Day be on my birthday (June 9)?

HAPPY GLOBAL RUNNING DAY!!!!

Running to Music

Today's run was a sprint workout. 

This was the amazing video I listened to. 

Nothing like great music to keep you going. 

Don't Say "Sorry"

When you mean "Forgive me." 

Thankful for John Stott

There has not been a day in the past month where I have not been instructed or corrected by the great John Stott. His sheer mental devotion to the glory of God was breathtaking. SDG. 

Boiling Over (with Enthusiasm)

Ever have a craving for a certain food? Last night I just had to have some potatoes. 

Not just any potatoes. Boiled potatoes. Along with some gouda cheese and sweet ham slices, they were delicious. 

Here is one more pic. It's of my workout this morning at the Y, doing "isometric" exercises without any weights.

Let me try and tie these two photos together. The passage I studied in my morning Bible time was Rom. 12:9-21. Here Paul sets forth the characteristics that mark out what a gospel family looks like. He intends to say what it means to be the church, the kind of people God is building. Among other things, we are to be people who are zealous (see v. 11). We are to be people who are full of vim and vigor. Enthusiasm is to mark all we do as Christians. "Keep your spiritual fervor," says Paul. Or, as the Living Bible puts it:

"Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically." 

I love the word Paul uses here for "fervor/enthusiasm." It gives the image of a boiling, bubbling pot of potatoes. (See the connection now?) The picture is one of movement, of energy, of vitality. That's how the Christian life ought to be. It ought to be bubbling up with the goodness of the gospel and flowing out into the lives of those around us. 

How easy it is to lose that enthusiasm!

More than once, I have run out of steam. Life is barely in a simmer let alone bubbling and boiling. So, what is the answer? It is to get our focus right, says Paul. "It is the Lord you serve!" That thought is to drive all we are and all we do. I love how Jim Elliott put it: "Wherever you are, be all there, and live to the hilt whatever you are convinced is the will of God for your life." Or how about this motto a housewife put over her kitchen sink:

"Divine services performed here three times a day."

Paul adds that this spiritual fervor, this enthusiasm, is "in the Spirit." His enthusiasm and power is to pervade all of our lives.

I think that's a great word for today, don't you? That's the way I want to live my life. I suspect all of us want to live like that. I take this to heart because I'm all too aware of my natural tendency toward sloth and laziness, to take the easy way out, to simply go through the motions. No matter who you are or what you do, there's always room for improvement. If I thought I was done growing, I would probably shrivel up and die. For me, life is about continuing to improve, to learn, to risk, to GROW. But even the best of us get stagnant at times. I've said this a million times, but running is a decision I make. I get to do a marathon. It's not forced on me. Your life is like that too. So shut up and stop being lazy and filled with excuses. If you don't, you'll never know what you missed. Also, choose to be around people who are forward thinking, dreamers, go-getters, risk takers -- people who are passionate about life and who take adversity as a personal challenge to become stronger. 

With the Spirit's help, you can bounce back.

Don't Hold Your Breath

Us thinking that liberals will stop accommodating the Bible to the culture is the equivalent of Charlie Brown thinking that Lucy will hold the football in place this time. 

Get It Firsthand!

The pastor who relies solely on commentaries and not on the biblical languages is like the guy who walks through the rain with noise-cancelling headphones so he can listen to the gentle rain playlist on Spotify. 

Heb. 6:7-8: Fruit on the Tree Means Life in the Tree

There are two "doctors" who live on my country road in Virginia. One is a professor of ancient Greek. The other is the local dentist. Oddly enough, both of us own farms. One grows hay. The other recently planted a gorgeous vineyard. 

I love watching him and his kids working on their vines. It's a reminder to me of a great truth we find in Heb. 6:7-8, the "forgotten verses" of this famous warning passage in Hebrews (Heb. 6:4-8). Here we find an illustration drawn from agriculture to show that how one responds to their circumstances reflects an underlying condition. A field that produces fruit is a source of joy to the farmer. But a field that fails to be fruitful is rejected by the farmer. It is no longer worth the expenditure of his labor so he burns it to the ground. The principle is clear: fruitfulness is a sign of the condition of one's heart. I like to put it this way to my students: where there is fruit on the tree, there is life in the tree. 

And this is precisely why the author is "persuaded of better things" concerning his readers, "things pertaining to salvation" (Heb. 6:9-10). For he has seen the fruit in their lives and has concluded that they are truly saved. In other words, their works display their genuine conversion. This is especially seen in the way they had shown love by helping their fellow Christians. Note -- and note carefully! -- that this ministry is still being performed. We see this in the significant shift from the aorist participle ("you have ministered") to the present participle ("you are ministering"). Yesterday's fruit is not enough. There must be continuous fruit bearing. 

The older I get, the more aware I become of the need to bear daily fruit for Christ. Bearing abundant fruit is the calling of every believer in Christ. And it is as much our calling when we are employed as when we are retired. It is as much a requirement when we are young as when we are old. When we abide in Christ, he abides in us. Like the branches in my neighbor's vineyard, we are to abide in the vine for the purpose of bearing fruit. This is one of the greatest joys any believer can know. And it is the fruit that God produces. 

What a wonderful (and challenging) truth that is to me.

Bible Reading: Day by Day by Day

Do you have a "test verse" you use to judge the accuracy of a new translation of the Bible into English? I have a couple of them. One is Rom. 8:3. What do they do with the phrase "in the likeness of sinful flesh"? Another is Tit. 2:13. Is Jesus explicitly referred to here as"God"? In the Greek, he is. In some versions of the Bible, he is not. But perhaps the verse I use more than any other nowadays is found in our Lord's Great Commission in Matt. 28:20. As I've pointed out on this blog numerous times, here Jesus doesn't simply promise to be with us "always." He promises us his presence "all the days" or "day after day" or "day by day by day." 

Now, Jesus does not explicitly tell us why he used that expression "all the days." I would venture to suggest it is because we Christians are called to live one day at a time, "day by day" if you will. We don't live only for yesterday. We don't live only for tomorrow. We don't even live only for today. We are people who live each day in the light of the past and in anticipation of the future. That is God's calling to all of us. We are to live by his daily grace -- "daily" because his mercies are new (and needed) every morning. Indeed, Paul states that though our outward man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed "day by day" (Greek "day and day") by the grace of God. Is this not reason to praise him every day? As the Psalmist says, "Bless his name; tell of his salvation day by day" (Psalm 96:2). We are even to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. So you see just how "daily" the Christian life is. 

Now, this truth is also very relevant to how frequently we will want to be in God's word. I see this clearly in the book of Hebrews. Here we read not once, not twice, but three times, that we are to listen to the voice of God daily. "Today, when you hear his voice ...." (Heb. 3:7; 3:15; 4:7). How can we otherwise "hold fast our confession" without wavering? How can we otherwise have victory in the unremitting daily fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil? How can we otherwise cling to our Christian moorings and not drift away from the things we have heard? The best protection against backsliding is a daily focus on Christ. 

If we wish to be perpetually vigilant, we need to listen to the voice of God day by day by day. God has spoken (Heb. 1:1). But he is still speaking today. His is a living voice that speaks to us through the written text of Scripture. This Scripture is not a museum piece. It is the voice of the living God. I don't know about you, but I cannot live a single day without it. 

Exegetical Fallacies Are Alive and Well

Before you laugh at people who think the earth is flat, remember that right now there are some pastors saying that the Greek word for "power" in Rom. 1:17 means that the gospel is like "dynamite" or that God loves a "hilarious" giver (2 Cor. 9:7). 

Every Line a Masterpiece

Romans 1:1-7. 

Prayer Is Not a Mere Convenience

One day in chapel several years ago the speaker's topic was prayer. It was a very convicting message. One of the points he made is something I had never heard before. In essence he said, "Prayer is not a 'convenient' time to have the musicians retake the stage after the sermon. When the pastor is closing his message in prayer, ALL should be praying, including the worship leaders. After all, doesn't the application of the message affect them as much as anybody else?" 

I will never forget what happened next. The president of our seminary announced that from that day forward the musicians would remain seated while the chapel speaker closed in prayer as a reminder of the importance and solemnity of prayer and the universal application of the message. It's been that way ever since.

Think about it.

Spectators Only Or Also Participants (Heb. 12:1)?

Bud Wilkinson, head football coach of the University of Oklahoma, popularized a saying we've all heard:

"I define football as 22 people on the field desperately needing rest, and 50,000 people in the stands desperately needing exercise."

Sadly, American Christianity has become a spectator sport. Sit and watch. Be royally entertained. Musicians even stand on "stages." After all, they are "performers," right? Is is they, plus the pastors, who do "ministry." 

So let's go back to a point I tried to make in Wednesday's blog. 

Last Monday, at Folsom Field in Boulder, there were 50,000 spectators in the stands cheering on the elite runners as they entered the stadium. In the language of Heb. 12:1, we were a "great cloud of witnesses." In this context it's difficult not to inject the idea of "spectators" in the Greek word marturōn, although that is not the basic meaning of the word. The point is that the Old Testament heroes of faith described in Hebrews 11 are now cheering us on. But note: they are not mere spectators. They themselves have run the race and have completed it, just as those of us in the stadium last Monday in Boulder had already run the race and finished it. We were as much participants as we were spectators. 

What, then, is "ministry" in the New Testament? Every person who knows Jesus as Lord and Savior is called into ministry. All of us are called to serve. Ministry is not for some of us. It is for all of us. We are to be participants as much as we are to be spectators. Participation is not optional.

Then why do our Sunday services encourage spectatorism? This is a far cry from what we see in 1 Corinthians 14. The truth is that the word diakonia is a generic word for ministry. All Christians are called to such ministry. Indeed, it is unthinkable that we who claim to follow One who said he had come to serve and not to be served should live our lives in any other way. 

I sometimes wonder (although I exaggerate to make my point) if it would be a healthy thing to meet only on Sunday mornings and not in small groups so that we would gather as the early church did -- to come together for mutual edification (not worship) as preparation for being scattered for the rest of the week into our mission field, the world. Then we might finally be able to move away from the kind of spectatorism and entertainmentism that characterize so many of our services today. 

2023 Bull City Race Fest 8K ("Mini Bolder Boulder")

This morning I participated in the annual Bull City Race Fest 8K in Durham. This was a fun run for me. I felt incredible cardio-wise and had no aches or pains anywhere. I planned on running the whole race at a comfortable pace. In many ways, today's event reminded me of Monday's Bolder Boulder. In fact, I'm calling the race a "mini-Bolder Boulder." There was a huge crowd of runners. 

The runners were all fit. 

We ended the race by running into the Durham Athletic Field stadium.

And we crossed the finish line on the track. 

It gets even better. While standing in line for a post-race massage, I struck up a convo with this guy. 

Turns out he's from Boulder and also ran the Bolder Boulder on Monday. He's in town visiting some friends. What a pleasant coincidence. I also met up with some friends from the YMCA in South Boston, where I work out three times a week. 

The massage, by the way, was amazing. 

One thing that's NOT like the Bolder Boulder is that today's race finished next to the Durham Farmers' Market. Lots of fresh goodies for sale. 

So that's it. I know this is a brief race report, but I've got farm chores to do. You don't have to tell me. I know my life is blessed. Every minute of every day. Glory and thanks be to God.

Lovin' the Farm

God's got a lot of farmers in southern Virginia. 

But not a single happier one than me. 

The Choice Is Yours

So you've completed a year of Greek. One question remains: Will you use or lose what you worked so hard to acquire? The choice is yours.

Choose wisely. 

National Donut Day

Heading off to class. 

The Hope of Christianity

The hope of Christianity does not rest on the teachings of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Dennis Prager, Candace Owens, Matt Walsh, or Vivek Ramaswami. The hope of Christianity rests entirely on this truth: The Bible is the word of God. 

Chuck Swindoll

I have yet to hear a pastor more committed to biblical preaching than Chuck Swindoll. He is 88 years old and still going strong. Young pastor: Be like him. 

Luther's 95 Theses: Here's Number 1

"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent' (Matt. 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." 

Friend, you're never more the person God made you to be than when you are confessing your sins to him. 

Grief Is OK

If you are experiencing the sorrow of loss, remember: The command "Don't worry about anything" no more condemns all worried people than "Rejoice always" condemns all grieving people. 

Heb. 1:1-4

If it isn't the most beautiful sentence in all of Scripture, it's certainly one of them. 

It's Never Boring

I will never get bored watching the sheer delight on the face of a student who has just discovered the thrill of translating 1 John for him or herself. 

Not Just an Ordinary Book

Spent time this morning thinking about the Bible. Metaphorically speaking, the Bible is not just an ordinary building made out of bricks. It's a cathedral made out of sentences. And the church is built out of people who are made out of words -- the words of Scripture. If, pastor friend, you have read your Bible today and every day this week, would you recommend that to your people this Sunday, from the pulpit? 

Getting Back My Swimming Mojo

Today at the gym was arm day. 

Tomorrow I plan on doing some lap swimming. I need to remind my body what it's like to swim since it's been a very long time since I've been in a pool. Sadly, the local olympic-sized pool is not going to reopen again this summer. This is the third year in a row it's been closed. Oh well. I used to be a pretty good swimmer but I've lost my mojo. Can I get it back again? One thing that gets to me about swimming is that it's super boring. Someone could be an instant billionaire if they invented a waterproof iPod. Oh wait. Somebody already has. 

I need to get me one of those. I'm beginning to feel a loss of confidence. All the more reason to get back in the water I suppose.

New Torin Running Shoes

I just replaced my old Altra Torin 6s with the new Torin 7. 

The Torin has been my go-to shoe for many years now, mainly because they are zero-drop not to mention the fact that they have a wide toe box. So far I feel right at home in this iteration. They tell me that the new plush tongue will decrease the rubbing that occurs when running. We shall see. 

The Theme of 1 John

Does anyone else enjoy Bojangle's? Ah, coffee and a sausage biscuit. The food of heaven.

At any rate, this morning I reread 1 John in preparation for teaching about that book in my Greek class this morning. 

John's theme here is based on two attributes of God (and only two):

• God is light (that is, God is truth)
• God is love (that is, God is selfless)

If you care to read it, my power point goes into greater detail. 

The main thing I wish to say to my students today is that John is not talking about a purely academic knowledge of God in 1 John, as if we could get a degree in "God." That is not the kind of knowledge he is talking about. John is talking about the personal knowledge of God -- the possibility of coming to know him in a personal and intimate way for ourselves. Jesus himself said that this is the meaning of eternal life. "Eternal life is that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This means that we human beings are not fully human if we don't know God. The human being is a person made by God, like God, and for God, so that he may spend time and eternity with God. 

The second thing I wish to make clear today is that these two attributes are supremely practical ones. I'm very anxious to have my students see that the Bible is essentially a practical book. The Bible doesn't answer many of our philosophical questions because, as I said, the Bible is a severely practical book. What strikes me as I meditate on the book of 1 John is that although John affirms that God is both light and love, he doesn't explore those affirmations. Instead, he makes his affirmations the ground of an appeal to his readers to practice truth and to love one another. He asks, in essence:

"What earthly good is it to proclaim that God is truth unless we are committed to putting the truth into practice? And what earthly good is it to proclaim that God is love if we are not committed to loving one another?"

So if we claim to know God, we should exbibit the love of the God we claim to know. If we are truly born of God, then we will manifest the nature of the God who has begotten us again. The logic of what John is saying is impeccable. The love of God is the love that stoops and sacrifices, it's the love that took Christ to the cross, it's the love of our enemies. That kind of love is possible only to those who've born of God and to whom he has imparted some of his very own nature. 

I dare to say that this love -- this obedience to the Lord's commandment to love one another -- is THE hallmark of genuine Christianity. Whoever does not love like that does not know God, however much they may claim to, however orthodox they may be in their theology, however religious they may appear to be. It's a very solemn statement. How can we preach the gospel of God's love if we do not look like what we're talking about? The entire world craves this kind of love. It's crying out for love. I know I do. People are hungry for love. 

Years ago a Fuller prof wrote a book called Deceived. 

It was an investigation into the Jonestown tragedy -- that mass suicide of a thousand of Jim Jones's followers in the jungles of Guyana. The author wanted to investigate the cause of this appalling event. How could it happen? As he talked to former members of that cult, this is what he found:

"Jim Jones's victims were from our churches, but they didn't find love there. In the Jones cult, they found the love and care they were looking for."

When I was young, my mother was almost persuaded to become a Jehovah's Witness. Oh, it was not because of their theology. It was because of the way they treated her and her children by bringing us food and other necessities of life. I have no doubt that this is one reason this cult is so popular in the Islands, where people find it so hard to make it financially and are often dependent on the care of others.

Before class ends today, I will ask my students to repeat the following pledge after me. For what good does it do to read and translate the book of 1 John if we do not obey its teaching? Here is our pledge. Perhaps you will want to recite it as well:

• I will do my best
• as God enables me
• to make my church
• a more loving community
• to our members
• and to the strangers in our midst.

So I end this post on that note. If the apostle John were here, he would say, "Beloved, let us love one another. Not just so that we may attract outsiders to the fellowship, so that they might see the invisible God in our love, but because God IS love and because he has loved us in Christ. So that if we do not love one another, our claim to know God is just a hollow mockery."