If you’ve been keeping up with the daily reading then today marks the 90% complete mark. As this adventure draws towards a close, Ryan and I are wanting to continue the blog in perhaps a different direction or focus. We want to continue writing regularly about Scripture, but are certainly welcome to suggestions about what that might look like, so send us some ideas.
Ezekiel 45-46
Holiness matters…a lot. Sometimes it’s easy to get frustrated when reading passages of rules and regulations that are part of God’s holiness codes for Israel. So I have to remind myself, “the difference is in the details.” I was talking to Dwayne this morning about photography and he made that same comment. It’s all about the details. I will also say that I believe attention to little details is what makes my wife such a good Realtor and planner of different events. It’s just a gift she has. Little things often make a big difference. When it comes to holiness, this is extremely true. Many of us could say that we are obedient and follow God’s commands (to the best of my memory, I didn’t violate any of the 10 commandments today). But holiness is different because it’s about the little things, the details, of obedience and godly living. The standard is high, but our God is worthy of having people striving for such standards.
1 Peter 1-2
Holiness…again. Why? Because it matters to God. He wants his people to be holy and set apart, different from the world around them. In fact, this passage refers to God’s people as “foreigners in the land” and a book on this topic refers to this idea as Christians being “resident aliens.” How do you know when somebody isn’t from here, even though they live here? They don’t follow the same customs or speak the way you do. Perhaps they dress differently or simply look different. Whatever it is, resident aliens live here and are part of our world, and yet they are still set apart and different, reflecting and maintaining the identity of the place they come from. We are called to live this way as resident aliens reflecting Heaven, our true home, in the place we currently live and interact, this world.
1 Peter then goes on to call God’s people a “royal priesthood.” This verse goes back to the original vocation of
humans, namely to be rulers over this creation who direct the worship of the creation back to the Creator. We are to be royal rulers and we are to be priests. We see in Israel the same vocation, that God’s people are to be rulers and should be priests. In Christ, we see the perfect fulfillment of a human who is a royal priest and that calling is passed on to his church today. In our lives and Christian community today, the responsibility of being part of the royal priesthood is carried out in mission and worship. Our mission is to rule over the creation in such a way that we restore it and renew it to be the world God desires it to be. Our worship should direct not only our praise towards God, but the praise of the entire creation heavenward. The Christian life isn’t simply the waiting room we sit in between our conversion and arrival in Heaven. The Christian life is the living out of this calling to be royal priests, mission and worship in a way that impacts both us and the world around us.
Jan Welch
February 17, 2012 at 4:52 pm
This suggestion may not be feasible from your side of the exchange between yourself and your readers; however, from this side I often think it would be helpful to see relevant instruction from the Word regarding current events. When I say feasible – sometimes the Bible would just be silent (nothing to blog about) in relation to what is current in the news.
One example – something that REALLY bothers me is how brutally judgmental and vocal US citizens, including Christians, are of our government leaders. Doesn’t the Bible command us to respect them, even if they are not good leaders? (I Pet 2:13-17)
Bill did address the apocalyptic uproar of 2011 in the Wed class which seemed to be of interest and was well attended, even by non-members. I did not attend all sessions but the ones I did attend were helpful in regard to the context of writings.
I am often unsure of – the context of scripture, i.e., time frame of writing, how its meaning could be based on customs of the time and conditions in the world, etc. Some discussion of that could be of value.
I hope this is helpful. Kent, Ryan and Bill – you are appreciated!
ryanhimself
February 22, 2012 at 11:10 am
Jan, Karl Barth (One of my heros) once said that theology should be done with a Bible in one hand and a Newspaper in the other. I’ve been bad about keeping up with current events but I think you’re completely right in that we should make sure that Scripture is shaping our understanding and response to events taking place in the world.
Are you suggesting that we blog more on current events and how Scripture pertains to them?
I try and throw bits in here and there but there have been a lot of times that I’ve deleted what I was going to write about some issues because I decided the fight wasn’t worth it
Keep the suggestions coming…I do think you have great suggestions.
Ryan
Jan Welch
February 22, 2012 at 3:27 pm
It was just a suggestion because Kent asked for input for after we finish this year. It did quickly come to mind because it is something I think about a lot as I study and and try to apply to my life.
I can see where a blog of that type might be difficult pull together on a continuing basis. You have both done an excellent job of making application throughout the year.
Thanks, Jan