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I think I will be flying back to the States more these last few months than we have since we moved to Scotland three years ago. Our first trip home was after we’d been here for a year and a half. Home felt very weird then — quite familiar and yet very strange. Then we went home the following Christmas, one year later. At this point home was dual — both in California and in Edinburgh and both places felt very normal, like when I was in one it felt like I’d never been in the other place, like they were sort of alternate realities. When we went home in March to check on jobs, it was great to be back again after just a few months. Best of all was that there was lots of sun and it was still rather wintery in Scotland. We also were able to visit with friends for extended amounts of time.

Now I’m going back to California for my final interview at Providence Christian College. I imagine I’ll fly 12 hours one way just for a weekend. That’s pretty funny, having a transatlantic flight just for 72 hours. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to being with my parents, especially on Father’s Day, and simply having one interview rather than a whole day full!

I have two more days of class. I can’t believe how close I am to the end of seminary.

I’m teaching the second class of Gospel Foundations tonight at New Restalrig. Tonight’s topic is “What’s Wrong with Me?: The Gospel and Sin”. Preparing for this and studying for finals is keeping me really busy. But the weather has almost decided to turn into spring here, so I may have to set the books aside and enjoy the strange warmth provided by this celestial body known as the “sun” at some point.

Every day at school at least two people ask me what I’m doing after graduation. I wish I had something to tell them. Being asked several times a day doesn’t help releave anxiety, although I’m not particularly nervous about it. I’m hoping that we will receive a finalised invitation to the church planting assessment centre in the next few days, so we can get on a raft and start paddling (it’s cheaper than flying, you know?). After that we should have a better idea of our options. Please continue to pray for us.

That is all for now.

Don’t see Melinda and Melinda.

That is all.

I recall having an interveiw a number of years ago for an internship at a youth group in which the youth group pastor told me he had about 5 passages of the Bible that he used as a hermeneutic to interpret the Bible. At the time I thought it was kind of a strange idea. But now, several years later, I would like to revise that opinion, for I have arrived at such a position myself.

A hermeneutic is a way of interpreting or explaing (in this case) the Bible. It is not so much a method as a framework or grid or point(s) of reference against which to interpret a specific passage. Everybody has a heremenutic, whether or not they know it, so it’s a good idea to be consious of what one’s hermeneutic is. Here’s mine…

• Luke 24:27 - And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
  This passages teaches that the purpose of all of Scripture is to point us to Christ, not to teach behavioural principles, etc. Scripture is the story of God’s work in redeeming his fallen creation, and central to this story is the redemptive work of Jesus.
• Galatians 2:14 - But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
  This passage teaches that the real problem in our lives is our failure to believe the gospel. When Peter was being a racist, Paul doesn’t tell him to stop breaking the no-racism rule; Paul tells him he is not living in line with the gospel. This means that underlying every sin is the deeper sin of failure to live in line with the gospel. The implication is that the way to deal with sin in our lives is not to try harder to do what is right, but to come to a deeper understanding of the gospel.
• Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
  This passage tells me that I will always try to trick myself into believing that I can be my own saviour. Because of this, it is not enough to simply explain what a passage of Scripture means; it also has to be applied to the experiential issues of identity and self-perception.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
  Here we see the radical antithesis between a gospel-centred worldview and the worldview of the unbeliever. This means that as Christians live lives in response to the gospel, they do so in a distinctly Christian way. This also means that there is no neutral ground between Christians and non-Christians from which we can reason about the existence of God and the truth of the Bible.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
  I can never get enough of this verse. It teaches that the entirety of Christ’s life and death were substitutionary. He lived the life I can’t, and died the death I deserve, and I receive the credit. Righteousness is not a word that is used much today, at least not in positive terms. But the concept of righteousness in Scripture is all about acceptance. Everyone today is looking for acceptance. This verse teaches that we are accepted by the God of the universe, not because of anything we have done, but because of Christ. This means that our acceptance is deeper than anything we could have earned ourselves, and, because Christ’s work is done, it means our acceptance will not erode or pass away.

Taken as a whole, these passages provide a framework for interpreting any passage of Scripture. Every passage is pointing to the redemptive work of God in Christ. Every passage uncovers some area of sin in my life, and points me to the gospel to find healing and acceptance with God. Because my heart is deceitful, I will often devise ways to obey the Bible which rest upon my own pride, not on God’s grace, and being aware of this deep-rooted tendency makes me even more aware of my need for a Saviour. When I respond in obedience to God’s grace I should not be proud of what I have managed to accomplish, because I know that change is a gradual process by which God’s grace wears away at the areas of my life that have not been fully redeemed.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive account of what these five verses teach, nor is it a complete disclosure of all the background I bring to the task of interpreting a passage of Scripture. However, what this framework provides is, 1) a pretty good idea of what a particular passage of the Bible is saying as I begin to study it, and 2) a safety net, so that if my interpretation and application is not in line with what I have said here, I know I have veered off course, and need to take another look.

Ethical Consumerism
Personally, I’m glad that the discussion on ethical consumerism has ended over at Intellectuelle. Nonetheless it’s a very important issue for everyone to think about! In a similar vein, Tulipgirl posts about ecological footprints. Kristin at This Classical Life also talks about organics and Walmart.

Art
Artist Makoto Fujimura starts his discussion about A.R.T., artists as reconcilors: awareness, reconcilation, transformation. He also has a great article called, Why Art? that is well worth a read. I’ve just begun to blog about such issues and have found an article in byFaith magazine quite helpful. I’d also suggest a vist to Christian aesthetic as well.

Finally, there’s a article on hospitality by Edith Schaeffer that begins with the words, ‘WHICH shall I do first, go upstairs and write that article that is due, or go out to the garden and pick lettuce and some roses before the frost spoils them?’, that is well worth a read.

A few pictures from our birthday party, our tour of the Scottish Parliament building, and Bryce in his KILT can be found here and on the following page. Enjoy!

Our friends, Tiffany and Christine, are here and we’re really enjoying having them. Today they’re off to St. Andrews and tomorrow they’re off to Glasgow. We’re taking them on a mild pub crawl this evening, so it should be fun!

We’ll be on a blogging sabbatical from now till Easter Monday. Cheers.

Hey all, for those not in the know, sign up for Skype, where as they say the whole world can talk for free. So download it now and we can chat via the internet. Cheers! (my username is very inventive: ashleyhales, so is Bryce’s: bahales).

I somehow developed a lovely flu virus early Saturday morning. So much for my day of hard-working cleaning and reading! Ah well. Thankfully I’ve been able to keep food down but my energy level is still pretty low; I’m on the upside and my temperature is down to about 99 from 101.5 yesterday. Very sad thing is I missed hearing my husband preach this morning (thankfully there’s mp3 recordings). More thoughtful posts to follow later in the week.

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest happenings emenating from our flat…

1) I’m preaching on the 10th Commandment on Sunday morning, which means that I shall be sequestered in my wee office for much of the rest of the week. The 10th Commandment (ignore that link, btw), in case it has slipped your mind, is “You shall not covet.” This Sunday is also Palm Sunday. By a strange coincidence (considering the relatively small number of sermons I have preached), I have already preached on the Mark’s account of the Triumphal Entry, so it is rather providential that I have been assinged the 10th Commandment. However, I do see the potential to tie the Palm Sunday theme into “You shall not covet”, because one of the items we are forbidden from coveting happens to be a donkey. (I’ll let you try to figure out how much of that I’m joking about :wink:)

2) Some Americans are coming to visit us next week. Woo Hoo.

3) My last essay of my seminary career is due on Tuesday. That’s right, I’m almost done. After this essay, the only thing standing between me and graduation is 4 finals. I can’t believe I’m almost there. You can expect more profound reflection on my seminary experience in the coming weeks.

4) Beginning the Wednesday after Easter, I’m going to be teaching a course at our church called Gospel Foundations. This will be an opportunity to delve into the depths of the gospel of grace, looking at what the gospel is, and how it affects all areas of our life as individuals (sin, personal change, self worth and identity) and as a church (ministry, evangelism, apologetics, etc.). For 90 minutes a Wednesday over the next couple months, the holy jealousy of the heavenly host will be directed at 1a Willowbrae Ave. in Edinburgh (see 1 Peter 1:10-12).

5) If you haven’t yet heard, the next step in our journey depends largely on the outcome of 4 days we will spend in Atlanta at the PCA Church Planting Assessment Center at the end of May (that is, if all of our reference are returned in time *cough* *cough*).

6) I’ve been reading How to be Good by Nick Hornby (lots of links today, eh?). I’m impressed by how well Hornby captures the inner life of a modern, secular, self-proclaimed “good person” struggling with her lack of goodness. The plot is almost secondary.

7) I leave you with a (another) link: Tim Keller talks about Reaching the 21st Century World for Christ. This talk is addressed to a bunch of lay-people (as best I can tell), and is probably the most comprehensive vision of ministry I’ve heard in one place. If this doesn’t get your blood pumping then…ummmm…I guess you and I are into different things.