TGIGF (Don't Forget the Second "G")

I've never seen the Y look more beautiful than it did this morning. A big "Thank You!" to the fabulous grounds crew. Well done, guys. 

As a result, I felt super inspired when lifting today. If I look intense, it's only because I'm trying to practice what I preach. 

While working out, I came up with the title to today's blog post. Pretty creative, huh (lol). When I think of Good Friday, I think of a parabola. A parabola is a curve where any point is equidistant from a fixed point. 

In terms of Christology, we might think of the parabola as having three main parts: (1) Christ's leaving the glory of heaven at the incarnation, (2) his death on the cross, and (3) his ascension back to heaven. No passage describes the bottom of the parabola better than the passage I read in my morning Bible time: Isa. 53:4-6. I quote it The Living Bible because I think helps to read a different version than the one we're used to. 

Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins! But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was chastised that we might have peace; he was lashed -- and we were healed! We are the ones who strayed away like sheep! We, who left God's paths to follow our own ways. Yet God laid on him the guilt and sins of every one of us! 

This same point is made in Paul's famous "Christ hymn" in Phil. 2. Here's how it's rendered in the ISV: 

God's only solution to the sin problem is right here. If you care to dive deeper, I try to unpack the passage's rich theology here. And if you'd care to actually SING this hymn, either with your family or at church, here are two versions of the passage put to music. 

I can't think of anything else to say. Have a blessed Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday! 

What I Have Learned from Ultramarathoning

In running ultramarathons I have learned so many life lessons along the way. I learned to run through my problems and not away from them. I learned how to push when I had nothing left. I learned how to cope, to process, to be still and know that the Lord is God, how to pass time without the noise of this world but rather the sound of my feet hitting the ground. The ultrarunner has a view of life that makes all the training and running worthwhile. 

Don't Be a Sheep!

Think for yourself. Make your own decisions. DON'T BE A SHEEP!

The #1 Reason Why You're Not Mastering Greek

Got a minute? Today I'd like to talk about what I think is the #1 reason that holds people back from mastering New Testament Greek (or any other course of study for that matter). Hint: It's your fault. 

Now, I know that people will argue about all kinds of reasons why they could never learn to read Greek, from their textbook to their teacher to their schedule. Here's the real reason: it all comes back to your intensity. The problem is, if you ask people if they are working hard enough, they're going to say, "Of course I am." People think that if it's difficult, they've done a good job. The fact is, nobody has innately the skill to push themselves to the level of intensity required to master a foreign language. You have to work at it. Unlike a team sport, it's just you against you. 

Let me remind you: building intensity is a daily pursuit. Intense people know exactly what has to be accomplished. They demand from themselves what their self doesn't want to give. They have learned to work hard and to reap the fruit of self-mastery. I see the apostle Paul living this way. And because he did everything with intensity, he could tell Timothy to imitate him: "You know about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, my persecutions, and my sufferings" (2 Tim. 3:10). Because Paul had disciplined himself to give his very best in all of the various sectors of his life, he could model that life to Timothy. No better gift in life. 

The runner, the swimmer, the cyclist all push their bodies to the highest levels of performance by demanding of themselves higher and higher levels of physical output. They realize that there are many barriers that need to be overcome, but they behave according to their will power and not simple convenience.

In 45 years of teaching Greek, I have seen a good number of students rise to the occasion like this. Facing a herculean task, they knew that life is not a sprint or a sudden burst of speed. It is a distance run, and it demands intensity, resilience, endurance, determination -- and a good strong kick at the finish line.  

It's Official!

It's official. I've signed up for the Night Train 50K Trail Ultramarathon in Farmville on June 25th. The race starts at 6:00 pm. You run 31 miles, many of them in the dark. 

I am humbled to have run this distance twice before. 

The greatest lesson to glean from running is to never limit where your running can take you. Racing is very special. It allows you to dream, to challenge yourself to take risks and live boldly, to realize the results of hard work and discipline. Running has been both a crazy adventure for me as well as a source of stability and normalcy in my life. As you know, I crave being in nature -- the kind you can't find in road races. I love being on the trails, even when you have to wear a headlamp to see anything. 

The camaraderie of the ultrarunning community is the icing on the cake. You will never meet a more welcoming group of people. And the accomplishment of completing a 31 mile race is beyond humbling. The ultra welcomes everybody regardless of their age. I see that currently I'm the only male who will be 70 or older come race day, but I'm hoping that will change. I would LOVE the competition. However, the true competition is always within yourself. I run in order to be the absolute best I can be. I am not diminished by the runners ahead of me or increased by those running after me. I am locked in combat with myself. 

We cannot let losing or failing paralyze us. This is what makes us stronger. And anyway, who wants to be perfect and get everything right every single time? How boring! All we can do in life is our best. The outcome is often not up to us or directly based on our effort. It's one thing to try your best and fail, but it's even worse when you know you could have done more. Even if we ultimately do fail, at least we will have no regrets.

Bach and Bench Pressing

This morning was my day for the gym. 

Afterwards I got in a 3 mile run at the high school. 

The whole time I listened to Bach organ music, including this superb piece played at the Berlin Cathedral. 

A 300 year-old piece of music and still incredible to hear played. Someday I will hear Bach in person for sure. What a feeling of power it must be to sit at the console of a huge organ and play this piece. When the fugue eventually sets in, it's like climbing a stairway to heaven. There are three geniuses at work here: the composer, the organist, and the builder of that magnificent instrument. What a combination they make. I think if Bach were alive today he'd say, "You nailed it!" 

I'm done. Further words would be meaningless. 

So Grateful

There's always so much to be grateful for these days. I'm grateful for health, for this amazing spring day, for a roof over my head, for my family, for beautiful sunsets like tonight's. 

Life can be tough at times, but it's infinitely easier when you're grateful. 

Two Books That Changed My Life

I started reading books as a kid in Hawaii. They exposed me to unbelievable adventures. They took me places in my imagination I could only dream about. They were my constant companions. But only a handful I would say "changed my life."

If you could name a book or two that literally changed your life (other than the Bible), what would they be? Here are two of  mine. This was my beginning grammar at Biola when I was a Bible major. 

We were required to take two years of Greek. The first year was Classical Greek, and this was our textbook. I lasted exactly three weeks in the class. The book was WAY over my head. Por ejemplo:

Say what???????

A year later I was hired to teach 11 units of beginning Greek at Biola, using this very same textbook. 

What could be more ironic than that? I was the proverbial kid running away from a water balloon only to fall into a swimming pool. I taught from this grammar for many years until we shifted over to New Testament Greek for beginning Greek, and then I wrote my own textbook.

Here's the second book that changed my life. 

I first read this book after arriving in Basel for my doctoral studies. Since I was thinking about a possible topic for my dissertation, I read everything I could get my hands on in the field of New Testament, especially published doctoral dissertations. To me, Jewett's book was exactly the kind of treatise I wanted to write. 

It became the first of many exemplars of how to produce a first-rate dissertation. Out of pure nostalgia, I recently purchased my own copy. I picked it up today to remind myself to be grateful for all those who went before me in the field of New Testament studies. Their inspiration meant the world to me and still does. 

You don't know what is out there in the world of books until you read and cherish them. And then the memories don't leave you, ever. 

This Morning's Workout (and Being ALL There)

Nice full body workout this morning at the Y.

Right now I'm still hoping against hope to be able to return to the Alps in August. It all depends on what happens with Covid. Stay tuned. Anything can happen between now and then. Here's what I do know: If you don't put in the time in preparation, there's no sense in planning anything in life. Ask anyone in the Marine Corps: It's better to be prepared and never called than to be called and not prepared. I'm doing the work. I'm getting stronger, maybe even strong enough to climb the Allalinhorn. I cannot control Covid. I cannot control the weather. I cannot control the political situation in the world. I can, however, be all there and live to the hilt whatever I am convinced is God's will for me -- TODAY.

The Christian and Sports

Wasn't this year's Masters Golf Tournament a treat? Kudos to Scottie Scheffler for capturing his first majors and to Tiger Woods for his great comeback. Every time I watch professional golfing on TV -- or professional bowling or professional surfing or professional baseball -- I am reminded of what an amazing country we live in, what with the diversity of sports that makes us so unique in the world. When Becky and I lived in Switzerland, I never gave up being an L.A. Rams fan, even though that meant listening to staticky Voice of America live broadcasts of football games from the States. Sure, other countries have tennis and ice hockey, for example, but only in the good old U. S. of A. can you get the whole ball of wax: NASCAR, the Indycar series, golf, tennis, track and field, boxing, snow skiing, kickboxing, wrestling, weight lifting, badminton, American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, motocross, horse racing, lacrosse, volleyball, rugby, cricket, surfing, even professional rodeo. 

Sports plays such an important in our society partly, I think, because they are important vehicles for transmitting values such as teamwork, fair play, and dedication. And, unlike many countries in the world, America encourages its children and youth to play sports. I grew up as a very active youngster, as I'm sure most of you did -- surfing, swimming, sailing, basketball (lots of basketball), and volleyball. The U.S. has won an average of 56 medals in each Olympic Game across 27 summer games and 23 winter games. It therefore doesn't surprise me at all that many churches utilize sports for outreach and evangelism. Here's one church where I'll be speaking shortly that has a soccer league for boys and girls pre-K to 8th grade. Churches with sports ministries have a simple philosophy: invite people in the community to get involved in sports, then use every opportunity to talk about Christ. Finally, there are those fine Christian athletes who leverage their talent for the Gospel. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of these books, written by successful professional athletes in the sport of marathoning. I love how this writer puts it:

Our world can exist without the arrogance and egotism attributed to certain athletes, and it can surely exist without the barefaced disregard several sports organizations have for their dedicated fan base. But, we may question whether or not this world can function without the hidden values embedded in competitors and the communal insight sports gives us on a national scale. 

Ironally, the older I get, the more I absolutely love both watching sports and engaging in it myself. I agree with those sociologists who say that one of the functions of sports is to provide recreation, but we all know that its latent functions are so much more than that. Augustine once said that the ordo amoris -- the proper ordering of one's affections -- is essential to experiencing the good life. Personally, sports has become a way for me to know God better and has given me a better self-awareness of the potential of the human body that God has given me as well as its tremendous limitations and finitude. I suspect that the apostle Paul, through his own use of sporting imagery in his writings, might have agreed. 

Hymns for Palm Sunday

Speakers up!

Passion Week

Jesus is the great misunderstood person of history. Barbara Thiering, in her book Jesus the Man, presents a startling picture of Jesus, suggesting that he had been married, had sired three children, then had been divorced and remarried. A. N. Wilson, in his book titled simply Jesus, documents Wilson's much-publicized rejection of Christianity. John Spong, in his book Born of a Woman, claims to show how the doctrine of the virgin birth is responsible for the oppression of women. Clearly, this interest in Jesus has reached the level of tabloid journalism. 

How did the early Christians interpret Jesus' life and teaching? The key is to be found in the events that transpire this week in the life of the church -- Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. Wrote the great British New Testament scholar C. F. D. Moule, "The birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church remains an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the church itself."

On Easter Sunday morning, harnessing the power of heaven, Jesus burst his bounds and arose from death victorious. Christ was truly raised from the dead. You can stake your life on it. 

Petersburg Half and a Visit to Appomattox Court House

As planned, today I ran a half marathon in historic Petersburg, VA, at one time known for its trade, textiles, and tobacco as well as the siege of 1864-1865. It was fabulous. I didn't get a new PR but I did come in well under 3 hours. 

Afterwards I drove along Lee's retreat all the way to Appomattox Court House. 

After all, today is April 9th, right?

The room where the surrender happened :) 

Oh wait! Who are these two gentlemen in front of the courthouse? They look vaguely familiar. 

The bookstore, of course, was my favorite place in the park. 

However, since I already own about half of these books, I spent my money buying mementos for the grandkids. How much fun! By the way, would somebody please hit me with the stupid stick? For the umpteenth time, I forgot to cut my toenails before a race. When you do this, there's always a price to pay. 

WARNING: Image may be disturbing to some viewers. Like me. 

I do hope you and your family are having a wonderful weekend!

Can We Please Have More Variety in Our Church Music?

As a musician, one of the things that disturbs me the most about modern worship music is its lack of variety. Musical styles are changing constantly. Rock was once called pop music, and what we call pop music is now called electronic dance. Classical music, by definition, isn't strictly a musical genre. It's an umbrella term for multiple sub-genres such as medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic, impressionist, 20th century, etc. Rock metal and punk are separate genres. 

When I was in high school, I played the trumpet in a small band that played both soul music and Tijuana Brass music in the various officers' clubs on Oahu (both genres required trumpets). Then in college, for 4 years I played the electric base in a group that played contemporary worship music. We called ourselves "Joyous Creed," and all of our music was original (we were led by a very talented composer and singer). Of course, I also played the trumpet in band from the 5th grade through the 12th grade, and there we played all sorts of music, from classical (Holst's "The Planets") to popular (the theme from "Hawaii 5-0").  Other musical genres include:

• Country gospel
• Folk
• Jazz
• Disco
• Funk
• New age
• Hip-hop
• Reggae
• March
• Blues

With all of this diversity, I have to wonder why worship music today is so bland and repetitive. The expression "cookie cutter" comes to mind. It is incredibly annoying to me. Don't worship leaders realize how robotic their music is week after week? How about occasionally some simple piano, or organ, or acapella singing? Or a youth and/or children's choir? A worshipful trumpet solo? (In Hawaii, I would play "The Lord's Prayer" at Easter Sunrise services every year.) 

Boredom. Apathy. Monotony. That's often what I feel. The church's playlist hasn't changed in years. We're stuck in time and afraid to explore new genres. I'm 69 years old and thrive on finding new music to enjoy. I will happily give it a go with almost any genre of music. There's so much out there undiscovered both old and new so why keep doing the same thing over and over again? I do have my favorites -- especially organ music and classic rock ("All Right Now," "Hotel California," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Sweet Dreams," "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Beginnings," etc.) -- but I haven't stopped listening to new music. Finding music that you don't know about yet but that you will like is an excellent pastime. The internet is an infinite mine of musical gems. You can keep digging and digging and never run out. It is an absolutely thrilling time to be a musical aficionado. Worship leader, check out the Maranatha Singers for example. What a lovely genre of Christian music. Yet one never hears it in church anymore. Why not? Isn't this beautiful?

Right now I'm listening to Gregorian chants. The Latin words fascinate me as the lyrics are almost always pure Scripture. I'm not a worship leader (thankfully!), but if I were I would probably disband the worship team or at least have them sing from the side of the platform so that the music is less emotionally manipulative and the musicians less "performers." I'd also move away from the "Jesus is my boyfriend" trope. But at least -- at least! -- I would want the music to be far less boring and repetitive. 

Listening to different types of music is like visiting new countries or exploring new worlds. In many cases, you'll be pleasantly surprised. In other cases, you'll find "it's not for you." But at least you can say you experienced a little taste of the vast musical variety that God created. 

Gym Advice from Me to Me

There are a lot of 3-word memorable quotes we use in everyday life:

• Seize the day.
• Never look back.
• Love conquers all.
• Count your blessings.
• I am sorry.

But think about this. Let's say you were to meet yourself walking into a gym for the first time. What would you say to yourself? Here are three bits of advice (each with only three words) I would give to Dave Black:

Safety comes first. Whenever I injure myself in the gym, it's because I didn't listen to my body or else I was reckless. Form is everything. Engage your muscles properly or you will regret it. My progress is always best when I choose to focus on proper form.

Ask for help. When you don't know how to do an exercise, most of the people in your gym will be happy to help you. The trainers where I lift are super friendly and helpful. Nothing means more to them than to see you reach your goals. Ditto for most of your fellow lifters. 

Take your time. Anything is possible, but gains always take time. Develop your lifting skills at a steady pace. Take your time to work on yourself and don't worry about how fast or slow others in the gym are achieving their goals. Getting older is inevitable, but getting elderly is a choice. Make yourself better today than you were yesterday. If you try to be 1% better today than you were yesterday, after one year you'll be 365% better! 

So those are three pieces of training advice I would give myself just starting out in the gym: Safety comes first, ask for help, and take your time. Work on being the best version of yourself each and every day. 

The Simpler the Better When It Comes to Learning Greek

Many people don't learn Greek because their textbook is too complicated. If something is too complicated, you're not going to do it. Learning to read New Testament Greek doesn't need to be complicated in order to be effective. You just need to know exactly what you need to do. You need to know what is essential and what is not. You need to know what you don't need to know. You must ruthlessly eliminate all those things that aren't essential for you to learn Greek. The payoff isn't worth your time or effort. Resist the temptation to keep adding more textbooks to your bookshelf. That's not going to get you the results you want. In fact, it's going to drag down your willpower and focus. 

Find a simple textbook and stick with it. Success will follow. 

DEXA Scan Today!

I am VERY impressed with Emergortho in Durham. That's where I got my DEXA scan today. 

The tech was soooo helpful. She explained the results to me, and what she couldn't explain she promised me the orthopedist would explain to me later. Sure enough, all of my other questions were answered by the doctor herself when she called a couple of hours later. I love it when a business is trustworthy and provides great customer service. It's a fact that keeping loyal customers is easier than getting new ones. Well, I was extremely pleased with the service I got today. 

In case you're curious, 66 percent of my body weight is muscle. My body fat index is in the 24 percentile -- which means I have less body fat than 76 percent of men my age. On the other hand, my visceral (hidden) fat is higher than what it should be -- another reminder than I need to eat clean and watch my sugar intake. The doc also said my bones looked great. Studies have found that running actually increases bone density and can reduce instances of arthritis. I have yet to find an "older" runner who is worse off for running than better. You can die doing just about anything. Or you can sit at home and do nothing. I'll take my chances with running. Running has changed my life both physically and mentally. Of course, anyone can get osteoporosis, so being active isn't a guarantee that you won't get bone injuries in your golden years or even earlier. There are many factors at play, especially genetics. The biggest risk with running is doing too much or going too hard. Take a day off and, for crying out loud, slow down. 

Not ANOTHER Hilly Course!

This is the elevation chart for Saturday's Petersburg Half Marathon. Please tell me it ain't so. 

I just hired a Sherpa. 

Paying Attention to Details When Reading the Bible

I don't like to criticize a translator, but in John 8, I do think Wuest missed something of importance. This is the famous "Woman Taken in Adultery" passage, which I was studying in my Bible time this morning. 

Wuest renders verse 5 as follows:

Now, in the law Moses commanded us that such persons should be stoned.

Now, what's the problem here? What Wuest is overlooking is a little thing called gender. The Greek pronoun he translates "such persons" is actually in the feminine gender. 

Hence the ISV's, "Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death." Compare the NIV, NLT, ESV, CSB, GNT, and NRSV. This is yet another reason why the study of grammar (Greek and otherwise) is vital. If you are committed to understanding the Bible, exegesis isn't complicated. It may be difficult, but it's not complicated. The Lord has given us an opportunity to grow in faith by paying attention to the details in the text. So ... just do it! 

P.S. When I was looking up John 8:5 on the Bible Gateway website, I couldn't find this verse. It's not there! That's because John 7:53-8:11 is a major textual problem in New Testament studies. I want to express my profound appreciation to all those scholars who have devoted their life to the field of textual criticism. This includes the contributors to this book. 

A healthy church must be continually committed to the word of God -- the Bible. And when there are variant readings, we need not shy away from these problems. I'll have a lot more to say about this at the apologetics conference at Clearview Church in Henderson this fall. 

William's New Testament

My preferred English version today during my morning Bible time was Williams' The New Testament in the Language of the People. 

An excellent translation in every way. Here's John 1:1:

In the beginning the Word existed; and the Word was face to face with God; yea, the Word was God Himself. 

Give it a try sometime. 

Do It for the Kids

It's the struggle that makes you strong. 

Learn to LOVE the struggle and the results you get from it. An exercise routine is a must when you get older. I don't care how old you are. Get fit and flexible. Do it for the people you love. Stop making your kids and grandkids worry about you. They need you. 

Jim Voelz on Greek

Reviewing my chapter over the perfect tense this morning while sipping coffee at Bo's. The perfect will be the focus of tonight's class in Wake Forest. 

The perfect is possibly the most significant tense in Greek. And no one explains its significance better than my good friend Jim Voelz of Concordia Seminary. See if you don't agree. Jim, by the way, has also produced a beginning grammar of Greek. 

The bottom line? There is no shortage of grammars to help you get started in learning to read New Testament Greek. And Jim's is one of the best. 

A Public Thank You

Millennials buy only about 4 books a year. And today, Americans read less than they have in over 30 years. How many people engage in critical thinking or can articulate difficult concepts in a truthful manner? This is something to be truly appreciated. So is active listening. I want to publicly thank those professors of mine who taught me to think for myself and to express views that might be unpopular. Your example of courage has never left me. 

Two of My Favorite Things

Hello, springtime! First day of the season on the seat of a lawn mower. Also got in a run at the trail on what turned out to be a gorgeous day. Have an amazing Sunday everyone! 

Postcards from Farmville