Does the Bible Really Say That? by Bill Crofton

I love Chicago.  My wife Jane goes there at least once a year for an oncology consortium, and they invite me up to have prayer.  Hey, I carry her bags and get to watch the Cubs!  It’s been a few years now, but I remember when the Chicago Bears’ coach, Mike Ditka, got fired.  His comment at a press conference on it was, “As the scriptures say, this too shall pass.”  I really like and enjoy Mike Ditka.  “Da Coach” was a beloved figure - but not a great Bible scholar.  

It turns out there actually is no place in the Bible that says, “This too shall pass.”  It sounds kind of biblical, but it’s actually not in the Bible.  That happens quite a lot. 

There are a surprising number of statements people think are in the Bible that are not.  Have you ever heard someone say “God will never give you more than you can handle?”  It’s not in the Bible.  The Bible says God will not allow someone to be tempted beyond what they can stand.  The Bible does not say God will not allow you to be given more than you can handle.  Come on, people are given more than they can handle all of the time.  It drives me crazy when people think that’s in the Bible.  Another example, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”  Not in the Bible.  “God moves in a mysterious way.” It’s in an old song.  It’s not in the Bible. 

I once got into an argument with my mother-in-law (Yep, true).  We were visiting them in Nashville, and she was saying she loves that Bible verse that says, “God helps those who help themselves.”  I said, “That’s not in the Bible.  That’s actually opposed to the whole idea of the Bible, which says God helps us; we can’t help ourselves.”  She said, “No, not only is it in the Bible, it’s my favorite Bible verse.”  I said, “I am a seminary graduate.  I’ll bet you $20 it’s not in the Bible.”  No kidding, she stayed up half the night looking for that verse in the Bible.  She couldn’t find it because it was Benjamin Franklin!  It’s not actually in the Bible. I’m not sure we should bet on what’s in the Bible, but I needed the twenty bucks.

The spiritual dimension of our life is really important, right?  Question: Are you hanging onto any spurious statements you might need to get rid of? The FHC October sermon series has to do with passages that are in the Bible but often get misinterpreted or misunderstood.  For me, as I continue my journey through scripture, it seems I have more questions than answers.  How about you?  I am okay with that, but there was a time it would have quite possibly kept me up at night.  Remember, God invites us to “reason” with Him in our journey through life.  

Bill Crofton 

Composing a Psalm - Part 1 by Richard Hickam

This week I wanted to let you into the writing process of a musician. There are any number of ways you can do this. Some write a melody first, then lyrics. Some only write one part  and share the duties with another (Elton John and Bernie Taupin have this arrangement). In this example, I have written a verse followed by a chorus. The verse is stable, and the chorus is unstable. By that I mean that, in the verse, I have an even number of lines with some rhyming going on and a close number of syllables. Contrasting that, the chorus does not have that scheme. I have composed one verse and a chorus. 

So what do you think it will sound like?

Can you hear a melody in your head?

Will the tonality be happy? sad? mysterious? thoughtful?

Stay tuned in a couple weeks for my next time around, and I’ll have a finished product of praise!

The Faithful Will Gather

I feel your presence though I cannot see
your very being is a mystery
My longing for you is never ending
one day I'll see you when I'm ascending

You alone are God of all
You are the one who'll make things right
Your enemies will fall that final day
and the faithful will gather to give you praise
and the faithful will gather

Richard Hickam

LOVE. Period. by Tami Cinquemani

“It all makes sense now. Gay marriage and marijuana being legalized on the same day.  Leviticus 20:13 – 'if a man lays with another man, as with a woman, he should be stoned.' We’ve just been interpreting it wrong all along.”

When I first saw this post on Facebook, I had to laugh out loud.  It was nice to actually find humor in something that included both Christianity and the LGBTQ community because, quite honestly, most of what I read, hear, or see when these two entities are together makes me want to cry. 

I believe people in the LGBTQ community have been marginalized by many Christians, and if we are sincere about living a life that reflects Jesus, it needs to stop.  There . . . I said it.  I’m not asking anyone to share my views of what scripture says about the gay community, but I am begging those who insist on judging and then condemning this demographic to cease and desist. 

Let’s be honest with each other.  There are intelligent and dedicated theologians on both sides of the aisle when it comes to understanding what the Bible has to say about homosexual relationships.  This is not a “slam-dunk” issue.  Seriously, if we can’t even agree on music styles in worship, literal or non-literal days of creation, or women in ministry, can we really expect to be in agreement on this? But that’s not really the point, is it?

There are plenty of things that seem unclear in the Bible and are up for debate.  However, there is one overriding powerful directive that Jesus makes very clear:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:36-40

Love, simply love.  Not love, UNLESS.  Or love, IF.  It’s LOVE. Period.  Are we really concerned with offering too much grace?  Jesus sure seemed pretty indiscriminate as far as whom He accepted.  Yet Christians have a sad history of devaluing what is precious to God – whether it is by gender, race, or sexual preference. I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty messed up sinner who’s delighted and relieved that I am loved and accepted by my God. Do we think we need to be more exclusive than our Savior?

Statistically speaking, our employee, our neighbor, our friend, our child, or we ourselves either know someone or identify with someone who is gay.  My church’s mission statement is to “Love people into a lifelong friendship with God.”  There are no disclaimers in that statement – no “unless they are . . . “ tag lines.  I want to live a life that reflects the whole truth of Jesus.  This means that ALL PEOPLE are created, loved, and accepted by God and ALL PEOPLE are welcome into my life, my church, and my church family. 

LOVE.  Period.

Tami Cinquemani

Running Through the Valley by Chad Hess

Several years ago, while going through the most difficult time in my life, my therapist challenged me by saying, "It sounds like you want to rewrite the 23rd psalm to say 'yea though I run through the valley of the shadow of death.'"  My immediate response was, "Well, of course I want to run through it!"  Why should we walk through the valley?  Could it be because there is value in the valley that we miss when we try to run?

Most of us run through everything.  Whether it is the valley of the shadow of death or the mountaintop experiences, we are running.  I don't remember the last Christmas letter I received that didn't begin with a remark about how fast the past year had gone.  We are always running, and we are always busy.  What are we missing?  What experiences or lessons are we running right past?

In Mark 5, Jairus begged Jesus to come and heal his dying daughter.  I'm sure Jairus wished that Jesus would run.  If it had been my child dying, I would have been going nuts as this huge crowd meandered down the path.  And as if that weren't slow enough, Jesus stopped to ask who had touched him! 

Praise God that Jesus wasn't running.  There was another woman who also needed healing that day, and she may not have gotten it if Jesus had run off to help Jairus.  Even though Jairus' daughter died while Jesus was walking, God has never been bound by our limitations of time.  Rather than healing Jairus' daughter of her disease, Jesus raised her from the dead.  And because Jesus took His time, two women received the healing that they needed.

What are you missing as you run through life?  What would it take for you to slow down?  Are you running right past the quiet whispers of God?

Chad Hess