Why do you ask Me [My doctrine]?  John 18:21

Annas was searching for evidence of a hidden agenda, a secret motive, hypocrisy that was ripe for exposure. Jesus had none of those things. He taught with complete integrity. His public and private discourses were the same. He neither pulled punches with the outcasts of society nor with the pious religious establishment. His message was consistent, confrontational and convicting. And He lived what He taught. Even when He was hungry, tired, stressed or alone.

Like Annas, we hate that.

Too good to be TRUE
We dig for weasel words that allow us to self-justify. We hope for skeletons that indulge our self-righteousness. We want inconsistency that lets us off the hook. We want to be as good as Jesus, without having to "be" as good as Jesus.

Too good BUT true too
Jesus offers a trade. His righteous for ours. But only if we see our righteousness the way He does. That was His doctrine. Stop trying to be good enough. You can't. Stop weaseling, indulging, justifying.

Jesus doctrine – It is GOOD and it is TRUE

I’m watching an indoor track meet from Madison Square Garden, hoping to catch sight of my nephew, Josh. He’s a collegiate runner and also competes in the race walk. I’m just barely a runner, mind you, but his walk time of just over 6 minutes is almost half my run time for a mile. Ah well.

Watching the meet, I understand why Paul used running a race as a metaphor for the Christian life. I have teammates, coaches and trainers, but ultimately, it’s my personal race. It’s my responsibility to train, to condition myself, and to work through injuries. Most of that preparation is done alone, depending on my own self-discipline. If I slack off even a day, it may cost me. It’s important that I eat right and strength-train. I need to be equipped with the right shoes. I have a course laid out before me, and it’s critical that I stay on track. My finish depends on it. I can’t get distracted by what other runners are doing. I can only run my race well.

Josh runs cross-country, too and in some ways that’s a better picture of this race we’re in. The runners get individual times but the team does better when each runner performs well. As we run our races well, we encourage those around us to finish strong.

In 2009, I only ran a few months before it got too cold for me, so I have yet to reach that point real runners talk about when they feel like they could go forever. (I had no trouble getting to the ‘I hope this is not a heart attack’ point.) This Christian race, though, I’m running to the very end.

Study Tip Tuesday, on Wednesday. I apologize for the delay.

Last week, we discussed the whos of a given passage. After answering all the ‘who’ questions in a passage, the next step is to move on to the ‘what’ questions. Especially when I’m teaching my kids, I make a point of asking what the verses say. Being able to answer the ‘what’ questions tells me whether or not they understood what they read. This past Sunday we studied Paul’s defense before King Agrippa. In Acts 26:4-5 what does Paul say about himself? (He was a strict Jew from his youth.) In verses 12-18 what happened? (Paul saw a vision of Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus and received a commission to preach.) What is the passage about? (Paul’s defense and story of his conversion)
You may be thinking ‘what’ point is there in asking these really simple questions? It forces you to slow down and examine the test and not just assume you know what it says.
You don’t have to stay with the easy questions. What ‘crime’ is Paul charged with? What are the main points of Paul’s defense? What changes did the gospel make in Paul’s life and purpose according to his own testimony? What changes has it made in yours?

Next week- I don’t know

Scripture contains dozens of abstract concepts and to help us understand them, the writers often use comparisons and contrasts with familiar items.

For example, Psalm 1 starts out describing how the righteous man doesn’t keep company with or follow the advice of the ungodly. Verse 3 says that he “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither…” A tree planted by a river will have a steady source of nourishment. Therefore the plant can turn its energy into producing fruit. Then when the heat and drought of summer come on, the tree will be able to survive. By comparison, the righteous man has an abundant dependable source to draw his strength from. He’s productive and he’s able to withstand hard times.

In verse 4, the psalmist says “The ungodly are not so…” We could stop right there and have a good negative comparison. The ungodly have no source outside themselves. They can’t focus on being productive because they spend all there energy getting their needs met. When hard times come, they wither. However the psalmist goes on to say they “are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” Verse 5 gives us the key to the simile. The “ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.” The chaff is the husk that must be peeled away (beaten off) to get to the kernels of wheat. The chaff can’t protest, and its powerless against the wind. The ungodly won’t be able to protest God’s pronouncement against them, and must be driven away, leaving just Him and His wheat.

One of my favorite ‘like’ comparisons is Jeremiah 17 comparing the man who trusts in man to a ratty, scrubby bush in the desert. Jesus uses these comparisons in His parables- ‘The kingdom of heaven is like…’ Paul compares believers to a physical body.

Sometimes the comparison is made without the ‘like’. Psalm 23, for example, says the Lord is my shepherd. In other places, He’s called a Rock, a stronghold, and a shield.

When you see ‘like’ (or ‘as’) or if you see another comparison, stop and list some characteristics of the item in the comparison, whether it’s a tree, a sheep, a ship, a lamp or whatever. Then see how those insights apply.

We are most of the way through our week of Bible school, and I have to say, it has been the least stressful VBS I can remember since I was a kid. (Not counting the VBS my brother and I came down with the chickenpox.) If you’ve prayed for me, for us during this week, thank you. God has answered in a tremendous way.

I know I’m supposed to exercise, but I don’t like it. I don’t like being sweaty. I don’t like that gasping for my next breath and I really don’t like being sore the next day. BUT… I like those really cool high-tech, moisture wicking shirts, and I love good running shoes. So I bought three of those shirts and thus obligated myself. Sigh. Last week, I started getting up early and interval training. (I call it that because I can’t run very far yet. I run til I think I might die, then I walk until I can breathe again. Rinse Repeat.)

My husband, who is a real runner, is extremely encouraging (and wise ). My goals for running are set pretty low. I just want to make it around the park, maybe twice (around a mile and a half). For me, it’s less about the fitness and more about self-discipline- the getting up and doing it part. Sure, I’d like to drop some weight, and get all those other benefits that come with exercise, but self-discipline takes practice. If I can do it here, exercising, it will be easier the next time I try it in some other area of my life. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul talks about self-discipline in relation to effective, credible ministry. Sadly, we’ve seen ministries destroyed when individuals couldn’t practice self-discipline.

The physical life often reflects the spiritual life. Jesus healed people physically as proof of His ability to heal spiritually. My ultimate goal is to translate some practiced physical self-discipline to spiritual discipline. Maybe God is honoring that desire with a less stressful VBS. Even so, I’ll be up… oh about 5:30 in the morning. I can’t quit now. Besides, I bought the shirts.