The Dark Night of the Soul

I have been doing some reading in Devotional Classics, edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith. This week's reading is by John of the Cross (1542-91). John wrote a book called "The Dark Night of the Soul." Many people today do not want to endure the drought times that God sends on our souls. He gives us sweet milk when we are young and we enjoy the milk. But to promote growth, God will separate us from others and place in a situation where we are not depressed, but where we are just going through a dry, dark time. Several years ago I read a book by Isobel Kuhn called Green Leaf in Drought Time. It is now out of print, but it is by a dear missionary who endured just such a time during China's turn to communism, but I digress slightly.

Part of the reason why God brings this dark time, according to John, concerns our emotions or feelings. Over time we develop a sort of spiritual greed where we want the next spiritual experience to outdo the previous. So we seek out "certain religious objects or holy places and begin to value visible things too highly." Hmm, I wonder if we do that in our worship styles, in our types of churches, in our worship venues, or in our Bible reading? When we do this, we put a demand on God instead of his having a demand on us. So God puts us in a place where the pleasure is removed so that the soul may be purified. "For a soul will never grow until it is able to let go of the tight grasp it has on God."

There are many of these spiritual sins. One of which he mentions is spiritual gluttony. "The sin of spiritual gluttony will prompt them to read more books and say more prayers, but God, in his wisdom, will deny them any consolation..." so that they will be removed from this sin.

I believe that spiritual sloth is where many are in our society. "They begin to lose interest in God for they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God." We approach God with our questions (and answers) and expect him to address us in our way and in our time. Even as Christians we do this, but God will not be made a toy in the hand of the child. He will take us through arid times to prove he is the oasis for which we search.

Read Psalm 42 and see David's response to the Dark Night.

The Woman at the Well

This is an amazing video about the woman at the well... It's worth checking out.

This is the passage from John 4.

Where did Lazarus go when he died?

This question came to me this week so I thought I would post my thoughts on this here.

I have a long version and a short version answer to this. 

Where did Lazarus go?

SHORT ANSWER: Abraham’s Bosom – boy did he have some stories to tell!  And then he’d have to die again!

LONG ANSWER:

The Hebrews and other ancients thought that death was a three day journey.  Sheol was your destination.  So you would make your journey and you probably did not know anything about your journey on your way there.  Nor would you know anything if you came back from the “dead” before your journey was complete.  Part of this may have come about because they would see people seemingly expire and then resuscitate.  Of course, we have a more technical understanding of this now and don’t see it quite the way they do.  This is interesting in context of Jonah, by the way.  Some folks think he may have actually died and God resurrected him in the belly of the whale.  This would further explain why Jesus compared himself to Jonah when speaking of his D.B.R., but  I digress.  Lazarus as it reads in John was in the tomb four days.  He had already completed his journey in the minds of the Hebrews which made his resurrection more interesting. 

 

So, what did he see?  Jesus gave us the story in Luke 16 of the rich man and another Lazarus (poor man).  He went to Abraham’s bosom.  This place was apparently separated from hell by a gulf and each side could see the other.  I am not sure if the geography should be taken literally on this.

 

The bigger question is really where did Jesus go? 

Okay, I am going to finally answer your question.  Some I have read on this believe that prior to Jesus’ death everyone went to Sheol: saints went to Abraham’s bosom, non-saints went to tartarus or hades which was/is a holding place for those without Christ awaiting judgment.  At the judgment then those without Jesus will be cast into gehenna – lake of fire burning with sulfur (some may not equate hades and tartarus with actual burning).  I can track down the scriptures on this later.  Basically all three of these words are used for hell and this creates a lot of discussion.  Hades and maybe tartarus correspond to the basic OT idea of living without God and being cast into a holding place.  But then Jesus comes along and talks about gehenna quite often. 

Insert here the Apostle’s creed which says Jesus descended into hell… or more correctly … Sheol. 

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm 

Matthew 12:38-41 

38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

Did Jesus just die and do nothing or did he do something else?

See 1 Peter 4:6 (New International Version)

6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

Hmm…

If we take 1 Peter 4 with Luke 16 then perhaps the Creed is correct and Jesus went to preach the good news to Abraham and the others and bring those people out of Abraham’s bosom and take them to heaven.

Answer to the question then is that Lazarus went to be in Abraham’s bosom and then Jesus called him back.  Jesus therefore is truly the master over death and the grave.  That is the point of the passage – not where he went, what he saw, or what he did!

1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

Other texts:  Job 38:17, Psalm 68:18-22; Matthew 12:38-41; Acts 2:22-32; Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:7-10, 1 Peter 3:18-20, and 1 Peter 4:6.

See also: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/descendit.htm

Knowing God

I am re-reading J.I. Packer's classic, Knowing God.  I certainly think I know some things about God, but what Packer wants to do with this book is to help us to know God.  Most people think they know about God (or even know him).  My kids do this as well.  They will joke with one another say, "Hey look out you just sat down.  God is in that chair...you sat on him!"  They laugh and my wife and I sort of grimace at their callous joking.  We try to carefully explain that this is not how it works.  God is everywhere but he is not in the chair, per se.  That's hard for me to understand much less for kids.  Now that I am a minister, people expect you know more about God and to actually lead them to God.  I can't really do that.  In fact I don't think anyone can.  There was a man who died to bring us all to God.  Of course his name is Jesus.  I wrestle with this question of how well I know God.  How well do I really know him, his ways, and what he wants of me?

Need Discernment

I am memorizing Philippians 1:9-11 which says "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."  This captures our vision of "Commit, know, do because it is all about him" at our church.  But I also think I need the discernment for ministry to young adults.  Statistically they are supposed to be here but where are they?  I need help from God to do this ministry.  But gratefully it is God will complete it, and not me....

Busy Summer

It has really been a busy summer, but I have had some good experiences recently.  I attended a singles Connect Conference in Charlottet which I found helpful.  It helped to give me a greater passion for our emerging generation and how to reach it for Christ.  A link to the "Threads Conferences" can be found at: http://www.threadsmedia.com/index.php?/events/connect

Psalm 62

Psalm 62 is one of my most favorite Psalms. Take a minute and read it if you like. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2062&version=31

My refuge is in God alone. I must admit I don't always do this. Taking my heart and soul to God and looking to him for everything I need is more than I can muster. That's why David said that his honor and his salvation depend upon God alone.

The psalms are such a great collection of writings by people who want something to happen but cannot make it happen on their own. Or they want deliverance from something that is beyond their control. Their satisfaction and hope come from God so that whether the situation changes or not, God is there to deliver them.