The Voice: New Testament Review

I recently joined Book Sneeze (it's associated with Thomas Nelson Publishing) where I receive books for free and review them. They send me a book and I review it. I thought I would start with The Voice. It's another installment in the long line of new paraphrases being released in the bible market.

Having read the book of Hebrews, I felt that it was an interesting paraphrase that inserts opinion into translation so the reader needs to be careful. I found myself checking what I read against a translation often. Those who worked on the project, insert their thoughts into the text in italics. Sometimes those insertions are meant to help the reader follow the flow of thought. Unfortunately, it also inserts ideas that are not original to the text. One example may help:

• The Voice: "Do not be carried away by diverse and strange ways of believing and worshiping." (Hebrews 13:9)
• TNIV: "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings."

In addition, there are devotional thoughts that are woven through the text to bring application into the present day. I found these thoughts the best part of the reading. They contained meaningful insights.

As far as recommending the bible, I would recommend it only as a devotional substitute to an actual translation. For deep study, I would stick to my TNIV or NLT.

Behind the Scenes - August 16, 2009

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 8: Day 3

Too often, we breeze through Leviticus with it's detailed instruction of animal sacrifice and legal code. It is one of the most quoted books in the bible in the NT. The second half of the Great Commandments comes from Leviticus 19:18. It is a book where love, grace and mercy run through it like a golden thread in a large tapestry.

Look at Leviticus 26 for example. God begins by talking about the blessings of obedience. If Israel sticks to God's commands then they are promised abundant harvests (plenty of food), peace, prosperity and an intimate relationship with God. We make a mistake if we look at this like a parent bribing a child. It's God outlining the original blueprint to life. Following His direction was always meant to lead us to a good life and good relationships (that's the point of the Garden of Eden).

Even in the punishment for disobedience, grace is a constant thread. He states and restates: "if you still continue..." Notice the underlying grace. He's not saying, "Mess up once and its over." He's promising patience and faithfulness. The whole sacrificial system is installed to deal with the wrongs He knows they will commit.

God ends Leviticus 26 by saying He knows they will blow it big but He won't reject their relationship. He will still find the means to bring them back home and restore their relationship. They are never in a hopeless situation. They may have to endure hardship but God won't let them go.

Grace is a constant theme throughout the whole bible. You just have to know how to look for it. It's like my son who can spot an exotic car on the highway traveling 70 mph in the opposite direction. He sees it because he's looking for it. What are you looking for?

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 8: Day 2

The Covenant is laid out. The Tabernacle is finished. The worship system detailed. God's glory settles in tangible form in the middle of the community (the book of Numbers tells us that they laid out the tribes around the Tabernacle and followed it wherever it led). The structure for a community of God's people is complete.

The book of Exodus ends with a great picture of life on earth with God - we're a community of people with God at the center. He leads, we follow. He stays, we rest. We structure our lives around Him. He's given us the blueprint for living, the means for a relationship. The difference now is that Christ has replaced the sacrifices and the worship is focused. Where only a few could experience God, now we all can. Where sin was an obstacle, now Christ has removed it. But the desire for community stays.

It's remarkable when you read Leviticus (the blueprint for a relationship with God and people). So much of it is about imitating God and loving people. A worthy goal for today. We don't have to worry about the ritual but we need to be concerned about the imitation and love. Exodus 40 is a snapshot of heaven on earth. If only we could stay at those moments and not move (like a worship experience when God is tangible and life is good).

The day will come when we will live there for good, on earth, with God in the center, perfect in holiness and love. In my book, it can't come too soon.

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 8: Day 1

I'm moved by the description of the community's response to the call to build the Tabernacle:

• It was voluntary: "All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved..." (NIV) - no one gave out of compulsion, obligation or force. They gave because they wanted to give.
• It was sacrificial: they took their personal possessions, including the jewelry that they wore and offered it over to God to be used on the Tabernacle.
• It was humble: you have to imagine the impact of this announcement from Moses (the design for worship & blueprints for Tabernacle) following the incident of Exodus 32 (crafting a golden idol and worshipping it while Moses was on Mt. Sinai). God was teaching Moses how to worship Him while Israel was worshipping a false idol. That's humbling...
• It was pesonal: everyone chipped in to make the project happen. They worked side by side on an important project together, giving their time & talent & treasure.
• It was guided: God gifted some people to teach others and supervise the project.

This is the shining moment of community. This is like a special building project, outreach or missions trip. It reminds me of the 40 Days of Community - one of those moments when everyone in the church comes together to do something bigger than themselves. On their own, each person can only do a part. Together, they can do much more. You remember these moments in life with fondness.

This is why we like to do Synergy events. We're all focused together on the same subject, serving a common outreach, sharing life together. When we put aside our personal interests and partner with the larger church under the guidance of our leaders, we achieve tremendous goals.

I encourage you to look for those moments when a spiritual leader stands up and says, "We need to do this together." If the person has prayed about the charge and confirmed it, then we can experience a tremendous God-moment in joining together with others to serve.

Behind the Scenes - August 16, 2004

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 7, Day 3

Numbers 20:1-13 is a difficult passage for many people. God seems a little hard on Moses (and I can sympathize with Moses). But if you look at the passage, you can see a couple of things:

1. Moses doesn't follow God's command - God said to speak to the rock (not the people), not hit it with the staff. God wanted the miracle to be in the power of God's word spoken through the mouth of His servant, Moses.
2. Moses takes credit for the miracle - he says, "Must we bring your water from this rock?" It's God who provides the power for the miracle, not Moses & Aaron. It's a real temptation for a leader to begin taking credit for the great things happening in a ministry.
3. God makes clear that Moses' actions were somehow related to trust. We can't know for certain, but it seems that Moses doubted God's work somehow. The last time he got water from a rock, he struck it with his staff (Numbers 17). Sometimes we fall back to old ways that are familiar and comfortable and don't take the risk of new ways. Holding too tightly onto tradition can shift our trust from God to our traditions.

This is an important devotion for anyone who leads in a ministry. Leaders need to remember to follow God's commands closely, never take credit for what's going on and trust God - not the familiar ways of the past - for the future miracles.

At FCCH, I constantly ask, "Yes, it worked that way in the past but do we need to do it a differently next time?" If you are afraid that it won't work unless you've do it the way you've always done it in the past then you are trusting more in your own skill and capability than God's (you're also beginning to take credit for something that God did). How can you tell if you are starting to fall into this trap? Ask yourself these questions:

• How has my ministry changed in the last 24 months?
• Do you pray for your ministry like you did when you first started?
• What is it that you are doing in your life and ministry that only God can achieve?

One last note: Moses may have not seen the Promised Land but from a distant but he did get to the true Promised Land to be with God in the end.

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 7: Day 2

So many of the stories about the time between the Red Sea and the Promised Land have to deal with growing pains. This is a new community with a new relationship with God. Think of the issues you read about:

• Will God continue to provide for our needs?
• Who are our leaders? Why do we follow them? Who picked them?
• Where do we go next? How do we get there? Is there where I want to be?
• How can face the challenges of life?
• What does God expect of us? Do I want to meet those expectations? Can I meet them?
  
• Who is God? What does that mean to me?
• How do I worship God?
  
• How should we live together?

All these questions are similar to the ones we face in our walk with Christ. It's funny how we face them when we are new to faith, work out answers and move on. Then later in life, we constantly revisit them but at deeper levels, greater consequences, more intimate results. So much of my journey with Christ is wrestling with the question: "Will I follow through with this commitment?"

In these stories, the heroes aren't the people who do everything perfectly. They are the people who stay true to their commitment with God - even when it is hard. They resist peer pressure, stay passionate for God's presence, devote themselves to holiness, try their best to do what God has asked.

I learn as much through their mistakes as I do their successes. They are the people who dust themselves off and pick up where they left off. They own their mistakes and accept the consequences. No excuses.

Even as I work through this material, I wrestle through the same questions I've listed above. I guess that part of the success of the Christian faith is faithful endurance - just hanging in there can be an act of holy devotion.

OTC Devotion: Fast Track Week 7: Day 1

This section of Exodus is always amazing to me. It begins with an incredible song of victory about God's power in delivering Israel from Egypt and quickly moves in some embarassing accounts about the people. They start complaining about the lack of water and food while in the desert, a fair concern unfairly stated. What did they expect? Did they really think that God would deliver them from Egypt only to let them die in the desert? If God could miraculously part the Red Sea, couldn't He miraculously provide water and food?

I guess I shouldn't be so hard on Israel. Afterall, how many times have I moved from a powerful experience of God at church, on retreat or missions, in a small group or some other experience only to complain when I encounter a difficult circumstance. Suddenly, conflict at home, problems at work, poor health or a myriad of other frustrations cause me to complain about God's love as loudly as I just praised Him for His compassion during the powerful encounter.

If I understand the stories correctly, each trial was an opportunity for another miracle - beginning with the miracle of trusting God even when the circumstances didn't merit it. Imagine reading a different story in Exodus 16? I could imagine that the people were hungry so they go to Moses and ask him to pray on their behalf. Only this time, they say, "We can't wait to see how God will provide for us this time! He's been so good to us in the past. This will be exciting!"

Behind the Scenes - August 9, 2004