NUMBER ONE, 2020
In this issue 3
Sharing Your Testimony
6
Burning Ourselves: The Tongue's Hidden Hurt
8
charles r. swindoll
Andrea hitefield
Figuring Out Short Figures of Speech in the Bible
steve johnson
11 Gut-Level Authenticity
charles r. swindoll
Bumper-Sticker Theology 12 God Wants Me Happy
steve johnson
Beyond the Broadcast 14 Tender Words from a Mentor
Puzzle 15 Figures of Speech
Contest entries are limited to one per household, per puzzle. Open only to legal residents of Canada who are of legal age of majority in the jurisdiction in which they reside, and at least 18 years of age at the time of entry. Not open to Quebec residents. Not open to Insight for Living Canada staff or their immediate family. Mathematical skill testing question to be answered correctly to win. No purchase necessary. Puzzle solutions will be posted at insightforliving.ca/puzzle at a later date. 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 Š 2020 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 Council of Christian Charities. Printed in Canada.
by charles r. swindoll
Cover & Article Photo: Toa Heftiba on unsplash.com
A
time-honoured, effective method of swerable arguments on earth regarding evangelism is the giving of your per- Christianity is one’s personal experience sonal testimony. No big deal. Just telling with the Lord Jesus Christ. No persuasive about your spiritual pilgrimage. How you technique will ever take the place of your personal testimony. I challenge you to give found bread as a beggar. The skeptic may deny your doctrine or serious thought to analyzing and then attack your church, but he cannot hon- presenting the way God saved you along estly ignore the fact that your life has been with the exciting results of His presence cleaned up and revolutionized. He may stop in your life. Now I’m not talking about some stale, his ears to the presentations of a preacher like me, or the pleadings of an evangelist, drag-it-out verbal marathon. We have all but he is somehow attracted to the human- yawned and groaned as others rambled interest story of how you—John Q. Public— and preached their way through their sofound peace within. Believe me, the steps called testimony, which was about as fresh, appealing, and tasty as that led to your converAbsolutely refuse warm, week-old lettuce. sion and the subsequent That kind of testimony ramifications are far to argue. Nobody I never attracted anyone! more appealing and ever met was “arm I’d like to help you carry appropriate to the lost wrestled” into the out the project of prethan a pulpit exposition kingdom. People paring your testimony of John 3 or Romans 5. If you have not discovered must be charmed into so it might become an effective, powerful misthe value of telling othrighteousness. sile launched regularly ers how God rearranged your life, you’ve missed a vital link in the from your lips into the ears of the unsaved. Consider these five suggestions: chain of His plan for reaching the lost. On six separate occasions between 1. You want to be listened to, so be interesting Paul’s third missionary journey and his No one, no matter how gracious, enjoys trip to Rome, he stood before different being bored. It’s a contradiction to talk audiences and presented Christ to them about how exciting Christ really is in (Acts 22–26). Six times he stood alone. Six an uninteresting way. Work on your times he addressed unbelievers, many of wording, your flow of thought, your them hostile and rude. Do you know the key terms. Remember, the person isn’t method Paul used each time? His persaved, so guard against religious clichés sonal testimony. That’s right, each time and hard-to-understand terminology. he spoke he simply shared how his own life had been changed by the invasion of 2. You want to be understood, so be logical A casual yet logical presentation can be Christ and the indwelling of His power. compelling. I suggest that you think of Not once did he argue or debate with them. your salvation in three phrases, and conHe didn’t try to preach a sermon. Why? struct your testimony accordingly: Because one of the most convincing, unan-
a. before you were born again—the struggles within, the loneliness, lack of peace, absence of love, unrest, and fears; b. the decision that revolutionized your life; and c. the change, the difference He has made since you received Christ 3. You want the moment of your new birth to be clear, so be specific Be extremely careful here. Don’t be at all vague regarding how you became a Christian. Speak of Christ, not the church. Refer to the decision you made, the moment of time when you received the Lord. Be simple and direct. Emphasize faith more than feeling. Try your best to describe precisely what you did or what you prayed or what you said. This is crucial! 4. You want your testimony to be used, so be practical Be human and honest as you talk. Don’t promise, “All your problems will end if you will become a Christian,” for that isn’t true. As you speak, try to think as an unbeliever thinks. Refuse to pick theological lint. Restrain yourself from plucking the wings off religious flies. Theoretical stuff doesn’t
attract his attention as much as practical reality. It’s OK to admit to some continuing struggles. The secret now is He lives inside. 5. You want your testimony to produce results, so be warm and genuine A smile breaks down more barriers than the hammer blows of cold, hard facts. Be friendly and sincere. Let your enthusiasm flow freely. It’s hard to convince another person of the sheer joy and excitement of knowing Christ if you’re wearing a jailwarden like face. Above all, be positive and courteous. Absolutely refuse to argue. Nobody I ever met was “arm wrestled” into the kingdom. People must be charmed into righteousness. Give further thought to this. Ask God to open your lips and honour your words... but be careful! Once your missile hits the target, you’ll become totally dissatisfied with your former life as an earthbound, secret-service saint. Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, “Sharing Your Testimony,” Insights (August 1997): 1-2. Copyright © 1997 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Three “Musts” for a New Year SINGLE CD MESSAGE
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by andrea hitefield
“R
emember,” Smokey the Bear warned millions of television viewers, “only YOU can prevent forest fires.” But what if Smokey had faced the inferno we carry around with us daily—in our mouths? Maybe his warning wouldn’t have centred on misused matches but on combustible conversations. In fact, his publicservice announcement may have sounded a bit like the apostle James’:
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:5–6 NIV) Even with all its benefits, the tongue has power to destroy us. The words we mumble under our breath on our way out the
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James encouraged us to prevent verbal door, the ones we spit out when a driver cuts us off, the ones we hurl when we’re on fires from burning the forest around us. the defensive—all of them can transform And yet, he gave no checklist, no tear-out us into monsters. Ugly words begin in our sheet, and no three-step solution. Thankminds, slide down our tongues, and fly fully, the Bible isn’t silent about what we through the air. Ironically, they can cause should and should not say. the most damage where we least expect it. 1. We should talk less. When words are many, folly is not far behind (Ecclesiastes 5:2–3) To ourselves. The sparks we spew sweep back toward us and char our own hearts. 2. We should avoid boasting. Increased pride hardens the heart (James 4:16) And from our scorched emotions, we release even more caustic words. It’s a 3. We should avoid grumbling. That includes complaining about our neighbours, ferocious cycle. friends, spouses, and even ourselves A friend of mine lived consumed by ugly (James 5:9) words. She was nearly consumed by living like this. Everything, everyone, and every 4. We should pray. The tongue will not run wild when our mind stays on Christ thought demanded her critical analysis. (James 5:13) The soup was too cold. A stranger’s hat too large. The traffic too jammed. Eventually, 5. We should practice patience. As fallen humans, we cannot her comments infiltrated tame our own tongues; her heart and altered Our tongue can stir up her actions. Oblivious anger and crush the spirit. they are too unruly for us. We must wait to the change, she lost But our words can also as God works on sleep wondering if othturn away wrath and our words and we ers thought her soup too surrender to Him. cold. She changed outfits promote healing (Philippians 1:6) obsessively. And she often Our tongue can stir up anger and crush left late for appointments, simply to avoid sitting in traffic. Her muttered critiques the spirit. But our words can also turn injured others, but when her words pen- away wrath and promote healing (Proverbs etrated her own heart, they seared her rela- 15:1–4; 16:24). And they don’t have to be tionships and her spiritual life. The gradual numerous to be powerful. As Smokey the Bear would say, the respontransformation added to her days of gossipsibility to prevent forest fires—to preserve ing restless nights of self-criticism. James wrote that the tongue “is set and conserve—falls on our shoulders. among our members as that which defiles the entire body” (3:6 NASB). Making that Copyright © 2012 by Insight for Living. All rights principle positive, when we choose to reserved worldwide. restrain our tongues, we develop habits to Andrea Hitefield completed an internship at restrain our bodies. After all, controlling Insight for Living Ministries, where she was menthe tongue is an inner discipline. As we tored by the writing and editing team. begin to control our inner lives, we can also control our outer lives. Why should we watch what we say? Because others watch what we do. The connection is inseparable.
by steve johnson
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“I
’m all ears.” “It’s raining cats and dogs.” “He kicked the bucket.” We have all heard phrases like this. They’re called idioms, a particular type of short figure of speech, and we use them every day without even thinking. In this article I draw attention to the importance of properly understanding figures of speech in the Bible, and short figures in particular, so we can better understand God’s Word and His will for us. A single word cannot always express a specific idea. Words, phrases, or sentences are used in figures of speech, sometimes in a non-literal sense to intensify the idea being conveyed. This is what we find in the Bible. When God and the biblical authors wanted to emphasize something, or give it special attention, they used figures of speech. These figures depart from the normal meanings of words or from the usual syntax and grammar to add emphasis, feeling, and power to the thought presented. In addition, many of the great spiritual truths of Scripture are abstract concepts requiring more concrete expressions in order to convey the meanings. A figure of speech such as anthropomorphism, describing God in physical terms with arms, hands, eyes, and ears (Isaiah 53:1; 59:1; Hebrews 4:13), is helpful in understanding the Lord’s abstract qualities of omniscience and power. Similarly, when forgiveness is described as “washing” (Acts 22:16), or “cleansing” (Ephesians 5:26), the imagery is vivid while the basic meaning is conveyed. Figures of speech
grab our attention and cause us to stop and consider what God is saying. The main reason why it is important to understand figures of speech in the Bible is to interpret Scripture accurately. Serious misinterpretations of Scripture come from calling something figurative that is literal and calling something literal that is figurative. Without being linguistic experts how can we recognize biblical figures of speech? Here are six general guidelines. 1. The Bible should be understood literally whenever possible This means words should be understood in their normal sense in their grammatical and historical context. When a statement doesn’t make literal sense, or appears to be contrary to our experience, or known fact, or the general teaching of truth, then we can expect that a figure of speech is present. 2. The words are clear and literal but are put together in a grammatical or structural way that brings emphasis to the section For example, Jesus said “Truly, truly I say to you…” (John 3:3, 5 ESV). This figure is called epizeuxis, repetition of the same word in a sentence. 3. If a word or words are truly a figure of speech then that figure can be named and described In this case, it will have a specific identifiable purpose like the metaphor, “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
One of the best things we can do to help in 4. Genre or literary form helps recognize our recognition and interpretation of biblical figures of speech If we see the phrase “on the road” in an figures of speech is to get a basic knowledge historical narrative passage, it would nor- of commonly used English figures of speech. mally be taken as referring to a physical Most of us use English translations instead road. If the same phrase was used in poetry of the original languages. But the patterns of language are so universally common to manit might be taken as a way of life. 5. The subject matter of a passage helps kind that most of the figures of speech cross us recognize whether we have a figure over from language to language in a recognizable way. Recognizing figof speech or not Knowing that rocks The main reason why it is ures of speech in English are inanimate objects important to understand such as simile, metaphor, idiom, euphemism, and leads us to interpret figures of speech in the personification, to name Je s u s ’ s t a te m e n t Bible is to interpret a few, will help us underabout the rocks crystand the Bible better. ing out (Luke 19:40) Scripture accurately. Rather than thinking as a figure of speech of figures of speech as tedious language called personification. 6. The use of a figure of speech in one place exercises view them as instructive visual aids. They’ve been tucked away in the pages helps us interpret it in another place The Hebrew in Genesis 4:1 literally reads, of Scripture to help lead us into a deeper “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she con- understanding of God’s Word and will for ceived.” This is a figure of speech, a euphe- our lives. mism, for sexual relations. When Mary ponders the announcement that she would Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for become pregnant she asks, “How shall this Living Canada. be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34 KJV) The same figure of speech is also used in Genesis 4:17, 25 and 1 Samuel 1:19.
Did you know Insight for Living airs on radio stations across the country every day? To find the program on your local station visit insightforliving.ca/find-station
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I
n 1991 James Patterson and Peter Kim released The Day America Told the Truth, a study based on an extensive opinion survey which guaranteed the anonymity of its participants. And the truth was shocking! Let me give you a brief sampling of their findings: Only 13 per cent of Americans see all Ten Commandments as binding and relevant; 91 per cent lie regularly, both at work and in their homes; most American workers admit to goofing off for an average of seven hours—almost one whole day— per week; and half of our workforce admits that they regularly call in sick when they feel perfectly well. One particular question on the survey really grabbed me: "What are you willing to do for $10 million?" (Are you sitting down?) Twenty-five per cent would abandon their families; 23 per cent would become a prostitute for a week; seven per cent would murder a stranger! Now, a word of caution here. Sometimes it's easy for Christians to feel a little smug—to look down our pious noses and sigh in pharisaical tones, "I'm a Christian. I would never do that." Not so fast, my friend. You don't want to hear this, but there's not all that much difference between "us" and "them." Two other authors, both Christians, did their own sampling of the populace and
built their own embarrassing case based on hard evidence. According to their book, Keeping Your Ethical Edge Sharp, Doug Sherman and William Hendricks concluded that "the general ethical conduct of Christians varies only slightly from non-Christians" (with some grand exceptions, of course). Believers, they said, are almost as likely as unbelievers to do such things as falsify their income tax returns, steal from the workplace, and selectively obey the laws. No question about it, depravity is alive and well with non-Christians and Christians alike. Why? Because "inauthenticity" became the art form of the 1990s. Want a challenge? Start modelling the truth...the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Think truth. Confess truth. Face truth. Love truth. Pursue truth. Walk truth. Talk truth. Ah, that last one! That's a good place to begin. From this day forward, deliberately, consciously, and conscientiously speak the truth. Start practicing gut-level authenticity. Do your own honest soul search. What would you do for $10 million? Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
Bumper Sticker
Theology by steve johnson
Here’s a scenario: Christian co-workers, a man and a woman, are having struggles in their respective marriages. They commiserate with each other, finding emotional support and connection. It eventually leads to physical intimacy, pursuing divorce from their spouses, and being together. They feel justified in this because, after all, “God wants me happy!” What should we think about the saying “God wants me happy”? At face value it’s true, God wants us to be happy! There’s no debate about this—God wants us to enjoy life here on earth, and be happy. He wants us to live joyfully, to see good days, and enjoy the rewards of our labour (Ecclesiastes 2:24; 3:12–13, 22; 5:18–19; 9:9; 1 Peter 3:10; 3 John 2).
Some Christians are uncomfortable with saying this phrase. They have no problem saying “God wants me joyful,” but they say there is a difference between happiness and joy—happiness is circumstantial and superficial while joy is inward and deep. I thought that too but as I dug deeper I found the Bible doesn’t support that distinction. The words are used interchangeably (Psalm 40:16; Proverbs 23:25). So, if happy and joyful are parallel ideas is anything wrong with saying “God wants me happy”? No, there is nothing wrong with the saying per se, but the context in which it is said can change that. There are two factors determining context. 1. The first contextual factor has to do with values
Some who say “God wants me happy” • It comes from mishandling Scripture People misinterpret verses like Romans value happiness above all and exclude or 8:28. Their idea of good is pleasant lifeminimize other important pursuits like situations, self-satisfaction, and self-fulbeing loving, self-controlled, and holy. filment. God’s idea of good is conformity When we value and pursue happiness to the character of Christ. Others select supremely and live only by the yardstick Scriptures out of context to support preof whether something makes us happy or suppositions. Passages from the Old Testanot, it is a small step from there to justify ment that promised material blessing to sinful choices. Israel for obedience are taken and applied On the other hand, some Christians to believers today. The prosperity gospel minimize the value of happiness by putand the word of faith movement teach the ting it in juxtaposition to holiness. They error that God only wants you rich and erroneously make it an either/or situation happy and is waiting to bestow that if you by saying “God wants you holy, not happy.” have enough faith. The truth is God wants us holy and happy. Holi- In our pursuit of happiness, 2. The second contextual factor has to do ness and happiness are it is crucial to recognize with the source of not mutually exclusive. there are different that happiness Holiness is the conditypes of happiness from In our pursuit of haption of heart in which piness, it is crucial to God is our greatest hapdifferent sources. recognize there are difpiness. The holy heart sees God as its supreme treasure and it’s ferent types of happiness from different sources. There is a joy that comes from supremely satisfied in Him. Where does this idea of valuing hap- the world, such as “the fleeting pleasures piness above all come from? Here are of sin” spoken of in Hebrews 11:25. There is a joy that is part of the fruit of the Spirit several sources. (Galatians 5:22) and a happiness centred in • It comes from sinful thinking Because of our sin nature our ideas of what Christ (Philippians 4:4). There is a tempowe think will make us happy are different rary happiness and an eternal happiness. than God’s. We tend to think in terms of We can call all of them happiness or joy. It is correct to say God wants me happy. physical and material satisfaction. God But He doesn’t want us to value it above thinks in terms of spiritual satisfaction. other things or base our happiness in • It comes from immaturity It’s how a child thinks. In the personal superficial temporary circumstances. God theological paradigm of some people, built us to desire happiness but He wants Romans 8:28 means God exists for us us to find it in relation to Him. not us for Him. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for good of those who love God and are called Living Canada. according to his purpose for them.” It’s a common belief that God exists to be our “personal genie” waiting to dole out only happy situations.
Tender Words from a Mentor
“Pressure is not necessarily an enemy; it’s a tool. If used correctly, it brings to light grace, mercy, and peace as it presses us nearer the heart of God.” - CHUCK SWINDOLL
Step back in time to AD 67 to the bustling pagan port city of Ephesus, and enter the home of Timothy, who was the pastor of a church that Paul had helped establish. At the door appears a courier who had journeyed for weeks across perilous seas to deliver a letter to Timothy from Paul—the letter preserved in the New Testament as 2 Timothy. Paul’s relationship with Timothy goes back to Paul’s earliest days as a missionary. Paul and Barnabas visited Timothy’s hometown of Lystra on Paul’s first journey around AD 47. Young Timothy may have become a Christian at that time. Blessings of Grace, Mercy, and Peace Paul and Timothy had fought side-byside in the trenches of ministry for years, suffering and rejoicing together with each setback and success. As a father nearing the end of his life, Paul blessed his spiritual son of whom he was so proud: This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell
others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. I am writing to Timothy, my dear son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. (2 Timothy 1:1–2, emphasis added) Grace. Mercy. Peace. These three blessings of the promised “life” in Christ sustained Paul in his imprisonment, and he passed them on to Timothy and to us. Chuck Swindoll elaborates their meaning: When you’re called of God by the will of God, your message isn’t about yourself. It is about grace, God’s gift to the worthless. It is about mercy, God’s ministry to the helpless. It is about peace, God’s love to the restless. What hardships are you experiencing? Don’t view these pressures as your enemy but as means to press you close to the heart of God where you can draw upon His grace, mercy, and peace—grace to empower you, mercy to console you, and peace to give you rest.
“Tender Words from a Mentor” is from Chuck Swindoll’s series Paul’s Swan Song. You can stream this message online anytime at insightforliving.ca/audiolibrary.
Puzzle — Word Jumble
FIGURES OF SPEACH Difficulty ● ○ ○ ○
The objective of this puzzle is to unscramble the letters to form a word. Each word will be a figure of speech, such as anthropomorphism or epizeuxis. See our article “Figuring Out Short Figures of Speech” on page 8 in this issue for more about figures of speech.
Comparison using “as” or “like” (see Matthew 10:16)
Comparison without using “as” or “like” (see Matthew 23:33)
A non-literal use of words to express another idea (see Joshua 5:1)
Substituting a mild expression for a more blunt one (see John 11:11)
Saying the opposite of what is meant for effect (see 1 Corinthians 4:8)
Exaggerated or overstated language (see Matthew 5:29)
A metaphorical statement expressing a general truth (see Proverbs 5:15)
A story illustrating a central point (see Luke 15:3-10)
Giving inanimate things or animals human features (see Luke 19:40)
Seemingly self-contradictory statement (see Isaiah 58:10) ____________________
____________________
____________________
First and last name
Email address
Phone number
INSIGHT FOR LIVING CANADA PUZZLE CONTEST RULES
Insights magazine subscribers are invited to submit their completed puzzles by mail, email, or fax for a chance to win a Swindoll Study Bible. Each month from January 15, 2020 to October 31, 2020 there will be a new puzzle challenge with another opportunity to gain a contest entry. Completed puzzles received before November 13, 2020 will be entered into a draw. One grand prize winner will be selected by random draw and notified by email or phone. Further details can be found on page 2 of this issue. Mail: 1-30445 Progressive Way Abbotsford BC V2T 6W3 // Email: info@insightforliving.ca // Fax: 1.604.870.8743
