What If It's True?: Charles Martin teaches from Capernaum

So, earlier this year, author Charles Martin of What if It's True?:A storyteller's journey with Jesus, travelled to Israel with his church for a Bible tour. While there, he taught at several locations. These teachings were filmed, and he shared the links with his fans in a newsletter.

Which basically means I get to hear my favorite author teach from my favorite place in the world—no big deal.

Anyway, one of the places he taught was in Capernaum, and it was here that he read aloud the story he'd written about the tassels/hem of garments, David in En Gedi, and the woman with the issue of blood.

So, please go buy this book! But, here's where you can hear it read aloud—in the very place it happened 2000 years ago.

Click here or on the image above, and then select the video titled "Capernaum" in the 2nd row.

Enjoy!

What if it's True?: Combatting Resignation

In Chapter 5 "Talk to the Hand—Jesus Christ is Lord of All" of What if it's True?: A Storyteller's Journey with Jesus, author Charles Martin discusses the cancer of resignation and why it is so important to put all of our trust in God.

He points out, that in Caesarea Philippi, Peter's confession of "You are the Messiah" in Matthew 16 came six days before the revelation that Jesus was in fact, the Messiah.

"At its root," Martin says, "Resignation spins a lie that says our enemy is stronger than our King. Period.... [But], truth is, our hardship does not determine HIs character or HIs love for us, and it doesn't make Him any less King or any less capable or any less good or any less in love with us. The choice is ours. We get to choose whether to fix our eyes on the giants—or the King on the throne" (pages 63-64).

On page 66, he says, "Our enemy can take you and me from warrior to wuss through our agreement with resignation". The way to fight back through the word of God. "Counter every lie with 2 promises of God. Make bookends".

Pretty great advice! And actually, you can hear him teach on this yourself. Click here or on the photo above, because while in Israel earlier this year, Martin taught on this very topic and chapter from its setting: Caesarea Philippi. And while listening to his message, you can hear the calming waters of Banias Springs, the headwaters of the Jordan River... and watch a lot of tourists walk by and take selfies, haha.

Choose the video that says "Caesarea Philippi" to get the right one.

What if It's True?: The Shelter of His Wings

As I said in the last post, I love pretty much everything Charles Martin writes. But he mostly writes fiction, so when he published a nonfiction book this year, I was curious. What if it's True? didn't disappoint!

In chapter 2, "We're all bleeders", he explores the concept of the tassels on the hems of garments, which reminded me of this post I wrote last year from Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg's book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. 

They basically explore the concept of tassels on the hem of the garments of Jewish men, especially in ancient Israel, and gave me a perspective how specific stories from the Bible that I'd never thought of before: David cutting the hem off Saul's robe and the woman with the issue of blood touching Jesus' hem. 

So, when I saw that Martin wrote a chapter that also talked about this concept and these stories, I wanted to share it here.

What I love is that Martin expands on the concepts I learned from Spangler and Tverberg's book. While they spoke about the hem showing authority, power, and holiness, he talks about its protection. Martin talks about the word "wings" used in the Old Testament to show God's protection of the Israelites, threading it from Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, Psalms, Malachi... and all the way to Matthew.

The meaning of "wings" in the passages he cites have to do with cover, refuge, deliverance, and trust" (page 21). He points out that when God commands in Numbers for the Israelites to put tassels on their garments, it was because "God is practical and He doesn't want His people to forget" (page 21) and later on this page shows that the corner/border of a garment is the same word used for wings in these passages. "God was making a mental connection for His people. In a sense, He was saying, 'The corner of your garment should remind you of Me and My protection—of My deliverance and your healing" (pages 21-22).

As with the story of David cutting off the tassel of Saul's robe, Martin points out, "That tassel represented God's covering and protection. God had given Saul into David's hand. And when David held it up and showed it to Saul, and Saul glanced down at his now three-winged shirt, Saul knew it. He understood" (page 22).

As for the woman with the issue of blood:

"This woman believed the Word was more true than her circumstances" (page 27).

WOW. Read that about 50 times more, please. I know I need to.

It wasn't just her though. Martin points out in Matthew 14:35-36: "And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well."

What about us? As Martin states: "The wings of His garment are here. Now. Will you reach out and grab hold?" (page 27)

So now, we've seen a connection of this physical picture of God's authority, power, holiness, and protection. How does this continuation of this theme deepen our understanding of this practice and God's Word?

What if it's True?

This year, my favorite author of all time, Charles Martin, published a book called, What if it's True?: A Storyteller's Journey with Jesus.

While Martin normally writes fiction, this book was completely true to his voice, which is nothing less than raw, powerful poetry in prose form. If you've never read his books, you need to. Don't even get me started on how amazing they are. 

Especially When Crickets Cry. 

Especially Wrapped in Rain. 

Especially A Life Intercepted. 

Especially Water from my Heart. 

Especially... but I digress.

In What if it's True? Martin takes the reader straight into the days when Jesus Himself walked on the Earth. It's not a fictional account, or a re-telling either. Each chapter focuses on a different story, with different characters interacting with Jesus. Martin steps into the story, with the reader, until they are both right in the middle of the action. 

Then he pulls away and connects the story to real life 2019 years later, tugging the reader back to the modern day.

Except that, having looked into the eyes of Jesus in each of these stories, the readers can't look away. Martin threads, hammers, and chisels his points straight into the heart, leaving the reader nowhere to go except to Scripture, prayer, and time with the Lord. And in light of that, he closes every chapter with a prayer, inviting the reader to sit once again at the feet of Jesus.

He basically is asking the question, "What if everything Jesus said and did was true, what would it mean for our lives today?"

I can't recommend this book highly enough... or this author. Please check it out!

How to read the Filament Bible: See

This is part 4 in a series on the Filament Bible and its corresponding app.

After studying your selected Scripture and reflection on the resources around it, it's time to have fun with some interactive videos from the Bible Project, along with different charts, maps, drawings, and graphs.

I love this section, as well, and have often found myself pausing the videos so I can take notes.

That's it! I definitely recommend the Filament Bible because of the app. Honestly, I prefer the NIV and for my pages to have 2 columns. This Bible only comes in NLT and is a single column on purpose—it's designed so that the lines don't run on top of each other if you look through the page. That's a cool thing, definitely. But I honestly bought the Bible just so I could have access to the app... and it was definitely worth the price to do so.