When it comes to worship in a church service, different people have different tastes in the style of music. They will not sing along unless the song is in their style. For me, I only sing along if I agree with the theology of the words. Words, whether they are audible or visual, are symbols representing our thoughts and emotions. They are a partial means of communication, because we cannot fully express ourselves through words. This is especially true in worship. We cannot even inwardly, invisibly, inaudibly, fully comprehend or feel the whole essence of how great God is. How much more impossible it is to try to express that greatness in feeble words. But that is what we do. And we ought to. In the way we live our lives we should be showing by our actions and attitude how great God is. But there’s something powerful about words. The world is created by words from God. The Constitution that holds America together is words. The court system is words: testimonies, arguments, verdicts. The words we say have the power to build up or tear others down in our eyes, in the eyes of others, and in their own eyes. We can speak truth or lies and bring peace and life or destruction and death. Words are so weak yet so powerful.
Now that I’ve said all that, some of the most emotional and intimate times I have with God in musical type worship are when I’m walking around outside making up a tune and singing la la la dun dun mm mm na na or in the midst of an instrumental interlude during a service when the guitarist, drummer, and keyboardist are just worshipping God with their hands.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
Friday, October 22, 2004
Shema (part 4)
The final paragraph
Numbers 15:37-41, “And LORD spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them that they are to make themselves tzitzit [tassels] on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations. And they are to place upon the tzitzit of each corner a dark blue thread. And it shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of LORD and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray. So that you may remember and perform all my commandments; and be holy to your God. I am LORD, your God, who has removed you from the land of Egypt to be a God to you, I am LORD your God.’”
This paragraph I understand as being literal, not figurative. This is because tzitzit are actual objects that you can attach to your garments. And they have the stated purpose that they are to be seen and they will remind you of the commandments. The passages that I interpreted as figurative did not describe an object to tie to your hand and head; the passages said that you are to tie the commands themselves to your hand and head. The commands are spoken words requiring actions, they are not objects, unless you claim that the written words are what he’s referring to, which would mean that you have to tie the entire bible (or the original stones or scrolls) to your hand and forehead. However, though the tzitzit are actual objects that you can see, they are also symbols.
The Hebrew word translated as corners is “kanaph.” In the rest of the Bible it is translated as wings. For instance Malachi 4:2 says, “the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.” Now look at Matt 9:20, 14:36. The woman with the issue of blood as well as many others may have been healed when they touched Jesus’ tzitzit.
The tassels represent the commands of God and are a reminder of the holiness of his people. The dark blue thread can be seen as a picture of Messiah. According to the only tradition we know of for making tzitzit, the blue thread is doubled over and wrapped around the other threads, so it looks like two blue threads. We can understand this as representing the two comings of the Messiah. The blue thread can also be seen as the two greatest commands, the first of which is contained in the first paragraph of the Shema, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” and the second is similar, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Just as the blue thread wraps around all the other threads, these two commands, which are in essence one command, hold together all the other commandments.
I find it interesting that the tzitzit are made to be seen and their purpose is to prevent you from straying after your eyes. Also note that both the wearer and the others around see them. They surround the person who wears them.
The purpose of the tzitzit is twice stated as so that you will remember and perform LORD’s commandments. The first time this is followed with the idea of not straying and following your own desires, the second time it is followed with the idea of being holy to LORD. So being holy is paralleled with not following your own desires. Most of us know that following our eyes can often lead to sin, but we are often told to follow our hearts; but our hearts are deceptive and can lead us into sin. We must be holy (which means separate, unique, and distinct.) and follow God’s desires, his Word, his commands.
Numbers 15:37-41, “And LORD spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them that they are to make themselves tzitzit [tassels] on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations. And they are to place upon the tzitzit of each corner a dark blue thread. And it shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of LORD and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray. So that you may remember and perform all my commandments; and be holy to your God. I am LORD, your God, who has removed you from the land of Egypt to be a God to you, I am LORD your God.’”
This paragraph I understand as being literal, not figurative. This is because tzitzit are actual objects that you can attach to your garments. And they have the stated purpose that they are to be seen and they will remind you of the commandments. The passages that I interpreted as figurative did not describe an object to tie to your hand and head; the passages said that you are to tie the commands themselves to your hand and head. The commands are spoken words requiring actions, they are not objects, unless you claim that the written words are what he’s referring to, which would mean that you have to tie the entire bible (or the original stones or scrolls) to your hand and forehead. However, though the tzitzit are actual objects that you can see, they are also symbols.
The Hebrew word translated as corners is “kanaph.” In the rest of the Bible it is translated as wings. For instance Malachi 4:2 says, “the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.” Now look at Matt 9:20, 14:36. The woman with the issue of blood as well as many others may have been healed when they touched Jesus’ tzitzit.
The tassels represent the commands of God and are a reminder of the holiness of his people. The dark blue thread can be seen as a picture of Messiah. According to the only tradition we know of for making tzitzit, the blue thread is doubled over and wrapped around the other threads, so it looks like two blue threads. We can understand this as representing the two comings of the Messiah. The blue thread can also be seen as the two greatest commands, the first of which is contained in the first paragraph of the Shema, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” and the second is similar, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Just as the blue thread wraps around all the other threads, these two commands, which are in essence one command, hold together all the other commandments.
I find it interesting that the tzitzit are made to be seen and their purpose is to prevent you from straying after your eyes. Also note that both the wearer and the others around see them. They surround the person who wears them.
The purpose of the tzitzit is twice stated as so that you will remember and perform LORD’s commandments. The first time this is followed with the idea of not straying and following your own desires, the second time it is followed with the idea of being holy to LORD. So being holy is paralleled with not following your own desires. Most of us know that following our eyes can often lead to sin, but we are often told to follow our hearts; but our hearts are deceptive and can lead us into sin. We must be holy (which means separate, unique, and distinct.) and follow God’s desires, his Word, his commands.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Shema (part 3)
Paragraph 2
Deuteronomy 11:13-21, “It shall come to pass that if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that I will give the rain for your land in its proper time, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware that your hearts are not deceived and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which LORD is giving you. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as the heavens above the earth.”
There are a few things I want to draw out of this paragraph:
Here we see that there definitely is a command to love God. Also, I recently found out that the perfect mood could carry the force of a command. So “you shall love” (as well as the other perfect mood phrases) may be understood as both a prophecy and a command or as either one or the other.
God’s words are to be on our heart and soul. One of the stated duties of the priests was to teach the law to people. But this paragraph is not written only to priests. All of God’s people are to study and teach the Word of God. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s Word is to be our sustenance. His Word is life. How high is our view of the very words of God?
This paragraph contains to imperative command to take head to not be deceived, which would result in turning away, serving and worshipping false gods. Deception does not usually come in loud obvious ways. Deception seems harmless and even good, but it turns your focus away from LORD, when you focus on something worthless and put your energy into it, you begin in a sense worshipping and serving falsehood.
The Israelites could have been fooled into thinking that the forces of nature were in control. They might see the superstitious practices of their pagan neighbors as harmless. But those fun little seasonal activities would lead them down the slippery slope of focusing on rules that people came up with instead of what God had already told them.
If you’re not a farmer, then you probably don’t care whether it rains or not. You might actually prefer that it doesn’t rain. In America, we don’t really worry about famine. We can easily become content and feel like everything’s okay and it’s going to stay that way. But God is in control of nature and kingdoms. And no matter how hard you work the ground and no matter how sweet of a trade deal you have with other countries, God is the source of life and sustenance. At any time our whole world could be turned up side down. It is on God that we must depend, not on our government, not on our employers, not on our education.
Deuteronomy 11:13-21, “It shall come to pass that if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that I will give the rain for your land in its proper time, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware that your hearts are not deceived and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which LORD is giving you. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as the heavens above the earth.”
There are a few things I want to draw out of this paragraph:
Here we see that there definitely is a command to love God. Also, I recently found out that the perfect mood could carry the force of a command. So “you shall love” (as well as the other perfect mood phrases) may be understood as both a prophecy and a command or as either one or the other.
God’s words are to be on our heart and soul. One of the stated duties of the priests was to teach the law to people. But this paragraph is not written only to priests. All of God’s people are to study and teach the Word of God. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s Word is to be our sustenance. His Word is life. How high is our view of the very words of God?
This paragraph contains to imperative command to take head to not be deceived, which would result in turning away, serving and worshipping false gods. Deception does not usually come in loud obvious ways. Deception seems harmless and even good, but it turns your focus away from LORD, when you focus on something worthless and put your energy into it, you begin in a sense worshipping and serving falsehood.
The Israelites could have been fooled into thinking that the forces of nature were in control. They might see the superstitious practices of their pagan neighbors as harmless. But those fun little seasonal activities would lead them down the slippery slope of focusing on rules that people came up with instead of what God had already told them.
If you’re not a farmer, then you probably don’t care whether it rains or not. You might actually prefer that it doesn’t rain. In America, we don’t really worry about famine. We can easily become content and feel like everything’s okay and it’s going to stay that way. But God is in control of nature and kingdoms. And no matter how hard you work the ground and no matter how sweet of a trade deal you have with other countries, God is the source of life and sustenance. At any time our whole world could be turned up side down. It is on God that we must depend, not on our government, not on our employers, not on our education.
... - - - ...
What is with this world? People looking down on other people because of the color of their skin. Kids running off and seeking refuge with sexual predators. One man throws money in the trash while a starving child digs through the dump to provide for her family. But the world’s not all depressing. Everything’s not unfair. There’s just so much I don’t understand. Why do I criticize others for my faults? Why do I do what I know is wrong? Why don’t I do what I know is right? God is so un-understandable. Ultimately he’s in control. But somehow in all this meaningless we find our meaning. Sometimes I think that I would be willing to give up my freedom and the feeling that my life is mine in order to have a better world. But that would leave us feeling empty. We find satisfaction in making the world a little bit better. When I overcome everything within me that pulls me toward complacency and evil and I choose to act and make the world that I can see perfect for a moment, that is awesome.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Vanishing
[This post is from my other blog]
So far I’ve been writing about things that happened yesterday or the day before. Well, yesterday I went to check one of my email accounts. This account was my first ever email account. I’m one of those sentimental type people. I keep almost all of my emails. A few times I have gone back and read through a bunch of old emails and felt happy and sad and stuff as I see my past friendships evolve and I realize that I am no longer friends with most of my friends from high school. So, yesterday I went to check my oldest of email accounts and it was totally blank. All those old emails are gone. Now, I would expect that I would have been terribly saddened, but I wasn’t. I just kind of went “hm”. I was a little disappointed, but mostly confused as to why they all suddenly vanished. But there was and still is no great feeling of loss. They were just emails. To read them would bring up old memories. But the memories are in my mind. If I need to remember them I will. If something else triggers memories, they will be triggered. But I don’t need those reminders of past relationships. I have today and that is really all I have. I can’t relive the past no matter how hard I try. Have you ever had the experience when you go back to your old school or church or you drive by your old house and it just doesn’t feel quite as good as you remember it feeling. It feels different. Yet, we try to recapture good feelings from the past and we try to create better feelings for the future. But the way to have a better future is by making the present better.
(was that sappy enough for y’all?)
So far I’ve been writing about things that happened yesterday or the day before. Well, yesterday I went to check one of my email accounts. This account was my first ever email account. I’m one of those sentimental type people. I keep almost all of my emails. A few times I have gone back and read through a bunch of old emails and felt happy and sad and stuff as I see my past friendships evolve and I realize that I am no longer friends with most of my friends from high school. So, yesterday I went to check my oldest of email accounts and it was totally blank. All those old emails are gone. Now, I would expect that I would have been terribly saddened, but I wasn’t. I just kind of went “hm”. I was a little disappointed, but mostly confused as to why they all suddenly vanished. But there was and still is no great feeling of loss. They were just emails. To read them would bring up old memories. But the memories are in my mind. If I need to remember them I will. If something else triggers memories, they will be triggered. But I don’t need those reminders of past relationships. I have today and that is really all I have. I can’t relive the past no matter how hard I try. Have you ever had the experience when you go back to your old school or church or you drive by your old house and it just doesn’t feel quite as good as you remember it feeling. It feels different. Yet, we try to recapture good feelings from the past and we try to create better feelings for the future. But the way to have a better future is by making the present better.
(was that sappy enough for y’all?)
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Shema (part 2)
So the shema begins with Deuteronomy 6:4, then there’s an insertion of a blessing regarding the Kingdom of God/heaven (the focus of most of Jesus’ teaching), then the first of the three paragraphs of the shema. This first paragraph is Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
“You shall love LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This paragraph is called “v’ahavta.”
The “v” means “and.”
“ahavta” is a conjugated form of the verb for “love.”
It is in the perfect mood, which represents a completed action. So it must be understood either as past tense or as a promise/prophecy. In this context it is not saying you have loved. So since the phrase “You shall love” is not in the imperative mood meaning a command, as is the word “shema,” it seems that it is to be understood as a promise that you indeed will love God. The “v”/”and” connects it with the command to shema. Thus you are commanded to shema (hear/obey) LORD alone, and as a result you will love him. So this paragraph is a picture of the resulting lifestyle of the one who hears and obeys God the king.
“heart” refers to emotions and intellect. So when the Gospels include mind in the list it’s OK because it is implied in the Hebrew understanding of heart.
“soul” (nephesh) refers to the essence of life, the life force, the whole being of a person.
“strength” refers not only to the physical body, but could also be translated as resources, or everything you have, your possessions, your wealth.
“You shall teach” is also in the perfect mood. So it is not a command, but a promise. Teaching the words that God commands is what you do when you shema.
The binding and writing are also in the perfect mood.
Verses 8 could refer to the literal use of tefillin or phylacteries, but it can very easily be understood as metaphorical. Here are the main words of the verse and some of their possible meanings:
Bind = bring together, conspire, tie
Sign = remembrance, warning, mark
On = upon, against, beyond, over
Hand = repetition, time, strength, power, physical hand
Frontlets = (a rare word. root means to go around or bind)
Between = (root means discernment and insight)
Eyes = mental and spiritual faculties, physical eye, fountain or spring of water
This and three other verses are used to support the tradition of tefillin. Deut 11:13-21 is very similar to this passage. But Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16 demonstrate the figurative nature of this phrase when the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the consecration of the firstborn are signs on your hand and memorials and frontlets between your eyes.
Verse 9 is used to support the use of mezuzahs. The words seem to be more literal but could also be understood as metaphorical.
Write = describe
Posts = the obvious, noticeable parts
House = family, inside
Gates = entrances, openings, public places
No rants today; just a big long explanation.
“You shall love LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This paragraph is called “v’ahavta.”
The “v” means “and.”
“ahavta” is a conjugated form of the verb for “love.”
It is in the perfect mood, which represents a completed action. So it must be understood either as past tense or as a promise/prophecy. In this context it is not saying you have loved. So since the phrase “You shall love” is not in the imperative mood meaning a command, as is the word “shema,” it seems that it is to be understood as a promise that you indeed will love God. The “v”/”and” connects it with the command to shema. Thus you are commanded to shema (hear/obey) LORD alone, and as a result you will love him. So this paragraph is a picture of the resulting lifestyle of the one who hears and obeys God the king.
“heart” refers to emotions and intellect. So when the Gospels include mind in the list it’s OK because it is implied in the Hebrew understanding of heart.
“soul” (nephesh) refers to the essence of life, the life force, the whole being of a person.
“strength” refers not only to the physical body, but could also be translated as resources, or everything you have, your possessions, your wealth.
“You shall teach” is also in the perfect mood. So it is not a command, but a promise. Teaching the words that God commands is what you do when you shema.
The binding and writing are also in the perfect mood.
Verses 8 could refer to the literal use of tefillin or phylacteries, but it can very easily be understood as metaphorical. Here are the main words of the verse and some of their possible meanings:
Bind = bring together, conspire, tie
Sign = remembrance, warning, mark
On = upon, against, beyond, over
Hand = repetition, time, strength, power, physical hand
Frontlets = (a rare word. root means to go around or bind)
Between = (root means discernment and insight)
Eyes = mental and spiritual faculties, physical eye, fountain or spring of water
This and three other verses are used to support the tradition of tefillin. Deut 11:13-21 is very similar to this passage. But Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16 demonstrate the figurative nature of this phrase when the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the consecration of the firstborn are signs on your hand and memorials and frontlets between your eyes.
Verse 9 is used to support the use of mezuzahs. The words seem to be more literal but could also be understood as metaphorical.
Write = describe
Posts = the obvious, noticeable parts
House = family, inside
Gates = entrances, openings, public places
No rants today; just a big long explanation.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Youth, Poetry, Quizno's
[This post is originally from my other blog]
yesterday i was gonna post about how sunday i went with joy (my wonderful girlfriend) to a youth leaders conference. she went to it all weekend. i only went to it on sunday. i sneaked in, cuz i wasn't really supposed to be there. but it was way fun and about as dumb as i expected. there was a guy with puppets and a guy who did magical tricks. but i wasn't impressed because reggie at school does way cooler tricks. reggie is in my group in history and systems of psychology. that class is a whole story itself. so there was worship with big name bands and the words on four big connected screens with moving pictures in the background of the words. and there were lots of different colored lights on the stage and all kinds of stuff. so then i went to a seminar and learned the differences between boys and girls. and i also learned that mentoring is a good thing. jars of clay played music. the lead singer has long hair. the high point was that peter nevland and paul finley performend. but they only did two songs. for lunch we went to quizno's and it was quite disappointing. fast food restaurants in urban areas are not so fun because they usually feel very unsanitary. and this food wasn't even very fast. there was one poor little girl working. she had to take orders and make the food and everything all by herself. so, that's all.
yesterday i was gonna post about how sunday i went with joy (my wonderful girlfriend) to a youth leaders conference. she went to it all weekend. i only went to it on sunday. i sneaked in, cuz i wasn't really supposed to be there. but it was way fun and about as dumb as i expected. there was a guy with puppets and a guy who did magical tricks. but i wasn't impressed because reggie at school does way cooler tricks. reggie is in my group in history and systems of psychology. that class is a whole story itself. so there was worship with big name bands and the words on four big connected screens with moving pictures in the background of the words. and there were lots of different colored lights on the stage and all kinds of stuff. so then i went to a seminar and learned the differences between boys and girls. and i also learned that mentoring is a good thing. jars of clay played music. the lead singer has long hair. the high point was that peter nevland and paul finley performend. but they only did two songs. for lunch we went to quizno's and it was quite disappointing. fast food restaurants in urban areas are not so fun because they usually feel very unsanitary. and this food wasn't even very fast. there was one poor little girl working. she had to take orders and make the food and everything all by herself. so, that's all.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Shema (part I)
The Shema (Part I)
It is commonly referred to as, “the Jewish statement of faith.” The first part of the shema is two lines. The most common English translation is, “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Blessed is the name of his glorious kingdom for ever and ever.” The rabbis have taught that when a person says the shema, he or she is accepting the kingdom of God upon themselves. In other words, they accept God’s sovereign reign in their life.
The word “shema” is generally translated as “hear” but, as with most Hebrew words, there is much more meaning. The word “shema” implies more than just physical hearing with the ears, it also implies understanding as well as listening with the intent to obey what is spoken. So “Shema Israel” means “These are the facts: The LORD is our God and the LORD is King. Now live out this Truth.” The rest of the shema (a somewhat lengthy recitation to say three times a day) elaborates on how to carry this out.
Too often we are too shallow (I am so guilty of this) and we are afraid to go deep. I’m not talking about some mystical spiritual depth. I mean the real meaning of shema. The depth of doing. Too often we are hearers only. We look into the mirror of the Word, see ourselves as we really are, and then go about our day business as usual.
begin rant
OK so, here’s what I don’t understand. There are Christians who study Jewish stuff and know about the torah and festivals and use Jewish words and do Jewish dances. They study the Jewishness of Jesus and know that he kept the torah and taught like a Jewish rabbi.
It’s like they hear, “Jesus was a torah observant Jew” and they understand, “the torah should be the foundation of a faith in Jesus” but they don’t take the next step and obey the Word of God. They enjoy all the external “Jewish stuff” but they don’t do the things that God actually commanded.
I’m not talking about people who think that Jesus started a new religion. I’m talking about the ones who realize that faith in the Messiah is a continuation of the faith of the people of Israel (not the religion of Judaism. There’s a difference.), yet they deny the expression of that faith, which is in obeying God’s instruction (tora).
end rant
At the beginning of the “sermon on the mount” Jesus said that he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. In Jesus’ day, the words abolish and fulfill, in reference to torah, meant correct and incorrect interpretation of torah. So after giving his teaching on how to understand the law, Jesus concludes with the story of the wise and foolish builders. The foolish man who built his house on rock represented the person who heard Jesus’ teaching and did not put it into practice. The wise man is the one who truly did shema.
First Post
so this "blog" is my chance to show everyone how wonderful and smart i am. "j/k" Actually, i want this to be more of a theological type discussion type thing. (i have another more personal blog). I definitely want lots of comments. Tell me if you especially like a certain thing that I wrote. And feel free to add your own sermonette as a comment. You might not agree with a lot of what I have to say. Please tell me that you disagree and tell me why. Talk to each other in the comments. whatever. Let's have some fun.
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