Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Now Deuteronomy!

The Vancouver CSBS is back in class this morning after a 3 day retreat. We were blessed with a trip to Camp Squeah near Hope where we were able to celebrate completion of the first 4 weeks of the school enjoying some of British Columbia's great outdoors. During the first 4 weeks the students have learned and practiced each of the steps we use to study God's Word and from here on out we will repeat these steps for each book. We call this retreat our 'Wilderness Wandering' and the students reenact the narrative of the Israelites as they trek from Egypt to the border of the Promised Land and have a little healthy competition testing their knowledge of the books they've studied through so far.

So in the last couple weeks we have made it through the 2nd, 3rd and 4th books of the Bible and today we've begun the 5th. We have our first guest speaker, Mr. Michael Packard, from the Turner Valley YWAM base, here to share with us the book of Deuteronomy.

Wrapping Up Week 2

We've spent a lot of time in class this past week and a half learning the several steps of the inductive Bible study method. The students have been very ambitious and dug right into the home work. We are currently learning different methods of observing the text and finding the main points the original audience and original readers would have understood in their historical context.

Genesis is done and we are on day 2 of our Exodus teaching by Einar Kro, our Norwegian staff team member. The grading has started and it is always rewarding to see the students hard work revealing deeper understanding of God's Word. 

Day One!

The students are here. We've found accommodations and set up classroom space for all the students and staff. Much time and effort has been spent much of the past weeks painting, cleaning, and setting up ikea furniture along side all the staff training and other administrative work. Arrival day was yesterday and we had a great evening sharing dinner and worshipping together with the staff, students and other YWAMers in the Vancouver region who came to meet and greet them.

After covering some orientation details first thing this morning we are getting right into teaching the Inductive Bible Study method the students will know well nine months from now. Students and staff are all eager and excited to dig into God's Word!

September 2016 Ministry Update

It was three years and 3 months ago that we wrote our last update while we were serving with YWAM. At that time we were anticipating our move back to our home in Canada. We were quite excited about returning to our community there and all the opportunities and possibilities moving back would present. At the same time we dreaded leaving the community God had put us in while we were in Kona. We made it back to our little house in Alberta for a very short time and then we felt led by God to a place we hadn’t ever really wanted to live, the lower mainland in British Columbia. It was a difficult move for us as we had so much looked forward to coming ‘home’ to a comfortable place that we were familiar with. We ended up in Langley, BC where we have remained for the last 3 years now. 

The Lord provided a home for us, work for Ryan shortly after our move to Langley and opened doors for our two oldest to get into the school we hoped for them to attend. KaraLyn has been very busy with all sorts of duties at the kids school and she has been leading the women’s Bible study at our church.

As we left the YWAM School of Biblical Studies in Kona we wondered if and when we might have the opportunity to be involved with it again. We began hearing some mention of the school starting up at the Vancouver YWAM base about a year and a half ago which leads me to the reason I am writing this update. The first YWAM Vancouver School of Biblical Studies is set to begin later this month and I am looking forward to being a part of the staff team. The other staff have started to arrive and will begin orientation and training next week.

Being that this is the first time the SBS will run at the Vancouver base there are going to be some issues to get around so I am asking for you to pray for this school as it launches. YWAM Vancouver rents a church basement for office and classroom space and a house for student housing. Pray for God to provide the necessary space for housing and training activities at the base as they seek to expand the courses being offered. Please pray for the students as they come to study God’s Word, that they would be prepared to exercise theirs hearts and minds. Pray for the staff, for God’s leading as we prepare to teach and help the students. Pray for financial provision for both staff and students for the coming nine months of study and outreach to follow.

All YWAM staff rely solely on financial support from fellow believers. Entering into this year of serving with YWAM we are praying seeking God’s provision and direction with our finances. Please pray with us about our finances and if you feel led to support us or the school financially in this ministry you can find information on how to do that here.

If you would like more information about the school, our role there or anything else please contact us.

May 2013 Ministry Update!

My Take on Job

Here at the Chronological School of Biblical Studies at the University of the Nations we end before Christmas with the wisdom literature of the Old Testaments. In the last couple of weeks leading to the Christmas break we cover Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. We have to do this due to time constraints as we only have a short nine months to get through all the books. There are a couple of issues that arise from this schedule. First of all, being a chronological study of the Bible one might question studying Job this late in the school as it is commonly dated back to the time of Abraham and the patriarchs. Secondly, Job and Ecclesiastes might be considered to be depressing books to study as we end the term leading up to Christmas. Personally I have always been very fond of both of those books, I don't think they are depressing at all. and as for teaching Job so late in the school, it just happens to fit into the schedule at that time so that is the way it is. I was tasked with teaching the book of Job, the last book of the quarter.

Everyone knows the book of Job as the reading material of the down and out. When you get laid off from your job or suffer some other loss, you go read Job. The problem with that is that Job is a long book. If you don't get through to the end you'll likely find yourself a little more depressed than you were to start off with and on top of that you'll be confused and wondering how the long discourses of Job and his buddies might help you sort through your own suffering. So you better set aside enough time to get to the end and understand the message at the end. There is another problem with saving Job just for those bad days, Job isn't about suffering, I'll address that later.

Assuming you have read the book (maybe now is a good time to give it a read), let's reflect back on it. What did you learn? What did each of his friends say to him? Usually it is difficult to remember who said what when, if you can even remember who each of the characters are. For our course we typically have each student breakdown the book by identifying each character and then paraphrasing each speech made by each character. This can take a bit of time but it really brings clarity to the the book and I would suggest everyone take the time to do it. HERE is an outline of the book to help you see the structure.

The real key to the book is understanding what each character has to say and I am going to give you what I have come to understand about Job after studying it for a few weeks. I see a series of progressions in the book, and here they are:

1. There is a foundational, unquestionable 'truth' that is the basis for how Job and his three wise friends understand God and life. I like to describe it with some simple math:

A+B=C

A= God is Good

B= I behave righteously/wickedly

C= God blesses/curses me

This is their understanding at the beginning of the book.

2. Upon losing all of the blessings God had given Job, Job had to re-analyze the truth:

A+B=C

A= God is Good

B= I behave righteously

C= God curses me?

Job is certain that he has done no wrong but clearly and repeatedly he conveys his understanding that God has come against him. After Job suffers all his worldly losses I think that his suffering is multiplied by his loss of connection to God, his perceived separation from who he knew to be a good God.

3. Job's three wise friends enter the scene and they clearly hold to their understanding of God:

A+B=C

A= God is Good

B= I behave wickedly

C= God curses me

The only explanation that his 3 friends have is that Job had sinned. Their understanding of God was not up for debate therefore logic leads to the 'undeniable' accusation of wickedness in Job's life. Through all the accusations and ever more animated discourses Job denies any wrong doing and pleads for anyone to identify what he has done that was sin.

4. Finally three quarters of the way into the book Elihu shares. Elihu changed the math:

A+B=C A>B

A= Sovereign God

B= Man

Elihu does not focus on the righteousness or wickedness of Job. Elihu does not address the suffering of Job or the possible causes of it. He correctly rebukes Job and his friends. He rebukes Job for contending with God, for questioning the sovereign God. He challenges the friends of Job to throw out their wrong understanding of God and come to a right knowledge of God.

5. God's speeches to Job drive home the truth that Elihu spoke. He is sovereign over all and there is no contending with Him. The conversation between God and Job is a little lopsided. God's long discourses and Job's short, humble responses reveal that Job has come to understand God rightly. Job 42.1-6 Sums up what we all are to learn from this book:

Then Job answered the Lord:

‘I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

“Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you declare to me.”

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;

therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.’

So that is it, God is greater, greater to an extent we cannot put into words or truly understand. As I mentioned, the book of Job is not about suffering, I hope you understand why I said that. The suffering of Job is the tool used to call into question the justice of God. There is mention of other perceived injustices in the book, such as the prosperity of the wicked. So what Job and his cohorts are really questioning is God's justice. This questioning of God's justice is answered by Elihu and finally by God himself, yes He is just and He is Sovereign and that in my view is the most important message in the book of Job.

So how can we apply the book of Job?

First of all many of us have done just as Job and his 3 friends had done, we have formed an understanding of God by our life experiences. As is illustrated by Job and his 3 friends, our interpretation of God based solely on what we have experienced can easily be wrong. Thankfully we have the Bible to reference and use to come to a right understanding of God and we can take that understanding and apply it to what we have lived through.

Secondly, most or probably all of us have questioned God at some point in our lives. I would encourage you to consider Job's new revelation of who God is. When Job came to this new understanding he stopped questioning God and praised Him. If we are questioning God, we don't have a right understanding of who He is and HIS LOVE for us. So if you find yourself or a friend questioning God for some perceived injustice my recommendation is for you to read the speeches of God in the book of Job (Chapters 38-41) and pray for a right understanding of our good God!

Learning to Love Leviticus

I had the privilege of teaching the book of Leviticus to our CSBS class recently. Throughout my time working with the School of Biblical Studies program I have gained a great appreciation for the book but before I began my time here I am not sure that I had spent even ten minutes studying Leviticus in my whole life. It can be described in many ways, most of the descriptors used have a negative connotation; strange, boring, difficult to explain. It definitely doesn't garner a lot of attention these days BUT it should!

Context is always important, but we can often learn biblical truths, though they may be a little more simplistic, without a lot of context when reading the scriptures. This is not the case for the book of Leviticus. Leviticus without context is very difficult for believers to understand. For unbelievers the book of Leviticus taken out of context is used to discredit all the scriptures. So let's try and understand the context.

I am pretty sure we have all seen a super hero movie. Remember the stereotypical scene when the innocent, helpless girl/bus load of children is in some dramatic near death situation. There looks to be no escape. Suddenly, out of nowhere the superhero flies in and saves the day. That person that was rescued had heard rumors of this superhero's existence and now they had witnessed first hand the power of that superhero but the superhero had a mask on. Who was he? Was he good or was he bad? Israel was like that rescued person when Leviticus was delivered to them. They were at Mount Sinai right after the exodus from Egypt, about 600 years separated them from God's promise to Abraham. So they would have known of the promise God made and witnessed His power in the events of the exodus but they themselves knew very little about who God really was. Was he a good god? Did they need to appease him? They knew He had made a promise and they knew he was more powerful that the pagan gods and then came the message of Leviticus.

With this context in mind we can read Leviticus and understand that God was identifying himself to the Israelites. Keep in mind that the Israelites were very likely polytheistic and would have been trying to place Yahweh and understand his role amongst all the other gods that the pagans around them worshipped. The pagan worship practices were very perverse and were practiced in order to manipulate and/or appease their deities. These pagan deities were often angry and perverse beings that were selfish and immoral. So through the book of Leviticus God was setting himself apart from these pagan gods and calling His chosen people to seek holiness - BECAUSE HE IS HOLY.

As for all the seemingly crazy laws and rituals given to the people in Leviticus, they can still be difficult to understand. We all want to rationalize what we don't understand in the book and the fact that we can never fully understand the culture and daily lives of these people that lived around 3000 years ago means that we likely will never understand all of the mysteries of the book. After studying the book for a few months I have come to the conclusion that the majority of the laws are either related to hygiene or related to pagan rituals and God's desire for His people to be completely separate from the pagans around them. There are of course scholars who have spent decades studying Leviticus who you can look up and study their findings so that you can come to your own conclusions.

For those who might see Leviticus as God imposing impossible laws, or those who use it to identify God as legalistic and unable to be pleased, remember the order of the events! God delivered the people first and then gave them the law as a revelation of who He is. The law was never imposed on them, they were given a glimpse of who God is and then given the choice of whether to seek Him or not. The same is true today with Christ. God took the first step, He sacrificed His son for us and then made redemption from sin available to us. We adopt His good laws as we desire to worship and serve our heavenly father, never out of obligation.

I think today we are a lot like that rescued girl in the superhero analogy, we put a lot of focus on what was done to save us - Jesus, His death, His resurrection. Jesus definitely does deserve our praise but let's spend sometime getting to know our Superhero. So try giving Leviticus a read and see if you gain a deeper understanding of our HOLY GOD, who is GOOD and LOVING and FAITHFUL. And when you are reading Leviticus and come to realize how far you and I are from being able to commune with a holy God due to our filth and sin then remember the sacrifice of Christ and understand it with greater depth and appreciation.