NUMBER NINE, 2022
In this issue 3 Reading the Old Testament for All It's Worth charles r. swindoll 6 Jonathan Edwards B ill G emaehlich Understanding Our Times 8 Marxism steve johnson 11 Three Easy Ways to Make a Wise Decision ro Byn roste 12 How To Study a Bible Character: Discovering the People in the Greatest Story Ever Told Bar B P eil Beyond the Broadcast 14 Sustaining an Attitude of Gratitude Puzzle 15 Responsibility for our Resources Insights is published by Insight for Living Canada, the Bibleteaching ministry of Charles (Chuck) R. Swindoll. Chuck is the senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Texas. His international radio program Insight for Living has aired for more than 40 years. We hope this publication will instruct, inspire, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. Copyright © 2022 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved. No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NLT. Unless otherwise noted, photography and illustration by Tim Schellenberg. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities. Printed in Canada.
Cover & Article Photo: Fa Barboza on unsplash.com FORTESTAMENTREADINGTHEOLDALLIT'SWORTH by charles r. swindoll
Commentaries, encyclopedias, and atlases can deepen your study of God's Word in a way that will bring the accounts of the Old Testament to life. God has gifted some writers to study, to conduct research, and The communicatorgreatest of all time, Jesus Christ, used stories to communicate the truth about God, our lives, and our world.
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I have discovered in my walk with Christ that there is nothing quite like the Old Tes tament to help me gain an understanding of our Heavenly Father, the living God. It was through the Old Testament that I first gained an appreciation for who God is and what He does. When we crack open those early pages of Genesis, we meet God at the creation of the world, as His handiwork goes forth throughout the heavens and the earth. Turn a few more pages and we witness His personal relationship with humans, from the first moments Adam and Eve were cre ated. We see His hand as it reached down into the nations and chose Abraham. Through this one man, God developed an entire nation of people to bear His name, to witness to His miracles, and to carry His message into the world. When we read of the Israelites' failures, we see God's mercy and compassion as He dealt patiently with them. God's desire to redeem His people, despite their rebellion, never drifts far from the pages of these fascinating stories. And it's through the majestic hymns recorded in the Psalms that we learn to offer exuberant praise to our HeavenlyBeautiful,Father.isn't it? Even so, the reality is that far too many Christians today still feel intimidated by the Old Testament. Have its pages in your Bible become brittle from disuse? Are they stuck together in your Bible? I want to suggest one action and one approach to increase your appreciation for the books from Genesis to Malachi. First, read and study all that you can about the history and culture of the Old Testament.
e never outgrow our love for a good story, do we? There is something compelling, something magnetic, and something altogether unique about the best stories. They engage, both our minds and our hearts. They allow us to empa thize with the experiences of other human beings. They also create opportunities to learn from the lives of others.
The greatest communicator of all time, Jesus Christ, used stories to communicate the truth about God, our lives, and our world. He often chose to employ stories when faced with a diverse crowd of people, hungry for His teaching. In some cases, He selected sto ries to veil the message, while other times He used them to clarify and illustrate truth.
Stories were one of His favourite communicationThatstyles.should come as no surprise. As a young Jewish boy, Jesus heard the truths of our Creator and of His people's amazing history delivered in story form by reading and learning the Old Testament. Stories were vital to passing along the Jewish heritage of faith. In our modern day, these fascinating stories too often remain tucked away in the "white pages" of our Bibles, pages so little used that they look brand new. In many Bibles they stay stuck together. How unfortunate, since there is a wonderful timelessness about the great stories of the Old Testament. God in all His wisdom as our Creator knew all about human beings when He commissioned the writing of the Old Testament: we remember truth better when it's placed before us in story form.
Copyright © 2009 Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
to teach us through books. Go there! Read their words and expand your mind. The goal is not for us to get puffed up in our knowledge but that we might know our God more Second,deeply.ifyou
want to appreciate the Old Testament for all its worth, remove the halos from above the heads of every person you find there. Take away all of the aura—not all of the respect but all of the aura—that keeps you distant from the Abrahams, the Davids, the Elijahs, and the Daniels of the Old Testament. Otherwise, you will hold them at such a distance that you will not see yourself in their lives. Sure, they lived in a different era; their times were more primitive, more rugged, not nearly as comfortable, and certainly not as modern, but they were people just like you and me who went through situations similar to those we go through. They were ordinary, garden-variety human individu als who knew nothing of their future and only occasionally understood their present. They, too, wondered what life was all about, just like you and I wonder over the same question today. So take away all the glow ing halos so you can see the people of the Old Testament for whom God created them to Theirbe...people.stories are our stories. They struggled to trust God and to obey His com mands just like we do. And because their stories are inspired by God, we find in them life-giving wisdom that brings us into rela tionship with our Lord, which will guide us down the path He has planned for our lives. I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds like a great reason to read the Old Testament for all it's worth.
Two Songs for Moms and Dads SINGLE CD MESSAGE For ordering information visit insightforliving.ca or view enclosed flyer. BIBLICAL TOOLS TO GET YOUR FAMILY BACK ON COURSE.
EDWARDSJONATHAN by b ill Gemaehlich
A hero of the faith who encourages me to pursue the Lord through His Word is Puritan Pastor Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards was born on October 5, 1703, the son of Esther and Timothy Edwards who served as a minister in East Windsor, Connecticut. As a child, he was educated by his father and then entered Yale in 1716 just before turning 13. He graduated in 1720 and went on to study theology for an additional two years. Even though his father was a minister, Edwards did not come to faith in Christ until the spring of 1721. He says, “I was brought to that new sense of things, to an inward, sweet
Edwards diligently studied his Bible, he even took it apart and inserted a blank sheet of paper between each page and then sewed the Bible back together. He filled the blank pages of his Bible with notes and reflections from his study of Scripture. He made it his mission to inti mately know the Word of God and delight in his Saviour.
One of Edwards’ greatest contributions in life was his role in the Great Awaken ing through preaching sermons such as “Justification by Faith,” where he exhorted his congregation to repent of their sins and recognize their need for a Saviour. As revival broke out in New England, Edwards travelled throughout the area preaching and saw many people come to faith in Christ. During this time, a young teenager named Deborah Hatheway wrote to Edwards asking for advice about how to live the Christian life. Edwards replied in a letter, “In all your course, walk with God and follow Christ as a little, poor, helpless child, taking hold of Christ’s hand, keeping your eye on the mark of the wounds on his hand andLetside.”4usbe resolved to pursue delighting in our Saviour through the study of God’s word and to keep our eyes fixed on Him, the author, and perfector of our faith. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
4 Edwards, Jonathan. Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts. Ravenio Books, 2015. Bill Gemaehlich is the EVP/COO operations at Insight for Living Ministries I was brought to that new sense of things, to an inward, sweet delight in God and divine things...quite different from anything I ever experienced before
delight in God and divine things...quite different from anything I ever experi enced before. I began to have a new kind of apprehensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of redemption, and the glorious way of salvation by him.”
At 18, Edwards served for eight months as a clergyman in a small Presbyterian Church in New York City. About this same time, he kept a diary and began to pen his “Resolu tions,” which served as a compass for his life and to guide him in the spiritual disci plines, especially the study of Scripture and prayer. Edwards wrote, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”2 He went on to read over these resolu tions once a week for the rest of his Edwardslife. had an incred ible vision for the mission of God and challenges us to earnestly seek to know Him through Scripture. He preached a sermon to his congregation entitled “The Importance and Advantage of a Thorough Knowledge of Divine Truth,” saying, “Be assiduous in reading the Holy Scriptures. This is the fountain whence all knowledge in divinity must be derived. Therefore let not this treasure lie by you neglected.”3
1
2 Edwards, Jonathan. Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts. Ravenio Books, 2015.
1 Edwards, Jonathan, Claghorn, George ed. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 16. Yale University Press, 1998.
(2 Peter: 3:18 ESV)
3 Edwards, Jonathan, Kimnach, Wilson H., Minkema, Kenneth P. and Sweeney, Douglas A. The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.
by s teve Johnson MARXISM
Marxism is an economic and political philosophy developed by Karl Marx that focuses on class struggle and various ways to ensure equality of outcome for all people. The basic idea is that the ruling class in any nation has historically oppressed the lower classes, and so social revolution is needed to create a classless society.
Marxism teaches that the best system of government is one in which wealth is distributed equally, there is no private property, ownership of productive entities is shared by everyone, and every citizen gives self lessly to the collective. The purported goal of Marxism is a government-run utopia in which the needs of each individual are always provided for. But more than just an economic and political theory, Marxism is actually a religious ideology. Its theology excludes God, soul, or spiritual values and only includes matter. Rather than the problem of man’s disobedience to God, the evil exists in the material world in the form of class struggle and oppression in society. Marxism’s goal is to eradicate this evil from humanity. Marx was greatly influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory. Since there is no God in Marxism, there is no absolute moral law to govern and no absolute truth. There is only natural law, survival of the fittest, and natural selection. Society and its existing structures are also evolving and change must be aided by whatever means, even violent or deadly ones. “Good” is whatever advances the Marxist cause.
Rejecting spiritual values, Marxists assert that religion is an illusion. Marx himself called it “the opium of the people” because it makes them happy and keeps them complacent to being oppressed and exploited in life now based on the promise of a better life after death. That is why Marxism is one of Chris tianity’s most vocal detractors. In order to evolve into and establish the utopia of a classless society, the existing histories, structures, and norms of capitalist societies must be destroyed. According to Marx ists, the Judeo-Christian culture—with its beliefs on absolute moral law, marriage, the nuclear family, work ethic, private property, law and order, and sexuality—oppresses people. In order to evolve there must be a re-ordering of society and religion must be abolished.
Marxists view many people groups in our society as oppressed minorities due to the influence of Christianity and capitalism. Hence the need, in their view, to overthrow their predominantly white, male, heterosexual, and racist oppressors.
In places where outright revolution hasn’t taken place, the approach has been to capture the key cultural institutions which shape society—schools, universities, media, the law courts, and even churches. The strategy has been that infiltrating these institutions ideologically would eventually bring about the necessary changes in society. Today, Marxist ideology predominates in many of our institutions and takes various forms in the world. Its ideas are behind the God created us and gave us principles to live by in His Word. Ignoring Him and these truths as Marxism does only results in death and destruction.
liberalism, socialism, wokeism, progres sivism, communism, social trends, and much of the social justice activism and political correctness we see around us.
When one embraces atheism, Marxist materialism, and theories of evolution and class struggle, and couple those with the belief that all goodness and truth are rela tive to time and place, one is led to deny the biblical ideal of the abiding value of the individual human. The individual has no worth. One is simply a product of chance, a tool of the environment, and under the subjection of the group. The good of the group is all-encompassing and the individual may be sacrificed for the good of the group, or state.
In contrast, Scripture teaches that the individual is made in the image of God, and is so important to Him that He sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sins so we may be reconciled to God on an indi vidualChristianitybasis. seeks to change people from within through the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ. Then once that personal and individual transformation has taken place that redeemed individual shows their faith through their actions by working toward social, economic, political, and religious equality among their fellow peers.
Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.
God created us and gave us principles to live by in His Word. Ignoring Him and these truths as Marxism does only results in death and destruction. This man-made ideology has always failed to bring about good in our world and always will.
Insight for Living Canada began over 35 years ago when a Bible-study group in Vancouver decided to look into bringing Chuck Swindoll’s messages into Canada. For more visit insightforliving.ca/our-history
In the struggle for the classless society, those who stand in the way must be can celled or eliminated. This leads to a form of totalitarianism. If there is no God beyond the existence of matter, then there is no source of eternal, abiding, absolute truth upon which an objective system of law and order can be based. Justice becomes rela tive to time and place to achieve ideologi cal goals. The result is that tens of millions of people around the world have died as a result of Marxism.
Robyn Roste is the communications director at Insight for Living Canada. r
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5–6)
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obyn roste
2. Remember God’s faithfulness
“He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.” (Proverbs 2:8–9)
Instead of stressing over God’s will, I’m learning to focus on deepening my relationship with Him.
Article photo: Jens Lelie on unsplash.com
3. Give God your burden and believe He will pro vide what you need When I’m wrestling with a decision, letting go is not my first choice. In these times, the Bible is my source of hope and courage. I find re-reading His promises reminds me of all the times He came through for people, and encourages me to allow Him to come through for me too.
A s Christians, we believe this world is temporary and Christ’s return is imminent. Our life choices, then, become that much more important—we want to live lives of meaning, yet know there’s so much more to come. It can be dif ficult to balance the here and now with what’s next, but the good news is God has already given us the tools we need to make a wise decision. Here are three ways I’ve learned to focus on what really matters when the act of making decisions threatens to keep me up at night.
“Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:20–21)
1. Trust that God will let you know what to do in His Sometimestime I’m so focused on “the plan” and of missing out on God’s best that I miss the point Insteadaltogether.ofstressing over God’s will, I’m learning to focus on deepening my rela tionship with Him.
When a big decision is looming, most people’s response is to fight or flee. I freeze. Making decisions often causes me to become overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. To break this cycle, I remember God’s faithfulness in my life, and of His unchang ing trustworthiness throughout history. He remains faithful even when it’s difficult to see His hand on a situation!
THREE EASY WAYS TO MAKE A WISE DECISION
CHARACTER:BIBLE
G od is the greatest storyteller of all time. Using narratives that begin with such lines as, “In the land of Uz there lived a man...” (Job 1:1 NIV), He plucks us out of our world and drops us into another. Suddenly, we’re in a different time and culture, yet the characters we meet face similar struggles to ours. They experience challenges, disappointments, relationship tensions, and crises of faith.
by b arb Peil
HOW STUDYTOA
Discovering the People in the Greatest Story Ever Told
ourselvesImmersinginotherpeople’slivesmeansseeingtheworldthroughtheireyes.
• What do you know about this person’s physical appearance? Dress? Age? Health? Gender?
• How do other characters respond to them?
• Is there disharmony in their family, as in Isaac’s or Abigail’s?
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As exiled Jews in Babylon, God’s people felt the terror and suspense of living in a racially hostile land, much like a Jewish family living in Germany during World War II. Use every relevant detail in the story to get to know the person’s personality and character.
• What are this person’s recorded thoughts and words?
ourselves in other people’s lives means seeing the world through their eyes. So, how do we do that? First, we observe every detail available about the political, geographical, and religious climates of their times. Then, we exam ine various Bible passages to discover the characters’ personalities, relationships, and conflicts. Questions like the ones below provide a good starting point. Where did this person live?
• What do their actions communicate?
At the time Joseph’s broth ers betrayed him, they had moved their flocks from Shechem to Dothan, where there were open pits as well as a traders’ caravan route. Use a map to locate cities, countries, and regions like these. When did this person live? We can understand Jonah’s fear when we know he lived during the height of Nineveh’s cruelty and terrorism. What attitudes, beliefs, and customs prevailed in the world at this time?
• Are they facing a direct offence to a moral or godly command like Daniel or Esther were?
• Are they in conflict with another person as David and Stephen were?
Adapted from Barb Peil, “How to Study a Bible Character: Discovering the Characters in the Greatest Story Ever,” Insights (April 1997): 3.
As we study their lives, they emerge from their two-dimensional worlds and become flesh and blood. Ancient saints become living models of faith (see Hebrews 11), and in their lives, we see God at Immersingwork.
• Are they mentioned elsewhere in Scripture?
• What do others say about this person? Identify the conflict that the person faces.
• Are they struggling to trust God in life’s ordinary events as were Naomi and Martha? Write down your answers and observations. It’s also helpful to read Bible commentaries, handbooks, and books on the people and cultures of Bible times. After you’ve gotten to know this bibli cal person in their world, you can see your own experience mirrored in the charac ter’s tests of faith and discover universal principles and applications for your life today. After all, these stories are not just about people but about what God did in and through them. God is the hero of every story. Including yours.
• As with Peter and Jonah, does the battle rage within their own heart?
In his sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:12–18, Chuck Swindoll calls to our attention that imperative to be thankful. Chuck encour ages all of us—particularly those in minis try—to sustain an attitude of gratitude. In doing so, you will see how, in fact, Jesus uses it to sustain you. The commands of 1 Thessalonians 5:12–18 need little exposition to understand the plain meaning and, therefore, the plain application. They serve as timeless prin ciples to pursue from morning to evening, day to Whenday.we see the bigger picture of God’s plan for us through Jesus Christ, we can’t help but give thanks. God has given us so many blessings through Christ. Yet, they present only a foretaste of what we look forward to when He returns!
Sustaining an Attitude of Gratitude
“Sustaining an Attitude of Gratitude” is from Chuck Swindoll’s series Straight Talk for Seminary Students. You can stream this message online anytime at insightforliving.ca/audiolibrary .
Have you noticed the happiness of grateful people compared to the unap preciative? Gratitude and happiness seem to stick together, like two tight-stitched friends. Where we find one, we find the other. Those who speak the language of gratitude will regularly find happiness. But what can fuel our gratitude? Let it be your connection with Christ, our closest of friends. Because of Him, we can speak with a grateful heart. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?” asked the Apostle Paul (Romans 8:35). Nope... Nothing! Jesus has secured us a future with Him after this vale of tears, and, no matter the calamities we face, Christ promises He is with us through it all. It’s that Spiritdriven, eternal union with Christ, which begins in the present, that empowers us to follow Paul’s otherwise impossible appeal, “Be thankful in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
“I think an attitude of gratitude is one of the most contagious of all attitudes we can sustain. Being around a person who is grateful and frequently uses those two marvellous words, ‘Thank you,’ often is just good therapy.”
CHUCK SWINDOLL
Father, thank You for Your Word that shines in my life like a lamp in a dark room. It cleans my thoughts, restores my heart, and clarifies my purpose. Give me strength to live above my circumstances that I may give thanks in every situation. In the strong name of Jesus, amen.
Puzzle — Fill in the Blank Responsibility for our Resources Difficulty ● ○ ○ ○ Hidden in this puzzle are 25 words from Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV), which teaches our responsibility to serve God with our resources. Words can go in any direction and can share letters as they cross over each other. Puzzle solutions will be posted at insightforliving.ca/puzzle at a later date. D G O L D A R K N E S S D H M J O U R N E Y C U V J L C A G E O N E B N T X U U I H S P N Y D K E L E I S S X D T Z P I C A M R C V L Y U E E D R I P T X Q M Z I I O N R E I U N E D I X X O F B I H K T J S E E N N S A W X A C C O U N T S W H J W O F G V I N T E R E S T I I K O P T W W T L Z R J D J G N I T S E V R A H V D P I G K Y I K Q N D Z S A F R A I D B A D E J K Y C N L W U P K S U B S S E L H T R O W W L G C A B U N D A N C E A S W Y W H
We have a variety of Bible-teaching resources for children and teens on sale during our fall sale. Save on Bibles, board books, the Adventures of Adam Raccoon and more! Prices in effect now through December 9, 2022 while supplies last. Visit insightforliving.ca/sale for full sales flyer and product descriptions. Announcing our FALL SALE!
