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Review: Jesus Journey

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Jesus Journey is a look at the humanity of Christ by Trent Sheppard.

Book Synopsis:

Jesus was human, like you and me. If the gospel is true, he still is.

Christians worldwide believe that Jesus is God. But this belief
wasn’t the starting point for Jesus’ earliest followers. While Jesus’
humanity was a given for the disciples, his divinity was a truth they
grew into believing—it was a journey of faith. As Christians today, we
are also called into a faith journey—this time, to rediscover Jesus’
humanity.

Yes, we believe that Jesus is God, but do we truly believe that Jesus
is human? And if so, how does that transform our own experience of
being human?

Through eye-opening yet down-to-earth reflections, Jesus Journey
invites you to encounter Jesus again—as if for the first time—by
experiencing his breathing, heart-beating, body-and-blood,
crying-and-laughing humanity.

Join Bible teacher and storyteller Trent Sheppard as he shines new
light on the vibrant humanity of the historical Jesus through an
up-close look at Jesus’ relationships with Mary and Joseph, with the God
he called Abba, with his closest friends and followers, and how,
ultimately, his crucifixion and resurrection finally and forever
redefine what we mean by the word God. Come encounter the human who
radically transforms our view of God.

Come encounter the God who forever changes what it means to be human.

What do you get?

A book divided into five sections.

40 separate chapters covering topics such as Joseph and Jesus, Intervention, Nicknamed, Holy Fury, No Escape, Biology 2.0, and Ascension.

My Thoughts:

I tried, I really really tried but I had to stop part way through the book, I just couldn’t continue to read this book.

Points I struggled with:

1. Text taken out context.
2. Text changed without it making sense why he was changing the traditional understanding.
3. Too focused on the humanity of Christ to see the Godness of Christ as well.
4. When he did use text, he often stopped it too soon OR miss the point of the passage.
5. He makes too many suppositions.  Such as at the wedding at Cana he assumes there was a special look that passed between Mary and Jesus…when we have no sign of that AND he misses the point that the wedding is about God’s glory at work in Jesus.
6. He seems to want to bring Jesus down to our level instead of bringing us up to his. Jesus shows us what true humanity is all about.
7. I dislike the almost exclusive use of paraphrases throughout this treatise.

What I liked:
As a devotional Mr. Shepherd adds three points to the close of each chapter 
Ponder – He’ll give a point to think on.
Pray – He’s gives a point of prayer, something we can ask for usually.
Practice – How to put into practice the lessons learned.

Many of these three points I liked, particularly the practice ones.   It’s good to think on ponder on who Jesus was. 

I have to admit… I thought the idea of the book was intriguing, but the fact is this… Jesus was so interlinked, his humanity with his divinity that its one of those mysteries you just can’t really understand.   How can God cry?  Can God skin a knee?   Yes, if he’s also fully human.   Jesus wept, got hungry, got tired, just as we do.   Just as Jesus did, we need to grow in maturity in the sight of God and man.   Jesus is that perfect example of weakness held within strength.

Now.. just because I couldn’t finish this book doesn’t mean it’s not at all worthy to read.  I can easily see this book being used in a group study as a way to think differently about a subject and to talk out some of his points.  To read different translations, to get the full gist of what the bible passages are talking about and to look for how Jesus shows us how living as the humans that we are can be better.

Jesus Journey: Shattering the Stained Glass Superhero and Discovering the Humanity of God.
Trent Shepherd
Zondervan
256 pages
softcover
8 x 5

Reviewed for: booklookbloggers

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The Lord is There

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It’s the last day for our study in Ezekiel, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. 

Today’s Passage: Ezekiel 48:30-35.

 

 30 “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, 31 three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On
the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates,
the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

HUH!   I never knew that before.  Each tribe had a gate named after it.
Makes me wonder if people would enter the city through the gate named after their tribe or if they entered how ever they wanted to.   I know… it’s just speculation on my part and it probably doesn’t even matter.. just a random wondering in my head.  🙂

Each side is the same.  4,500 cubits with three gates. 

I like how God named the city.   The Lord Is There.  It just seems so appropriate.  God dwelling right there, with his priests, surrounded by the land owned by the Prince, surrounded by his people the Israelites.     The Lord is INDEED there.

Just as he is INDEED there among his people, the ones who call upon his name, who see their need for Christ and believe in him.

The LORD is there! 

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The Land distributed, God dwelling in the midst

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I need to apologize, it’s been so long since I’ve visited with Ezekiel. Life’s been so busy lately I’ve been doing other things rather than work through the last chapter. I’ll finish up Ezekiel this week and then i think I’ll start with Corinthians, or perhaps Romans. What do you think??  

Anyways, today’s passage is from Ezekiel 48:1-29.

 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/speculation.php

8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000 in breadth. 10 These
shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an
allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in
breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and
25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12 And
it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of
the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 And
alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an
allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole
length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000. 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.
15 “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, 16 and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. 17 And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. 18 The
remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000
cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside
the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. 20 The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.
21 “What
remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the
city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the
holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to
the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to
the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. 22 It
shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of
the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince.
The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and
the territory of Benjamin.
23 “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

I have to admit, as I read through this list I’ve been wondering… what do I pull out of this passage that will point me to Christ and his amazing work in my life?   I see names and numbers and quite frankly kinda all runs together.

It’s great to see how God ensured that each family line within Israel got the land it should have.   It seems like the larger families got more land than the smaller ones which makes sense right?

Do you also see how God put himself physically into the midst of them.  He didn’t give himself and the priests a portion off to one side or the other, but a portion right in the middle. 

This makes me think of Christ, and how we are his people and he dwells within us.  He doesn’t pick a small corner and say HEY here’s where I will stay, but rather he dwells IN US.   Makes himself an integral part of who we are. Ergo affecting change within us.   God’s people having God’s Priests dwell right in their midst.  It’s a good thing that eh?

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Hymn Study: Oh the Deep Deep Love of Jesus

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Have you ever sat back and listened to a bunch of men around you sing a hymn together?  Just listened to those deep voices of men praising God together?

I had the privilege on Thursday of doing just that.

I joined hubby for the closing session of Banner of Truth conference this year, along with my 11 year old son.    The men sang “Oh the Deep Deep Love of Jesus”.

It was just LOVELY, seriously LOVELY to sit back and listen.

Here is the session:

Here are the Lyrics:

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

I found it very difficult to find a video of men singing this lovely old hymn.  Wasn’t crazy about it but it’s not a horrid rendition, just seemed very fast.  🙂

Anyways, this hymn was written by: S.Trevor Francis.  A man who loved open air preaching and writing hymns.  He was a young man going through..what some might call a time of troubles.. troubling enough that he was tempted to end it all.  But then asked himself… do you love Jesus.   His answer?  “I do believe with my whole heart.”  His faith reaffirmed, he continued working his way onward.

This hymn speaks to his love for the Lord God.  Pretty cool eh?

I’ll leave you with this rendition.

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Parenting Series – Identity

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I have to admit, I struggled with this chapter.  
That when I am hurt by my son, that it’s an identity issue not a love issue.   
Hmmm..

Tripp gave what I thought was a rather extreme example…so I felt this disconnect to be honest.  I don’t drive my lad to succeed.

So if your child hurts you by saying something insensitive… if we find our identity in Christ then what?   It doesn’t hurt???  AH… if you are immersed deeply in the love of God, if you are resting securely in the deep deep love he has for you, then the small hurts of this world don’t matter so much.

Now that kinda makes sense eh?

What your children become doesn’t define you.
What they do for a living, how they make life decisions, does not define you.
As Christian believing parents, what should define us is a deep relationship with the Lord God who saved us.  The one who brings true meaning to our life. 

So what are the warning signs that we are seeking our identity through our children?
1. Focus on success.
2. Focus on reputation.
3. A desire for control.
4. A Focus on what you DO what than who you ARE. 
5. Making it personal when decisions or actions are taken counter to what you expected.

Hmm…that last one eh?  At least for me.. makes me think.  Need to change up some of my thinking, and see God more clearly before I react with too much sensitivity to my lad and my man.   God calls me to be better than that!

Want to follow along?
Amazon.ca – Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

Amazon.com – Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

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Parenting Series: Inability

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Parenting is hard work you know?   REALLY hard work.   It’s hard to balance out my needs, my hubby’s needs AND the needs of my offspring.   It’s outstanding the needs that have to be balanced and something will fall short…. guaranteed.

And that’s not a bad thing you know?

It’s shows our weakness, our frailty, our need for Christ’s redemptive work in our lives…not just in the lives of our children…but in the lives of us the parents!   It’s essential to be aware of that.

Our weakness is a good thing.

Sometimes though it’s hard to recognize our weaknesses.  

Did you know that many parents use three ways to help train their children?
1. Fear.  Like when you threaten to ground your child for months, or when you threaten to remove a bed from a child with a perpetually messy bed.   Fear promotes external change, not heart and attitude change.  It’s “act so that the bad thing doesn’t happen” not because their heart leads them to act in a better manner.

2. Reward.   Do this ______ and I will give you _______.   Again, promotes external change but doesn’t really promote heart change.  Promotes the cost analysis factor in children.  If the reward for x is this, then if I want y what is the least I can do to gain it?

3. Shame.  “how could you”  “I never would have dreamed of…”  Using your past or exaggerating a present to make the child feel bad about what they do.  Causes your child to feel shame by association to you.

All these methods do have their moments of effectiveness….but they don’t really change the heart.  
And we CAN”T change the hearts of our children.
Therein lies our weakness.

We can’t change the hearts of our children, all we can do is call out to God for help.  To give us insight into the hearts and minds of our children so we can guide them into the future of loving God and being led by him.

We need to recognize this truth “Because as parents we serve a gloriously loving and powerful Redeemer.  He loves our children infinitely more than we do and as evidence of that love, he has placed them in a family of  faith where the story of his love will be heard again and again.  He has the power beyond our ability to understand…. In grace he will never turn his back on your cries as a parent and on your children’s cries as they reach out for him.  He delights in love.  He delights in reconciliation.   He delights in repentance and change.   He delights in showering his power down on his children to do for them what is his will, but what they cannot do for themselves.”  p.69.

In the end we have to realize, that even if we don’t have all the answers, even if we get things wrong, we don’t have to fret!   If we turn to God and lean on him, he’ll help us through it.  He’s got our backs.  He wants what is best for us and for our children.   He is the only one with the power to make a difference.

Therein, lies his grace.

———

I was talking with my lad today about this chapter.   Because it makes sense right?  That it’s not up to me to change his heart…that I can do things to hopefully influence his thought processes, but it’s not up to me to change him, to cause him to all the more seek after God’s own heart.    When I said “Lad, if I raise my voice at you…does it change your behaviour in your heart?  OR does it just make you want to stop doing what you are doing at the moment?   Does it change what you do in the future?”   He honestly didn’t know, but I could see the wheels turning in his brain.  🙂   It’s good to talk about these things with a growing boy, to help him see my need for God’s grace even as I parent him.

Want to follow along?
Amazon.ca – Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

Amazon.com – Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

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Hymn Study: Seed to Sow

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Looking up that Michael W. Smith song the other day reminded me of this song that I thoroughly enjoy listening to. I used to beat out the song when swimming. Hot summer days with music dancing in my head and playing out in the water. Ah.. it was fun and good! But seriously if you think about the words of the song, you will see the church in action. How everyone is different in the church, with different skill sets that make the church what it is. Helping the church to grow, and God’s truth to be seen. So many different people to reach with the gospel, and so many different people God can use to help them see the way.

Michael W. Smith’s video

Lyrics
 (chorus in Lugandan)
Kimu nkimaanyi
Buli muntu alina ensiigo
Omutima gwo gukulung ‘aamye
Buli muntu alina ensiigo
Some people quietly reveal
In the manner of the meek
Some people shout the way they feel
To a radical degree
Some people sing it to express
While others hear another call
Some people speak with subtleness
Some don’t rely on words at all
But let me tell you ’bout…
(chorus)
One thing I know
Everybody’s got a seed to sow
Let your heart of hearts
Take you down the road
Everybody’s got a seed to sow
We all are pieces of the whole
With different feelings to evoke
Giving distinction to the role
Different players-different strokes
But let me tell you ’bout…
(chorus)
Some people walk
Some people race
Some people vary in their pace
But God can use what you can give
Within the mystery of His ways
Don’t underestimate…
(chorus)
Kimu nkimaanyi
Buli muntu alina ensiigo
Omutima gwo
Gukulung ‘aamye
Buli muntu alina ensiigo

African Children’s Choir

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