But if you do not believe his [Moses'] writings, how will you believe My words? John 5:47

Jesus called the religious leaders out when they fell back to their favorite defense – Moses. They were Moses' disciples. Followed Moses' law and Moses' traditions to the letter. They missed an important detail, though. Moses wasn't God. They followed Moses at the expense of following God.

Moses never intended to make disciples for himself, and if you read Deuteronomy, you get an idea how well Moses understood these people. The summary/paraphrase is "I'm gonna tell you all this stuff but you won't listen and God's gonna judge you. Then there will be a Prophet, but you won't listen to Him either."

If the religious leaders had been the great students and followers of Moses that they claimed to be, they would have realized who Jesus was immediately. They wanted to pick and choose which of God's messages they would believe, and then forget all the rest. We can't cherry-pick Scripture either. God's word is a unified whole, a revelation of one continuous story of God's redemption of His people.

If we discount some of it, then how can we can rely on any of it? 

Camp for the elementary age kids finishes today. My two younger ones cannot wait for Lauren to get back home.

Continuing with a peek at the camp lessons… Dan and I talked with the kids about being superheroes, that God had given us powers to accomplish a mandate, but we also reminded them that we have weaknesses the Enemy will exploit. One of the big ones is anger.
Ephesians 4:26-27 reads: In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (NIV)

Satan will take advantage of our anger and get us distracted from our mission. Whether it explodes or it’s stuffed, anger can destroy our relationships, our focus and our credibility as followers of Jesus Christ. So what is anger exactly? Anger is an emotional response to being or feeling wronged that leads to a desire for vengeance. What’s wrong with that? God says, “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay.” (Deuteronomy 32:25). If I act on my anger, I am taking on God’s responsibility. That’s called “usurping”. It shows I don’t trust God to handle the situation.

I struggle with stuffing anger. Stuffed anger can morph into bitterness or depression, either of which can destroy a person. In writing fiction, I can explore these issues through my characters. In Contingency, Bobbi stuffs her anger at Chuck’s affair and slides into depression. I shared a few things I’ve learned in my own battle as she fights her way out.

It is possible to be angry without sinning, but it’s hard. Our best strategy is to avoid it altogether. Knowing what causes it can help us avoid it. James 1:19 gives a three step strategy for avoiding anger.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (NIV)

Quick to listen – Make sure you get all the facts and that you understand them. Don’t jump to conclusions!!
Slow to speak – DON’T say the first thing that pops in your head, which is usually something like “You big dummy, how could you do something so stupid?!” This only escalates things. It is NOT helpful.
Slow to become angry – Don’t fly off the handle.

I have a passion for God’s word. It’s so true. It reveals His character and ours, and it contains all the guidance we need. Just this morning, I was reading Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

 To paraphrase (which I do quite often) God doesn’t tell us everything, BUT what He does tell us is enough to face everything in life in a way that honors Him. Several years ago I was struck by the fact that although many people believe the Bible, they don’t know what to do with it. A story began forming… a story about believers put in a very difficult- though not impossible and unfortunately not uncommon- situation, and then walking through the process of searching, struggling and surrendering to God’s principles.

So my goal when I write is to develop real, genuine characters who are not perfect but who wrestle with reacting on instinct or according to God’s principles, and it’s not easy. In Contingency, Bobbi has to face her husband’s infidelity. Divorce is a very real, very reasonable option, but God challenges her to go beyond that to forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a struggle, and it isn’t a happily-ever-after deal exactly, but God does a tremendous thing in the lives of Bobbi and Chuck and others who are touched by this.

I’ll be back to final editing of Contingency soon…