You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

I have this crazy idea that what I do matters. I don't mean that it matters to my wife or my friends. I don't even mean that God will judge me sometime after I die for what I did on earth. What I mean is the Lord of the Universe uses my faithful actions to bring about His Kingdom. Do you realize how crazy this sounds? What I do matters.

But this is what Jesus lived and taught. For example, when he was in his hometown, people didn't think he was anyone special. He grew up with these people, after all! So what did he do there? Not much, really. Mark records it by saying that "he could do no miracle there" (6:5). While the other Evangelists say that "he did not do miracles there", Mark boldly proclaims that the Son of God was stymied because of others' lack of belief. Do you realize how crazy this sounds? What I think matters.

I'm not sure if many Christians really get this idea. What I do matters. Yes, we pray. Yes, we might even read our Bibles. But what if we really believed that God can and will do glorious things through us? Jesus said we will do greater things than he did. But we have to believe. We have to believe that there is a correlation between prayer and results, though science would tell us otherwise. We have to believe that something special, indescribable, is happening during our church services, and act accordingly. We have to believe that God really, really, really thinks we who are unworthy are indeed worthy of being used in mighty ways. Do you realize how crazy this sounds? What I believe matters.

But it just might be a lunatic God's looking for.

You Want Me to What?

I read the story of Gideon this week. I knew that he was a great guy who led Israel to victory over her enemies. I knew that he hands out lots of Bibles now. But I must confess, I never knew how he got his start.

It turns out that the Midianites and the Amalekites were going throughout Israel and devastating the place. They were destroying all of the crops and taking all of the livestock. They were basically razing everything so that they could come in and set up camp. Israel had to go hide out in caves just to stay out of their way! (This personally reminds me of Ernest Goes to Camp.) This is where we meet Gideon. He, being the youngest of his brothers, draws the short straw. He has to climb up out of the cave and try to salvage some of the wheat harvest. With every step, he is looking around for the Midianites, the most dangerous of enemies. But he does not meet the Midianites. He meets a friend, though far more dangerous.

The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior."

If I were Gideon, I would have laughed. I'm a valiant warrior? I make my living by hiding in caves! Besides, I'm the youngest of my brothers; I'm expendable--why do you think I'm out here, anyway? Precisely because I don't matter! And Gideon's reaction is only marginally better than mine. He questions the angel, who answers by telling him to go deliver Israel from Midian (a classic God response).

As if that isn't ludicrous enough, Gideon, after waving some fleece around, actually decides to give it a shot! After all, Israel has a decent-sized army. Maybe he can do it. It's better than beating wheat, anyway. But God--neglecting the advice of Gideon, I am sure--gives him all of 300 men, sending 31,700 perfectly good soldiers packing. (And do you think those 300 men were the cream of the crop? Look at their leader!)


Again, if I were Gideon, I would be writing out my will at this point. This is absolutely hopeless. I'm going to die out here because I believed a wet piece of cloth. I wonder what my funeral will be like.

Of course, this is when I realize that I am Gideon. God has told me that I will do greater things than Jesus; I can't even succeed at reading my Bible every day. The apostles performed great miracles; I work in a cubicle. What can I possibly do?

The point of the story is that is precisely where God wants us. This way, when we do have great victories, there is no doubt that God is the true victor. What can I do? Not much. What can God do through me? All things.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

A Shameless Promotion.

Everyone, stop what you are doing right now! You, drop that burger! Put down Harry Potter this instant! Changing the baby can wait!

The Jacobsonian has arrived.

That's right, my college roommate Josh has started a blog. We have had many good conversations over the past 8 years, and his is an opinion I respect a great deal. Listen to what he says.

That is all.

Woke Up Dreaming - Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa is the closest thing we have to SRV today. He has much of what Stevie had: A powerful voice and incredible guitar playing. What's more, Joe plays and sings with passion. He is not just a technically adept player, or an average singer. He truly makes you feel what he's feeling--he communicates through his music in a way that few equal.

I found this clip of him playing in a music store, just him and a guitar. All I can say is I wish I could play guitar like that.

Enjoy.

A Brief Comment on Textual Criticism.

In the past week, I had several people come to me with the same issue. I had the chance to speak to 40 youth about Jesus last week at a camp I help run, and I challenged them to take a good, hard, long look at Jesus, his claims and how he fits into their lives. Many of the campers were bold enough to do so, for which I am extremely appreciative. Several, though, had a hard time with the reliability of the Bible. Basically, the argument is as follows: Since the Bible has been translated into so many different languages, it can neither be accurate nor reliable today. I do hear this argument come up at times, and I thought I would give a little response to it so as to edify you, the reader.

This is a weak argument. (This is not a dig at those who have questions about biblical reliability; I understand completely why one might have questions about such an old book.) The argument is weak because it is based on a false assumption. It is true that the Bible has been translated into many, many languages. Those translations, however, are almost always based on original-language manuscripts, which we do still have today. In fact, archaeologists have discovered thousands of biblical manuscripts spanning thousands of years. The Bible is the most well-attested ancient book by a large magnitude. With this much evidence, scholars can trace back to what the original source, or autograph, said using textual criticism, a science that compares and analyzes textual deviations based on established sets of criteria. Using these techniques, scholars have established that the text as we have it today is 97% accurate for the Old Testament and 99% accurate for the New Testament. (By the way, these are conservative estimates.)

This is a very brief overview, but hopefully it will satisfy most inquisitors. A few more thoughts are in order, though.

1. Of the 1-3% of today's Bible that might be inaccurate, none of it pertains to any crucial theological point. Most of these issues deal with minor grammatical details (singular vs. plural, etc).
2. For one to hold the initial argument to be valid, that person must also question the reliability of all of the ancient works to a much greater degree: Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Euripides, Jerome, etc.
3. One may hold that the Bible has been handed down to us accurately and still disbelieve its contents. Though I would prefer this not to be the case, it is at least a more intellectually satisfying position to hold than to say that the Bible is not reliable.

On Hate.

I was spurred on to good deeds today by my friend Danny's post on the Minnesota bridge collapse. He was lamenting over those who would attempt to use tragedy for political gain. (Notice the "Support Bridges Not War" banner pictured on Danny's site.) I immediately thought of all of the anti-Bush bumper stickers that pollute the Denver highway system.

The first and only thought that comes to my mind when I see one of these bumper stickers is this: What a shame. I remember Jesus' words on the subject: "Love your enemies." Jesus' enemies killed him. What worse evil has Bush done to my fellow Denver dwellers?

Furthermore, what does hating Bush accomplish? I have never met the President. From what I can tell from afar, he seems like a very cordial man. He doesn't seem like the spawn of Satan. Even if he was of devilish origins, though, how would hating him help matters? This is my guess: George Bush doesn't care if someone he doesn't know exists hates him. Also, I doubt he is going to change his foreign policy because he sees someone's bumper sticker while flying overhead on Air Force One. So what do these car-window quips accomplish? I suppose they broadcast one's hatred, so that other drivers can know exactly what you think in five words or fewer. (Newsflash: They probably don't care, either.) Second, and more importantly, they are the festering sores of a deeper issue. When you are consumed by hatred, you are the one who is hurt. It is your soul that withers; it is you who are the problem.

If you truly take issue with the President, I urge you to do as Jesus did: Love him. Pray for him. Support him by offering solutions, not empty criticisms and ad hominem attacks. For God's sake (and ours), sacrifice your hate to be part of a better solution.