Devotional and Bible

I’m just printing out a finished copy of my last assignment for my current course.  Don’t get too excited, I still have an exam to write!  But it’s nice to have this one done.  I wrote about Tell es-Sultan.  What?!  Tell es-Sultan is an archeological dig of Jericho.  It was my job to sort through all the digs and find out what evidence there is for the famous battle in Joshua 6.  As I was just finishing, out of the hundreds of songs my computer could have chosen to play, it started playing “Joshua fit dah Battle of Jericho”.  Weird.

In the end, in case you’re interested, Jericho is a mystery.  There is no wide agreement about which city, if any city, Joshua encountered.  According to the prevailing view among archaeologists, either there was no city or there was only a small village.  But for those of you who were about to throw up your hands in despair, don’t panic!  There are actually several theories that would explain the findings in a way that would fit perfectly with the biblical history.

There are actually walls there that fit very well, there’s just a disagreement over how to date them.  These impressive double walls (Jos 6:1) that researchers have found fell outwards, filling a ditch around the city.  That would have made it easy for invaders to go up the hill into the city itself (Jos 6:20).  There were houses found built up against the wall between the two walls (Jos 2:15).  Strangely, the invaders left that large amounts of grain that were in the city, indicating that it was likely harvest time (Jos 3:14), a short siege (Jos 6:15), and a strange army that did limited looting (Jos 6:24)!  Jericho was then destroyed by fire (Jos 6:24).  Yes, you can tell all that with a little careful digging!

So, were these Jericho’s walls?  Well, that’s the question.  But if so, it sure fits doesn’t it?  If I had to guess, I’d say these were them.  But there are other possibilities.  If you’re really curious, I can send you my paper! 😎

My exam will Lord willing be on Thursday, after which I can start on my next course (ah, this is the life, isn’t it?).  But it really has been good studying Joshua, Judges and Ruth.  There are a lot of great lessons in there, especially for Christian leaders in this day and age (if you meet any, tell them to go and read Joshua, Judges and Ruth!  Especially Judges).

Salvation is one of those things that’s so simple a child can understand, and yet so deep that we’ll all still be asking questions in eternity.  But it is something that we need to study carefully, especially if we believe it’s part of our mission to tell others about God’s Salvation (2Co 5:20).  Not only is it important when we’re telling others how to be saved, it’s also important when (and if) we suggest to them that they are saved.

I often think of a man I used to work with.  One day we were discussing Christianity, and he mentioned something about having said a prayer when he was a child.  It suddenly hit me that there must be tens of thousands of people out there that “said a prayer”.  These people figure they have all their bases covered – if by some strange chance the Bible is right, it’s ok, because I “said a prayer”.  So now I can do what I want.

So what’s the basic requirement for salvation?  Well, from a human standpoint it’s put a number of ways in Scripture – the most familiar being in John 3:16 – “believe” in God’s Son.  It’s not a prayer that saves you, nor going forward in a meeting, and certainly not all the good things you’ve done over the years, hoping they outweigh the bad things.  No, it’s God that does the saving, because of the price Jesus paid on the cross.

Fellow Canadian blogger Tim has written an interesting article expressing concern about a recent event in which people made decisions for Christ.  Now I don’t think that making a public decision is necessarily a bad thing.  But Tim does make a good point that we have to be very careful how we present the Gospel.  Two things I think should be kept in mind:
1. How we present the Gospel in the first place – Were we clear?  Did we quote Scripture and make sure we were absolutely in line with what the Bible says?  Did everyone understand what we were asking?  People might “make a decision” for one thing, thinking they’re now “Christians”, when really they’re not.
2. Do we give these people false assurance? – Now that someone has made a public decision, do we tell them that they’re now a Christian?  How do we know?  Only God knows the heart.  We don’t want someone going through life thinking they’re “safe” when really they’re lost.

When we teach our Children’s Ministry Seminar, we suggest that people go right back to Scripture when they’re doing follow up.  Are you a Christian?  Well, what does the Bible say?  Let the Lord lead them to their own conclusion.  But be careful about telling someone that just because they’ve said a prayer they’re now a child of God.  Instead of encouragement, it could end up being an inoculation against the Gospel itself.

I was going through some files to prepare for a sermon, and I came across a quick Bible survey I did several years ago on the idea of meditation.  Here’s what I read from various passages, particularly in the Psalms:

Q. When should you meditate?
A. Anytime (although before dawn seems to be a favourite)

Q. Why would I want to meditate?
A. To have a fulfilled life, prospering and finding true salvation, wisdom and understanding.

Q. What is the goal of meditation?
A. To obey God, to be encouraged to keep going, to realize that God is supreme

Q. What should I meditate on?
A. On God’s Word, on God Himself and on what God has done.  (In the Bible, there’s no hint of the modern concept of “emptying your mind” to meditate.  There is an object that we are to meditate on.  However, of course some concepts are still the same, such as learning to focus and concentrate.  In the Bible, however, meditation is something that can be done all day long, as you go about other activities.)

Q. How do I meditate?
A. Already implied above, but there is a way in which we are to approach God and His Word.  We are to enjoy it, delight in it, love it, and give ourselves entirely to it’s Truth.

A couple of important passages relating to meditation are Psalm 119, Joshua 1:8 and 1Timothy 4:15.