January 2017

Jottings…

Almost all of our Old Testament readings during Advent came from the book of Isaiah. I mentioned one Sunday how he was a major prophet, which is simply a way of saying the book in the Bible with his prophecies is comparatively large. It is not just the quantity of words that makes him a major prophet in our thinking, though. He is a major prophet in the significance of so many of his prophecies for the people of Israel in his time and looking ahead to the coming of the Messiah.

Now when I talk about prophets in the Bible I like to emphasize the aspect of their “forthtelling” – that is, a clear proclamation regarding who God is and what His purposes are. Most folks are usually caught up in the “foretelling” – God’s plans for the future. This time I am going to go along with the crowd and focus on the foretelling part. The reason for this is that we need to be able to distinguish between true and false prophets if we are to discern what God really has for us and wants from us.

The Bible has a pretty simple way of distinguishing between true and false prophets. The things the true prophet predicts will come true and the things the false prophet predicts will not. And the Bible has a pretty significant penalty for false prophesy – death!

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” –Deut. 18: 20-22 ESV

This theme of “false prophets” and “misguided/evil leaders” is picked up by Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament writings too so it is something to tune into.

I write all of this in the January newsletter because the beginning of the year has some “foretelling” elements to it. We may not make actual predictions but we have a sense of what direction we think some important things will go and we make resolutions to try to influence our own behavior. This is true individually, in families, in businesses and in Cole Memorial. My hope for us as God’s church in Derita is not so much that we get the predictions right as we live out our faith whatever comes. Here are my suggestions in how to do that:

Lean into God. I specifically mean by that if you are not already doing so, pray and read the Bible regularly.

Look for where the Holy Spirit is already at work and join in. This might be the activities we have become accustomed to or it might be something new and fresh God is calling us to.

Serve. Serve. Serve. When we feel overwhelmed by our own challenges and difficulties there is no better way of dealing with it than helping others. It is also the most effective way we can witness to the community around us.

I am certainly not a prophet. I can analyze trends but I can’t predict the future. I take comfort in what someone wiser than me has said: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.”

Happy New Year!

- Pastor Brian