Author: John Tillman

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Stereotypically Sinful

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 35 Listen: (2:21)
Read: Titus 1 Listen: (2:24)

Scripture Focus: Titus 1.12-14

12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.

Reflection: Stereotypically Sinful

By John Tillman

Paul called Epimenedes a poet and a prophet. He quoted Epimenedes before the Aeropagus in Greece, “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17.28) To Titus, on Crete, Paul quoted the same poem, describing Cretans as “liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”

If we have a simplistic “every word in the Bible is true” viewpoint, we shouldn’t trust people from Crete. Doesn’t “a prophet” in the Bible say Cretans are liars? Is that what is going on here? Is Paul quoting a racist poet and saying, “He’s right?”

Not really. We need to be more faithful interpreters of God’s word. What is the truth of this passage and the relevance of this quote?

First, Epimenedes was from Crete. This introduced a paradox philosophers call the “liar’s paradox.” If all Cretans are liars and Epimenedes is a Cretan, he must be lying when he says, “All Cretans are liars.” Paul knew this wasn’t a universal truth.

Second, the poem challenged a specific lie. Crete claimed Zeus was mortal and built a tomb for him on the island. Epimenedes called Cretans liars because he believed in Zeus’s immortality. The poem’s popularity made “Cretan” synonymous with “liar” in the larger Greek culture.

So if Paul thought the poem “true,” is Zeus immortal, and do we live and move and have our being in him? Of course not. Paul applied the cultural stereotype to false teachers who needed correction. Paul’s purpose for them and us is to overcome culture and stereotypes and be sound in faith.

Paul taught that all people, not just Cretans, are by nature liars, brutes, and gluttons. He confessed that when he wanted to do good, sin was right there with him. (Romans 7.19-21)

What negative stereotypes or opinions about you or others come from culture or your mind? Are you quick to believe them? Is there any truth to them?

It’s unfair for culture (or yourself) to stereotype or label you. It is unwise to ignore scripture’s rebukes against our sins, whether they are stereotypical or atypical. It is also unhealthy to ignore scripture’s promise that we are loved and can be redeemed.

Stereotypes are not excuses. Nor are they curses. Don’t be a stereotypical Cretan or anything else.
Repent of lying. Especially to ourselves.
Repent of brutality. Especially to others.
Repent of gluttony. Especially when others lack.
Be sound in faith, and be devoted to the gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. — Psalm 96.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Banners, Trumpets, Repentance

John’s banner had one word and his trumpet one note, “repent.”

Banners, Trumpets, Repentance

Read more about A Rebellion of Repentance

The repentance John describes is a rebellion more radical than violent insurrection.

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Your Ephesus Needs a Timothy

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 32 Listen: (5:30)
Read: 1 Timothy 4 Listen: (2:05)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 33 Listen: (6:03), Read: 1 Timothy 5 Listen: (3:22)
Read: Ezekiel 34 Listen: (5:11), Read: 1 Timothy 6 Listen: (3:16)

Scripture Focus: 1 Timothy 4.12-16

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Reflection: Your Ephesus Needs a Timothy

By John Tillman

Timothy faced dangerous “wolves” in a dangerous city. (Acts 20.28-30)

Timothy was young. He did not fit neatly into any racial or cultural box. His mixed Greek and Jewish heritage helped him connect two different worlds but also isolated him from both of them.

He led the church in Ephesus, the third-largest Roman city, with a temple to Artemis four times the size of Athens’s Parthenon. When Paul’s teaching threatened commerce surrounding Artemis worship, the city rioted. (Acts 19.23-28)

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus specifically to address false teaching. (1 Timothy 1.3-5) The wolves Timothy dealt with were hypocritical liars and conspiracists, whose constant lies burned away their consciences. Paul described the malicious myths they perpetuated as the teaching of demons.

One way Paul expected Timothy to counter false teaching was by watching his own “life and doctrine.” Today, we’d say “orthodoxy,” what you teach, and “orthopraxy,” what you do. Our faith must match our works. We may not all be church leaders, but we still face dangerous “wolves,” with burned-away consciences. Hypocritical liars and conspiracists seem more prevalent than ever.

It sounds exciting to fight off dangerous wolves or doctrines of demons. But Paul’s instructions to Timothy remind us we fight with plows, not swords, and cultivation, not destruction. (Isaiah 2.4; Micah 4.3) We bring forth goodness from the Earth, not spill blood into it. The world may riot. We must root ourselves in the example of Jesus and Paul.

How do we do this? Read and teach the scripture with both supernatural giftings and practical diligence.

Read and teach the scripture. (v 13) “I read the scripture but I’m not a preacher.” You are to someone. Someone listens to you in small groups and conversations. Someone reads your social media posts, even if they never comment or “like” them. So read and teach.

Cultivate your gifts through the Holy Spirit. (v 14) A prophetic word was spoken about Timothy, but that did not mean Timothy just coasted. He had to cultivate, not neglect, his gift. Paul later wrote to “fan into flame” the gift. Cultivate your gifts both spiritually and practically through prayer and practice.

Make diligent progress. (v 15) Paul expected Timothy to progress, to improve, in ways that were visible and evident to all. Demonstrate diligence in solving problems and, like a math problem, show your work and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Be Timothy to your Ephesus. Embody truth in a world of lies.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. — Psalm 92.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Hypocrites, Conspirators, and Old Wives Tales

When people we know or admire slide into cultish conspiratorial thought, it’s painful. In a very real way, we lose them.

Hypocrites, Conspirators, and Old Wives Tales

Read more about Facing Wolves

In hunting for “wolves” we can injure a lot of sheep. People who hunt wolves often become wolf-like themselves.

Facing Wolves
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Christless Forgiveness is the Absence of Justice

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 31 Listen: (3:31)
Read: 1 Timothy 3 Listen: (2:103)

Scripture Focus: 1 Timothy 3.16

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory

Reflection: Christless Forgiveness is the Absence of Justice

By John Tillman

One reason our culture so often rejects forgiveness and mercy is that, without Christ, the definition of forgiveness is unappealing and unjust.

Most dictionaries define forgiveness as stopping our feelings of resentment, stopping our desire for evil to be punished, or canceling debts without repayment. Those who forgive simply are expected to keep living with damage that will never be restored. With this concept of forgiveness, no wonder our culture rejects forgiveness as unjust.

Forgiveness is unjust, if forgiveness is simply letting evil succeed.
Forgiveness is unjust, if victims are never heard and no one ever answers for their pain.
Forgiveness is unjust, if what was damaged is never restored.
Christ-less forgiveness is the absence of justice.

Without Christ, forgiveness is anarchy. However, Christ offers a unique definition of forgiveness and justice entirely dissimilar from ours. He does not cancel our debt; he pays it. He does not stop wanting to punish sin and evil; he takes sin into himself, crushing and destroying evil. He does not force us to change our feelings; he puts a new Spirit within us.

Christ is the miracle of justice and forgiveness in one glorified person. He alone is able to complete the cycle of justice. He convicts the guilty, pays the penalty, restores the victims… Jesus doeth all things well.

Christ alone grants us this kind of forgiveness, justly providing recompense for the victims of our sinfulness by his suffering on the cross. Yet, there is more. Christ not only grants this forgiveness to us, he expects and empowers us to pour out this type of forgiveness to others.

This weekend, pray this hymn from Paul’s letter to Timothy. In this first-century hymn, Christ is described as “vindicated,” meaning found to be just or righteous. This celebrates that the forgiveness offered by and through Christ is just and righteous. Christ is the mystery from which godliness springs. He is our source of all godliness, including just forgiveness.

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.”

Christ is the only source of truly just forgiveness. Every other kind of forgiveness is simply winking at evil.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

The Lord is King; let the people tremble; he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake. — Psalm 99.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Maintain Love and Justice

May God himself expose those who assume justice cannot penetrate their defenses.

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Read more about Our Merciless Culture

Our world is desperate to explain away Christian forgiveness as something else.

Our Merciless Culture
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Splintering or Blossoming Staff?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 29 Listen: (3:43)
Read: 1 Timothy 1 Listen: (2:59)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 29.6-7

6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“ ‘You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel. 7 When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.

Reflection: Splintering or Blossoming Staff?

By John Tillman

Israel and Judah had a complicated relationship with Egypt.

At times, Egypt was a shelter for Israel and a place of safety and prosperity. Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Jacob, even Jesus took shelter there. At others, Egypt was a place of slavery, death, oppression, and genocide. Joseph and his descendants were enslaved there. Egypt tried to murder Moses’ generation of boys. Moses fled and then returned to set the people free. Sometimes, Egypt was an ally, protector, and political marriage partner. Many of Israel and Judah’s kings took Egyptian wives to seal political alliances. Other times, Egypt was an invader, an enemy, and a conqueror, even placing a puppet king on Judah’s throne.

God described Israel’s relationship with Egypt using the metaphor of a splintering staff that injures those who lean on it. (2 Kings 18.21; Isaiah 36.6; Ezekiel 29.7) When Israel needed support and leaned on Egypt, they got more hurt than help. When it suited Egypt, they supported Israel. When it suited Egypt, they turned abusive and manipulative. We might call the relationship “toxic.”

Staffs represent leadership. Rather than lean on God, trust him, and follow his ways, Israel leaned on their own shrewd dealings and political marriages of convenience. They challenged God’s leadership and chose their own. They went their own way, trusting toxic Egypt.

The benefits of leaning on God go beyond strength alone. God is a strong and life-giving staff.

When Aaron’s leadership was challenged, God confirmed it using his staff. God caused Aaron’s staff to blossom with life, while the other leaders’ staffs stayed dead sticks of wood. (Numbers 17.6-9)

No matter what kind of support we need, God wants us to lean on him and his understanding, not our own. Other staffs will spinter and break, injuring us and wrenching our bodies and minds in the process. Everything and everyone else we might lean on is just dead wood.

Lean on Jesus, a greater help than Egypt or Aaron. Egypt’s staff splintered. Aaron’s staff budded and produced a few almonds. Jesus’ cross has blossomed into a tree of life. Aaron’s staff became a snake that defeated the serpentine staffs of Egypt. (Exodus 7.10-12) Jesus crushes the great dragon, the serpent of sin. (Genesis 3.15)

What staff are you leaning on or recommending to others? Is it an alliance? A person? A party? Every other staff will splinter. Only Jesus will blossom.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. — Psalm 92.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Political Promises

Political parties offer Christians the same speech Sennacherib’s commander made to Jerusalem.

Political Promises

Read more about Horses of Flesh or Spirit

For Israel, a recurring temptation popped up in crisis after crisis. They wanted to go back to Egypt.

Horses of Flesh or Spirit
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Tyre, Eden, the Temple

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 28 Listen: (4:32)
Read: Ephesians 6 Listen: (3:17)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 28.12-19

12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’ ”

Reflection: Tyre, Eden, the Temple

By John Tillman

Ezekiel references Adam’s fall from Eden and the Temple in Jerusalem to describe judgment on the king of Tyre.

Tyre’s relationship with Israel blessed both kingdoms. The friendship started with David and continued (as trading partners) throughout the history of Israel and Judah. Tyre’s religious practices and beliefs, however, followed Ba’al and other Canaanite gods. Tyre never worshiped Yahweh other than acknowledging David’s God in the perfunctory way a business partner would and supplying many of the materials that were used to build the Temple. Still, God held this foreign king responsible to him for justice and the welfare of others. God holds him responsible for violence and using dishonesty to gain wealth in addition to gloating over Israel’s fate.

Ezekiel’s metaphor of the king being cast out of Eden implies that the sin of Tyre and Adam are similar. Adam didn’t sin by thoughtlessly taking some fruit his wife handed him. Like the king, he wanted to be “like God,” wanted to declare himself wise, and wanted to say for himself what was right and wrong.

The stones mentioned are ones from the breastplate of the high priest in Jerusalem’s temple. This implies Ezekiel’s thoughts about the pride and corruption of the priests and religious leaders. The trappings of power, items of glamour and beauty intended to glorify God, were turned toward themselves. Beauty birthed pride. Splendor corrupted wisdom.

This lament leaves no doubt that, regardless of an individual’s beliefs or the culture’s moral outlook, God will not give a pass to anyone who follows the way of Tyre, Adam, and Jerusalem.

If Tyre, Adam, and the spiritual leadership of the Temple can fall, so can we. The same sins they tripped on strike at our heels. Wealth, power, and pride make us indifferent to suffering. They have us turn a blind eye to corruption. They lead us to accept violence as a means to an end. No ruler of a nation, no CEO, no pastor, staff member, or volunteer leader of a church is exempt.

Let us test our pride: Are we glorifying God or ourselves?

Let us test our power:  Are we serving others or ourselves?

Let us test our wealth: Are we blessing others or ourselves?

And let us have hope in Jesus. When we fail, for the repentant, there is forgiveness. His promises of mercy are as sure as his promises of judgment.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

O Lord, watch over us and save us from this generation forever. — Psalm 12.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about The Empire Has No Clothes

Isaiah confronted people with the truth, “The empire has no clothes!” Isaiah’s constant nakedness would not let Judah escape the image.

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Read more about A Love Affair with Power

We are bombarded with messages about power…why we should support it…utilize it for our own benefit.

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