The Big Ten

As a self admitted Bible nerd, I have to confess that sometimes I develop pet peeves that are ridiculous and I know it. For instance, I dislike “the ten commandments”. Before you start calling out blasphemy, allow me to clarify a few things upfront. I dislike what I feel is an overemphasis of those commandments as well as the poor exegetical practices and lack of historical knowledge that surrounds them.

Forget about those big words for a moment and think about when you first heard about the ten commandments and what you know about them. If I were to guess, I would say that you first heard about them in children’s church or a VBS. You probably even got a piece of candy or a trinket if you memorized them. Even though it’s almost 70 years old at this point, you probably also have seen, or at least know of, the movie The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. You know they are important, you shouldn’t break them (note to self- figure out if we “break” commandments because Moses “broke” the tablets the commandments they were written on), and there has been a socio-political fight about removing them from courthouses. That should about cover it, yes?

I’m not going to say that everything you thought you knew is wrong. It’s all technically correct, just incomplete. First, “The Ten Commandments” is a misnomer. Yes, there are ten commandments found in Exodus 20:1-22 and your Bible probably even has a little title above this section that calls it “The Ten Commandments”. But there is a very critical piece of information that made that last sentence even possible yet also leads to the misnomer. Exodus was not written in chapter and verse form with section headings. In fact, none of the books of the Bible had chapter and verse until well after 1400 AD. They were written as one solid document. This means two very important things. First, the section headings and chapter/verse divisions aren’t part of the original Holy Spirit inspiration and shouldn’t be treated as such (and a side note is the footnotes and commentary at the bottom of your study Bible pages aren’t part of that either). The second thing is that means we should be looking at what comes before and after a particular passage and look at all that through the lens of the entire book.  This means that what we call the ten commandments actually is never called the ten commandments in the Bible. It’s actually just the first ten when the Israelites reached Mount Sinai. There are dozens of commandments and laws that are given after these first ten.

Most of these additional laws and commands we no longer follow (my favorite is “Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death”). Yet somehow we have elevated these ten to a higher level than all the rest. It hurts to learn that a lot of this is due to a fantastic publicity campaign by the director of the famous movie. Cecil Demille started the movement to have statues of the ten commandments placed in courtrooms and schools. The stated reason was “if making would heed those Ten, it would be a better world in which to live”, but the real reason was it was all promotion for his upcoming movie. It did change how America viewed, or revered, the commandments.

So why do I dislike the ten commandments? Well it’s not really the commandments that I dislike, but rather how people use them as a definitive guide. It’s something that wasn’t intended by God, Jesus didn’t even refer to all ten of them, and they are over-emphasized thanks to a movie marketing. We have almost taken the ten commandments and placed them as a symbol of the core of our beliefs (coming dangerously close to breaking #2 in itself). Should we learn about them? Absolutely! Should we follow them? Absolutely! But we shouldn’t get so wrapped up in the legalism of them that we neglect the true meaning behind them which Jesus so eloquently summarized by saying:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus took the 613 commandments from the Old Testament and broke it down to 24 English words. It’s not about legalism, it’s about love. If we fail to love God and love our neighbor, it doesn’t matter if we technically obey the ten, we’ve still failed.

All In

All In

As I was deciding what to do my blog on, I am continually reminded of our VBS theme called Make Waves and how close it hits to home for many of us in our daily lives.

First, I want to tell you a story. Many years ago, when I was part of my youth group, we took a trip to an amusement park. For those of you who don’t know, I am from Michigan and Cedar Point is a big rollercoaster theme park in Ohio, so it was a big deal back then to be traveling so far just for the day. The newest roller coaster, the Top-Thrill Dragster had just come out. The whole way there I was excited, I pumped myself up, I made a plan with my friends and when the park opened, we went straight for it. But when I saw it, I froze.

Now it wasn’t the biggest coaster or the longest, but it was the fastest. So, I decided, you know, I’ll build up to it. If I ride all the others, it won’t seem so scary right? My friends and I rode every ride in the park that day, including the tallest one. There was only about an hour left and so once again, we got in line for the Dragster. I was watching the people riding by overhead as the line slowly crept forward. My friend kept asking me “Are you nervous?” “No.” I would say. We got to the front, and I panicked. My friend went without me, and I used the cut line to exit and wait for her at the end of the ride. To this day, I haven’t ridden it. I haven’t had the chance to go back at all. 

I feel like our walk with God is kind of like riding that roller coaster. God calls us to this amazing plan. We get so on fire when we ask God into our lives. We are pumped and ready for God to call us to that great, amazing thing that he has for us. Then he shows us his plan or asks something of us that is outside of our area and we get scared. Many times, God calls us out of our comfort zones, to do things we may not be comfortable with, speaking at church, telling a stranger about Jesus, or even going out of our way to help someone. 

We live in that comfort zone, it’s nice and safe and familiar. We have our friends we go to church with, our family members that we share our love of Jesus with, and our daily routines. We sing songs on Wednesdays and Sundays and eventually, it runs together. It’s comfortable. 

We still say yes to God when we feel that familiar tug on our hearts. “You know what God, I am on fire for you, anything you want in here, in this comfort zone, I’m good with.” And that’s good for a while, but eventually, God calls us to more. To that deeper water. To give more, pray more, trust more, and we get scared. We try to shut off that little voice in us that’s going “Hey, hey. I have more for you. You can do more.” Because we just know it’s going to be uncomfortable. So eventually, we just get stuck in that zone and we miss what God had planned for us. We give in to that fear, that uncertainty, and we pull back. 

But the reality is that God has called us to so much more you guys! If we can learn to let go of that fear and take the jump. Say yes to what God has for us there is no limit to the things He can do for us. You might be the only one who can reach that friend of yours that is hurting and needs to hear about Jesus. There might be a family member who is having a hard time and you letting them know that God is still there for them might be just what they need to hear. God might be giving you these missions because you’re the only one who can reach that person or do that thing.

Let’s look at the book of Mark. Specifically, Chapter 1 verses 16 to 18. 

16  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

17  Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

18 They immediately left their nets and followed him.

Now read verse 18 again. It doesn’t say they paused, it doesn’t say they checked their calendars, and made sure someone could take care of things while they were gone. No, it says IMMEDIATELY they went with him. Now at this point, the news of Jesus had become commonplace. He had performed some miracles, spoke in many places and his reputation was beginning to precede him even before he would arrive in a town or city. Something to keep in mind is that the people of Israel had been waiting a very long time for the Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, they had held faith that one day he would come. After the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments, they still held that faith. They passed down the stories God’s promises to their children and their children’s children, and so on. Many men had come before Christ claiming to be the Messiah they had waited so long for but when the time came, when Jesus came to them with that choice, when they looked at that roller coaster-sized request, they NEVER hesitated. They didn’t ask if he was the Messiah or ask to prove his worth with a special miracle. They had that faith in Jesus, that fire inside them that told them they were made for something more than just being fishermen. Were they nervous? I’m sure they were. They were leaving their livelihood behind, their families behind, to follow Jesus and be his disciples. 

That same faith that drove these men and 10 others to leave everything they knew behind and follow Christ also lives in us. That same desire manifests itself whenever we are faced with choosing faith over fear and we choose to take that leap and follow Him.  Mark 4:30 records the parable of the mustard seed where God likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Our faith only needs to start that small. Hopefully, it will grow many times over once we listen and follow God but, at that moment, when we ask God to come into our hearts and push us outside of that comfort zone we have set up for ourselves we just need that tiny bit, that tiny push.

God gives us that confidence, but he also gives us that choice. We have to be able to take that step, that leap of faith that says “I don’t know what you have planned for me, but I’m willing to step out of my comfort zone and trust you.” God doesn’t expect us to have all the answers and honestly, most of the time God doesn’t give us all the details either. He simply asks for that willingness, that faith, that fire that we can’t turn off and he will do the rest. 

So, as we gear up to go into our VBS season, I encourage you to look deeper into what God is telling you to do. Be willing to look at that roller coaster-sized plan that God has for you and step out on that faith you have. I promise you won’t be disappointed! 

Kellie Jones joined the NUMC Staff in the summer of 2021 as our Nursery Coordinator. Her energy and cheerfulness is contagious to everyone who works and volunteers with her. She loves Jesus, her family, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Resilience

God has a way of preparing us for the trials that we face. Even when we aren’t prepared, He always is. Each month as I look ahead at the materials and theme for our children’s lessons on Sunday morning, I find that I get ministered to more than the kids probably do. This month we’re talking about resilience. Our definition for resilience is “getting back up when something gets you down.” I think all of us can relate to those times when we are hit hard by unexpected events. There are a lot of emotions that we tend to go through: sadness, anger, regret, disappointment. These are all common feelings when we encounter a setback.

I am reminded of the constant struggles the apostles had to go through as they moved forward to establish the church and spread the Gospel after Jesus’ ascension. Jesus promised them that he would be with them always, but not exactly in the same way. In Acts, we see that promise fulfilled as the Holy Spirit descended upon them during Pentecost. From that point on things would continue to get tougher for Jesus’ followers. Peter and John went through constant questioning by the leaders of their former faith; Paul went through numerous trials of imprisonment, shipwrecks, and beatings; each apostle was eventually martyred for their belief and conviction that Jesus was the Son of God and defeated the grave. But this would not deter their faith, their convictions, or their love for God and the church.

The apostles gave us an example of resilience. They set the precedent for how we are to respond to tough times, hardships, setbacks of all kinds. They did not run from the Gospel, they relied on it. They did not blame God for their hardships, they trusted Him…and they trusted in each other. What others may have seen as an excuse to run away; they saw it as an opportunity for God to work. They did not let it deter them because they knew what the end result of their faithfulness was going to be. They showed resilience.

One of my favorite worship songs that has gotten me through some tough times is “Another in the Fire” by Hillsong United. The final chorus goes like this:

There’ll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There’ll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You’ve been to me
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be

Those battles and trials that we face can be times of joy because that’s when we know God will reveal Himself. No wonder James tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (1:2-4) 

We are given an opportunity to trust in God when we face trials. My challenge for all of us when we get knocked down by them is to get back up. Get back up because God is with us. Get back up because when it’s tough, God is more present than ever. Get back because we know that each time we do, we get stronger, more resilient. And as a church we should always look to help one another up as well. Find those people around you that are hurting and pray them, hug them, give them a lending hand. It’s in those moments that we feel the presence of God.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31

Your Gifts

Our church is starting a new class on spiritual gifts this Sunday. There could be some potential misconceptions about what spiritual gifts are and why you need to go t a class to learn about them. There’s only one thing you need to know to get started, EVERYONE has a spiritual gift. There might be some debate on whether every person has a spiritual gift or if only believers have spiritual gifts, but it gets into lots of semantics. Without giving too much away before the class, a spiritual gift is an affinity or talent given by the Holy Spirit to do something. There are some aspects of discovering your spiritual gifts that are reminiscent of a personality or enneagram test. Just like all of those other tests, learning about your spiritual gifts can open up a lot of self realization, explain homeports about yourself, and help you grow closer to God. 

A part of the class will help people find the place where their gifts meets the church’s needs. Or in other words, it will help people find opportunities to use their gifts. At this point, people start to check out. Church and serving is wonderful… for somebody else. I know time is a precious commodity (by the way we have places for you to use your gifts that don’t add huge amounts of things to your list), but I think the even bigger road block to serving is thinking that you’re not good enough. 

Several years ago, Right Now Media came out with a short recruitment video. It is one of my all time favorites and has stuck with me for nearly 10 years. It is well worth the three minutes of your time to watch it, even if it’s just for the laughs. 

Our perceptions of what it takes to serve or lead in the church are flawed. We think we have to be someone important, wise, strong, or able to preform miracles. But most of the people we read about in the Bible with those characteristics were definitely not perfect, nor were they what we would think of as church volunteer material. 

Here’s the critical detail though, in spite of all their flaws they were still empowered by God to do something. And it’s that same God who parted the sea through Moses and raised people from the dead who has given you unique gifts. I strongly encourage you to attend our spiritual gifts class to find out what those gifts are and how you can use them. Even if you can’t make it to this first class, our hope is to offer this class regularly because we believe that part of being a follower of Christ is using our gifts that he has given us. 

Find Joy

This is Easter week! Many call it the Super Bowl of the church. Forty days of Lent conclude with Easter morning. How did you do with your penance this year? Did you give up something or did you do something different like doing something nice once a day for 40 days? How did you do?

Many different emotions go through this week from the celebration on Palm Sunday, to the last supper on Thursday, to Good Friday, and then to the celebration on Easter Sunday! Now I think of how big this week is for our destiny, but it did not always feel that way.

I remember being a kid and all I wanted was an Easter basket! We would go to my grandma's and hunt eggs with my cousins. These were real eggs that were colored, and they were hidden throughout the yard in the tulips, plants, and wherever my aunts would hide them. After finding the eggs, we would eat them!  It’s funny... we would have an Easter basket full of chocolate (we would eat all the chocolate), grape soda and then top it off by eating a bunch of eggs. My gosh, we had to be crawling the walls and driving my parents nuts! When I was a child, those were good times. I did not realize at that time how innocent we were. We were not worried about gas prices, food costs, mortgages, bills, or the headaches that life had thrown our way.

If we could look at the world through the eyes of our children, we could enjoy the time we have more.

If we take all the emotions Jesus went through during this week and be grateful for his sacrifice, then when Easter Sunday morning comes know our destiny has been changed by the stone being rolled away.

Look at the joy on the children’s faces. Start living and seeing a different world around you and appreciate the time we have been given.   

Turn off the noise and Find Joy!