Devotional Reading (3)

 

Continuing with Charles F. Whiston on devotional reading:

 

“But in devotional reading our whole being (not only our intellects) must be quieted; and made open, receptive, expectant; and above all else, humble. It is not so much the work of the intellect as the attentive receptiveness of the whole man.  Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure.  Humility will accomplish what cleverness and pride cannot accomplish.”

 

Whiston’s observation that, “Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure,” is not only true with devotional reading, it is true with all Bible reading and study. We do not figure the Bible out anymore than we figure God out, God reveals Himself and His Word to us out of His own good pleasure; by His grace as we respond in obedience and humility to Him, He continues to reveal Himself, taking us into the depths and heights of His Word.

 

Therefore, I would tweak Whiston’s statement on humility in that we don’t really accomplish anything by humility other than putting ourselves in a position where God can speak to us and exalt us into His glory, into Himself…all the while recognizing that humility flows from His enabling grace and that it is not of ourselves. After all, Jesus is indeed our Alpha and Omega and everything in between! I am pretty certain that Whiston would agree with this, and I’ll try to remember to point this out when we get to another quote from him in a future post.

 

In terms of our cleverness in ferreting out the mysteries of God, I have a friend who has a friend who is a retired engineer. This well-meaning engineer decided that he would put his engineering background to use in figuring out the book of Revelation, he has written two books on the subject; he is also teaching a weekly class on Revelation. (I once knew another former engineer who had the same approach to Revelation and the Bible, applying calculations to this prophecy and that prophecy, to the point where he determined where the safest places were to live based on the prophecies; this man had quite the following within his tribe.)

 

A year or so ago, when my friend first shared with me about his engineer friend and the engineer’s teaching and approach, I didn’t say anything, I just listened. However, after we had a more involved conversation early this year I sent my friend a few thoughts, here are some of them:

 

“Ever since Revelation was written, up until around 1840 or so, most of the Church would have agreed with the following quote from Johnson's book, Discipleship on the Edge, an Expository Journey Through the Book of Revelation:

 

" ‘But the most unique feature of this kind of literature is its driving force. Apocalyptic seeks to do two things: first, it seeks to set the present in light of the unseen realities of the future. For if we know what the future holds it determines the choices we make in the present. Second, and more importantly, it seeks to set the present in light of the invisible realities of the present. The fundamental conviction of apocalyptic literature is that "things are not as they seem"; there is more to reality than meets the unaided eyes or ears; there is more to the present historical moment than we can deduce. And apocalyptic writing seeks to unveil that unseen reality of the present, to pull back the curtain on the present so that we see what is really going on.’ (Page 26).

 

“Here is a quote I came upon today by Michael W. Newman, while I haven't read what Newman's actual approach to Revelation is, I think he makes a great point in this quote:

 

" ‘If you're approaching the book of Revelation like an engineer poring over a schematic diagram of God's eternal plan, I want to urge you to reconsider your position. The book of Revelation is more comparable to a painting, a mural, than it is to a set of technical drawings.’

 

“A year or so ago when you mentioned your friend's approach to Revelation I didn't say anything, but I immediately saw the fallacy in the approach - you don't approach Revelation, or even the Bible, trying to figure it out - see 1 Corinthians Chapter 2.”

 

Both Michael W. Newman and I use concepts that are akin to Whiston’s, and I think all three are in line with 1 Corinthians 1:17 – 2:16, one of the great epistemological passages of the Bible – which teaches us that we don’t figure God out, God reveals Himself to us; God is not figured out or known through natural ability or means.

 

(And let me hasten to say that I encounter this in the academy all the time, including in Bible commentaries. Many commentaries are a mixture of receiving the Word as the Word and then venturing into human theory and conjecture and learning and treating these things on the same level as the Word – Scripture must always and forever be above us, speaking to us, we must never be so presumptuous as to stand in judgement on God and His Word. We are to be transposed upward in the Word, we are not called to attempt to bring the Word down into the dust of naturalistic human understanding so as to make the Word of God as the words of men. Yes, yes, yes, we do seek to communicate the Word in ways that men can receive it, but we do so as servants of the Word, as servants of God.)

 

Now of course we are called to study to show ourselves approved unto God, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15!!!). But we do this as students at the feet of the Master, and even when we grow into master workmen and builders we are still to sit at the feet of the Master, always relying on the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and nurture us in Christ Jesus. If we will teach, then we must ever be students of our Lord Jesus Christ…and of one another in Him.

 

Is it fair to say that in devotional reading, we must be devoted to our Master, our Lord, our Savior…Jesus Christ?

 

 

Devotional Reading (2)

 

 

In the previous post I quoted Charles F. Whiston on devotional reading. Now I want to drop back and interact with that extended quote. Whiston writes:

 

“But in devotional reading our whole being (not only our intellects) must be quieted; and made open, receptive, expectant; and above all else, humble. It is not so much the work of the intellect as the attentive receptiveness of the whole man.  Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure.  Humility will accomplish what cleverness and pride cannot accomplish.”

 

I want to distinguish between two types of devotional reading, reading the Bible and reading other material – there is, or at least there should be, distinguishing features between the two; while there are similarities, there are also differences.

 

When we are reading the Bible we do not have to vet what we are reading, that is, we do not have to ask, “Is this true?” When we read God’s statements about Himself or about creation or mankind, we know that they are absolutely true and can accept them without reservation. For sure it may require a lifetime to grow in our understanding of what God says, and we will need to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us to enlightened our understanding of God’s Word, but we can be assured that what God says is always true and can be trusted – we need not vet what God says…God’s Word judges us, we do not judge God’s Word.

 

However, this is not the case with what you are reading right now, it is not the case with what I am writing or with what anyone else has written or will write; it is not the case with what anyone else has said, is saying, or will say. The Bible holds a unique place on earth and among mankind as the infallible Word of God. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the inbreathing of God’s Spirit in the men God used to write the Bible is unique in time and space. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit does not inspire men and women with holy words and Divine insight, it is not to say that the Holy Spirit does not draw us into God’s Presence through the service of other members of the Body of Christ; it is to say that the Bible is unique and beyond all else is the Divine Word and Self-disclosure.

 

And so, no matter how high and holy the words of others may be, no matter what the glory of the Word, the manifestation of God, through others may be…all must be vetted by and through the Scriptures, through God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible. Therefore, our posture in devotional reading must of necessity be different when reading the Bible than when reading other writings. When Christ speaks through His Body, and He most certainty does – He will always provide us with an “Amen”, a corresponding witness, in Scripture.

 

We find then that our intellect is engaged critically in devotional reading outside the Bible, in the particular sense that we filter what we read through the Bible, we vet what we read. We also approach the Bible as the Word of God, as God’s Word to be received and obeyed – there are no other writings that are on this plane. Godly devotional writings will always point us to Christ and lead us to His Word – we can be sure of this, and in fact this is a good test of whether what we are reading ought to be read devotionally – for our devotion ought to always be centered on and directed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Whiston writes that we “must be quieted; and made open, receptive, expectant; and above all else, humble.”

 

The Psalmist writes, “I wait for Yahweh, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.” (Psalms 130:6 – 7).

 

Watchmen wait and watch; they watch and wait. If we are devoted to Christ we will learn to watch and wait on Him, to wait and watch for Him.

 

In Psalm 131:2 - 3 we read, “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me. O Israel, hope in Yahweh from this time forth and forever."

 

We live in a world of noise and distraction – noise, noise, noise! Our attention spans have shriveled into virtually nothing; we cannot sustain thoughts or conversation, we cannot sit still. Sadly, many “Christian” leaders and publishers cater to our immaturity by encouraging us to sign up for texts and emails that give us a Scripture for the day, a short “devotional” that we can digest in a few seconds, a thought for the day. We look at the Bible as a daily vitamin, let’s swallow our daily recommended dosage and move on with our day. This practice and mentality ensure our regression into infancy – when we should be adults we are crawling along the floor in diapers – what a picture we must present to the angels.

 

Our eyes ought to ever and always be on Jesus Christ, our ears open to Him and His Word.

 

“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Yahweh our God, until He is gracious to us.” (Psalm 123:2).

 

In devotional reading our souls are to be weaned and quieted from the world and its noise and demands, and our eyes are to be watching and expecting to see and hear from Jesus Christ – for He deeply desires to make Himself known to us. Jesus gives us His Word, through the Bible and through others [an uppercase “W” and a lowercase “w” if that helps], to draw us into koinonia with Himself and the communion of saints.

 

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6).

 

We are to expect God to draw us into relationship with Himself as we approach Him, and as we wait for Him, in prayer and in His Word – His Word especially given in the Bible, but also as it is given through the Body of Christ flowing from the Bible.

 

We’ll continue looking at this quote from Whiston in the next post, but I want to say that words seem inadequate when writing about devotional reading, about the Word of God in the Bible and in us – there is a transcendence that surpasses our vocabulary, a glory that envelopes our minds and hearts – God has given us a door standing open in heaven (Rev. 4:1) and we don’t see it – we are content to live on earth. This is akin to the mystery of the Incarnation, of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us and of us beholding His glory (John 1:14 – 18).

 

O dear friends, can we not see the destruction of language all around us, both within and without the professing church? This is the destruction of that wonderful and beautiful gift of God to man, made in His image – the image of the Word. Christ came to restore Himself in us, to restore His Word and to grow His Word…and we are engaged in destroying that which He came to restore…and we have no idea what we are doing, we are the agents of our own destruction.

 

Let us be devoted to Jesus Christ. Let us be devoted to the Word of the Way, and to the Way of His Word.

Devotional Reading

 

One of my treasured volumes is Christian Perfection, by Francois de Salignac de La Mothe Fenelon, better known as simply Fenelon. This is a collection of letters and short essays, translated by Mildred Whitney Stillman from the 1858 French edition and edited by Charles F. Whiston (who compared it to the 1823 French edition), first published in 1947. Perhaps if I had not been so lazy, or had a little more confidence, and a bit more trust in God, after seminary I would have sought a Ph.D. with Fenelon as my focus; then again if I had been super good at baseball I may have played for my hometown team, the Washington Senators.

 

Revisiting Christian Perfection allows me to enjoy Whiston’s introduction and his prefaces to parts I (letters) and II (essays). In the introduction Whiston encourages the reader to exercise devotional reading with Fenelon, explaining what he means by “devotional reading.” Whiston’s explanation is valuable in that it can help us see one of the ways we ought to be reading the Bible, along with its underlying principles – the principles, which Whiston illustrates, are critical. Below is Whiston’s explanation of devotional reading, I will interact with Whiston in following posts.

 

“What is meant by devotional reading?  It is unlike every other type of reading which we do.  Our natural practice of reading newspapers, magazines and novels will be of little help to us in this book.  Devotional reading requires a very different mood or temper.  In study our minds are critical, analytical, argumentative.  In such reading our own minds take the initiative, and are active and energetic.  In reading newspapers and magazines we normally skim over them hurriedly.  But in devotional reading our whole being (not only our intellects) must be quieted; and made open, receptive, expectant; and above all else, humble. It is not so much the work of the intellect as the attentive receptiveness of the whole man.  Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure.  Humility will accomplish what cleverness and pride cannot accomplish.

 

“Certain analogies will throw revealing and helpful light upon this mood, which is so necessary in devotional reading.  First, there is the analogy of coming to know and appreciate great works of art.  No passing and hurried glance at a great painting, as we stroll down the corridors of an art gallery, will ever suffice to reveal to us the richness and secret message of any painting.  It is necessary that we sit down in quietude, and limit our attention to a single painting, and sit humbly before it and let it act upon us.  It is the painting, which is the active agent, and not we.  The painting is subject: we are object. We must let the painting act upon us and in us. Furthermore, no single visit will be sufficient.  Many, repeated visits to the same painting are required even to begin to receive its revelations.  We must wait patiently and humbly until the painting reveals in its own time and way its richness to us.

 

“So it is with the devotional reading of this book.  We shall need to read and reread it over many years; to sit quietly in its presence, and reading, to let it reveal its truths to us.

 

“Another helpful analogy is that of the farmer and his seed.  The farmer places his seed in the ground.  He then knows that great and mysterious powers and energies must act upon it.  Rain, sun, air, soil—all these work together to bring about the slow processes of germination and growth.  Long before any visible action occurs above ground, there is the sinking downward into the soil of the tap-root, upon which the later growth and harvest will depend. All of this prior, underground work is hidden from the sight of man, going on in the darkness.  Only after this hidden work is accomplished does there then appear above ground the green shoot.  Only after weeks and perhaps months will the harvest come.

 

“Devotional reading is farming, the sowing of word—seeds in the ground of the mind and spirit, with no expectation that the harvest is to be reaped at once.  The word-seeds must have time to germinate, sink tap-roots deep into the mind and heart.  The harvest of the word-seeds sown to-day may not come until years later.  The harvest will come when least we expect it, and always with the note of being a revelation given to us from God, and not the work of our own minds.”

 

CHARLES F. WHISTON, September, 1946

A Holy Place - Isaiah 53 (1)

 

There are some passages, I think, that we ought not to teach or preach until we are soaked with them through and through; until we have read them again and again, prayed them, pondered them, bowed our hearts and minds and souls before them and in them – and have seen Jesus the Lamb in His terrible beauty and glory in them. Isaiah 52:13 – 12 is such a passage.

 

Of course, if we don’t begin the climb somewhere by teaching and preaching and speaking of the passage, we’ll not learn the depths of Christ’s invitation to us, so we will teach and preach the passage, we will speak of it to others – but let us learn to do so with our faces to the earth as we prostrate ourselves before Him who sits upon the Throne and before the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

 

We can no more fathom this passage than we can fathom what occurred on the Cross of Jesus Christ, and yet we can be touched by the Messiah in this passage, and we can touch Him – we can die with Him and be raised to life with Him, and by God’s grace the Holy Spirit can display this passage to others through our lives, individually and as the People of God.

 

If we pick the passage up in verse 13 of Chapter 52, we see, “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (NASB). But then we have, “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.”

 

We begin with the end, with the telos, the purpose, the goal, the fruit – and then immediately are plunged into the depths of the Offering, the Sacrifice – the One who will be “high and lifted up and greatly exalted” “has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (53:2b).

 

This sequence of seeing the exaltation before seeing the suffering that precedes the exaltation is found in Paul’s words to the Philippians (3:10), “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” In Hebrews 12:2 Jesus sees “the joy set before Him” and endures the cross and despises the shame. We might say that by keeping our eyes on the prize we begin at the prize and then experience the pilgrimage, the race, the sufferings – always keeping our eyes on the prize, the goal, the finish line.

 

Again, in Romans 8:17 - 18, “…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” We see the glory of our inheritance in God and Christ, followed by “if indeed we suffer with Him.” We see the telos, the end, the goal – and then we drop back and see what lies between “then” and “now.” We see the ground over which we must traverse.

 

If we follow the narrative of Isaiah 52:14 – 53:10a we may wonder if the Suffering Servant will see the light of day, we may wonder if we will see the light of day as we walk with Him, but then we come to 53:10b; “He will see His offspring [seed], He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of Yahweh will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied…Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong…” (53:10 – 12 passim).

 

If we continue into Chapter 54 we discover, “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; break forth into shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; for the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says Yahweh…And your descendants [seed] will possess nations and will resettle the desolate cities.”

 

The Suffering Servant and the barren woman show us that things are not what they appear to be; the woman who was thought to be desolate and the Servant who was thought to be desolated beyond hope, have brought forth offspring as the stars of the heavens. Hence Paul writes:

 

“But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written, ‘Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more numerous are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband.’ And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.” (Galatians 4:26 – 28).

 

We are the seed, the offspring of the Suffering Servant and the Barren Woman, we are the fruit of the One who is “high and lifted up and greatly exalted.”

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24).

 

Are we dying with Jesus Christ so that others may live?

 

Can we say with Paul, can we say with Christ and as the Body of Christ, “So death works in us, but life in you”?

 

 

Was It Not Necessary?

 

“And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’” (Luke 24:25 – 26).

 

I awoke this morning pondering Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12, The Suffering Servant. Who can fathom the depths of this passage? Who can comprehend its heights?

 

This passage is about so much more than physical suffering, as real and hideous as that was. It is also about so much more than saying, “Look at this predictive passage of the Messiah, see how it was fulfilled in Jesus.” In fact, looking at this passage primarily as a predictive passage, as “evidence” that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, hinders us from seeing Jesus the Christ and His sufferings and glory in this passage.

 

If we first “see” the passage, a measure of its depths and heights; if we first enter into the passage and allow the passage, by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit, to enter into us – then we can say, “See how this is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth! See how this is fulfilled in Him and in us today!” But to primarily read it in terms of events happening within time and space, and not see what is unfolding (and continuing to unfold) within those events, well…we are not likely to see Jesus Christ within the midst of the candlesticks with this primarily evidentiary approach.

 

When Jesus says, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44), He is referring to so much more than a string of “Messianic” passages, He is referring to the entire (what we term) Old Testament – He is referring not only to predictive events in time and space, He is referring to the cosmic and eternal substance behind those events, and to which those events carry us, and to the continued unfolding of those events.

 

So now I ask you, what do you see and sense when you ponder Isaiah 52 and 53? What are its mysteries? Its joys? Its sorrows?

 

How are you living in this passage today?

 

How is the Suffering Servant of this passage living within you?

Barefoot in the Church

 

“Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:5.

 

“You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” John 13:13 – 15.

 

I wonder why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, Communion, but do not wash one another’s feet? After all, Jesus said that we ought to do both of them. And, if we can explain away feet washing so that we need not actually do feet washing, we can explain away Communion so that we need not actually celebrate Communion.

 

Of course, there are those who do observe feet washing, but not many. Then there are those who explain away Communion, to the degree that its celebration is minimalized and sometimes eliminated; but by-and-large most churches (I think, I hope) give a place of honor and importance to Communion.

 

But why not feet washing? After all, Jesus says, “…you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Both the Lord’s Supper and Feet Washing occur in the Upper Room on the night of His betrayal – how can we separate the two observances? How can we honor one and not the other? How can we obey Jesus’ command concerning one and not His command concerning the other? Does not Jesus say, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them”? (John 13:17).

 

Perhaps we’d rather not think about these things?

 

Moving on, shouldn’t we be living barefoot in the church as a way of life? That is, shouldn’t an element of our lives be about washing one another’s feet, about refreshing one another, about serving one another, about submitting to one another and preferring one another?

 

I love Paul’s words to Philemon, “For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.” (Phm. 1:7).

 

Consider this picture from Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

 

Jesus calls us to serve one another as He serves us. He washes our feet and then He says, “You do the same.” Jesus calls us to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34 – 35; 1 John 3:16). Jesus calls us to live in the very same unity that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit live in (John 17:11, 21 – 23).

 

The image and call to feet washing is a call by Jesus Christ to live as He lives, love as He loves, serve and He serves.

 

Are we washing one another’s feet? Am I washing the feet of others? Am I allowing others to wash my feet?

 

Whose feet will I wash today?

 

Whose feet will you wash today?

 

Who will wash our feet today?

 

Are we living barefoot in the church?

The Crowds

 

“Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road…The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’…And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus’…” Matthew 21:8 – 11 passim.

 

“But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.” Matthew 27:20.

 

We shout for Him on Sunday and on Monday at work we crucify Jesus…we don’t even wait until Friday like the crowd during that first Holy Week. We sing to Him on Sunday and on Monday in our centers of political and economic power we cry out for Barabbas. We are easily persuaded by our chief priests and elders – those who control our purse strings, our entertainment, our political levers, our access to the good things.

 

Why are we so impressed with crowds, when crowds are fickle…less like sheep and more like wild boars. Crowds enjoy singing “Hosanna,” but they like blood better – simply look at our sports and entertainment…ponder what passes for politics.

 

We may be deceived, but Jesus is not deceived. “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” John 2:24 – 25.

 

To be among the crowds on Psalm Sunday ought to frighten us, for we ought to wonder what Monday will look like, what Good Friday will look like. We know where the crowds will be, but do we know where we will be? Do I know where I will be? Do you know where you will be?

 

If we, those who profess Jesus Christ, were not crucifying Him on Monday then our communities would look different, our lives would look different, the marketplace would look different, our schools and colleges would look different, our sports would look different, our politics would look different. But we dare not offend the cultural priests and scribes and elders, we dare not offend Pilate.

 

We need to beware of the crowds.

 

We need to beware of ourselves.