Writing

Scriptures That Bother Me — John 12:9

Posted by Jim Thornber on July 6, 2009
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Walking Among The Dead

“Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead” – John 12:9

This passage encourages and challenges me at the same time. I’m encouraged because the masses are still attracted to Jesus, who remains the main event and primary crowd pleaser. That’s good. However, the people are also interested in seeing Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. That’s the challenging part.

This challenge leads me to a difficult question: If people are naturally attracted to a resurrected life, are they attracted to my life? Furthermore, if people are not attracted to me, I have to wonder if I’m living the resurrected life Jesus came to give. Maybe this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Philippians, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection . . . and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Luke 1:38

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 29, 2009
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Mary’s “Yes”

“I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” – Luke 1:38

MaryThis is the scene: Some time after the betrothal of Joseph and Mary, but before they consummated the marriage, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that God chose her to give birth to the long-awaited Messiah.

This is the question:  “How this is possible, since I’m a virgin?”

This is the answer: “The power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the baby to be born will be called the Son of God.”

This is the consequence: According to the Law in Deut. 22:23-24, death by stoning for adultery. According to Gabriel, the birth of God-with-Us.

This is the response: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

This is what bothers me: I don’t know if I would have been as brave as Mary.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Romans 6:19

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 22, 2009
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The Temptation of Holiness

“Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” – Romans 6:19 .

As I was preparing to teach a class on the theology of Paul, I came upon this Scripture in Romans. Naturally, the more I thought about it, the more this one idea stood out: I want to fall to the temptation of holiness.

Paul understood holiness to be a separation to God. More than that, it includes the conduct befitting those separated for God’s service. The Greeks understood holiness as being dedicated to the gods. As a Christian, we are to be dedicated, separated and sanctified to God alone and for His purposes only. I describe holiness as simply living the character of Christ.

Every one on earth has experienced that overwhelming, seemingly unstoppable temptation to sin – a temptation that is so powerful that eventually we have all succumbed to its calling at one time or another. I want to take that same single-minded, overwhelming temptation that once dominated my mind towards sin, and apply that same energy into a desire to live in righteousness leading to holiness. In other words, I want to desire holy living so much that I succumb to its temptation every time!

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Matthew 14:14

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 15, 2009
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“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

Not Bothered About Being Bothered

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

Here’s the scene. Jesus has just heard that Herod, in a warped sense of duty, has presented the recently severed head of John the Baptist as a birthday present to his stepdaughter, who is also his niece, because his new wife, his brother’s ex, didn’t like John. Yes, it’s complicated. Anyway, upon hearing the news, Jesus took a boat to what He hoped would be a solitary place. However, His hoped-for solitary place was now full of people and, having compassion on them, He healed their sick. Furthermore, if you keep reading, He also performed the miracle we call “Feeding the Five Thousand.”

Okay, here’s that part that bothers me: Jesus wasn’t bothered about being bothered.

Maybe it’s just me, but I know if I had recently found out that a drunken, immoral, quasi-religious dictator had beheaded my cousin, I would want to go away and find a quiet, solitary place to pray and cry and shout out my pain to God. And once getting there, the last thing I’d want to do is minister to a bunch of people who are more interested in themselves than in my pain.

But Jesus doesn’t do that. Instead, He has compassion on them.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Job 23:10

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 8, 2009
Posted in: Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 22 Comments

Pure As Gold

“But he knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” – Job 23:10

goldThe book of Job bothers most people because it never really addresses the issue of why people suffer. However, Job bothers me because it show us that God is more interested in our faith and the final, gold-like qualities of our life than He is in our comfort and pleasure.

God wants us all to come forth as gold. But why gold? Probably because it is such an interesting metal. 1.02 ounces of gold can be drawn into a wire 62 miles long. It conducts electricity, shields from heat and, because of its ability to reflect infrared light, it is used to control the temperature on satellites. NASA coats the visors of space suits with gold to afford them protection from the rays of the sun.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Matthew 16:18

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 1, 2009
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I’ve Never Seen an Offensive Gate

gate

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).

I was reading Neil Cole’s book The Organic Church yesterday, and he said something that really bothered me. He quoted Matthew 16:18 and reminded us that gates are defensive items, not offensive items. “Police don’t pack loaded gates. Terrorists don’t hold victims at ‘gate point.’ We don’t send weapons inspectors overseas to discover ‘gates of mass destruction.’” His point is that the Church Jesus builds is to be on the offensive, not the defensive. We’ve nothing to fear about the gates of Hell. Rather, it is the gates and strongholds of Hell that should fear the Church of Jesus Christ.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Hebrews 11:16

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 26, 2009
Posted in: Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

The God Of Jim

“Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” – Hebrews 11:16

This verse makes me wonder if God thinks the same way about me. Is God ever ashamed to be called my God? Would He ever refer to Himself as “The God of Jim?” Would he ever point to me, as he did to Job, and ask Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Jim?” (Part of me really hopes that conversation never takes place. I’m quite allergic to boils). Would God ever address other Christians and say, “I am not ashamed to be known as the God of Jim. He is a faithful man, and to his credit I declare him righteous”? Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Hebrews 11:8

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 22, 2009
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What Is That Ringing In My Ears?

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

Abraham’s patient obedience is starting to irk me. He did not own any land, nor had he personally received any as an inheritance, and lived as a tent dwelling nomad, moving from place to place. He waited twenty-five years to see the son God promised him, and never really possessed the land God said his children would inherit.

I keep wondering how Abraham could remain so patient in his obedience. We live in a society that grows impatient if it takes too long for the coffee to brew in the morning, much less wait four hundred years for escrow to close on our new property! Still, Abraham went to Canaan possessing nothing but faith. He didn’t know where he was going, didn’t have a house when he arrived, didn’t own any land to build upon and didn’t know anybody who lived there.

Abraham “when called . . . obeyed and went” (vs. 8).  The phrase “when called” translated an action indicating a quick response. In other words, while the call of God was still ringing in his ears, Abraham was packing his bags and moving west.

When was the last time I obeyed the word of God while the sound of His instruction was still ringing in my ears?  Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Revelation 4:6, 8

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 20, 2009
Posted in: Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

Heavenly Songs, Earthly Noise

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures. . . . Day and night they never stop saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” – Revelation 4:6, 8

In chapter 4 of Revelation, the Apostle John has a vision of the throne in heaven. He sees one sitting on the throne with the “appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling and emerald, encircled the throne” (vs.3). I’m not exactly sure what jasper and carnelian look like (they are colorful types of quartz), and I’m not sure how to envision a rainbow that looks like an emerald, but I think that is the point. Our minds cannot comprehend the beauty and magnificence of the throne while we remain on the earth side of heaven. But then, who is to say we’ll be able to wrap our minds around it when we finally see it?

However, that is not what bothers me. What bothers me is the day and night singing of the cherubim.

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Scriptures That Bother Me — Ecclesiastes 9:10

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 14, 2009
Posted in: Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

The Hazards of Coasting

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” – Ecclesiastes 9:10

As I was sitting in my study wondering what I wanted to read, I randomly opened my Bible and looked at the first underlined verse that caught my eye, and “Whatever you hand finds to do, do it with all your might” jumped off the page. My first thought after reading that was, “I wonder how many times I’ve actually used all my might to do the work at hand, and how many times I’ve just coasted?”

There are certain things I can do without giving it much thought. Although taking out the trash and making the coffee come to mind, I was actually thinking more about certain areas of ministry. I began to wonder: How many times have I entered a ministry situation without proper preparation, only to find myself not only coasting on my familiarity with the subject, but also coming up short? This happened recently at a Friday night fellowship I started.

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