And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.  These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:10-11 (NIV)

“No pain, no gain” the exercise slogan goes.  The idea is that unless and until you feel the muscles burn, you are not really gaining any fitness benefit.  “No pain, no gain” could be the slogan of physical therapists as well.  They are a mixed blessing as many of you know.  Their purpose is to motivate you, maybe even force you, to endure pain that you don’t want to experience so that you might get stronger or regain range of movement.

The physical body not only needs exercise to get stronger, it needs exercise just to maintain its strength.  A body at rest withers.  Without the regular stress of exercise and movement muscles atrophy.  This is the reason astronauts exercise regularly in the stress-free environment of space.  The physical body needs exercise.  Stressing and taxing the body maintains health and leads to growth.

We know that, but still we want to lose weight without the stress of dieting or the pain of exercise.  “Just give me a pill, wrap my tummy, or liposuction me.”  We want ease, not pain.

The same is true of the spiritual body, the church.  Stressing and taxing the body of Christ maintains health and leads to growth.  We know that too, but we want the kingdom to come “with a minimum of fuss and bother.”  We want spiritual health without the stressful diet of sharing one another’s burdens and living in community.  We want spiritual growth without the painful exercise of study, reflection, and prayer.

The story of the New Testament church in the book of Acts is one of growth and pain.  The early church grew internally (maturity) and externally (numerically) despite internal tension (community life) and external opposition (cultural challenges).  Growth brings problems and pain, but growth also results from problems and pain.  It always has, it always will.

For example, look at how sacrificial giving in community led not only to the problem of dramatic judgment (Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 4:32-5:11), but also to continued growth (5:12-16).  By Acts 6 there were well over 5,000 people at First Church of Messiah Jesus in Jerusalem (see Acts 1:10-11, 15; 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14).  That growth brought pain.  Just ask the widows who were being neglected (6:1-6).  Yet God used the resolution of that problem to bring spiritual and numerical growth (6:7).  That growth resulted in the painful persecution of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:4) which in turn led to widespread preaching and more conversions (Acts 8).

Those are just a few of the snapshots you see in the book of Acts.  You get the idea.  The church is a hothouse of painful gain.  The means that God consistently uses to bring that gain despite the problems and pain are: (1) prayers of faith and preaching the Word; (2) servant-leaders and servants-followers; (3) all under-girded by God’s Spiritual presence (not only through the Spirit’s indwelling each believer, but also through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper).

First Presbyterian Church is growing brothers and sisters.  We will experience growing pains (and already have)!  How will you respond to the pain?

Will you flee from it seeking some solution for gain without pain?   Or will you look to gain through the pain?  Will you resist growth because of the pain it brings or will you prayerfully trust God’s Spirit to work in and among you?  Will you grumble and complain or take real problems to the leadership God has provided and willingly serve as part of a biblical solution?

No pain, no gain.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering… When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter… he did to her as he had vowed. – Judges 11:30-31, 34, 39 (NIV)

It is one of the subtle proofs of the trustworthiness of the Bible that it includes such unfavorable pictures of ‘heroes’ like Jephthah (Judges 11:29-40).  The questionable actions of the rest of the Judges, not to mention the sins of King David, the denials of Peter, and many more instances, affirm the reliability and honesty of the Bible.  It shows real human beings living in a real world really needing God.

Having said that, the nature of Jephthah’s vow and subsequent sacrifice is very much debated.  Almost everyone agrees his vow was unnecessary.  God had already determined to deliver his people.  In fact, God filled Jephthah with his Spirit as the means to save his people (Judges 11:29).  Nothing else was needed but to trust God’s faithfulness and go forth in faith.

Jephthah did make and keep a vow, however.  But what did he do with his daughter?  The two main options are (1) he literally offered her up as a burnt offering to the Lord (she was killed) or (2) he figuratively offered her up to the Lord (perhaps as a perpetual virgin serving the temple).  To approach an answer we need to look at the context.

In the book of Judges, it is clear that God’s people are not moving closer to him.  Rather than take the Promised Land, the people turn away (Judges 1-2).  There’s a recurring cycle: the people turn away, God gives them over, they cry out, God saves them, they fall away again.  Repeat.

This cycle is what brought Jephthah to leadership (Judges 10:6-18).  This cycle informs not only our understanding of Jephthah, but also Samson (Judges 13-16), the horrible events of chapters 19-20, and the nearly hopeless ending of the whole book – “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25, NIV; cf. Judges 2:11).

God brought both difficulties and deliverers because he wanted his people to see their need for a real deliverer.  God would provide a good king to rule and defend them, to restrain and conquer their enemies, and to subdue them to himself (WSC 26).  He would deliver them soundly through David and bless them further with Solomon.  Yet, the ultimate fulfillment of their need for a king would await King Jesus, the Messiah.  He alone would save them from all their difficulties including themselves.

In the broader context, God does not leave his people alone when they wander.  He often brings difficulties to expose our desperate need of him and hopelessness without him.  The curses upon Adam and Eve (painful work, painful birth) strike at the very nature of what we are to do on earth.  It is a severe mercy that God did not let us be at peace without him as we moved from the Garden to fill the earth and rule over it.  Instead God allows difficulties to expose our need for him.

Yet when he wounds, he also heals. In fact, he takes our wounds upon himself and gives us his life (Isaiah 53:4-6).  That is the essence of the cross of Christ (Galatians 3:10-14) and the incredible beauty of the love and grace of God.

What did Jephthah do with his daughter?  I’m not sure.  God lets people do all kinds of stupid, foolish, and even evil things that the Bible doesn’t make an explicit comment about.  This is one of them.

The plain reading of the text seems to indicate a sacrificial offering of the girl.  On the other hand, Jephthah is listed in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11).  Then again, Jephthah was the son of a prostitute driven from home to become the leader of a bunch of ‘worthless fellows’ (Judges 11:1-3, ESV).  However, it is highly unlikely that a Levitical priest would allow a human burnt offering (cf. Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10).  Though Jephthah knew the history of God’s people quite well (Judges 11:14-28), he seems to bargain with God in making the vow.

A decisive answer is unclear.  What is very clear is that the time of the Judges shows the need for a good king, even a God-king.  Jephthah’s actions show the insufficiency of human leaders despite the fact that God can use them in mighty ways.

Whether or not Jephthah killed his daughter, he couldn’t deliver God’s people ultimately and completely.  So, while I’m not certain what happened to Jephthah’s daughter, I am certain that no earthly leader can save the way King Jesus did, does, can, and will.  He alone laid down his life to gain eternal victory.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3 (NIV)

Some of you have noticed that my Bible doesn’t have many pages past the book of Revelation.  That is because my primary Bible doesn’t have a concordance or maps in the back.  It also does not have study notes.  It is a plain vanilla Bible with no chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or cherry on top.

I have this Bible because I found those ‘helps’ unhelpful.

“What?” you may ask.  “Do you think you know more than R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, or someone at Crossway Mike?”

No, I do not.  I am certain I do not.  That is why I decided not to let them do my studying for me.

I found it very difficult in small group Bible studies, Sunday school, and even my own devotional times to really study the Bible text.  With the expert notes right there at the bottom of the page, I didn’t need to.  I could read the Bible text and then immediately jump to the ‘answer key.’

This is a problem for all of us – especially those of us who very highly value the Bible.  I think the tendency to jump to commentaries and study notes stems from a lack of confidence coupled with a desire to know the truth.

Understanding the Bible takes effort and skill.  If we are not confident in our ability to understand it, but we really want to know what it means, we’re stuck.  It not only appears easier, but also much safer to let the experts give us the ‘right’ answer.

To counter-act this, one seminary professor starts every class with a mini-catechism to shape pastors-in-training:

Professor:        “Start with the Bible…”

Class:               “…not with the commentaries.”

The problem here is that the objective of Bible study is not to amass facts and knowledge in order to get the right answers on the test.  The goal is personal interaction with the living God who is speaking in the pages of our Bible.

Here we sit with this rare jewel from God himself and we settle for what other people think about it.  Like someone who purchases a flawless 72.22-carat gem, glances at it, and then settles for reading other people’s descriptions of it.  We are missing out on the wonderful experience of this beauty – of His beauty.  It is not through study bible notes and commentaries, but through God’s word that we come to know Him.

Only after our own efforts are exhausted should we turn away from the book to ‘check our work.’  Don’t settle for the ‘answer key’ approach.  Roll up your sleeves and get to know your Bible.  In doing that you get to know the living, loving, saving, speaking God.

If you have that Him, why would you need chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry?

The family plans to receive friends after the service.

Burial will be in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, TN.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2 (NIV)

A gob of hot, molten glass drops into a mold.  A plunger comes down squeezing the soft glass into the spaces between it and the mold.  What shape it will take?  It depends upon the mold.  What purpose will it serve?  It depends upon whether the mold forms wine glasses, iced tea glasses, or jars.  The final nature of the glass is determined by the mold.

God’s pattern for our lives is similar.  What shape will you be?  What purpose will you serve?  It depends upon whether you conform to this world or are transformed by God.

Even as pressure from a plunger forces glass to conform to the shape of the mold that surrounds it, so this world threatens to mold us.  On the other hand, God desires a life for each of us that is molded by understanding his mercy and that offers everything to him in response (Romans 12:1).

Avoiding conformity to the wrong pattern does not necessarily mean doing the opposite of what the world does.  It certainly means thinking differently than the world at the most basic levels, however.  We don’t need to guess at what is right; God has spoken.  We don’t need to wish for the future; God has secured it in Jesus Christ.  The problem of humanity is sin; God has provided a solution.  In the end, all will be made right.

The Christian life is a process of being shaped by these truths within a community of fellow learners (see Romans 12:3-21; cf. Ephesians 4:20–24).  It is a life molded by God’s wisdom pressing us closer to the true prototype for humanity, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:49).  It is a life of effort where we seek to discern God’s will (his good, pleasing, and perfect will) in the midst of a cultural consensus that presses upon us and attempts to shape us (Romans 12:2).

What shape will you be?  It depends upon the mold.  What purpose will you serve?  It depends upon whether you conform to the pattern of this world or you are transformed into the shape God has for you.

Consider God’s mercy in Jesus Christ.  Offer yourself wholly to him in response.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. — Romans 8:29 (NIV)

The family will receive friends 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, June 3, prior to the service.

Burial will be in the church memorial garden on Friday (family only please).

Survivors:  Husband – Ralph Jansen, Sons – Ralph A. Jansen & Peter Jansen, Daughter – Krista Jansen, Sisters – Carol Frenger, Mary O’Neil, Barbara Fox & Linda Efstration.

Bilbrey Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements and professional services.

Some people fall apart under pressure, while others do really well.  The Olympics are a case study for this truth.  The difference between gold medals and no medals at that level has much less to do with skill and much more to do with handling pressure.

The pressure to perform is obviously high.  As if years of work focused upon a limited window of opportunity weren’t enough; the final goal has to be reached before the watching world.  Estimates put the viewership of the 2010 Winter Olympics at over three billion people.  Yes, three billion people.  If you get nervous teaching Sunday School, imagine how you would feel having billions of people watching you perform a difficult skill like figure skating, slalom skiing, or ice hockey.

How one handles these pressures becomes a key factor.  The athlete who nails the jumps in every practice finds herself stumbling over her feet.  The competitor who always hits the net in practice can’t seem to even get a shot off.  What accounts for this?  Most likely not lack of skill, but excess of pressure.

Shaun White’s gold medal run in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe shows an interesting variation on what happens under pressure because he captured the gold without any pressure.

The Snowboard Halfpipe event is something like riding a skateboard without wheels in a snow canyon with a rounded bottom and walls.  The competitors repeatedly go down into the halfpipe, pick up speed, and fly back out – literally!  They are judged on how well they soar, twist, and flip.

The gold medal finals allow each man to have two attempts and only his best score counts.  After the first round Shaun White led by four points (out of fifty).  With the highest score, he was allowed to go last in the second round.  As his time came for the second attempt, he knew he already had the gold medal wrapped up.  No one beat his first score with either of their runs.  He faced no pressure.

White could have headed straight to the awards podium or attempted some easy tricks for fun.  Instead, with no pressure to perform, he decided to make a challenging run that included his hardest trick.  He was there to snowboard after all.  Knowing that his victory was assured, why not attempt it?

The result was that White turned in not only his personal best score, but the highest score in this sports’ Olympic history.  Knowing the battle was already over, he nailed his hardest move: rising into the air to perform three and a half spins and two flips before plummeting down into a smooth landing.

What pressure are you under?  Maybe it is the pressure of feeling a call to public ministry (teaching Sunday School, leading a small group, witnessing to a friend, etc.).  Maybe it is facing a call to help others.  Maybe knowing you must do something, but not sure how it will go.

The Lord has put you here to follow him in attempting what is most challenging.  He has freed you from the pressure because he has already won.  The gold medal is yours because you were with him in his hardest move: rising into the air on a cross to suffer and die before plummeting down under the power of death only to burst from the grave in new life.

Your victory is assured.  What will you attempt without the pressure?

Many people around us accept Jesus as a good teacher, as an example of virtue, or even as a great prophet yet reject that he rose from the grave. We begin this month with Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Before he could rise though, he had to die. Why would anyone execute a masterful teacher, a moral model, or a great speaker of divine truth? Why would his own people lobby their oppressors to put him to death?
After all, Jesus was well-liked by the masses (Matthew 15:30; 19:2; John 12:12). Devotion to him was wide spread. However, he failed to meet their expectations. The broadly scattered interest was evidently not matched by much depth (John 6). When Jesus did not fulfill the role of conquering Messiah, they turned away in disappointment. Judas, the mechanism for seizing Jesus quietly (Luke 22:1-6, 47-53), is a prime example of this group of wicked men.
According to Matthew, Mark, and John, this same popularity with the people caused envy among wicked men. The chief priests, scribes, elders, and the Pharisees were afraid that if everyone believed in Jesus, then the Romans would take away their place and nation. (Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; John 11:49-49).
Furthermore, Jesus’ clearing of the temple (Matthew 21:12-17) immediately after his royal welcome into Jerusalem to the cheers of “Hosanna to the Son of David” stirred the whole city (Matthew 21:1-11). Thus Jesus posed a threat to the authority of the leaders of Israel. Each of the key leadership groups approached Jesus to find some reason to accuse him. The Chief Priests and Elders (Matthew 21:23-46), the Pharisees and Herodians (Matthew 22:15-22), the Sadducees (Matthew 22:23-33) and the Pharisees again (Matthew 22:34-45) all challenged him.
Despite their testing, “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:46). Instead, these wicked men cast their charges in political terms to get the Roman government’s attention and gain approval for execution (Luke 23:2). The pathetic wavering of Pilate before threats to his authority (Luke 23:4; John 18:38; 19:4, 6) was a final factor in Jesus’ death at the hands of wicked men.
In summary, the Gospels and Acts reveal that Jesus died because “wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23). Men acting in response to disappointment, envy, and/or political threats all played a part.
The Bible also makes it clear that Jesus died because it was “God’s set purpose” (Acts 2:23). In Luke’s Gospel, this is particularly clear in the repetitive theme of divine necessity or “ought-ness” regarding many things. In particular, it was necessary that Jesus “must suffer many things and be rejected … and he must be killed” (Luke 9:22; cf. Luke 13:33). It was necessary that Jesus “must be delivered into the hands of sinful men [and] be crucified (Luke 24:7). He must suffer and then enter his glory (Luke 24:26). He must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:44-46).
Why must these things happen? So that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…” (Luke 24:47; cf. Matthew 26:28).
In the end, God’s set purpose was fulfilled by wicked men, so that wicked men and women (like you and me) could receive forgiveness for our sin. Jesus died so that we might live.
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. – Acts 2:24 (NIV)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. – Romans 4:25 (NIV)
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins… — 1 John 2:2 (NIV)

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:12 (NIV)

Did you hear what happened to the Iraqi man who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a 2008 press conference?  After his release from a reduced one year sentence for his offense, Muntazer al-Zaidi held his own press conference.  In a surprising role reversal, al-Zaidi was forced to evade a shoe hurled at his head.

Noting the irony, al-Zaidi reportedly said, “He stole my technique.”  His brother, on the other hand, chased the shoe-thrower and threw his own shoe at him.

We don’t really “get” shoe throwing here in the US.  In the Middle East it is seen as a serious insult saved for someone you hold in extreme contempt.  For greater impact, one might even add a grave verbal insult such as calling the other person a “dog” (which al-Zaidi in fact did).

As demeaning as these words and deeds are intended to be in that culture, they do not generally get someone thrown in prison.  In fact, the man who threw his shoe at al-Zaidi was not arrested, nor was al-Zaidi’s brother.

The intent of all these men was the same: to insult, not physically harm.  Why the discrepancy in treatment amongst three similar incidents?  Why was al-Zaidi arrested and sentenced for his deed?

The answer is probably obvious.  It is one thing to insult a convicted criminal or even your neighbor.  It is something else altogether to act against a head of state (as in President Bush).  Slapping your neighbor can be overlooked as rude.  Slapping the Prime Minister will get you arrested every time (see Italy’s Berlusconi).  Offenses against those in higher authority are more serious than those against a common citizen.  Sentences are longer.  Punishments are more severe.

So, if we think it just to punish offenses against heads of state more severely, how much more rigorously should offenses against the head of all things be judged?  In other words, what would justice look like if the offended party were “the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)?

No mere human could serve a long enough sentence to satisfy justice.  When the offense is against the Authority to whom all worship, honor, respect, and obedience are due, an eternal sentence is just.  We are left with the horrible necessity of eternal punishment for our offenses (cf. Matthew 25:46).

In light of that, thanks be to God for the incarnation and crucifixion of the eternal Son of God!  The offended God willingly took on human nature, lived obediently, and served our eternal sentence in a relatively short space of time.  In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the mercy and justice of God are fully satisfied.  Our debt is paid.  It is finished.  We have eternal life rather than eternal death (cf. John 19:30; Romans 4:25; 8:3; Galatians 3:13; etc.).

Happy Easter!

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. — Hebrews 9:15 (NIV)