My View on the NT Use of the OT

NT Use of the OT -- Test Your View!

Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view You seem to be most closely aligned with the Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view, a view defended by Darrell L. Bock in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). This view affirms the singular nature of the meanings intended by the OT and NT authors when OT texts are cited in the NT. In spite of this essential unity in meaning, however, the words of the OT authors frequently take on new dimensions of significance and are found to apply appropriately to new referents and new situations as God’s purposes unfold in the larger canonical context. Often, these referents were not in the minds of the OT authors when they penned their texts. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

I will be completely honest. I've got what I think is fairly good Bible knowledge, although my knowledge of theology is quite scanty (which is why I'm working to strengthen it). That might explain why I'm not completely sure what this is saying precisely, and whether or not it correctly reflects my view on the NT use of the OT. I'm feeling somewhat ignorant right now.

Choosing Wisely

1. Is this causing me to desire for something that I do not have?
2. Is it making me discontent with my current situation?
3. And, even tougher, is this drawing towards me or away from my Heavenly Father?

I want this to be my guide in choosing the things that I will read. And watch. And think about.....

Thanks to Joy for her great post where I found these questions! http://sahmissionary.blogspot.com/2008/12/guard-your-heart.html

Lent

I'm not Catholic or Anglican or even Lutheran. I grew up knowing virtually nothing about Lent, and remember hearing about it for the first time when my mom said something fairly scornful of people giving things up for it. Apparently she had a friend while growing up who in January would start a habit that she didn't really care about so she could give it up for Lent and not have it "hurt." From this my mom decided that the whole idea of Lent was ridiculous.

And I didn't think anything more about it until a few years ago, when I got curious about many things religious. I've turned away from so much I was taught growing up (which is a good thing; I grew up in a very weird religious group) and so I am slowly reading and studying about many things that were before all lumped together as "wrong/sinful/misguided/whatever it was that church thought"

The more I read about it the more it resonated with me - the idea of 40 days of dying to self, symbolized by something of my choosing. It could be as meaningful or meaningless as I made it, in other words, as in so much of life, I'd get out of it what I put into it. So to speak.

So in 2007 I gave up leisure reading. If you had any idea of my love for and habit of reading you'd know what a big deal this was. This also included reading blogs and internet sites. My only exceptions were for real-life friends blogs (and at that time I think I had two). I said "leisure reading" because I still read the Bible, and devotional materials. I also read some religious biographies, so it's not that I quit reading, it's that I focused my reading time onto spiritual material only. It was very beneficial, but I don't want to just get in the habit of doing the same thing.

In 2008 I don't even remember what I tried to give up - I know it was food-related. Maybe eating after 8:00? No sweets at the computer? I don't really remember because while I succeeded in following it, it really wasn't that beneficial, not like 2007 was. There was no significant impact on my spiritual life, either short- or long-term.

So, for 2009. What to do? I don't want to do leisure reading again, in large part because I know that this is one of the last seasons of my life for awhile where I'll have as much time for it, and I'm appreciating it so much. I watch very little TV and virtually no movies, so those are bad choices - so simple as to be meaningless.

Something food-related seems like not the wisest choice. Last year I almost chose giving up sodas, since I knew it'd be difficult enough to be beneficial for me. But this year I'm virtually soda-free ever since getting that positive pregnancy test, so it's no longer such a big deal. Last year I also considered following the Catholic Lenten Fasting Regulations, but I've had such food issues with the pregnancy I sort of hate to try and put anything additional on me related to that - I'm not sure any possible spiritual benefit would outweigh what I can see as real drawbacks.

What will I do?  Well, not that long ago I listed to a podcast sermon on praying with God for one hour. It spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting, and I've decided to try their suggestion. One hour a week. Not split up into small chunks of time. One hour. It still seems doable to me because it's not one hour a day, which would be such a huge jump in my current meagre prayer life that I'm not sure I'd sustain it long. But one day a week? I can manage that, but it's still significant enough that I think it will have an obvious impact in my life and routine. I've found a few resources online about praying one hour, including one from the church that gave the sermon that inspired me.

Because I don't want to only have Lent be about something that I do one day a week, I'm also going to add 30 minutes a day of Bible study on prayer. I'm not sure that I could do anything else right now for my spiritual growth that would have more impact than to strengthen myself as a woman of prayer.

Some sites on Lent:
Praying Through Lent
Lent I especially like his six tips at the end, especially #1 - what is holding me back from being the Christian I want to be?

And anyone would is willing to pray for me to be diligent about sticking with this plan, I would appreciate it!

Bible Study Update, Yet Again

So, to recap Bible Study news, I thought I'd found one. Then I found out that one of the other participants is someone L used to date, and he was not exactly thrilled with that news. I was even less thrilled - it just seems very awkward and not at all conducive to a study where'd I'd be able to open up and share etc.

Then it ended up getting canceled for this month anyway due to lack of interest by anybody else, so it's not really looking like that one will happen.

As I was telling this to a friend at work, I told her that if she'd ever want to do one at work, to let me know. She sounded interested and reminded me of another woman at work who would most likely want to participated, so I think tentatively I may have a little 3-person study group almost ready to start.

Now, just have to figure out a study. I've never participated in one before, and neither has my friend. I found a list of recommended studies and will talk about them with J. I'm kind of hoping this could get started soonish!

Anyone with any suggestions on studies/ topics/ methods/ whatever, please share!

Bible Study Update, Again

So I mentioned my desire to get into a Bible Study, and then updated that it looks like I've found one.

Yesterday L came home from work and said some of his coworkers are starting one and he'll be participating every other Tuesday during lunch. He'll be in one before me!

Today, a woman at work (in a different department) saw a library book I had and wanted to know if I was going through it for a Bible Study. I said no, that I was doing it on my own, but I wished I was in a Bible Study. She agreed with me and said if I found one to let her know because she would be interested.

I wonder if God is trying to tell me something...

Bible Study Update

Last month I wrote about trying to find a Bible Study to join this fall. Well, the friend I mentioned in that post is now trying to start one up with some other friends of hers (I have met a couple of them but don't really know them).

I am very happy that it looks like this might happen. I am a little nervous but overall very hopeful that it will work out and that we'll get into a great study.

Bible Study

I had a good talk with a friend not that long ago and asked her if she was in a Bible Study for the Summer. A couple of years ago I went with her to a few weekly sessions at her church that discussed basic doctrines, and while I never stuck with that one for long, I was hoping she was going to a new one that I could join.

Sadly she's not attending anything now and the Fall series at her church is on Tuesday mornings. That's kind of a conflict with work. She said we need to do a small group one ourselves, which would be great, but two people seems a little too small of a small group. So, I'm praying that

1. If this is a good idea, that we'll find some additional women to join in with us.
   
2. That we'll find a good study to follow. I know Beth Moore's are really recommended by some people, but I also know that there are a lot of other great ones.
   
3. Alternately, that we'll both find a good Bible Study group to join - either together or separately. I know I need something that's not as solitary as the studies I've been doing the past couple of years.

Thought-Provoking Questions

I recently found a list of questions on the Girl Talk blog. Designed to encourage accountability and Christian fellowship among women, I thought they were great also for self-reflection. It gives me something to work towards, as I think about how I would answer some of the questions (truthfully, some of them I would answer I don't know. So maybe I should be able to answer.

The questions:

Describe your current practice of the spiritual disciplines.

• Well, I'm working to get a better habit of prayer. I've fallen back into just having mostly on-the-run prayers as I think of them - as I'm going about my day I shoot up quick requests, praises, intercessions etc., but I don't have much of a dedicated prayer time. 
  
• Quiet time & devotional reading I have every morning (and I do have brief prayer time then, but it's mixed in with the other stuff as well). I also read the day's devotional from the One Year NIV Devotional New Testament every evening just before bed. I love this as an evening devotional - it's primarily scripture, and the amount is just right at that time of day. 
  
• I'm, well, I guess I'd call it talking myself into starting to fast. I have some hangups with it relating to my childhood/adolescence but I know it would be good for my spiritual growth. 
  
• At the moment I can't think of any other spiritual disciplines. I'm sure I will as soon as I post this though. 
  

What is a passage of Scripture you have been meditating on recently?
I've got my weekly memory verses, but I can't say that I really meditate on any Scripture. I'm not actually sure what to do to meditate on scripture; I know that sounds silly, but there you have it. I've tried before but it ended up being me just reading the same verse or passage again and again, trying to think about it alone, but finding my mind wandering to anything else.

What fruit of the Spirit are you cultivating?
You know, I've never thought to specifically cultivate a fruit of the Spirit. But I do like that idea. The personal quality I had wanted to work on this year is discipline, and the way I mean it seems like I could call it self-control, so I would say that. I just never thought about it being a fruit of the Spirit.

What sin are you seeking to weaken?
Uh, yeah, transparency while blogging, right? I'm not sure what to call it exactly, besides the lack of self-control/no discipline. Specifically how it is manifested in what I eat, how I don't exercise, and my frequent laziness (sorry, no other word for it) when it comes to housework. It's frustrating, because I have very good self-control in some areas (financial for example) but why can't I translate that into other areas?

How can I pray for you?
Besides that I would grow in self-control? That we would either have a healthy child or we would find peace that parenting is not God's will for our lives. And actually, we had always hoped for 3 - 4 children so I am also needing to come to peace with the fact that based on my age, that possibility is growing more and more dim.

Here is an evidence of grace that I observe in your life.
Ok, this one doesn't really apply since this is where the accountability partner is supposed to answer.

How are you seeking to grow in expressing biblical femininity?
I have no idea how to answer this.

Lent

I'm new to even thinking about Lent, but I am getting more and more interested in the rhythm of the church calendar as followed by Lutherans, Episcopalians, Anglicans, and of course, Catholics. Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, and what I've decided to give up is what has become my unrestrained computer time. I don't want to go to no computer time at all; it's the primary way I stay in touch with friends and family, and I don't think it's a bad thing. I do think that I will greatly benefit from cutting it down. I'm giving myself a set amount of time for all computer work (with the exception of taxes & financial stuff; taxes will take longer than an hour and if I get into it I don't want to make myself stop those. But that's not exactly a big temptation for me like blog reading, writing, email, and general surfing can be. That's what I'm limiting).

But it's not just about taking away time, it's what I'm going to do with the time I will have. I have a Bible Study I want to work through, and that Holy Spirit correspondence course to finish. And I have a lot of work to do to put my house back in shape once the remodeling finishes. And, I want to firmly establish a habit of going to bed on time, following scripture reading and prayer.

That seems like a good way to spend 40 days.