Signing off.....for a little while....

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel... Philippians 1:27

Well, I am signing off for a little while. I have thoroughly enjoyed this writing exercise and hope that these posts have caused you to think about your faith and have in some small way aided your relationship with Christ.

My rationale: I am about a 1/3 of the way through my dissertation and as summer is approaching, I need to shift my writing time to emphasize this priority. My intention is to resume this blog in the Fall.

If you are interested in knowing when I am starting back up.....you may want to become a "follower" by clicking on the "Follower" link in the right hand column. In doing so, you will receive an email informing you of a new post.

Thank you so much for those who have read and commented....I have found the dialogue very enriching.

God bless!

Sincerely,
Jim Fox

A personal note....

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1

As you know, my last name is Fox...and I know that I am blessed with a "good" name. I do not say this with one ounce of pride....this has everything to do with those who have come before me and the tremendous integrity that is my heritage. What you may not know is that while I am "half Fox", I am also "half Phillips." My mother's maiden name is Phillips....and let me tell you, there is no family like the Phillips family. If you happen to know my mother, you know exactly what I mean. Her father, Pop-Pop Johnny was the real deal and you could not find a more dear soul than grandma Elizabeth. In any case, I want to share a personal note about one particular "Phillips"-- Uncle Bob.

Uncle Bob is one of those persons who, while being 82, doesn't look a day older than 60. He is as spry and as sharp as any person you will meet. He worked in a bank in Worcester County, Maryland....after retiring, he took up fine woodworking and furniture making....and he has the missing digits to prove it (that's another story or two for another day). The reason that I am sharing this personal note is because for me, he epitomizes "authenticity." He does not mix words, you know exactly where you stand with Uncle Bob. I will never forget his speech to me shortly after I became the Principal of the Lower School at Salisbury Christian School. He was quizzing me on what my most important job was as a leader. After a few failed attempts in responding to his liking.....he informed me that my most important job as a leader was "hiring." He was right. My co-workers know my "Uncle Bob" as I will from time to time share a story or a lesson that I have gleaned from being his nephew. I think they really love my "Uncle Bob" stories.

God bless all the "Uncle Bob's" out in the world....I am just grateful that I got the best one. And to Uncle Bob, I love you.

Mercy....tread upon....

Proverbs 12:1
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 13:13
13 He who scorns instruction will pay for it,
but he who respects a command is rewarded.

Proverbs 13:18
18 He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame,
but whoever heeds correction is honored.

Proverbs 14:9
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
but goodwill is found among the upright.

Proverbs 15:32
32 He who ignores discipline despises himself,
but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

I love to extend mercy. But, tread on my mercy and I become a bear. There is something within me that believes that if I extend mercy, then the perpetrator will change his ways. Certainly, if I extend mercy, the recipient of this wonderful gift will see the foolishness of his his ways, and be transformed. When mercy is honored, what a great feeling! When it is tread upon, when I am played for the fool, oh, how disappointing and piercing to the soul. If you haven't guessed it, I extended mercy this past week and got tread upon. Not a very good feeling. However, as I read through the verses above, one can almost pity the one who has scorned instruction.

This makes me wonder about my motives in extending mercy. How can I be put off by a such a small "tread"....I sure do have a ways to go. I wonder how the LORD does it?....

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:6b-7a

Inquisitive.....

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. Psalm 119:97-99

I love my wife with all my heart and I know that she loves me equally....but, there is this one thing (actually probably many more things...) that I do that drives her crazy. I don't mean to do it....it just comes naturally. I think those who know me well probably have a similar disliking to this side of my personality. Here it is-- if you ask me one question, my mind is not simply thinking of an "answer", like most other normal people....it is thinking about three more questions based upon the question that is being asked to me. I think that it is an internal curse or something. I am not sure when it started to happen....I don't think I have been this way all my life. However, I am going to try to put a positive spin on this dreadful personality flaw and call it an "inquisitive spirit." In any case, this "positive" personality defect comes in very handy when studying the bible. As I have shared a few posts on the topic of bible study, the greatest tool for understanding scripture is an inquisitve mind that finds great joy in asking questions of the text. If you are reading your bible without this tremendous tool....stop the mundane reading....change your ways....start asking questions when you read your bible. I think you will be amazed at the new level of understanding that this practice opens up. Don't settle for mediocrity with reading the scriptures.....dig in, don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. Enjoy God's word!

What do you see?

Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:33-35

Over the past few posts I have talked a lot about the two main aspects of bible study.....exegesis (meaning) and hermeneutics (application). Now, let's dig in. Let me introduce a brand new word to the discussion: OBSERVATION. This is where it all begins....this is the foundation of good bible study. As soon as we open the bible to read, this word (observation) should be on our minds. Now, how do we do this? Here are some suggestions-- Read the passage of scripture from different character perspectives. This works especially well when the passage in study is a narrative. With the passage above from Psalms- read it from the perspective of the psalmist, but then read it from the perspective of the Lord. Read it meditatively....then read it slowly while focusing on each individual word. Read it like it is the very first time you have read it. Discover what is truly there.

The method of bible study that I am suggesting is actually called "inductive bible study." Induction looks at all the individual parts and then draw conclusions. This is opposite of deduction which starts with a conclusion and then observes to determine if the conclusion is true. Induction, in essence, is the process of discovery whereas deduction looks for proof.

So, when you open your bible today (and every day for the rest of your life)- think "observation"! Throw out the old stale ways of reading and jumping right to application. Read, observe what is there, read it again, read it different ways, explore the text....then move on to determining meaning and application. If you are not used to this process it may seem a bit unnatural at first....but, as it becomes a normal part of your bible reading- you will enjoy God's word like you never have before!

Yes!

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18(NIV)

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18 (KJV)

2007 SCS Alumni, Geoff Crowley, nailed it! He was the keynote speaker at SCS's Senior Banquet on June 1, 2010. He spoke on SCS's foundational scripture, Colossians 1:18. His presentation sounded like a seasoned theologian... his exegesis was superb. The following four excerpts from his presentation provide a perfect example of what I have been talking about in the most recent posts:

1. "Tonight, I want to approach this text in a more theological and historical way. What did it mean for the Apostle Paul, a first centruy Jew, to write that in all things Jesus the Messiah is Lord and that in all things Jesus the Messiah is pre-eminent?"
2. "The first place to which we must look is the text itself. Colossians 1:18 is part of a larger passage, Colossians 1:15-20."
3. "The second thing that we must do in approaching this passage of Scripture, and perhaps the most relevant thing in terms of our discussion tonight, is to consider the political and religious scenes that were happening historically at this time."
4. "But what does all of this mean for you sitting here in 2010, roughly 1,948 years after this letter was written?"

Can you see it? Notice his questions.....this is an excellent example of the types of questions that we must ask ourselves as we encouter the Scripture. Excerpt #1 asks the question, what did this message mean to the original hearers? Excerpt #2 takes us directly to the text itself and the larger context. This is the first place we go to determine meaning.....the text and the larger context. As one of my professors used to say.....letters only have meaning within words, words only have meaning within phrases....phrases only have meaning within paragraphs....paragraphs only have meaning within passages, etc. Excerpt #3 takes us directly to the politial and historical context. This is so good....and you don't have to be a biblical scholar with 78 years of biblical research and know greek, hebrew and aramaic. A good study bible will go a long way in helping to fill in these blanks. Excerpt #4 is the hermeneutical question that must be asked of the text. In essence, knowing all that we have learned about the author's intended meaning, we turn the focus onto what the text now means to us.

Can you see what I am talking about? If not, hang in there....grasping these concepts have the potential to transform lives!

Sharpening the sword......

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

If this is true, then God's word is worthy of our study! In the study of scripture there are basically two main tasks. The first task is to find out what the text meant and the second task is to find out what the text means. These two tasks have big names associated with them: exegesis and hermeneutics. Please don't accuse me of trying to get too complicated on you. Let's keep it simple.... exegesis is a process of learning to ask good questions of the biblical text. And again, we do exegesis to discover, to the best of our abilities, what the text meant to the original hearers.... seeking to get at the biblical author's intended meaning.

Now, on to the other big word, hermeneutics. I have already talked about this a little in a recent post....in any case, the task of hermeneutics is all about taking the understanding that is derived from exegesis and figuring out how to apply it to our lives. This may sound complicated....and some theologians are experts in making it seem unattainable to the common folk....but it really does not have to be. The whole object is to get at the plain meaning of a passage of scripture and then properly applying it to our lives. The goal of exegesis is not to find some mysterious meaning behind a text....or to come up with some meaning that no one else has ever uncovered. This will most certainly lead to doctrinal error.

Please continue to join me this week as I share a few pointers on these two important tasks of bible study. I'm thinking the better we do our part in properly studying the scriptures, the sharper the double-edged sword will be. Agree?