NUMBER SIX, 2017
In this issue
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6
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Hope: The Anchor for Your Soul
11 Son of Man
What’s the Difference between Beliefs and Values?
12 Marriage: Revisited or Revised?
robyn roste 8
Names of Jesus
charles r. swindoll
Are Men Superior to Women?
steve johnson
The Hea[r]t of the Issue steve johnson
Beyond the Broadcast
15 What About Widows?
Insights is published by Insight for Living Canada, the Bible-teaching 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 35 years. We hope this publication will instruct, inspire, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. Copyright Š 2017 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.
Cover Photo: Jennifer pinkerton
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by charles r. swindoll
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t was a phone call I’ll never forget. It was from a young wo m a n w h o s e l i f e l ay shipwrecked on the California beach from where she was calling. She had a terminal disease, leukemia. Her husband had left her. Her child had recently died at only two and a half months old. Her friend had just been killed in an auto accident. Wave after wave of loss had crushed this woman’s spirit, and she couldn’t take another day of pain. In whispered tones, she told me that she held a loaded revolver and wondered why she shouldn’t use it to end her misery. Hope. It’s the one thing you and I cannot live without. But trying to hold on to hope can take all your strength, particularly when hope’s old enemy, doubt, drags you toward despair. When you’re in despair, logical thinking will not help. You will exhaust yourself trying to sort out God’s reasons for allowing bad things to happen. Even if you could fathom despair’s depths, you’d still be lying in the same hospital bed. Or standing beside the same grave. Or sitting alone in the same empty house. Your head would hold some answers, but your heart would still be aching. You need more than logic when you’re sinking beneath the waves. You need something solid to hold on to! What can you hold on to when life’s storms crash over you? The better question is, Whom can you hold on to?
In his magnificent letter, the writer to the Hebrews ushers us into a soaring realm where he highlights the answer: It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19, emphasis added) The writer underscores a fact about God that cannot be said of anyone else. Scripture openly states that, “it is impossible for God to lie.” What a great truth on which to fasten your hope! But don’t stop. Follow the writer’s thinking into the next phrase: This hope...leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. (Hebrews 6:19) The writer is referring to the inner sanctuary of God! The heavenly Holy of Holies where the blood of the sacrifice is poured and mercy is given. Look through the veil and observe whose face the writer illumines: Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest. (Hebrews 6:20) How great is that! We see Jesus—the One whose sacrifice pulled back the curtain so you and I can enter God’s refuge. And we hear our Saviour say, Come in. Find here, in the presence of God Himself, relief from the blast of doubts. Receive His mercy. God’s mercy in your most desperate hour is found only in Christ—the anchor for your soul.
Hope. It’s the one thing you and I cannot live without. But trying to hold on to hope can take all your strength, particularly when hope’s old enemy, doubt, drags you toward despair. Remember the young woman on the beach? She and I spoke calmly and quietly. I did a lot of listening. I made no promise that she would ever be healed. I spoke to her about Christ and the hope He alone could provide. After a sigh, she hung up. About 30 minutes later, my phone rang again. It was the same young woman. She told me that she had read from a New Testament a friend had given her. She had called back to say, “I decided, Chuck, to give myself completely to Jesus Christ. I’m still afraid. I still don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring, but I want you to know that I’m trusting Jesus through this. He has given me new hope...the one thing I really needed.” If your sorrow has led you to that same lonely shoreline of despair, let me say to you that this hope, this anchor for your soul, is the only way through your pain. I have no other answer than Jesus Christ.
I can’t promise you healing. I can’t promise your world will immediately turn right-side up. But I can promise He will receive you as you come in faith. I can promise He will be your strength when you cannot go on. He will be trustworthy when everyone betrays you, when nothing else is certain. He will anchor you to the refuge of God’s mercy and no storm will break His hold. Can I leave you with some solid theology? Remember, God cannot lie. Because His promises are absolutely certain, you will not lose. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus will never leave you. On this hope, you can be sure.
Charles R. Swindoll serves as the senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas.
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by Robyn Roste
B
efore I was married I attended pre-engagement counselling. At one counselling session my boyfriend and I were given a take-home assignment called a values worksheet where we were to cut out words and arrange them in order of importance. The sheet was comprised of words like “family,” “faith,” “social justice,” “generosity,” “health,” etc. After we had completed our worksheet we compared our results. It was a bit of a shock—maybe we weren’t quite as alike
as we thought. In fact, our top three words weren’t even the same! We had a long discussion about the assignment and it turned out we viewed values in different ways. My boyfriend saw them as unmovable pillars in his life; I thought they were more like priorities, which could change over time. As I think about values I see how I didn’t understand them and was, in fact, mixing them up with my beliefs. Perhaps I wasn’t self-aware enough to understand what my values were, or too distracted with
If we live life expecting others to conform to our belief system we will become frustrated and disillusioned, especially if that person is our spouse. getting married to look deep enough. At any rate, it caused stress in our relationship until we worked it out. Turns out I’m not the only one who confuses values and beliefs—many people do. So here are the definitions. Values motivate our actions and help us make decisions. They are universal concepts, which unite people. Values can include concepts like fairness, justice, freedom, and equality. Beliefs are assumptions we hold to be true—and may or may not be based on facts. Beliefs can be rigid, causing divisions, and range from what we believe about creation to what foods we choose to eat. So why is this important? First of all, we can’t expect people to believe everything we believe. It’s rare to find two people who hold the exact same assumption about every single thing on earth. This is why we learn skills like compromise and conflict resolution. If we live life expecting others
to conform to our belief system we will become frustrated and disillusioned, especially if that person is our spouse. However, differences in values can be more serious in a relationship. If two people have different core values, for example one values charity and the other values wealth, there will be constant conflict. And if one values faith and the other is turned off by it...well you can see the problems there. In my case, when we spoke about our experience with our counsellors we were challenged to decide if our differences were things we could respect and appreciate about each other or if they were impossible to overcome. Over the years of our marriage there have been many opportunities for me to see our differences playing out but also cherish the values we share.
Robyn Roste is the media and marketing manager at Insight for Living Canada.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BELIEFS AND VALUES? BELIEFS
VALUES
Beliefs don’t need proof
Values stem from our beliefs
Beliefs are assumptions we make about others and ourselves
Values govern the way we behave and interact with others
Beliefs grow from what we experience and think about
Values are things we deem important
Beliefs affect our morals
Values affect behaviour and character
by steve johnson
Jesus’ attitude toward women differed from the prevailing culture of His day, which placed women on the lowest rung of society. He didn’t view or treat women as inferior.
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t was one of those lessons from my college days I will never forget. Like many of the significant things learned in life, it didn’t take place in a classroom. I worked on a committee comprised of both men and women. Because the job cut into study time, above-average abilities were a prerequisite. I say this to emphasize the fact that these people, especially the women, were highly intelligent and competent. One night after the work had finished, we were eating our late night breakfast. The usual jokes, laughter, and banter filled the air. But there was also an air of superiority—on the part of us men. Everything seemed fine to the guys and me but the women had had enough. They called us to task for our put-downs and belittling attitudes and comments toward them. It landed like a slap across the face, but they were right. It was a wake-up call. We were guilty of holding demeaning attitudes toward women in general and these sisters in the Lord in particular. Consciously or not, we men conveyed we were superior to these women and they challenged us on it. Since that experience 40 years ago, our culture, with respect to the roles of women in the workplace and church, has changed. But have the attitudes changed too? Are unbiblical attitudes and stereotypes that men are superior still prevalent among Christians today?
Some believe that the Bible teaches the superiority of men because of verses referring to women being in submission. I’m well aware of these passages but the question of the place of women regarding submission or leadership is not the issue here or in those passages. The issue is improper attitudes, regardless of the position a woman holds. Whether women are at the highest or lowest levels in ministry does not necessarily change wrong or disrespectful attitudes toward them. And this is not just a male issue. Christian women are just as guilty of this. Many women have distorted views of their worth and dignity in Christ. They have bought into the cultural lie that men are somehow superior to women. Jesus’ attitude toward women differed from the prevailing culture of His day, which placed women on the lowest rung of society. He didn’t view or treat women as inferior. How could He since He made them, male and female, in His image (Genesis 1:27)? Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus affirms women’s worth as evidenced by the fact that women were always around and participating. On numerous occasions Jesus ministers directly and individually to them in sincerely respectful and gentle ways. His attitude was that women are persons to reach and serve. They are individuals with worth and dignity. In the providence of God, women were the first to view the empty tomb after Jesus’
resurrection and entrusted by the risen Christ as the first to carry the glorious message to the disciples. After His resurrection when He gave gifts to the Church, the Lord Jesus didn’t discriminate on the basis of gender, giving some gifts to men and some to women. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:4-5). Jesus brings men and women to salvation and we are equally joint heirs together. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28-29 NASB). In heaven, Jesus told us, there will be no marriage, nor being given in marriage (Matthew 22:30). That means gender distinctions will be non-existent or irrelevant. Finally, Paul exhorts us, based on the example of Christ, in a way that applies to our attitude toward women: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).
If we claim that Jesus is our Lord and Master, His claims trump all others. It doesn’t matter what our culture, church denomination, upbringing, or tradition is. Just as Jesus’ attitude was counter-cultural in His day, we, His followers are to have counter-cultural attitudes in ours. Christian men need to learn to see past the female exterior and, like Christ, look on the heart. We need to view women with dignity and respect. And conversely, Christian women need to view themselves through God’s eyes, not through the eyes of today’s culture. Men and women are different but neither is better than the other. In retrospect I’m glad my female friends called me on my attitudes. It was a necessary rebuke and drew my attention to an outlook that dishonoured Christ. Maybe it’s your turn now.
Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.
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“Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.� (Mark 8:31)
Origins: Old Testament, where it refers to being merely human (Psalm 8:4) and to the Messianic One who is to receive the Kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14)
Meaning: Jesus is both a human being and the divine Messianic One, given dominion, glory, and a kingdom and will deliver His people in power and glory Usage: Jesus used this title to both reveal and conceal who He was. He reveals Himself as truly human and a lowly servant (Mathew 8:20; 9:6), identifying with us in our weakness and suffering for us (Mark 8:31).
Application: We live between the death and the return of the Son of Man. Therefore, go to Him when tempted because Jesus identifies and sympathizes with us in our humanity. Love and serve others in humility, be a friend to sinners since Jesus humbled Himself to be a servant. Look forward to His return and that He is coming again in power to right wrongs and bring justice.
Revisited or Revised?
by steve johnson
W
hat is marriage? Who designed it? Who defines it? These questions have been debated in our courts, churches, and perhaps in our homes. Can and should marriage be revised or should it remain what it has traditionally been—a monogamous covenant between one man and one woman? When speaking with others about their beliefs regarding marriage, you may be surprised at just how far apart your view is from theirs.
Here’s Where They’re At
When you discuss this with friends, neighbours, or your adult children, here are some statements you might hear. “Love and sex are the basis for marriage so two people who love each other should be able to marry.” “Marriage is just a convenient social arrangement.” “There is no such thing as traditional marriage in the Bible. There is polygamy and concubinage so marriage isn’t just one man and one woman.”
Here’s Where You’re At
You believe the Bible is the final authority for life and determining right and wrong. God created and ordained marriage when he created man and woman making it a sacred institution. No matter what
legislators or justices say the definition of marriage is not ours to tamper with. You may also believe the marriage of a man and woman reflects God’s image by representing the intimate relationship between Jesus Christ and His followers. God’s image is tied to human sexuality since He created us in His image as male and female. You believe traditional marriage is about more than religious beliefs. It serves a vital public service. Marriage is about procreation, exclusivity, permanence, and monogamy.
Here’s Where Scripture’s At
God declares it is not good for man to be alone, makes a suitable partner for him—a woman—and calls her “his wife” (Genesis 2:18-25). This first marriage ordained by God Himself is the standard by which all future marriages are defined. The sexual complementarity of husband and wife is absolutely essential to marriage. The essence of what marriage is therefore excludes same-sex marriage. The Hebrew word for “wife” cannot mean anything other than “a woman.” Scripture nowhere mentions a marriage involving anything other than a man and a woman. Since God ordained sex to only take place between a married couple, it follows that God’s design is for the family
unit to be formed when a man and woman come together in a sexual relationship and have children. As an enduring definition of marriage Jesus points back to Genesis 2:18-25, a man and woman leaving their parents, who are also a man and a woman, and becoming one flesh (Matthew 19:4-5). God’s design for marriage is monogamy. The Hebrew words for “man” and “wife” are singular and do not allow for multiple spouses. In the biblical instances of polygamous marriage it was still one man entering into multiple separate marriages at the same time. The sin of polygamy is not one of definition but one of application. Marriage isn’t merely a human agreement between two consenting individuals. It is a sacred covenant relationship under God (Genesis 2:22; Malachi 2:14). Since Scripture universally condemns homosexual relationships God will never sanction a marital bond between two members of the same sex.
Where to Go From Here
In response to shifting societal trends people may revise their understanding of marriage to be viewed merely as a human agreement between two consenting, loving, individuals. Followers of Jesus should embrace His view and renew their commitment to the sacrificial love and covenantal faithfulness to which Jesus calls all husbands and wives.
Marriage as an extension of God’s image is between a man and a woman. Hence, a "same-sex marriage" is a contradiction in terms. The command to be salt and light requires us to stand for a biblical perspective of marriage and to defend it from a sociological and human rights perspective. Learn to adjust to living in a same-sex marriage world. You don’t have to endorse it but you have to operate in a world where it is legal. Be gracious to those who do not share your views on marriage. As those loved by God we must exhibit the love of Christ to all men and women. Stand for truth but do so graciously. Champion religious freedom and strengthen your Christian subculture where you can live out your faith and transmit your values to your children.
REMINDER:
Ask yourself, “What is my tone, body language, fear, or other emotions?”
This series provides training on having difficult conversations. How do you discuss difficult topics in a way you hear and are heard, maintain your influence, and avoid alienation? How do you deal with different worldviews while still valuing the person? Read our basic guidelines for having difficult conversations at insightforliving.ca/tough-talk.
What about Widows?
“There will always be more needs than a local church can meet. Every good opportunity is not a call from God.” - CHARLES R. SWINDOLL For the individual follower of Christ, the single most practical book in the Bible is probably James. For the church, it has got to be 1 Timothy. In this book, Paul leaves practically no proverbial stone unturned, addressing a wide variety of issues confronting the church. These issues are just as relevant in the 21st century as they were in the first. But just when we think Paul has exhausted all the important topics, he comes up with one more in chapter 5—how the church ought to treat widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16). What he said might surprise us.
Responsibilities to Widows
By the time Paul wrote Timothy in AD 63, the custom of caring for widows was being abused. The abuse wasn’t perpetrated against widows but by widows and their families. In the Ephesian church, all widows were supported by the congregation, which placed a heavy burden on the ministry. Paul prescribed a policy in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 on how to correct this abusive situation.
Paul’s Practical Reminders
When it comes to caring for widows, it’s easy to be pulled by emotions into unwise Observations Regarding Widows decisions. That’s why Paul’s instructions are Paul never mentioned it, but underly- so helpful. And so are his practical reminders. ing his instructions about widows are two • Caring for one’s dependent parents is a serious, scriptural responsibility important biblical themes. One recalls the fifth commandment to the children of • Grief doesn’t always result in godliness Israel—honour your fathers and mothers • The church is never expected to support everyone in need (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16), and the second recalls the example of how God • A full, busy life is much safer than an idle one executes justice for the widow (DeuterOne last thought. Single mothers are, in onomy 10:18). As Paul would tell Timothy, in some cases families must cease shirking a way, widows. What’s the church’s respontheir responsibilities, and in others the sibility to them and what ministries does church must step up its care to those who your church provide? are “widows indeed” (1 Timothy 5:3 NASB). “What about Widows?” is from Chuck Swindoll’s series Excellence in Ministry: Finishing Well— Doing What’s Best in the Challenges of Ministry. You can stream this message online anytime at insightforliving.ca/audiolibrary.
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