January has been a time Encounters for our congregation at St.John's.
We've been fasting, and meeting daily to help divine the way ahead.
Virtually everything on the regular church calendar was suspended, and instead there have been additional 14 meetings a week for folk to simply rock up at church and try to hear what God is saying to us in Crawley.
Quiet people have been brave enough to pick up the mic and share, noisy people have (on occasion managed to take the back pews and shut up).
Someone has been "Saved", and others have had fresh impressions of Christ. Me? I've limited my reading to the 4 Gospels, and now Acts, whilst also immersing my self in the reflections of admirable saints Charles Price, Liz Parker (MAF), George Verwer and now Philp Yancey.
Which all a rather convoluted introduction to my book review! How would you understand God if there was no New Testament. Where would you turn for guidance.
Philip Yancey reminds us Jesus only had the Old Testament, and in "The Bible Jesus Read" he unpacks some fascinating thoughts and pointers which still sound relevant thousands of years later.
Yancey is a disarming sort of guy, openly admitting he's had a few struggles along the way - but he tackles his doubts head on and draws on many resources to unpack things in a way that's a blessing in today's fast moving world.
He also challenges "The Church" to try reading the Old Testament, suggesting it has all too often been ignored the difficult books, and simply majored on the New. He points out the New Testament writers liberally drew on the Old, so why wouldn't we?
His opening pages spell out how we might encounter God, and seem to fit hand in glove with Steve Burston's teaching earlier in the month.
- It's important to argue with the Lord
- Shout out your frustrations
- Get Real!
Instead of timidly approaching Him with polite requests let him know what's on your heart. Treat "The Lord" like the early prophets, and bare your soul before him.
There's no doubt in my mind that a "normal" healthy relationship includes conversations that are probably best kept between four walls. A husband and wife, or company directors will sometimes need to really grapple with their emotions as they chart their way forward.
In the same way that Moses, Habakkuk, Job, and Isaiah "let it all hang out" we should to, God wants us to be that close - not hiding behind religious concepts. The Psalms oscillate between indignation and praise.
Moses was a murderer, Abram "put his wife about", David was unfaithful but each of these characters drew close to God, and are commended in the list of "Heroes of Faith" found in Hebrews 11.
Next up Yancey chooses to tackle the most awkward of books, Job! Let's face it, this is hardly a barrel of laughs. He draws us to one side, and sets up the story so we can view it from a distance. He makes it clear that Job was effectively a pawn in a wager with Satan.
Chapter after chapter we hear the pain, cringe at Job's conceited "friends" and can easily forget the story is about a spiritual battle between Satan and The Lord. Job never gets let in on the secret, but triumphs.
Does he get lambasted for his despair? Not a bit of it! He was vindicated, and his mates made to look like fools. Ultimately God wins the wager, and then blesses Job all over again.
The section on Deuteronomy starts with a quote from George Bernard Shaw. "There are two tragedies in life, one is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."
Moses does all the right things (with just one slip up). The children of Israel get everything they need, but still grumble. My understanding of the Old Testament is that ultimately Moses never reaches the Promised Land, but Yancey shows us this man of faith made it in the end - see Matthew 17.
Yancey summaries with three questions, and then goes into more detail..
- Do I matter?
- Does God care?
- Why doesn't God act?
It's a great book, and well worth reading. Buy a copy yourself to find out the answers.
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