Who Is Jesus - The Question That Matters Most

Does the idea of talking to someone from another faith make your hands sweat and your heart race? My passion for apologetics, the arguments and evidence in support of the Christian faith, was fueled by fear that I would one day be talking to someone and not be able to respond to their question or objection even though Jesus told us not to worry about this (Matthew 10).

In time I realized that I was going about it the wrong way. Apologetics is a powerful way to address objections and an encouragement to know that our faith is based on reason and evidence as well as the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. But these discussions become a distraction when we neglect to focus on the one thing that matters.

Who Is Jesus?

The next time you have the opportunity to speak with someone from another faith or world view, you can get straight to the point by asking that question. Then just listen to their response and their story. In 1 John 4-1:4 we are told that the question, "Who is Jesus?" is the litmus test. Then it's not an issue if you don't know everything about everything, though knowing the history and background of the major world views is an excellent subject of study.

In Acts and the rest of the New Testament, we find that the apostles spent most of their time explaining and clarifying who Jesus is and what the impact of that is.

So, who is Jesus? Knowing the answer to that question is key so I've listed a few statements and references to get you thirsty. These are just a sample because the roles and identity of Jesus can be found described throughout the Bible.

• King - Lord over all creation (John 1, Revelation 19) and He will return to judge and rule (Matthew 25).
• Man - Jesus came to Earth as a human but did not sin (2 Corinthians 5, Philippians 2). God's creation is good but mired in sin (Romans 8). If Jesus was willing to come to the Earth as a man, and He proclaimed His creation very good then Christians should love their bodies and creation and not seek liberation from it.
• Priest/Savior - Died and resurrected as an offering for our sins (Isaiah 53, Hebrews 10) so we could be reconciled to God and be in relationship with Him.
• God - The Son submits to the Father while remaining fully God (John 14, 15, 17). His divinity is affirmed by all the creeds, the New Testament, and references to the Messiah throughout the Bible. Therefore Jesus has all the attributes of God such as being eternal, holy, and omnipotent.
• Just and righteous - God has always been about justice which means to set things right. He is for the poor and the underdog (Psalm 82, Isaiah 58) and His return and reign over creation will restore (Isaiah 65). God is accused of being intolerant and harsh but if you read closely He is compassionate, slow to anger (Genesis 15, Numbers 14) and wanting to see everyone repent and follow Him (Ezekiel 18, John 3, 2 Peter 3). Whether it is the Israelites or you and me, He has given us a lifetime to choose to learn about Him and love Him and even when we push Him away, He continues to pursue us.

Again these are just a few of Jesus' roles and scripture that supports these claims. It's important that we know who Jesus is so we can reveal misconceptions and clear the way for people to have a fruitful relationship with Jesus.

Perhaps you've found the end of yourself. Your world view and attempts to reach God or success have fallen short and you're not sure what to do. Jesus is with you. He died for you so you can be reconciled to God and have a relationship with Him again (2 Corinthians 5). Seek Jesus!

Disconnect to Reconnect

It started for me with a feeling like I never read books as much as I used to.

Next I noticed I was always feeling stressed and busy even though my life and workload hadn't changed much.

I slowly came to realize the issues, for me, were stemming from spending too much time on my phone. The device that you're reading this blog post on, is an incredible thing. It can calculate, connect, and accomplish more than a person even 10 years ago could have imagined. No longer do we have to wait for a reunion to see how people are doing and you'll never have to be bored again as you sit in wait at the DMV or a delayed flight. With this technology our lives are changed, but the convenience and capabilities come at a cost that we ignore at a cost.

A base instinct of the human mind is seeking reward and avoiding risk. Smartphones, though often marketed as a device to free up our time and reduce the number of things we need to leave the house to do, have become for many an addiction. App developers can exploit these aspects of human psychology using features such as badges, powerups, streaks which make it very difficult for the user to resist say playing one more level in a game. It turns out the pleasure we receive from these actions, can be found even in the mundane tasks like scrolling through a news feed or checking our email.

Seeing people constantly on their devices is becoming a normal part of our society. A tradeoff for the benefits we receive. Do we consider how it is affecting our own life and of those around us? What do our kids, friends, etc think about how much we use technology? What are we giving up when we check our devices for the 10th time? We probably assume we're using technology responsibly but it's worth taking a look at your actual use. I was amazed to find out how long I was spending on my phone each day (I'll tell you an easy way to find out in a minute) but I was caught off-guard because we only use it in small doses. A minute responding to a text a few times a day, reading an article here and there, it all builds up.

Since this was affecting my life so dramatically, I looked for ways to curb its impact on my life. After multiple failed attempts at self-will and reminders, something more dramatic was needed. I found a couple of apps that have helped me tremendously in breaking the habit of getting sucked into my phone.

There are many options out there, but there are three I would recommend only from my own experience:

1) AppDetox - This is the primary app I use ever since they updated the app to properly use the usage Android API rather than the accessibility API (which prevented me from using a password). I chose this over the others because I really appreciate the interface, how it allows you to set limits per app for example, the number of times you can open it and how long. This is great because I'd rather have a time limit for a game but a limit on the number of times I open social media.

2) AntiSocial - while I don't care for the name, the app itself is quite useful

• Monitors my usage and lets me know what apps I use, which ones I spend the most time on, and how that compares to others usage.
• The most useful feature to me is the ability to set a budget for certain apps that you want to limit. Then after that budget is up, the app prevents you from using them further (it's possible to go in an add more time, but it's enough work to make you stop and think). You can also schedule times not to use the app or a timer.

3) QualityTime - This was the first app I used and it similarly reports on your usage and it curbs your usage of apps. The way it does it though is by blocking access to your phone except for apps you've whitelisted. Personally I didn't like that it made it harder to use all apps (e.g. camera, maps) just for the sake of a few troublemakers and I found myself disabling it often. That said, I used it for months and I would encourage you to try it for yourself.

There's many more apps out there, so try them out and let me know if you find one that works for you. If you're not putting proper limits on the technology around you, it might be controlling you. Maybe your phone is not an addiction for you. Great! I hope this post calls attention to the fact that we all have vices that can take us away from what truly matters. Phones are powerful tools that can enable us to draw closer to God but like any tool, can withdraw us into our selfishness.

I've found this process to be quite freeing, not feeling like I always need to be connected and so I'm much less stressed and able to focus. Sometimes, I find myself just staring off into space, something I haven't done for a long time.

Blessings from a Broken Radio Part 2

Its the beginning of the year, that means many of us resolved to read the Bible in a year. Like many other resolutions this may be something you are struggling with. Changing habits is difficult and takes a lot of effort, but this is a resolution worth keeping.

Did you know the average commute time in the U.S. is about 25 minutes? In part one I shared how I used my daily two hour commute to memorize scripture. Since moving my commute is a little shorter and I no longer have a car with a broken radio. Nonetheless I wanted to continue using this time to deepen my faith and understanding of God.

I am experimenting with an audio version for my year through the Bible. This is in addition to memorization and any study I may give to a particular passage. It may be hard for us to imagine the Bible before it was a book. While the Word of God has been kept in collections e.g. Torah, Psalms it was only a few who could read it and even fewer who owned a copy. Before the printing press and efforts to translate the Scriptures into other languages, Synagogue and Church were the primary place a believer could hear the Word (sadly many cultures still do not have a copy of the Word in their own language). While it is a blessing to have a copy of the Bible in one's own language and be able to read and reread it deeply, we must acknowledge that for most of history, the scriptures were primarily heard and remembered.

I tried the Logos ESV audio book but eventually went with the Audible NIV audio book because I could listen to it offline, it synced with the last place I listened, and I could turn off the screen while listening.

Positives

• I'm getting a great overview of the Bible. Listening for about one hour a day on my commute takes me through a few chapters a day. After listening for only a couple of months, I'm already at 1 Kings (11th out of the 66 books in the Christian Bible).  This provided me with a great survey of the Torah and the history of early Israel that would have been difficult for me to gain by daily reading.
• My brain seems to remember the stories and events better by listening than I ever have by reading them.
• No excuse to miss my daily time in the Bible.

Difficulties

• It's difficult to pause/go back (although the Audible app makes it fairly simple) to something I heard. If I hear something I want to study more deeply, I need to make a note to go back to it.
• This would be no different if I was reading the Bible, but the names are not common to modern ears and so it is easy to get lost and mix up names.
• I was on a two hour road trip and I thought this would be a perfect time to listen, but since I was on an unfamiliar road I found it harder to listen than on my commute where I don't need to think about which exit I need to take.

All in all I think this is a good experiment and will be really helpful in giving me a better mental view of what was said and when events took place. I'll continue this for the rest of my read through the Bible this year and update the post with the experience for the poetical books (Psalms), Gospels, Epistles, and whether or not I would do it again. If you have even a 20 minute commute, I would recommend giving this a try as a way to keep you in God's Word every day.

Lessons from our marriage

My wife and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this week. After I was discharged from the military, she and I moved to Colorado with a little PT Cruiser full of stuff so she could work as a flight attendant while I studied for my degree to teach science. We joked that if we could make it though that period of time, we could make it through anything. Well we encountered plenty of other interesting things over the years, some were wonderful some were tough. I feel like we've learned a lot and hope that sharing these will help others.

Some of these lessons were learned over a long time, others have been with us through from the beginning. Nothing here is unique, there are books and people filled with great advice, and all of these can be found in the Bible in some way. These are some of the lessons that have seen us through thus far. Obvious disclaimer (especially if you know me): I am not a perfect husband by any stretch, I have plenty of stuff to work though and I can only thank God for my wife's patience.

• Divorce is not an option - It's become too accepted, and if you agree to never allow the "D" word to come up in conversation, at least you know there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.
• Do not let the Sun go down on your anger - (Ephesians 4:26) This was given to us on our wedding day and it is hard to not hold onto your anger but starting a day with a fresh start is a great way to go.
• Your marriage has enemies - Satan, pride, and ego. You have to realize it first then you won't see you wife as your enemy. Overcome these by standing strong in Christ. Don't be so intent on getting your way, it's not worth it. I've found the only way to overcome my pride is to serve my wife like crazy (Ephesians 5:25). What that looks like for my wife is different for yours.
• Before you think about your partner's faults, think about all of yours they're putting up with.
• Be grateful when she teaches you something that can be improved about yourself. Luther said, "Marriage is a school for character" and God will use your partner to conform you to His image.
• If you find yourself having a huge fight about something silly (in our case it was the ripeness of a banana). Take a step back, and laugh. Then work out the real problems as a team.

Paradigm Spirituality and an Apps Script that helps me stay focused on what matters

Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. --Francis Bacon

I am not prone to journaling or even taking notes. So when my Pastor told us to go write down our 4 Ps, this was not easy or natural for me. How many of us go through life with a detailed specific statement of what we believe and how we live it out?

The 4 "P"s I was referring to above come from the book we are going through in my discipleship class called Conformed to His Image by Ken Boa. They are:

• Presuppositions
• Perspectives
• Priorities
• Practices

These are in an order implying that your presuppositions influence your perspectives, your perspectives drive your priorities, and your priorities should shape your practices. As my pastor says, "You may say you want to be really good at something, but you really don't if you are not prioritizing it and putting it into practice.

You can read more about it on Ken Boa's website or an audio series on Bible.org but I really can't recommend the book highly enough. It covers many aspects of the Christian life, not just "perspective spirituality" and it's one of those books where every page will be filled with notes and highlights (and I don't typically highlight books).

On a slightly related topic, I wanted to share a tool I made to help me stay disciplined about my prayer life and to make sure my 4Ps stay up to date and remain prominent in my life. Praying has always been a struggle for me. I often find it difficult to know what to say. That is to say I pray, but I'm constantly fearful that I am asking God for too much and turning Him into someone I go to ask things from instead of having a relationship based on more than just requests.

I set reminders for myself throughout the day to pray and step away from work for a few minutes and refocus on God. I think this is a wise idea for anyone. I've written a Google Apps Script (?) that sends me a daily reminder of my prayer requests and a weekly reminder of my 4Ps. It also provides an easy form for me to submit my prayer requests throughout the day.

Faith Assistant Spreadsheet

To use the sheet (these steps assume you have a Google account):
1) Click the link above. It will make a copy into your drive folder (thanks Alice Keeler for the &newcopy trick).
2) Change the permissions on the spreadsheet to give yourself edit access.
3) Go to the menu and click Additional Functions --> Run this first. This will check your configurations (set on the Config tab in the spreadsheet) and set everything up.

4) Authorize the script (this allows the script to send you and email and calendar invites, it should look something like the image on the right)





After this you should get an email with a link to a Google Form, save and bookmark this form as you can use it over and over to save prayer requests (I have it bookmarked on my phone as well).

Each day you should get an email/calendar reminder with your prayer requests as well as a prayer from the common prayers tab. Feel free to change the time you receive it in the Config tab. I hope this helps you. If you have any suggestions for the script or issues leave a comment.

I've left many of my 4Ps in there in case it helps you understand each P's purpose but you should delete them and discover your own. There's a tab of common prayers and affirmations I have used in the past, and you should feel free to add your own tabs as you need. In my own version, I have a daily reminder to "Count the Words" because I am prone to talk a lot and needed something to help me track how much I am talking. I've also added a tab for quotes I'd like to keep track of and I've articulated my testimony.

Why God's Gymnasium?

God's plan is for each of us who call ourselves Christians to follow Jesus and live as He did (Luke 6:40, 9:23, John 13:15, 1 John 1:7). However I when I became a new believer, my spiritual growth was kept stagnate and full of frustration for years by a misinterpretation of how God carries out this plan to transform us to be more like Christ.

When I first became a Christian, I would often hear verses about the new life in Christ that described how God would work in my life to transform me. Verses like 1 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9. Without a doubt these verses are full of truth, power, and encouragement. However I believe these verses taken out of context could give the wrong impression that God will instantly and independently remove any trace of sin, the desire to sin, and going forward you will live exactly as Jesus did. I struggled to understand why I still would commit the same sins as before and why wouldn't God save me from it when I cried out to Him?

While God does give us a new heart (Psalm 51:10) and we begin to love Jesus more and more each day (Matthew 6:33, John 4:13-14, 21:15). We will sin however (1 John 1:8) and if/when we sin, we wonder where God was to rescue us from it. Worse yet, we could be deceived into thinking we are not really saved (Matthew 13:19).

God initiated our relationship with Him when we could not (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:5) and He made it possible for us to love Him and be in a relationship with Him (John 17:20-26). However, we are wrong to think that just as we were unable to save ourselves from sin, we are in the same way helpless with regards to sin after we follow Christ and that God will need to rescue us from every temptation. Our redemption will not be complete until we see Jesus, but in the mean time, we have been given the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:19-20, 1 Timothy 1:7), the Word (Psalm 119:105), and the Church (Hebrews 10:24) so we could be empowered to live as Christ did (Romans 6:11-14).

We have years of training and practice in loving the world and obeying its desires which manifests itself when we encounter temptation (Romans 7:21-23, James 1:14-15) and this must be worked out/overcome (Philippians 2:12-13). As God reveals aspects of our lives that are contrary to His will and His plan, we must choose to hand these over to Him. This is why Jesus tells us to pray that God's will be done, as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10).

So what is the process by which this happens? In an humbling aspect of God's nature, He wants us to willingly love Him and requires us to work together with Him to grow into everything He has prepared for us in Christ (John 15:1-16, Ephesians 2:21-22). This demands effort from both God and ourselves because throughout this process we will hold on to various aspects of our old self and in many ways want to continue to live as we did (1 John 2:15-16). You will find yourself being challenged daily by the Spirit to submit more and more areas of your life to Christ (Luke 9:23). The pendulum can swing to the other side and after a while you may start to feel pride that you have become a good person and have removed any trace of sin from your life, when suddenly we encounter a new discovery about ourselves that shows how deeply sin has permeated our lives. Don't believe me? Try fasting for a day or so and see how your disposition changes.

Just as you would not walk onto the track for a marathon without preparation, so we must prepare and train by practicing the disciplines of the Spirit. Hebrews 12 is the inspiration for this blog, where the author tells us to train. The spiritual training being advocated for uses the metaphor of an Olympic athlete and the word used for train in the Greek is gymnadzo which is where our modern word and idea of a gymnasium. So the Christian life is a lifelong membership to God's Gymansium where we exercise the entire person, not just the muscles of our body. I quote Dallas Willard from the Renovation of Heart who made the point far better than I could:

I will not be able "on the spot" to do the good thing if my inner being is filled with all the thoughts, feelings, and habits that characterize the ruined soul and its world. Rather, if I intend to obey Jesus Christ, I must intend and decide to become the kind of person who would obey.

If we do not prepare to stand strong against temptation, then we should not have any reason to expect that we will be able to stand against it when it comes. At the start of this post, I stated that it is wrong to think that God will do all of the work to bring change in your life. He could but He won't because that would not produce a Church full of dignity and character (Ephesians 1:18). However, I am also not advocating a legalistic life where we are each left to ourselves and God is simply observing. Here is another quote from Willard which he considers the key point of his book:

Spiritual transformation only happens at each essential dimension of the human being (Spirit, Soul, Body, Mind) when it is transformed to Christlikeness under the direction of a regenerate will interacting with constant overtures of grace from God. Such transformation is not the result of mere human effort and cannot be accomplished by putting pressure on the will alone.

I hope that this blog will equip you with tools, resources, and encouragement so you may be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) and serve Him completely (Mark 12:30).

Blessings from a Broken Radio Part 1

A few months ago the radio on my car stopped working. Ok, it might be more correct to say, it didn't fully retract when I was getting a car wash. With a commute of an hour each way, I knew I would go crazy if I couldn't find something to do. Thankfully, in the Bible study group I attended at our church in San Jose, we were given the task of memorizing scripture (specifically Romans 12). This was something I had done years ago when I worked the night shift in the Navy but sadly had neglected for years (among other parts of my faith).

Is memorizing scripture really for every believer?

Think about how many songs you know the lyrics to. You may be surprised that it is easily over 100. This means that up to this point you have memorized enough lyrics to equal two books of the Bible. I have yet to meet someone who was incapable of remembering a song (even toddlers can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). In addition to the lyrics, think of all of the names, email addresses, stories, and more that we remember as part of our daily lives.

We take for granted that we can read the Bible but prior to the printing press, believers were required to remember what scripture they heard. In Jesus' day everyone who was able had memorized many parts of the Torah as a child and those who were to become disciples of great Rabbis had memorized the entire Torah (approximately 5888 verses)!

Keeping scripture in our minds, and on our hears was never intended only for some believers (Proverbs 4:21, Deuteronomy 11:18, Hebrews 10:16). Just as Jesus and the Apostles used scripture to overcome sin (Matthew 4:10), share the good news (John 3:16), encourage and rebuke (Matthew 21:16, 21:42), pray (Matthew 27:46). Scripture is valuable for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), standing against sin (Psalm 119:11) and the forces of evil in the world (Ephesians 6:11), encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24), and sharing what God has done in our lives (1 Peter 3:15)

So if it is possible for each of us to remember large amounts of text and each of us are to do it then is there something mystical about it? In many ways no. Memorizing scripture is in practice no different and can rely upon many of the common memory tricks and tactics that worked in school. The important thing to take note of is this is a skill and even if we are all capable to some degree, it requires effort in order to do it and to become better at it.

Be encouraged by the fact that, no matter what you might think you are capable of memorizing, God will bless your efforts. I can't begin to tell you how much it has impacted my relationship with God. It gives the Holy Spirit words to share with you and it will deepen your ability to follow Christ.

Getting started

While everyone is different, here are some tips I've learned from myself and my education background:

1. Make a plan. It's not enough to want to do it. You have to set yourself up to succeed. We find time for what we consider important and you would be surprised at how you can find a few minutes here and there. For me it was the traffic in the morning or the night watch shift in the Navy. Instead of wandering around aimlessly on the Internet when standing in line bored, why not practice and mediate on your verses? It helps pass the time and you'll finish with a much better attitude and refreshed spirit.
   
   Like any skill it takes time for this to become a habit but it will become easier over time. You wouldn't expect to learn a new language or build muscle without repetition, practice, and time and so it is the same with memorizing scripture.
   
   This should go without saying but find verses that fit your needs and that you love. Everyone has a different walk and personal relationship and while there are many verses that would benefit everyone, memorization is most satisfying and enjoyable when you discover them for yourself. If you are looking for a good place to start, here are the most popular verses searched for on Bible Gateway.


2. Get the right tools and know the tricks. I used to carry a large stack of flashcards I made from index cards cut in half. Nowadays there are great apps for smartphones as well. I use Remember Me and I know a few people who use Remember Anything for iOS. The Bible was meant to be remembered so use the time tested methods (TED Video, Wikipedia). Some of the most helpful for me are to look for patterns (e.g. the alphabetical order of the gifts in Romans 12:6-8 prophecy, serving, teaching...encourage, giving, leading, mercy) and chunking (useful for 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and Galatians 5:22-23). Try and visualize the situation written about or at least the words in your mind. This is especially useful for the Gospels and is exactly the reason that Jesus talked in parables so many would remember them.
   
   If you can give it a rhythm you'll find they'll stick with you more easily. This has been the approach of the Cantor, the Church hymn writers and even the Psalmists of the Bible took this approach to ensure the words would be remembered.

For those who need a more formal plan and guide, this is a great resource that has helped many memorize verses and even entire entire books: An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture.


3. Don't become mechanical. If you're a reader of the BrokenAirplane blog you know I'm not a big fan of memorization for learning sake unless it is applied. These are the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God and for it to have an effect it must be meditated on (Psalm 1:2) and applied (James 1:22) You can have a lot of knowledge but not be putting it into practice which is even worse because we will each stand before God and answer for how we used our talents. There are times when I get focused on the memorization and forget to slow down and reflect and appreciate what it is saying.

I wish you well as your practicing the discipline of memorizing and mediating on the Word of God. I pray that you will never find yourself bored in traffic again and that you will find strength and wisdom in the Word. Let this and everything you do be all for His glory.