Jesus was in the habit of going to the Mount of Olives to pray. “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.” Luke 22:39
After a healing of a boy with an evil spirit, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” and he replied, “This kind can come out only with prayer.” Mark 9:29 As we read this account in Mark, we don’t see Jesus kneeling by the boy and praying and begging God to fix the problem. He simply commands the spirit to come out. Surely, Jesus prayed often on the Mount of Olives and in services at the synagogue, but it seems he is referring to something more here.
As Jesus was entering a town, a funeral procession was coming out. A widow’s only son had died. “His heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.’” Luke 7:13-15 Jesus didn’t stop and pray a lengthy prayer imploring God to bring this young man back to life. He simply told him to get up!
When I think of how we pray for healings, begging and imploring God to remove the cancer, bring a rebellious child back to fellowship with his/her family and God, etc., it seems that we try to remove this moment from our daily lives and circumstances and present it to God as something different and/or special. It seems we want a formula… if I do these three things in the right order, the result will be… If I pray enough, if I believe enough… That would give us control over our lives and over the lives of those we love. But Jesus didn’t seem to operate that way. These healings took place most often on the way to somewhere. There was a man who was blind from birth, the lepers who acquired the disease later in life, the paralytic brought by friends, the shriveled arm, the centurion’s sick son, etc. The only thing these situations have in common is unexpected results – miracles. Raising the only son of the widow wasn’t even asked for. Jesus just did it.
Oswald Chambers in his January 6 entry in My Utmost for His Highest, says, “The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time – there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life – worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.” (Discovery House Publishers, 1992)
I wonder if Jesus ministry of healing, then, was part of this harmony of worship, waiting and work. While he took time away from the world at the Mount of Olives, he lived in constant worship and relationship with God, his Father. He didn’t separate his relationship with God from his trip to town X. He didn’t quick get in his morning devotions and then take off with an agenda longer than hours in a day. But rather, his worship continued throughout the day in his waiting for God’s timing – the right moment – and in his work – his service to others (healing, restoration, and encouragement). He wants that for us too. “My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.” John 17:20-23
This oneness Jesus is referring to doesn’t happen by praying in the morning and running hard all day on my own power. The most stressful times in my life seem to be when I separate worship, waiting, and work. The more intimate I become with God, the more worship becomes a part of my waiting and my work. Work, no matter how difficult, becomes more special and fulfilling when it becomes part of my worship. The ‘quiet time’ exists in my soul all day long no matter the circumstances. This is the peace that Paul speaks of, “The peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
My prayer for all who claim to follow Christ is that we continue to move toward that perfect harmony of worship, waiting and work – that while we need a private quiet time with God as we rise in the morning, our quiet time with him in our souls continues throughout the day, confident that he is doing his great work in us and through us no matter what the circumstances are – as usual.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Fear of Isaac
Jacob has spent 20 years serving Laban , 7 to ‘earn’ Rachel, then 7 to ‘earn’ Rachel again because he had been given Leah instead, and then 6 to ‘earn’ his flocks. Laban connived to keep Jacob there because he realized that Jacob was a very blessed man. Things prospered under his care. Jacob realized that problems were mounting between him and his father-in-law and brothers-in-law. Jealousy kills relationships quickly.
Jacob didn’t hesitate to obey when the Lord spoke to him telling him to go back to the land of his father. He knew Laban continue to control him if he stayed and he desired to obey God. So he gathered his wives, children and possessions and took off when he knew Laban would not be able to immediately follow. Laban, however, did catch up to Jacob. But God had warned him a dream to not hurt Jacob, so he just questioned him as to why he would take off without so much as a good-bye. Jacob replied by reminding Laban how he had worked for him, protected his flocks taking any losses on himself and laboring in the heat and the cold. He said, “It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Genesis 31:41-42
I’ve always read this portion of Scripture focusing on Jacob and Laban. Today, however, something else jumped out at me (not once but twice) and that is a new name for God – “the Fear of Isaac.” This appears in verse 42 and again in verse 53, “So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.” Genesis 31:53
This makes me wonder about Isaac’s relationship with God. Abraham was a friend of God. They talked with each other. Isaac was the result of a promise God made to Abraham. I often wonder about how being strapped down with his father over him with a knife willing to sacrifice him to God affected Isaac growing up – his relationship with Abraham and with God. Jacob’s oath may give us a hint. Isaac saw his father respond in obedience to God to the point of willingness to give up his son whom he loved very much. Isaac also saw God provide the ram as the sacrifice that freed him from being the sacrifice. I imagine his little heart was pounding as his father raised the knife. He likely was pulling at the ropes wanting desperately to get out of the way. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have some desire for survival.
As I go back and read about Isaac again, I see several things about him. He was the first child circumcised as an infant, nearly sacrificed when he was still quite young, mourned his mother’s death around the age of 27, married Rebekah, had Jacob and Esau, blessed Jacob and then died. Genesis 21-35 Those are the often read stories about Isaac. Isaac was in the field meditating when he first laid eyes on Rebekah as his servant returned from his journey seeking a wife for Isaac. The Lord did appear to Isaac on several occasions. And like his father, Abraham, Isaac immediately obeyed when the Lord spoke to him. And like his father, Isaac also was deceitful out of fear, calling Rebekah his sister instead of his wife. But God protected them and gently restored Rebekah to him as his wife.
Though the Lord spoke to Isaac and Isaac immediately obeyed, the Bible does not call Isaac a friend of God as Abraham had been. Nevertheless, the Lord made the same covenant with Isaac that he had with Abraham. “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” Genesis 26:4 And, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24 Isaac worshiped God and God blessed him in many ways. When there was conflict with Abimelech, Isaac walked away from a fight like his father Abraham had done. And God continued to bless him.
When Jacob calls God the “Fear of Isaac,” I wonder if it comes out of stories his father told him as he was growing up. Isaac understood the power and supremacy of God in a way few people experience. He put a new meaning in the phrase ‘sacrificial living’. He understood that his very life came from God and was given back to him by God. He understood God’s provision and prospered under God’s blessings. I believe he loved and worshiped God… and he feared God.
Fearing God is not something we are comfortable talking about. We like the love, blessings, and provision of God but we struggle with the fact that he gives us our very breath. We are alive because he chooses to let us live – not because we deserve to live or are in control of our own lives. Whether or not we fear God is at the root of all of our questions of ‘why’ when a child dies or a young mother succumbs to cancer or a 20-year-old brilliant student with a heart for mission drowns. It kind of boils down to the trust factor. Have I learned to let go of trying to control my own life and destiny and to trust God no matter what happens? There is such a peace and relief in the times when I actually get there – trusting the Fear of Isaac.
Jacob didn’t hesitate to obey when the Lord spoke to him telling him to go back to the land of his father. He knew Laban continue to control him if he stayed and he desired to obey God. So he gathered his wives, children and possessions and took off when he knew Laban would not be able to immediately follow. Laban, however, did catch up to Jacob. But God had warned him a dream to not hurt Jacob, so he just questioned him as to why he would take off without so much as a good-bye. Jacob replied by reminding Laban how he had worked for him, protected his flocks taking any losses on himself and laboring in the heat and the cold. He said, “It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Genesis 31:41-42
I’ve always read this portion of Scripture focusing on Jacob and Laban. Today, however, something else jumped out at me (not once but twice) and that is a new name for God – “the Fear of Isaac.” This appears in verse 42 and again in verse 53, “So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.” Genesis 31:53
This makes me wonder about Isaac’s relationship with God. Abraham was a friend of God. They talked with each other. Isaac was the result of a promise God made to Abraham. I often wonder about how being strapped down with his father over him with a knife willing to sacrifice him to God affected Isaac growing up – his relationship with Abraham and with God. Jacob’s oath may give us a hint. Isaac saw his father respond in obedience to God to the point of willingness to give up his son whom he loved very much. Isaac also saw God provide the ram as the sacrifice that freed him from being the sacrifice. I imagine his little heart was pounding as his father raised the knife. He likely was pulling at the ropes wanting desperately to get out of the way. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have some desire for survival.
As I go back and read about Isaac again, I see several things about him. He was the first child circumcised as an infant, nearly sacrificed when he was still quite young, mourned his mother’s death around the age of 27, married Rebekah, had Jacob and Esau, blessed Jacob and then died. Genesis 21-35 Those are the often read stories about Isaac. Isaac was in the field meditating when he first laid eyes on Rebekah as his servant returned from his journey seeking a wife for Isaac. The Lord did appear to Isaac on several occasions. And like his father, Abraham, Isaac immediately obeyed when the Lord spoke to him. And like his father, Isaac also was deceitful out of fear, calling Rebekah his sister instead of his wife. But God protected them and gently restored Rebekah to him as his wife.
Though the Lord spoke to Isaac and Isaac immediately obeyed, the Bible does not call Isaac a friend of God as Abraham had been. Nevertheless, the Lord made the same covenant with Isaac that he had with Abraham. “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” Genesis 26:4 And, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24 Isaac worshiped God and God blessed him in many ways. When there was conflict with Abimelech, Isaac walked away from a fight like his father Abraham had done. And God continued to bless him.
When Jacob calls God the “Fear of Isaac,” I wonder if it comes out of stories his father told him as he was growing up. Isaac understood the power and supremacy of God in a way few people experience. He put a new meaning in the phrase ‘sacrificial living’. He understood that his very life came from God and was given back to him by God. He understood God’s provision and prospered under God’s blessings. I believe he loved and worshiped God… and he feared God.
Fearing God is not something we are comfortable talking about. We like the love, blessings, and provision of God but we struggle with the fact that he gives us our very breath. We are alive because he chooses to let us live – not because we deserve to live or are in control of our own lives. Whether or not we fear God is at the root of all of our questions of ‘why’ when a child dies or a young mother succumbs to cancer or a 20-year-old brilliant student with a heart for mission drowns. It kind of boils down to the trust factor. Have I learned to let go of trying to control my own life and destiny and to trust God no matter what happens? There is such a peace and relief in the times when I actually get there – trusting the Fear of Isaac.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
No Pain, No Gain
“Make sure that you do not take my son back there… Only do not take my son back there.” Genesis 24:6, 8 Abraham was adamant about this. He did not want Isaac going back to Ur where he had grown up and where God had first spoken to him about the promise. He did not send Isaac back to get a wife, but sent a servant to get the wife for him. He wanted the wife to be from the same clan he had come from, but he would not allow Isaac to go select her and bring her back.
I wonder why this was so important to Abraham… Could it be that some of the experiences along the way for Abraham had taught him some lessons that he wanted Isaac to learn without the pain it had cost Lot, Abraham and Sarah? Is it possible that the lure of the city would capture Isaac and send him on a long detour if he were to go back there?
It is easy to read through Genesis and see that Abraham was called out, he went, and a new nation was born and from that nation came Jesus, our Savior. We read over the ‘bumps in the road’ quickly and without too much thought because we know where it is going. But somehow, life is not like that. The bumps in the road are a little more pronounced. And with each bump comes a little more wisdom – if we allow God to have his way with us. Abraham had several significant bumps. But God didn’t give up on the plan or the promise.
First, when Abraham left Ur, he took along some baggage – his father and his nephew. His father kept him from getting all the way to the land God had promised him for some time and his nephew while considered righteous wasn’t living under the promise. He was constantly attracted to the riches of Egypt and the city life. Rather than choosing to follow the promise, he chose to follow his own selfish desires. And Abraham found himself rescuing Lot with the potential of losing everything he had including his own life. Abraham saw how the lure of the world could keep one from finding their full potential in God’s plan. He didn’t want that for Isaac.
When famine struck, Abraham headed for Egypt – insisting that Sarah was his sister to 'protect himself' from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh figured it out in the midst of serious disease inflicted on his household. In the end, God used it to build up Abraham’s wealth. But I wonder what God would have done to save Abraham and Sarah from all the ‘drama’ in Egypt had they stayed put where God had sent them. God later provided manna for the Israelites in the desert for forty years. Could he not have provided manna for Abraham and Sarah to get them through the famine?
A second time when Abraham was afraid of Abimelech, he again said Sarah was his sister. God again protected Sarah and Abraham in spite of their foolishness and not trusting him. And in the end, they gained more wealth in cattle and sheep. But I wonder how many conflicts arose between Israel and descendants of Abimelech along the way as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road.
But even as Abraham was learning from these situations, the big bump in his road occurred when he and Sarah got ahead of God regarding the child promised to them. What pain they had to deal with regarding Hagar and Ishmael! And the conflict between Israel and the Arab nations even today continues to rage as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road. If only he had been patient and waited for God’s timing. Things might have been very different.
Now, after all these struggles to obey God, Abraham has learned a lot of lessons and he doesn’t want Isaac to have to repeat any of the mistakes. So he was adamant about Isaac not going back to where he came from. And God honored that wisdom and the humble prayer of Abraham’s servant and Isaac was blessed with a beautiful wife from their own clan.
So many times I hear myself and other parents steering our children away from mistakes we have made in the past. We want so much for our children to take us at our word and not make those same mistakes. Sometimes there is success and sometimes children need to experience the same failures in order to learn. But I have found God to be faithful and full of mercy and grace – just as he was with Abraham and Sarah. His grace pulled my parents back, it pulled me back, and it will pull my children back. As long as we keep our eyes on him and humbly admit our failures, he restores us generation after generation, day after day.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 Even as the promise was made regarding Abraham having descendants, the promise of the Messiah to come was also in that promise – the Messiah that would restore us to a right relationship with God. And no amount of bumps and missteps in Abraham’s life was going to change that. God’s awesome grace is bigger than any bump in our road. Thank you, Jesus!
I wonder why this was so important to Abraham… Could it be that some of the experiences along the way for Abraham had taught him some lessons that he wanted Isaac to learn without the pain it had cost Lot, Abraham and Sarah? Is it possible that the lure of the city would capture Isaac and send him on a long detour if he were to go back there?
It is easy to read through Genesis and see that Abraham was called out, he went, and a new nation was born and from that nation came Jesus, our Savior. We read over the ‘bumps in the road’ quickly and without too much thought because we know where it is going. But somehow, life is not like that. The bumps in the road are a little more pronounced. And with each bump comes a little more wisdom – if we allow God to have his way with us. Abraham had several significant bumps. But God didn’t give up on the plan or the promise.
First, when Abraham left Ur, he took along some baggage – his father and his nephew. His father kept him from getting all the way to the land God had promised him for some time and his nephew while considered righteous wasn’t living under the promise. He was constantly attracted to the riches of Egypt and the city life. Rather than choosing to follow the promise, he chose to follow his own selfish desires. And Abraham found himself rescuing Lot with the potential of losing everything he had including his own life. Abraham saw how the lure of the world could keep one from finding their full potential in God’s plan. He didn’t want that for Isaac.
When famine struck, Abraham headed for Egypt – insisting that Sarah was his sister to 'protect himself' from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh figured it out in the midst of serious disease inflicted on his household. In the end, God used it to build up Abraham’s wealth. But I wonder what God would have done to save Abraham and Sarah from all the ‘drama’ in Egypt had they stayed put where God had sent them. God later provided manna for the Israelites in the desert for forty years. Could he not have provided manna for Abraham and Sarah to get them through the famine?
A second time when Abraham was afraid of Abimelech, he again said Sarah was his sister. God again protected Sarah and Abraham in spite of their foolishness and not trusting him. And in the end, they gained more wealth in cattle and sheep. But I wonder how many conflicts arose between Israel and descendants of Abimelech along the way as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road.
But even as Abraham was learning from these situations, the big bump in his road occurred when he and Sarah got ahead of God regarding the child promised to them. What pain they had to deal with regarding Hagar and Ishmael! And the conflict between Israel and the Arab nations even today continues to rage as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road. If only he had been patient and waited for God’s timing. Things might have been very different.
Now, after all these struggles to obey God, Abraham has learned a lot of lessons and he doesn’t want Isaac to have to repeat any of the mistakes. So he was adamant about Isaac not going back to where he came from. And God honored that wisdom and the humble prayer of Abraham’s servant and Isaac was blessed with a beautiful wife from their own clan.
So many times I hear myself and other parents steering our children away from mistakes we have made in the past. We want so much for our children to take us at our word and not make those same mistakes. Sometimes there is success and sometimes children need to experience the same failures in order to learn. But I have found God to be faithful and full of mercy and grace – just as he was with Abraham and Sarah. His grace pulled my parents back, it pulled me back, and it will pull my children back. As long as we keep our eyes on him and humbly admit our failures, he restores us generation after generation, day after day.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 Even as the promise was made regarding Abraham having descendants, the promise of the Messiah to come was also in that promise – the Messiah that would restore us to a right relationship with God. And no amount of bumps and missteps in Abraham’s life was going to change that. God’s awesome grace is bigger than any bump in our road. Thank you, Jesus!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Genesis 1-5 - The Ten Commandments
No, I’m not confused about either the content of Genesis 1-5 or where the Ten Commandments are located in Scripture! But as I read Genesis 1-5, I note that the basis for most of the Ten Commandments are established in these chapters that teach us about the beginning of our world and the beginning of the human race.
1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3
Genesis 1 clearly establishes the authority of God through his creation. It establishes the power and creativity of God as well. Genesis 3 establishes “who” is to be listened to and obeyed above all. Eve and then Adam made the mistake of listening to Satan rather than God. What are “other gods” besides voices – temptations to not obey what God is saying to us? Sometimes we make actual physical idols and call them our gods, and sometimes we make ‘virtual’ idols – ideas built on false teachings or understandings.
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4
In Genesis 2, God establishes the responsibility of the human race to care for the creation they live in. First he tells Adam that he is to work the ground and take care of it. Then he gives Adam the responsibility to “name” the creatures. Man is responsible to care for the world we live in. We are not subject to the plants and animals, but they are subject to us. Making idols in the forms of things we are responsible to care for doesn’t make sense!
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:7
At the end of Genesis 4, after Adam became the father of Seth and Seth became the father of Enosh, we are told that “at that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:26b While profanity is a primary way that we can misuse the name of the Lord, there would certainly be other misuses such as trying to make God into our ‘fairy godmother’ or ‘Santa Claus’ by making our prayers into long lists of “I wants”’ and “do this or do that” and ending “in the name of Jesus” and expecting him to do whatever we demanded without the loving relationship that he desires to have with us.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3 God made the Sabbath holy and we are asked to keep it holy. I have been wondering a lot about what exactly this means for me today in the culture I live in. Is Sunday more holy than other days? Can I maintain a Sabbath on another day of the week? Is it okay to shop on Sunday’s, to eat out, to buy gas, to shop on the Internet? What does it mean for me to keep the Sabbath holy? Jesus clearly was not impressed with the Sabbath laws that had been established by the religious leaders over the generations and it became one of his most obvious points of contention with them. In fact, he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
At the end of each day of creation, God said that it was good. On the seventh day he rested. It seems to me that keeping the Sabbath holy has to do with reflecting on God’s creation, his authority, our place in the scheme of things and our need for rest. I believe rest means more than sitting in an easy chair with our feet up or taking an afternoon nap. I believe true rest comes from faith – believing God is who he says he is and has the power and authority to control even our daily circumstances when we allow him that honor. A true Sabbath rest comes from me giving up my need to control things and allowing God to be God of my life.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
Throughout the early books of Genesis, the first genealogies are established. The family structure is set up. It appears that they were in no rush to leave home and get married as the sons named in the genealogies are born when the parent is around 100 years old! Of course, that is mere adolescence when you realize that they lived to be 7-900+ years old. God shows us how to be a Father worthy of honor and respect. Since we are made in his image, we would be expected to be parents worthy of honor and respect.
6. “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
The story of Cain murdering Abel in Genesis 4 quickly establishes how quickly things can go downhill when we choose to not honor and obey God. Cain’s first mistake is not honoring God – he “brought some of the fruits” of his labors (Genesis 4:3), not his first fruits, not his best fruits. His second mistake was comparing himself to his brother Abel and being angry with Abel because God looked with favor on Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock. His third mistake was not obeying the voice of God when God instructed him about doing what was right and warned him about “sin crouching at your door” (Genesis 4:7) His fourth mistake was letting his jealous rage have control rather than letting God have control which led to the murder of his brother. Murder doesn’t ‘just happen’. It comes from a series of movements away from God.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14
Genesis 2 establishes the basis of marriage. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 As we become one flesh in marriage, the family is established. To commit adultery is to tear apart what God has put together. It leads to destruction of family rather than construction of family. Just as God warned Cain about “sin crouching at your door,” so he warns us through this commandment. Cain became separated from God when he let ‘sin’ have control. So it is with adultery. It not only separates what God has put together, it also leads to separation from God.
8. “You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15
Eve had not been given permission to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She listened to Satan’s lies amidst his half-truth and took what did not belong to her. She invited Adam to take as well and he did. It didn’t seem like a big thing at the time. But it became the downfall of the human race!
9. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
As we watch the story of the temptation and the taking of the forbidden fruit, we see one sin leads to the next sin leads to the next sin… When God calls to them, they hide – just like a child today who swipes a cookie and hides behind the big chair in the living room so Mom doesn’t see him or her. Then the blaming begins. Adam blames Eve (and God who gave her to him) and Eve blames the Serpent who deceived her. They were all trying to get someone else in trouble rather than take responsibility for their own actions. The Serpent lied - gave false testimony against God - but Eve made a choice and Adam made a choice and pointing the finger at others didn’t undo the poor choices they had made.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
The first murder occurred because Cain coveted the favor of God his brother Abel had gained. He wasn’t willing to do what it took to gain the favor, but he wanted God to show him favor. Cain could have nipped this one in the bud by humbling himself before God, honoring him and seeking his favor through giving his first fruits, not his leftovers. But he let the coveting consume him and cloud his judgment until it led to murder and separation from God and his family.
Suddenly, the Creation account and the story of the human race leading up to the Exodus comes together in a new light. Genesis is the basis for the Law of Moses. God didn’t spend 40 days on the mountain with Moses chiseling out those Ten Commandments. He could have done that in a flash of lightening. I believe that he talked with Moses about how the people had gotten to the point of needing these Ten Commandments in order to come back into right relationship with God, their Creator. He established his authority and his honor and the importance of these laws through sharing with Moses the history of creation and the early genealogy of the human race.
The Ten Commandments aren’t just rules to be followed. They are the short version of Genesis – God’s relationship with the human race from the beginning of time.
1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3
Genesis 1 clearly establishes the authority of God through his creation. It establishes the power and creativity of God as well. Genesis 3 establishes “who” is to be listened to and obeyed above all. Eve and then Adam made the mistake of listening to Satan rather than God. What are “other gods” besides voices – temptations to not obey what God is saying to us? Sometimes we make actual physical idols and call them our gods, and sometimes we make ‘virtual’ idols – ideas built on false teachings or understandings.
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4
In Genesis 2, God establishes the responsibility of the human race to care for the creation they live in. First he tells Adam that he is to work the ground and take care of it. Then he gives Adam the responsibility to “name” the creatures. Man is responsible to care for the world we live in. We are not subject to the plants and animals, but they are subject to us. Making idols in the forms of things we are responsible to care for doesn’t make sense!
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:7
At the end of Genesis 4, after Adam became the father of Seth and Seth became the father of Enosh, we are told that “at that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:26b While profanity is a primary way that we can misuse the name of the Lord, there would certainly be other misuses such as trying to make God into our ‘fairy godmother’ or ‘Santa Claus’ by making our prayers into long lists of “I wants”’ and “do this or do that” and ending “in the name of Jesus” and expecting him to do whatever we demanded without the loving relationship that he desires to have with us.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3 God made the Sabbath holy and we are asked to keep it holy. I have been wondering a lot about what exactly this means for me today in the culture I live in. Is Sunday more holy than other days? Can I maintain a Sabbath on another day of the week? Is it okay to shop on Sunday’s, to eat out, to buy gas, to shop on the Internet? What does it mean for me to keep the Sabbath holy? Jesus clearly was not impressed with the Sabbath laws that had been established by the religious leaders over the generations and it became one of his most obvious points of contention with them. In fact, he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
At the end of each day of creation, God said that it was good. On the seventh day he rested. It seems to me that keeping the Sabbath holy has to do with reflecting on God’s creation, his authority, our place in the scheme of things and our need for rest. I believe rest means more than sitting in an easy chair with our feet up or taking an afternoon nap. I believe true rest comes from faith – believing God is who he says he is and has the power and authority to control even our daily circumstances when we allow him that honor. A true Sabbath rest comes from me giving up my need to control things and allowing God to be God of my life.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
Throughout the early books of Genesis, the first genealogies are established. The family structure is set up. It appears that they were in no rush to leave home and get married as the sons named in the genealogies are born when the parent is around 100 years old! Of course, that is mere adolescence when you realize that they lived to be 7-900+ years old. God shows us how to be a Father worthy of honor and respect. Since we are made in his image, we would be expected to be parents worthy of honor and respect.
6. “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
The story of Cain murdering Abel in Genesis 4 quickly establishes how quickly things can go downhill when we choose to not honor and obey God. Cain’s first mistake is not honoring God – he “brought some of the fruits” of his labors (Genesis 4:3), not his first fruits, not his best fruits. His second mistake was comparing himself to his brother Abel and being angry with Abel because God looked with favor on Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock. His third mistake was not obeying the voice of God when God instructed him about doing what was right and warned him about “sin crouching at your door” (Genesis 4:7) His fourth mistake was letting his jealous rage have control rather than letting God have control which led to the murder of his brother. Murder doesn’t ‘just happen’. It comes from a series of movements away from God.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14
Genesis 2 establishes the basis of marriage. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 As we become one flesh in marriage, the family is established. To commit adultery is to tear apart what God has put together. It leads to destruction of family rather than construction of family. Just as God warned Cain about “sin crouching at your door,” so he warns us through this commandment. Cain became separated from God when he let ‘sin’ have control. So it is with adultery. It not only separates what God has put together, it also leads to separation from God.
8. “You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15
Eve had not been given permission to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She listened to Satan’s lies amidst his half-truth and took what did not belong to her. She invited Adam to take as well and he did. It didn’t seem like a big thing at the time. But it became the downfall of the human race!
9. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
As we watch the story of the temptation and the taking of the forbidden fruit, we see one sin leads to the next sin leads to the next sin… When God calls to them, they hide – just like a child today who swipes a cookie and hides behind the big chair in the living room so Mom doesn’t see him or her. Then the blaming begins. Adam blames Eve (and God who gave her to him) and Eve blames the Serpent who deceived her. They were all trying to get someone else in trouble rather than take responsibility for their own actions. The Serpent lied - gave false testimony against God - but Eve made a choice and Adam made a choice and pointing the finger at others didn’t undo the poor choices they had made.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
The first murder occurred because Cain coveted the favor of God his brother Abel had gained. He wasn’t willing to do what it took to gain the favor, but he wanted God to show him favor. Cain could have nipped this one in the bud by humbling himself before God, honoring him and seeking his favor through giving his first fruits, not his leftovers. But he let the coveting consume him and cloud his judgment until it led to murder and separation from God and his family.
Suddenly, the Creation account and the story of the human race leading up to the Exodus comes together in a new light. Genesis is the basis for the Law of Moses. God didn’t spend 40 days on the mountain with Moses chiseling out those Ten Commandments. He could have done that in a flash of lightening. I believe that he talked with Moses about how the people had gotten to the point of needing these Ten Commandments in order to come back into right relationship with God, their Creator. He established his authority and his honor and the importance of these laws through sharing with Moses the history of creation and the early genealogy of the human race.
The Ten Commandments aren’t just rules to be followed. They are the short version of Genesis – God’s relationship with the human race from the beginning of time.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Following to Lead
Nehemiah was taken captive and made to serve Artaxerxes as the cup bearer. And somehow, he found a way to do it joyfully even though his heart yearned for home and to return to Jerusalem. I wonder if he felt a bit jealous of those who had been left in the city – the remnant who were not exiled to another country but allowed to remain behind. I wonder if he dreamed about how fortunate they were that they could still worship in the temple and could enjoy the fruits of their labors. I wonder if he hoped and prayed he would be allowed to return and join them. How uncomfortable it must have felt to be in the service of a foreign king day after day.
Yet, it would appear that he maintained a good spirit about him and had built relationship with the king because when his brother Hanani returned with others and reported on the distress of the people and Nehemiah wept and mourned, the king took notice of his sadness and asked him why he was sad. This was a very dangerous moment for Nehemiah. The king could order him put in prison or executed depending on how he answered or even before he answered – just because he appeared sad in the king’s presence. But Nehemiah had prepared himself for this moment. He had been fasting and praying. Still, when the moment came, Nehemiah felt fear. As I read Nehemiah, the book of Esther is running through my mind. There are great similarities…
Lesson 1: Good leadership is not the absence of fear, but the preparation of the heart and the courage to move forward regardless of the potential consequences. Both Nehemiah and Esther fasted and prayed before going on behalf of their people into the very dangerous situation before the king.
As Nehemiah shared his personal pain regarding the state of Jerusalem with the king, he was praying. King Artaxerxes responded with tenderness. “What is it you want?” Nehemiah 2:4 And Nehemiah forged ahead through his fear, praying for God’s wisdom and protection even as he spoke to the king. Nehemiah obviously had given some thought to this while he was fasting and praying. He asked for some very specific things and they were way out of line for his position! “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 And, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors… safe conduct… timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel… and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” Nehemiah 2:7-8 Obviously, God went before him and the king granted his requests and even more.
Nehemiah went with the king’s blessings and provisions, but more importantly, he went with God’s blessings and provisions. He was clearly called by God to a place of leadership with the people. And he called on God’s wisdom and assurance throughout the process. Before he even took the first step, he humbled himself before God in repentance for the sins of the people and for his own sin of disobedience in the past. He reminded God of his covenant with the Jewish people, particularly the part about “if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah 1:9
Lesson 2: Good leadership grows out of a vision that comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord and seeking his face. It is not our will, but his to move forward. Our part is obedience to him.
This would be a great place to say, “And they lived happily ever after.” But just as that often isn’t true today, it was not true for Nehemiah. Not everyone was happy with his plan to rebuild and it was not long before opposition came in the form of threats, taunting, intimidation and slander. But Nehemiah did not bend to the fear. Rather, he encouraged the people and equipped them to deal with the opposition. “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day at night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 He organized the people to work side by side, and equipped them with weapons to carry with them as they worked. He taught them to trust God and keep working.
Lesson 3: Good leadership is aware of the problems and encourages and equips the team to pray to God and work together remembering the goal.
Apparently, the nobles and officials in Jerusalem thought they were more special than the common people and were taking advantage of them, becoming wealthy at their expense. When this was brought to Nehemiah’s attention, he pondered it and then using what he knew from the Law and knew that they knew from the Law, he charged them saying, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!... What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?... Give back to them immediately [what you have taken from them]” Nehemiah 5:7, 9, 11 And the nobles and officials decided to do as Nehemiah said. His wisdom, which was God’s wisdom, made sense to them. He led by example, not using his position to gain more wealth, but rather to share with others from his own provisions. (Nehemiah 5:14-18)
Lesson 4: Good leadership does not favor the wealthy and powerful over the poor and needy but is concerned with true justice for all. It does not use the position of power to gain more wealth, but rather shares the wealth with all.
Nehemiah continued to lead the people through all the difficulties until the project was completed. Then he appointed the priests and Levites to their duties and replaced the provision for them by the offerings of the people. He shared the leadership at this point as they brought together the people and instructed them in the Law once again. As they read and instructed the people, they were overcome by tears of repentance and then joy. They continued to learn about their traditions and the meanings of those traditions which led to a great celebration. “From the days of Joshua son of Num until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” Nehemiah 8:17
Lesson 5: Good leadership passes the torch and celebrates meeting the goals and fulfilling the vision.
Nehemiah is full of great teachings on prayer, humbleness, justice, obedience, and more. But today, leadership came to the fore in the reading of this book. Nehemiah led by following God. I wonder how many opportunities I have had to lead by following God that I missed because I didn’t see myself as a leader, because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying, or because I allowed fear to stop me before I even began.
Maybe the most important principle hasn’t even been said yet: Good leadership grows out of obedience – to God, to his Word, to his Spirit within us.
As I humble myself before God, he provides the vision, the courage and the means to fulfill his will for my life and for the ministry he desires to accomplish through me. May I listen more closely for his voice and humbly respond in obedience as Nehemiah did.
Yet, it would appear that he maintained a good spirit about him and had built relationship with the king because when his brother Hanani returned with others and reported on the distress of the people and Nehemiah wept and mourned, the king took notice of his sadness and asked him why he was sad. This was a very dangerous moment for Nehemiah. The king could order him put in prison or executed depending on how he answered or even before he answered – just because he appeared sad in the king’s presence. But Nehemiah had prepared himself for this moment. He had been fasting and praying. Still, when the moment came, Nehemiah felt fear. As I read Nehemiah, the book of Esther is running through my mind. There are great similarities…
Lesson 1: Good leadership is not the absence of fear, but the preparation of the heart and the courage to move forward regardless of the potential consequences. Both Nehemiah and Esther fasted and prayed before going on behalf of their people into the very dangerous situation before the king.
As Nehemiah shared his personal pain regarding the state of Jerusalem with the king, he was praying. King Artaxerxes responded with tenderness. “What is it you want?” Nehemiah 2:4 And Nehemiah forged ahead through his fear, praying for God’s wisdom and protection even as he spoke to the king. Nehemiah obviously had given some thought to this while he was fasting and praying. He asked for some very specific things and they were way out of line for his position! “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 And, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors… safe conduct… timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel… and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” Nehemiah 2:7-8 Obviously, God went before him and the king granted his requests and even more.
Nehemiah went with the king’s blessings and provisions, but more importantly, he went with God’s blessings and provisions. He was clearly called by God to a place of leadership with the people. And he called on God’s wisdom and assurance throughout the process. Before he even took the first step, he humbled himself before God in repentance for the sins of the people and for his own sin of disobedience in the past. He reminded God of his covenant with the Jewish people, particularly the part about “if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah 1:9
Lesson 2: Good leadership grows out of a vision that comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord and seeking his face. It is not our will, but his to move forward. Our part is obedience to him.
This would be a great place to say, “And they lived happily ever after.” But just as that often isn’t true today, it was not true for Nehemiah. Not everyone was happy with his plan to rebuild and it was not long before opposition came in the form of threats, taunting, intimidation and slander. But Nehemiah did not bend to the fear. Rather, he encouraged the people and equipped them to deal with the opposition. “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day at night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 He organized the people to work side by side, and equipped them with weapons to carry with them as they worked. He taught them to trust God and keep working.
Lesson 3: Good leadership is aware of the problems and encourages and equips the team to pray to God and work together remembering the goal.
Apparently, the nobles and officials in Jerusalem thought they were more special than the common people and were taking advantage of them, becoming wealthy at their expense. When this was brought to Nehemiah’s attention, he pondered it and then using what he knew from the Law and knew that they knew from the Law, he charged them saying, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!... What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?... Give back to them immediately [what you have taken from them]” Nehemiah 5:7, 9, 11 And the nobles and officials decided to do as Nehemiah said. His wisdom, which was God’s wisdom, made sense to them. He led by example, not using his position to gain more wealth, but rather to share with others from his own provisions. (Nehemiah 5:14-18)
Lesson 4: Good leadership does not favor the wealthy and powerful over the poor and needy but is concerned with true justice for all. It does not use the position of power to gain more wealth, but rather shares the wealth with all.
Nehemiah continued to lead the people through all the difficulties until the project was completed. Then he appointed the priests and Levites to their duties and replaced the provision for them by the offerings of the people. He shared the leadership at this point as they brought together the people and instructed them in the Law once again. As they read and instructed the people, they were overcome by tears of repentance and then joy. They continued to learn about their traditions and the meanings of those traditions which led to a great celebration. “From the days of Joshua son of Num until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” Nehemiah 8:17
Lesson 5: Good leadership passes the torch and celebrates meeting the goals and fulfilling the vision.
Nehemiah is full of great teachings on prayer, humbleness, justice, obedience, and more. But today, leadership came to the fore in the reading of this book. Nehemiah led by following God. I wonder how many opportunities I have had to lead by following God that I missed because I didn’t see myself as a leader, because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying, or because I allowed fear to stop me before I even began.
Maybe the most important principle hasn’t even been said yet: Good leadership grows out of obedience – to God, to his Word, to his Spirit within us.
As I humble myself before God, he provides the vision, the courage and the means to fulfill his will for my life and for the ministry he desires to accomplish through me. May I listen more closely for his voice and humbly respond in obedience as Nehemiah did.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Make Love, Not War
The slogan rang out in the late 60s and early 70s as the young adults in America tried to convince the government to pull out of Viet Nam. They were tired of the brutal war that was taking the lives of their friends. They feared being sent to die as well. And while the slogan was the beginning of a sexual revolution that took our country into a huge slide when it came to respect of others, and strength of marriages and families, it was not totally void of being a good idea. It was just that the love was focused in the wrong direction.
When Hezekiah became king of Judah, he immediately set out to teach the people to focus their love on God. He followed his father Ahaz who had been one of the worst kings Judah ever had. The country was in shambles because he had desecrated the temple and followed after other gods, even sacrificing his own sons in the fires as he worshipped other gods. The king of Aram and the king of Israel had pilfered his country and taken prisoners (though Israel did return the prisoners at the request of Obed, the prophet). (II Chronicles 28) But Hezekiah set out immediately to turn things around and get rid of the idolatrous worship and turn the people back to the one and only true God.
While other leaders would have begun to rebuild the infrastructure of the country and try to fight the countries who had invaded their land, Hezekiah “opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priest and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said, ‘Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil… turned their faces away from the Lord… This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.’” II Chronicles 29:3-11
Hezekiah demonstrated godly leadership. The first thing he did was get the temple of the Lord cleaned up and got the priests and Levites back into position doing their duties. It took them 16 days to clean out and purify the temple again, but they stuck with it and got the job done. The very next morning king Hezekiah was there with offerings and sacrifices. “He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet… As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed. When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped… they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped… So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished.” II Chronicles 29:25-30; 35
Once he had the priests and Levites functioning again, he invited all the people in Judah and Israel to come and celebrate the Passover together. He not only invited his own nation of Judah to return to the Lord, but extended the invitation to Israel (who had just raided their nation a short time ago). “ People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers… do not be stiff-necked… submit to the Lord… for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” II Chronicles 30:6-9
While many from Israel scoffed at him, some did come and join in the celebration. “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.” II Chronicles 30:12 Through praise and worship of God, the people were united again.
I imagine that at the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign, the people were disheartened, wounded by the invasions that had taken some of their loved ones into captivity and taken the treasures of the land. Hezekiah, with God’s wisdom, first ministered to the hurts of the people and taught them to worship God again. After four years of rebuilding and refocusing the spirits and the minds of the people, they were threatened by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Now came the time of testing to see how deep their love for God had grown. Would they trust God to meet their needs or cave under the taunting from Sennacherib? Would they trust Hezekiah’s leadership?
I wonder what Hezekiah was thinking at this time. He had spent four years telling the people to trust in God and God would take care of them. But it appeared at the moment, God was not taking care of them. They were under siege. II Kings 18-19 tells the story in more detail how Hezekiah laid out the words written by Sennacherib before the Lord and asked for God’s mercy and protection and how God wiped out the army of Sennacherib. The people of Judah did not have to do anything but worship God. They loved the Lord their God and worshiped him rather than war with their enemies. God took care of them.
As I read the stories of the different kings, I find that those who were able to humble themselves before God and trust in him were the ones who were successful kings. Those who were full of pride and were self-seeking were the ones who led their nation to destruction.
I wonder if I can learn from this… Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 Lord, may I remain humble before you and trust you completely with my life that I may experience your goodness and mercy as I follow you.
When Hezekiah became king of Judah, he immediately set out to teach the people to focus their love on God. He followed his father Ahaz who had been one of the worst kings Judah ever had. The country was in shambles because he had desecrated the temple and followed after other gods, even sacrificing his own sons in the fires as he worshipped other gods. The king of Aram and the king of Israel had pilfered his country and taken prisoners (though Israel did return the prisoners at the request of Obed, the prophet). (II Chronicles 28) But Hezekiah set out immediately to turn things around and get rid of the idolatrous worship and turn the people back to the one and only true God.
While other leaders would have begun to rebuild the infrastructure of the country and try to fight the countries who had invaded their land, Hezekiah “opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priest and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said, ‘Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil… turned their faces away from the Lord… This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.’” II Chronicles 29:3-11
Hezekiah demonstrated godly leadership. The first thing he did was get the temple of the Lord cleaned up and got the priests and Levites back into position doing their duties. It took them 16 days to clean out and purify the temple again, but they stuck with it and got the job done. The very next morning king Hezekiah was there with offerings and sacrifices. “He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet… As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed. When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped… they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped… So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished.” II Chronicles 29:25-30; 35
Once he had the priests and Levites functioning again, he invited all the people in Judah and Israel to come and celebrate the Passover together. He not only invited his own nation of Judah to return to the Lord, but extended the invitation to Israel (who had just raided their nation a short time ago). “ People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers… do not be stiff-necked… submit to the Lord… for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” II Chronicles 30:6-9
While many from Israel scoffed at him, some did come and join in the celebration. “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.” II Chronicles 30:12 Through praise and worship of God, the people were united again.
I imagine that at the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign, the people were disheartened, wounded by the invasions that had taken some of their loved ones into captivity and taken the treasures of the land. Hezekiah, with God’s wisdom, first ministered to the hurts of the people and taught them to worship God again. After four years of rebuilding and refocusing the spirits and the minds of the people, they were threatened by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Now came the time of testing to see how deep their love for God had grown. Would they trust God to meet their needs or cave under the taunting from Sennacherib? Would they trust Hezekiah’s leadership?
I wonder what Hezekiah was thinking at this time. He had spent four years telling the people to trust in God and God would take care of them. But it appeared at the moment, God was not taking care of them. They were under siege. II Kings 18-19 tells the story in more detail how Hezekiah laid out the words written by Sennacherib before the Lord and asked for God’s mercy and protection and how God wiped out the army of Sennacherib. The people of Judah did not have to do anything but worship God. They loved the Lord their God and worshiped him rather than war with their enemies. God took care of them.
As I read the stories of the different kings, I find that those who were able to humble themselves before God and trust in him were the ones who were successful kings. Those who were full of pride and were self-seeking were the ones who led their nation to destruction.
I wonder if I can learn from this… Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 Lord, may I remain humble before you and trust you completely with my life that I may experience your goodness and mercy as I follow you.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Truth or Consequences
When I step back a few steps from Ezekiel and look at the book, it seems to be a picture of God making a great attempt to call his people back out of their sin to a holy relationship with him. When I step into the heart of Ezekiel in chapters 22-23, I begin to wrestle with what it means to step away from the heart of God and get bogged down in the world’s wisdom – or the lack thereof. I want to know where these people went wrong so I don’t go down the same path they took. I want to understand God’s holiness and his judgment on the nations.
God is using a picture of prostitution when speaking of Samaria and of Jerusalem. The people begin to look to the wealth and military protection of other nations to take care of them rather than looking to God to take care of them. Their trust was no longer in God. He became an empty religion to them. They went through the rituals, the celebrations, feasts, and sacrifices, but their hearts were not in it. Along with their sacrifices to God, they were making sacrifices to the gods of the other nations and one by one breaking all of the commandments – “See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; In you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths… shedding blood…commit lewd acts…violate women… commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife… accept bribes… make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion… commit robbery… oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice…. Ezekiel 22:6-29
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30 God’s heart seems to be weeping for his children who have chosen to walk away from him. He has so much to offer them, but they chose the cheap trinkets, dangled before them, seduced by the nations who would become their enemies.
Finally, God says, “Enough! I will no longer protect you, but turn you over to the consequences of your sins.” (Ezekiel 23:48-49 – my paraphrase) So often, God is accused of enacting violence on his people. But it is not God’s character or will to hurt his people. Rather, he withdrew his protection at their request and allowed them to suffer the consequences of their decisions to follow the wealth, power and wisdom of this world. God knew that it would turn on them and destroy them. He tried to talk them out of it many times. But they closed their ears to him and in their own selfish and stubborn ways, chose to follow after that which God had tried to protect them from.
So I wonder… Am I being seduced by the wealth and power in this world? Am I placing my trust in other people, nations, wealth, doctors, etc. rather than in God? When difficult things happen, do I look to the world to fix it or do I look to God to use it to his honor and glory?
I am grateful that we live in a different time. We do have someone to stand in the gap – Jesus Christ. I am grateful because I know that even when I try my hardest and am at my very best, when I stand next to a Holy God, I don’t look too good. Yet, Jesus was willing to stand in the gap, forgiving my sins and shortcomings, allowing me to come into the presence of God’s holiness, encouraging me to see him as my Father – my “Daddy” who loves me and cares for all of my needs and covers me with his protection and has a glorious eternity planned for us together.
And as I enjoy this special relationship, ‘hanging out’ with God, I begin to become more like him in character – loving others in ways I could not before, being concerned for the weak, the poor, those who suffer at the hands of injustice and desiring for others to come into his presence and understand they are loved by him as well. My personal pride, self-esteem, etc. becomes less important because it is no longer me, but “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Thank you Jesus! I choose your Truth over the consequences of my sin.
God is using a picture of prostitution when speaking of Samaria and of Jerusalem. The people begin to look to the wealth and military protection of other nations to take care of them rather than looking to God to take care of them. Their trust was no longer in God. He became an empty religion to them. They went through the rituals, the celebrations, feasts, and sacrifices, but their hearts were not in it. Along with their sacrifices to God, they were making sacrifices to the gods of the other nations and one by one breaking all of the commandments – “See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; In you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths… shedding blood…commit lewd acts…violate women… commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife… accept bribes… make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion… commit robbery… oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice…. Ezekiel 22:6-29
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30 God’s heart seems to be weeping for his children who have chosen to walk away from him. He has so much to offer them, but they chose the cheap trinkets, dangled before them, seduced by the nations who would become their enemies.
Finally, God says, “Enough! I will no longer protect you, but turn you over to the consequences of your sins.” (Ezekiel 23:48-49 – my paraphrase) So often, God is accused of enacting violence on his people. But it is not God’s character or will to hurt his people. Rather, he withdrew his protection at their request and allowed them to suffer the consequences of their decisions to follow the wealth, power and wisdom of this world. God knew that it would turn on them and destroy them. He tried to talk them out of it many times. But they closed their ears to him and in their own selfish and stubborn ways, chose to follow after that which God had tried to protect them from.
So I wonder… Am I being seduced by the wealth and power in this world? Am I placing my trust in other people, nations, wealth, doctors, etc. rather than in God? When difficult things happen, do I look to the world to fix it or do I look to God to use it to his honor and glory?
I am grateful that we live in a different time. We do have someone to stand in the gap – Jesus Christ. I am grateful because I know that even when I try my hardest and am at my very best, when I stand next to a Holy God, I don’t look too good. Yet, Jesus was willing to stand in the gap, forgiving my sins and shortcomings, allowing me to come into the presence of God’s holiness, encouraging me to see him as my Father – my “Daddy” who loves me and cares for all of my needs and covers me with his protection and has a glorious eternity planned for us together.
And as I enjoy this special relationship, ‘hanging out’ with God, I begin to become more like him in character – loving others in ways I could not before, being concerned for the weak, the poor, those who suffer at the hands of injustice and desiring for others to come into his presence and understand they are loved by him as well. My personal pride, self-esteem, etc. becomes less important because it is no longer me, but “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Thank you Jesus! I choose your Truth over the consequences of my sin.
Monday, October 4, 2010
More than Satisfied
Sometimes problems arise in our lives that seem insurmountable. It would be easy to move from hope to despair. But Jesus didn’t come to bring despair. He did not throw up his hands and say, “There is nothing that can be done,” or “There is no way out of this one.” Nor did he just fix it and walk away. He took opportunities as they came and taught those who would be taught more and more about the loving heart of God and his ability to supply all of our needs.
The crowds had been following Jesus listening to him teach and watching for miracles. Jesus sat down with his disciples and looking out over the crowd said, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” John 6:5 Just prior to this comment, John notes that, “The Jewish Passover Feast was near.” John 6:4 I wonder if they were thinking about food and where they would be eating the Passover. Any guests would be invited to participate in the Passover with their host family. Is it possible Jesus was jarring their thinking and even suggesting that these people in the crowd were their guests and they would be responsible to come up with food for them all? The first step to solving a problem is to recognize that you have a problem. Quite possibly, the first point of Jesus’ lesson with his disciples was that God’s heart is tender and notices when people are in need.
“Philip answered him, ‘Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’” John 6:7 Step two in this lesson plan seems to be that we need to evaluate the magnitude of the problem. We need to be sure we know what we are dealing with.
“Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’” John 6:8 Step three in this lesson plan appears to be to look at what we do have to put towards solving the problem. This is a hard place to be to see the magnitude of the problem and the lack of resources to solve it. It is where many people in ministry find themselves almost daily – so much need all around us and so few resources (time, talent, and money) to minister to the needs.
But this does not need to be the end of the story. Andrew’s bringing what he could find and giving it to Jesus was an act of trust. He didn’t say thanks to the kid and sit down and eat his lunch. He gave what there was to Jesus – every bit of it. Step four in this lesson plan might be to give everything we have and trust that God can use it, however little it is, to his honor and glory.
“Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” John 6:11-13 Step five in this lesson plan would appear to be that when we give what we have toward a problem of great magnitude, God will take it and use it to completely satisfy those who are in need.
I wonder sometimes how what little I have can solve the world’s problems. I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it. How can one little person make any impact on this huge problem? There are whole countries going hungry. But God doesn’t tell me to take what I have and feed them all. He tells me to take what I have and give it to him and he will feed them all. Research says that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone. No one needs to go hungry. The problem is that some are not even aware others are starving, some who are aware are ‘shut down’ by the recognition of the immensity of the problem and feel helpless, and many don’t recognize that God can multiply what little we have to bless many.
I wonder, do I trust God enough to give him what little I have? In this lesson plan, the end result is that the needs of everyone are satisfied. The little boy who shared his food, the disciples and the crowd were all fed. And there were more leftovers than the original food Jesus started out with. When we give what we have to God, we are not just satisfied. We are more than satisfied!
Lord, help me to share freely what you have blessed me with so that you can multiply it and everyone can be more than satisfied.
The crowds had been following Jesus listening to him teach and watching for miracles. Jesus sat down with his disciples and looking out over the crowd said, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” John 6:5 Just prior to this comment, John notes that, “The Jewish Passover Feast was near.” John 6:4 I wonder if they were thinking about food and where they would be eating the Passover. Any guests would be invited to participate in the Passover with their host family. Is it possible Jesus was jarring their thinking and even suggesting that these people in the crowd were their guests and they would be responsible to come up with food for them all? The first step to solving a problem is to recognize that you have a problem. Quite possibly, the first point of Jesus’ lesson with his disciples was that God’s heart is tender and notices when people are in need.
“Philip answered him, ‘Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’” John 6:7 Step two in this lesson plan seems to be that we need to evaluate the magnitude of the problem. We need to be sure we know what we are dealing with.
“Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’” John 6:8 Step three in this lesson plan appears to be to look at what we do have to put towards solving the problem. This is a hard place to be to see the magnitude of the problem and the lack of resources to solve it. It is where many people in ministry find themselves almost daily – so much need all around us and so few resources (time, talent, and money) to minister to the needs.
But this does not need to be the end of the story. Andrew’s bringing what he could find and giving it to Jesus was an act of trust. He didn’t say thanks to the kid and sit down and eat his lunch. He gave what there was to Jesus – every bit of it. Step four in this lesson plan might be to give everything we have and trust that God can use it, however little it is, to his honor and glory.
“Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” John 6:11-13 Step five in this lesson plan would appear to be that when we give what we have toward a problem of great magnitude, God will take it and use it to completely satisfy those who are in need.
I wonder sometimes how what little I have can solve the world’s problems. I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it. How can one little person make any impact on this huge problem? There are whole countries going hungry. But God doesn’t tell me to take what I have and feed them all. He tells me to take what I have and give it to him and he will feed them all. Research says that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone. No one needs to go hungry. The problem is that some are not even aware others are starving, some who are aware are ‘shut down’ by the recognition of the immensity of the problem and feel helpless, and many don’t recognize that God can multiply what little we have to bless many.
I wonder, do I trust God enough to give him what little I have? In this lesson plan, the end result is that the needs of everyone are satisfied. The little boy who shared his food, the disciples and the crowd were all fed. And there were more leftovers than the original food Jesus started out with. When we give what we have to God, we are not just satisfied. We are more than satisfied!
Lord, help me to share freely what you have blessed me with so that you can multiply it and everyone can be more than satisfied.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Deceiving Spirits and Lying Tongues
When it comes to guarding my heart from deceiving spirits and lying tongues, I’m in. I am going to read and study God’s Word, pray and meditate, go to church and do all the ‘right’ things because I don’t want to be deceived. I wonder then, where will these deceiving spirits come from. Surely, they will be in bars and on the streets where crime happens. Maybe they will be in the secular news or college and university campuses.
“The Spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” I Timothy 4:1-3
Well, that about brings my mind to a skidding halt! These deceiving spirits are not coming from the streets of crime or the universities, but from within the church itself. And they are coming through people “whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” They are coming from people who have decided what their ‘conviction’ is and are trying to force it on others. I’m shaking my head to try to clear my brain.
In Romans 14, Paul has more to say about how we handle our convictions within a fellowship of believers. “The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Romans 14:3-4 “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way… If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died… For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” Romans 4:12-18
It seems then, that Paul is asking us to not only be aware of our own convictions, but also be aware of when our convictions may cause someone else to doubt theirs. His bottom line is whether or not we are acting out of love. Can I give up a freedom Christ has given me in order to not cause a fellow traveler in this life to stumble and/or fall? I wonder does that make me a hypocrite if I don’t always act on my beliefs and freedoms. Or does it make me a compassionate, loving servant to my community of faith.
What if I am one who has strong ‘convictions’ with a lot of ‘don’t do this’ and ‘don’t do that’ in my belief system? These rules help to keep me from sinning against God. How do I know when to confront another’s behavior based on my convictions and when to keep silent because my convictions are my convictions and they may not apply to them?
Now I Corinthians 13 is ‘gonging’ loudly in my ear. If I speak the most wonderful convictions and acts of God I know without love in my heart for the hearers of my words, “I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” I Corinthians 13:1 If I am extremely intelligent and have great theological knowledge and wisdom, “but have not love, I am nothing.” I Corinthians 13:2 If I am a very gracious and giving person and take care of all the poor around me with my wealth, “but have not love, I gain nothing.” I Corinthians 13:3
So back to I Timothy… I wonder what these deceiving spirits are and how they are misleading and misguiding believers. I wonder could it be that they are the very people among us who are the most vocal about their convictions – who have memorized many passages of Scripture and use it for rebuking regularly? Could it be the most giving people we know who give out of their wealth and quite possibly keep the recipients at arm’s length, groveling in continued need of love and friendship? Could it be that they are those who are lacking in their own knowledge of God’s love and mercy in their lives and, therefore, judge cruelly speaking harsh words of ‘conviction’ to others rather than speaking God’s love into the lives of those around them?
Oh that my understanding of God’s love for me would be greater so that I would not be caught deceiving others by withholding God’s love from them.
“The Spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” I Timothy 4:1-3
Well, that about brings my mind to a skidding halt! These deceiving spirits are not coming from the streets of crime or the universities, but from within the church itself. And they are coming through people “whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” They are coming from people who have decided what their ‘conviction’ is and are trying to force it on others. I’m shaking my head to try to clear my brain.
In Romans 14, Paul has more to say about how we handle our convictions within a fellowship of believers. “The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Romans 14:3-4 “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way… If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died… For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” Romans 4:12-18
It seems then, that Paul is asking us to not only be aware of our own convictions, but also be aware of when our convictions may cause someone else to doubt theirs. His bottom line is whether or not we are acting out of love. Can I give up a freedom Christ has given me in order to not cause a fellow traveler in this life to stumble and/or fall? I wonder does that make me a hypocrite if I don’t always act on my beliefs and freedoms. Or does it make me a compassionate, loving servant to my community of faith.
What if I am one who has strong ‘convictions’ with a lot of ‘don’t do this’ and ‘don’t do that’ in my belief system? These rules help to keep me from sinning against God. How do I know when to confront another’s behavior based on my convictions and when to keep silent because my convictions are my convictions and they may not apply to them?
Now I Corinthians 13 is ‘gonging’ loudly in my ear. If I speak the most wonderful convictions and acts of God I know without love in my heart for the hearers of my words, “I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” I Corinthians 13:1 If I am extremely intelligent and have great theological knowledge and wisdom, “but have not love, I am nothing.” I Corinthians 13:2 If I am a very gracious and giving person and take care of all the poor around me with my wealth, “but have not love, I gain nothing.” I Corinthians 13:3
So back to I Timothy… I wonder what these deceiving spirits are and how they are misleading and misguiding believers. I wonder could it be that they are the very people among us who are the most vocal about their convictions – who have memorized many passages of Scripture and use it for rebuking regularly? Could it be the most giving people we know who give out of their wealth and quite possibly keep the recipients at arm’s length, groveling in continued need of love and friendship? Could it be that they are those who are lacking in their own knowledge of God’s love and mercy in their lives and, therefore, judge cruelly speaking harsh words of ‘conviction’ to others rather than speaking God’s love into the lives of those around them?
Oh that my understanding of God’s love for me would be greater so that I would not be caught deceiving others by withholding God’s love from them.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Pride Goeth Before a Fall
Proverbs 16:18 is often quoted [paraphrased] by gloating people watching a haughty person go down. But it is also at the heart of the story in I Chronicles 21. “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” I Chronicles 21:1 I used to read over that verse quickly and once in a while wonder what a census had to do with anything. But the chapter seemed to be about the choices God gave David and the fact that David chose to have Israel punished by the plague for three days because he would rather be in the hands of God then in the hands of men. However, as I read it today, it seems to be about David and pride.
Why would David take a census and what would be wrong with that? As I read the Old Testament, it seems that kings rise and fall based on the man power of their armies and how many chariots and horses they have. But David was different. His strength came from God and he knew it. He won battles that, by human standards, he should not have won. He conquered territories that he should not have been able to. But in taking that census, he turned his eyes away from God and began to look at how big his army was and would it be big enough to meet his next goal. He was becoming proud of the army he could muster and thinking that he was a great leader who could win any battle he put his mind to. That is when God sent Gad to David with the message of choices.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord – days of plague ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer one who sent me.’” I Chronicles 21:11-12
David chose the plague. I wonder why he didn’t say to God, “It was my sin. Why should the people be punished?” But he didn’t. He was still operating out of pride. Even his choice was prideful. To be chased by the sword of other armies would make him look incapable of leading his army to victory and famine would make him look incapable of providing for his people. But no one would expect him to be able to control a plague. It was also the shortest of the punishments – only three days rather than three months or three years.
Only after 70,000 people died from the plague did David finally admit his guilt and responsibility. “David said to God, ‘Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.’” I Chronicles 21:17 David finally accepted responsibility for the situation and that is when God stopped the plague.
I wonder how many times the pride of leaders in the church has caused injury to the ‘sheep’ through the generations. And I wonder how many times my pride has caused injury to others in my sphere of influence. It gives me great comfort to know that God forgave David even for sins that harmed other people. And it spurs me on to understand what it means to be humble before God. When I get in trouble, it is pretty much always because of my pride in myself and wanting things my way. When I am humble before God and allow myself to be less and God to be more, good things happen – others are blessed and drawn closer to God’s heart.
Lord, keep my humble before you. Open my eyes to see when I am destroying others because of my pride. Forgive me and bring healing through your power, your mercy and your love. Amen.
Why would David take a census and what would be wrong with that? As I read the Old Testament, it seems that kings rise and fall based on the man power of their armies and how many chariots and horses they have. But David was different. His strength came from God and he knew it. He won battles that, by human standards, he should not have won. He conquered territories that he should not have been able to. But in taking that census, he turned his eyes away from God and began to look at how big his army was and would it be big enough to meet his next goal. He was becoming proud of the army he could muster and thinking that he was a great leader who could win any battle he put his mind to. That is when God sent Gad to David with the message of choices.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord – days of plague ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer one who sent me.’” I Chronicles 21:11-12
David chose the plague. I wonder why he didn’t say to God, “It was my sin. Why should the people be punished?” But he didn’t. He was still operating out of pride. Even his choice was prideful. To be chased by the sword of other armies would make him look incapable of leading his army to victory and famine would make him look incapable of providing for his people. But no one would expect him to be able to control a plague. It was also the shortest of the punishments – only three days rather than three months or three years.
Only after 70,000 people died from the plague did David finally admit his guilt and responsibility. “David said to God, ‘Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.’” I Chronicles 21:17 David finally accepted responsibility for the situation and that is when God stopped the plague.
I wonder how many times the pride of leaders in the church has caused injury to the ‘sheep’ through the generations. And I wonder how many times my pride has caused injury to others in my sphere of influence. It gives me great comfort to know that God forgave David even for sins that harmed other people. And it spurs me on to understand what it means to be humble before God. When I get in trouble, it is pretty much always because of my pride in myself and wanting things my way. When I am humble before God and allow myself to be less and God to be more, good things happen – others are blessed and drawn closer to God’s heart.
Lord, keep my humble before you. Open my eyes to see when I am destroying others because of my pride. Forgive me and bring healing through your power, your mercy and your love. Amen.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Genealogy and Faith
As I read through names, “___ son of ___ son of ___,” my eyelids begin to droop. But wait, what is that name? Jabez? Why is his prayer in the middle of a genealogy? David, on the other hand, is listed as one of Jesse’s sons with no other comment. What’s with that?
There are many faith stories in the Old Testament. Maybe the prayer of Jabez is there because it is a faith story and there was no other good place to put it. Short and sweet, he is praying for his territory to be enlarged, for God’s hand to be on him, and to be free from pain. And it tells us God granted his request. (I Chronicles 4:9-10) Today, this is a well known prayer thanks to Bruce Wilkenson and the book he wrote regarding it. Unfortunately, it is an often misunderstood prayer. It has become a ‘mantra’ for many people thinking that if they pray this prayer, God will give them all the earthly pleasures they desire, totally missing the part of the prayer about God’s hand being on them. I wonder what Jabez meant when he asked for God’s hand to be on him and keep him from harm.
In order for God’s hand to be on him, they would need a pretty close relationship – God and Jabez. I wonder what God was doing with Jabez at that time. I wonder how much influence Jabez had on others as he related to God closely. And I wonder what was about to harm him that he was praying to be kept from harm.
And then there is David, who in the genealogy is simply a name. Yet because of other writings in the Old Testament, we know a lot about David. And the first story any of us learn about David is his fight with Goliath, the Philistine giant. One small stone placed in a slingshot, aimed and released at the giant’s head, a fallen giant who then is decapitated by his own sword. Great victory for the Israelites – gruesome story for the tender of heart.
It occurs to me that this faith story of David can also be my faith story – in a spiritual war where the giants of science and intellect are taunting me. The stone I place in my slingshot is the nugget of truth found in God’s Word. The slingshot is the conversation, writing, prayer, or speech with others. Carefully aimed at the giant, the nugget of truth knocks him off balance and he falls. I grab my sword, God’s Word (Ephesians 6) and cut off the head so the giant will not rise again. Another victory!
God helps me take down one giant at a time and enlarges my sphere of influence as I have more experiences and meet more people. As I experience victory, I am energized to keep going. Now I have a faith story to tell. It won’t show up in Chronicles. It probably won’t even make the local newspaper. But as I tell my story, others will be encouraged and will begin to pick up their nuggets, put them in their slingshot and go after the giants in their lives. And the kingdom will grow – God’s kingdom. He will expand our territory when we become his servants, fighting to help more people find their way back to God, their Creator and lover of their souls.
May God’s hand be on me and enlarge my territory and keep me from harm so his kingdom will come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
There are many faith stories in the Old Testament. Maybe the prayer of Jabez is there because it is a faith story and there was no other good place to put it. Short and sweet, he is praying for his territory to be enlarged, for God’s hand to be on him, and to be free from pain. And it tells us God granted his request. (I Chronicles 4:9-10) Today, this is a well known prayer thanks to Bruce Wilkenson and the book he wrote regarding it. Unfortunately, it is an often misunderstood prayer. It has become a ‘mantra’ for many people thinking that if they pray this prayer, God will give them all the earthly pleasures they desire, totally missing the part of the prayer about God’s hand being on them. I wonder what Jabez meant when he asked for God’s hand to be on him and keep him from harm.
In order for God’s hand to be on him, they would need a pretty close relationship – God and Jabez. I wonder what God was doing with Jabez at that time. I wonder how much influence Jabez had on others as he related to God closely. And I wonder what was about to harm him that he was praying to be kept from harm.
And then there is David, who in the genealogy is simply a name. Yet because of other writings in the Old Testament, we know a lot about David. And the first story any of us learn about David is his fight with Goliath, the Philistine giant. One small stone placed in a slingshot, aimed and released at the giant’s head, a fallen giant who then is decapitated by his own sword. Great victory for the Israelites – gruesome story for the tender of heart.
It occurs to me that this faith story of David can also be my faith story – in a spiritual war where the giants of science and intellect are taunting me. The stone I place in my slingshot is the nugget of truth found in God’s Word. The slingshot is the conversation, writing, prayer, or speech with others. Carefully aimed at the giant, the nugget of truth knocks him off balance and he falls. I grab my sword, God’s Word (Ephesians 6) and cut off the head so the giant will not rise again. Another victory!
God helps me take down one giant at a time and enlarges my sphere of influence as I have more experiences and meet more people. As I experience victory, I am energized to keep going. Now I have a faith story to tell. It won’t show up in Chronicles. It probably won’t even make the local newspaper. But as I tell my story, others will be encouraged and will begin to pick up their nuggets, put them in their slingshot and go after the giants in their lives. And the kingdom will grow – God’s kingdom. He will expand our territory when we become his servants, fighting to help more people find their way back to God, their Creator and lover of their souls.
May God’s hand be on me and enlarge my territory and keep me from harm so his kingdom will come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
When Leadership Fails
Jeremiah is often called the ‘weeping prophet’ because of the terrible message he had to give to the people of Israel. His heart was torn because no matter what he said, how emphatic he was or how much he shared with the people about what God was about to do, they would not repent and turn their hearts back to God.
As I read the book of Jeremiah, it becomes clear that the people ‘think’ they are honoring God. They go to the Temple, they celebrate the feasts, they make their sacrifices, and some of them even fast. But as they leave the Temple, they go on sinning, they go to their high places, make sacrifices to other gods, and even throw their children into the fire as sacrifices to other gods. Over and over, Jeremiah tries to call this to their attention and get them to turn around before it is too late.
Periodically, throughout the prophecies of Jeremiah, he addresses the leadership – the kings, the priests and teachers of the Law. “The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.” Jeremiah 10:21 “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?... But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.” Jeremiah 22:15 & 17 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” Jeremiah 23:1 “’Both prophet and priests are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,’ declares the Lord. ‘Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:11-12
Several things become clear as I look at Jeremiah, the leadership and the people. Jeremiah was a lonely man. He had a very difficult and strong message to give to the leadership and to the people. The leadership had failed miserably in keeping the people’s hearts turned toward God. Their own hearts had become hardened and unable to hear God’s voice. They and all the people had absorbed the sinful practices of the people groups around them, little by little, probably not even noticing how much they had changed over the years. Jeremiah tried to remind them where they had come from and show them how much they had fallen. But he also tried to remind them that they had a loving and forgiving God and that if they would turn their hearts and their faces back to God, he would be there for them.
God shows his tender heart over and over in his concern for the ‘scattered sheep’. “’I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:4
“Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see,’ Jeremiah? ‘Figs,’ I answered. ‘The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.’ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah, king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave them and their fathers.’” Jeremiah 24:3-10
God holds leadership responsible. I wonder, then, what causes leaders to fail? I wonder what causes some people to advance as leaders? Leadership carries with it things like popularity, money, power, and control. Popularity is kept alive by saying and doing what the people ‘think’ they want. More money comes in when popularity is kept alive. Position gives power and control. When we experience money, power, and control, we want more and more. That is the human state.
Godly leadership looks very different than worldly leadership. Godly leadership is humble, drawing wisdom from God, not concerned with gaining more wealth, power, or control, but understanding that God is their wisdom, God is their strength, and God is in control. Godly leadership looks more like a servant – like a shepherd caring for the flock entrusted to him/her. That means leading them to good food and water, binding their wounds, and keeping evil wolves and lions and bears away so they are not harmed. When leaders forget that they are a servant and believe they are a king, parading in fine clothes and showing off their gains, that is when they fail. And when they fail, many people are hurt. And so we find God stepping in over and over to rescue his people. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14
If I am called to be a leader, the most significant thing I can do is keep my heart in tune with God’s heart. I need to put blinders on to the world’s enticements and keep my eyes on my heavenly Father. He will show me whose wounds need binding and whose hearts are ready to be taught to follow him. False humility won’t cut it. Only true humility, knowing who my God is and what he has done for me and where my righteousness comes from, will keep me from failing as a leader.
Lord, please help me to keep my eyes on you, to live as your humble servant. You are my King. I give my life in service to you. Amen.
As I read the book of Jeremiah, it becomes clear that the people ‘think’ they are honoring God. They go to the Temple, they celebrate the feasts, they make their sacrifices, and some of them even fast. But as they leave the Temple, they go on sinning, they go to their high places, make sacrifices to other gods, and even throw their children into the fire as sacrifices to other gods. Over and over, Jeremiah tries to call this to their attention and get them to turn around before it is too late.
Periodically, throughout the prophecies of Jeremiah, he addresses the leadership – the kings, the priests and teachers of the Law. “The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.” Jeremiah 10:21 “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?... But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.” Jeremiah 22:15 & 17 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” Jeremiah 23:1 “’Both prophet and priests are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,’ declares the Lord. ‘Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:11-12
Several things become clear as I look at Jeremiah, the leadership and the people. Jeremiah was a lonely man. He had a very difficult and strong message to give to the leadership and to the people. The leadership had failed miserably in keeping the people’s hearts turned toward God. Their own hearts had become hardened and unable to hear God’s voice. They and all the people had absorbed the sinful practices of the people groups around them, little by little, probably not even noticing how much they had changed over the years. Jeremiah tried to remind them where they had come from and show them how much they had fallen. But he also tried to remind them that they had a loving and forgiving God and that if they would turn their hearts and their faces back to God, he would be there for them.
God shows his tender heart over and over in his concern for the ‘scattered sheep’. “’I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:4
“Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see,’ Jeremiah? ‘Figs,’ I answered. ‘The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.’ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah, king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave them and their fathers.’” Jeremiah 24:3-10
God holds leadership responsible. I wonder, then, what causes leaders to fail? I wonder what causes some people to advance as leaders? Leadership carries with it things like popularity, money, power, and control. Popularity is kept alive by saying and doing what the people ‘think’ they want. More money comes in when popularity is kept alive. Position gives power and control. When we experience money, power, and control, we want more and more. That is the human state.
Godly leadership looks very different than worldly leadership. Godly leadership is humble, drawing wisdom from God, not concerned with gaining more wealth, power, or control, but understanding that God is their wisdom, God is their strength, and God is in control. Godly leadership looks more like a servant – like a shepherd caring for the flock entrusted to him/her. That means leading them to good food and water, binding their wounds, and keeping evil wolves and lions and bears away so they are not harmed. When leaders forget that they are a servant and believe they are a king, parading in fine clothes and showing off their gains, that is when they fail. And when they fail, many people are hurt. And so we find God stepping in over and over to rescue his people. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14
If I am called to be a leader, the most significant thing I can do is keep my heart in tune with God’s heart. I need to put blinders on to the world’s enticements and keep my eyes on my heavenly Father. He will show me whose wounds need binding and whose hearts are ready to be taught to follow him. False humility won’t cut it. Only true humility, knowing who my God is and what he has done for me and where my righteousness comes from, will keep me from failing as a leader.
Lord, please help me to keep my eyes on you, to live as your humble servant. You are my King. I give my life in service to you. Amen.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Path of Least Resistance
Hitler and his army moved into one country after another. They threatened, intimidated, and made examples of people and people bowed in fear. As we look back in history, we say, “Why didn’t they stand up to him right from the beginning? Why did they let him have control? What were they thinking?”
As I read Isaiah’s version of Sennacherib and Assyria threatening Hezekiah and Jerusalem, it sounds very familiar. Sennacherib shouts to the leaders of Jerusalem in the language that the people can understand in order to intimidate them. But he coats it with honey. “Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says; make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’” Isaiah 36:15-17
It sure looked tempting – not too sure about the resettling in another land – but at least it would be without bloodshed. The people had been under siege for some time and were getting hungry and in need of supplies. Sennacherib knew this. What he didn’t know was that God had a better plan for Jerusalem at that time. Hezekiah called for Isaiah to come and asked God for wisdom. Isaiah told Hezekiah’s envoy, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’” Isaiah 37:6-7
Hezekiah laid out Sennacherib’s threats before God and asked God to save them. He put all his trust in God and not in the words or history Sennacherib put out before him and his people. Through Isaiah, God told Hezekiah, “I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” Isaiah 38:35 And God did save them by sending an angel to put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib withdrew and was killed while worshiping his god Nisroch.
We know the end of the story and we assume it was easy for Hezekiah and the people to follow what God said at that time. But when you have an army of 185,000 camped outside your city threatening to destroy you if you don’t give in to their demands, it would be easy to give in. The easy way to peace would be to not fight it. I imagine Hezekiah was in anguish when he went to the Lord and asked him to save them from the Assyrians. He had to decide if he would trust Isaiah’s words and God or if he would take the easy way out and cave in to the demands of Sennacherib. He was responsible for all the people in his kingdom as well as he made that decision.
Where did Hezekiah get the strength to stand up to Sennacherib and the Assyrians? I think it started in the early years of his life. II Chronicles tells us that his first official action as king was to open the doors of the temple of the Lord and repair them. He restored the priests and Levites to positions in the temple and taught the people from the wisdom of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. He led them in rededication of themselves to the Lord. He invited them all to celebrate Passover and remember what God had done for them. (II Chronicles 29-30) It is from that basis, then, that Hezekiah could stand up to Sennacherib in spite of all Sennacherib had done to other nations. Hezekiah had rebuilt the relationship between his people and God. He trusted God in the good times and he trusted God in the hard times.
I wonder how many times I take the path of least resistance and miss what God is ready to do for me. I wonder how many times I listen to the false wisdom of Sennacherib’s in my life and miss the true wisdom of God. Lord, please help me to keep seeking your wisdom and discern the times when you are destroying the Sennacherib’s in my life. I put my trust in you. Help me to hear your voice.
As I read Isaiah’s version of Sennacherib and Assyria threatening Hezekiah and Jerusalem, it sounds very familiar. Sennacherib shouts to the leaders of Jerusalem in the language that the people can understand in order to intimidate them. But he coats it with honey. “Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says; make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’” Isaiah 36:15-17
It sure looked tempting – not too sure about the resettling in another land – but at least it would be without bloodshed. The people had been under siege for some time and were getting hungry and in need of supplies. Sennacherib knew this. What he didn’t know was that God had a better plan for Jerusalem at that time. Hezekiah called for Isaiah to come and asked God for wisdom. Isaiah told Hezekiah’s envoy, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’” Isaiah 37:6-7
Hezekiah laid out Sennacherib’s threats before God and asked God to save them. He put all his trust in God and not in the words or history Sennacherib put out before him and his people. Through Isaiah, God told Hezekiah, “I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” Isaiah 38:35 And God did save them by sending an angel to put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib withdrew and was killed while worshiping his god Nisroch.
We know the end of the story and we assume it was easy for Hezekiah and the people to follow what God said at that time. But when you have an army of 185,000 camped outside your city threatening to destroy you if you don’t give in to their demands, it would be easy to give in. The easy way to peace would be to not fight it. I imagine Hezekiah was in anguish when he went to the Lord and asked him to save them from the Assyrians. He had to decide if he would trust Isaiah’s words and God or if he would take the easy way out and cave in to the demands of Sennacherib. He was responsible for all the people in his kingdom as well as he made that decision.
Where did Hezekiah get the strength to stand up to Sennacherib and the Assyrians? I think it started in the early years of his life. II Chronicles tells us that his first official action as king was to open the doors of the temple of the Lord and repair them. He restored the priests and Levites to positions in the temple and taught the people from the wisdom of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. He led them in rededication of themselves to the Lord. He invited them all to celebrate Passover and remember what God had done for them. (II Chronicles 29-30) It is from that basis, then, that Hezekiah could stand up to Sennacherib in spite of all Sennacherib had done to other nations. Hezekiah had rebuilt the relationship between his people and God. He trusted God in the good times and he trusted God in the hard times.
I wonder how many times I take the path of least resistance and miss what God is ready to do for me. I wonder how many times I listen to the false wisdom of Sennacherib’s in my life and miss the true wisdom of God. Lord, please help me to keep seeking your wisdom and discern the times when you are destroying the Sennacherib’s in my life. I put my trust in you. Help me to hear your voice.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Whose Church Is It?
I wonder, why do we go to church on Sunday? Is it to see friends? Is it to hear a good sermon? Is it because we have responsibilities to lead worship or teach Sunday School? Is it to keep a good image among friends and acquaintances? Is it because that’s what we’ve always done? What do we expect to happen on a Sunday morning in church?
The Israelites had Sabbath rituals and routines. They continued these even as they worshipped other gods. “’The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.’” Isaiah 1:11-14
The Israelites thought they were keeping all the Sabbath laws and ‘honoring’ God with their festivals as they were set up back in the days of Moses. But God does not sound very happy with them. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Isaiah 29:13 It seems that God isn’t so interested with what we do as to where are hearts are at when we are doing it. It is not the gift or sacrifice that pleases God, but rather it is the giving and sacrificial heart of the giver that pleases him. It is not the person who attends a worship service, but the person who comes to worship with all his/her heart that pleases God.
With that understanding of God in my mind, I begin to wonder about our churches today. I wonder if God is weary of our Sunday morning routines. We compete with sports, water parks, and picnics, and in order to keep people coming, we have become a consumer oriented church – providing programs for children, teens and adults. We provide show – I mean worship bands to lead us in singing. We hire charismatic speakers who tell people all the wonderful things God will do for them if they put their money in the offering plate.
Isaiah said of the people, “These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” Isaiah 30:10-11
I wonder if that is what we are telling our pastors. “Don’t teach us from Scripture – that is too boring or out of date.” Or, “Don’t make us too uncomfortable with our wealth or our lifestyles.” And if a pastor crosses the line and begins to challenge people to change, he or she may soon be looking for a new position since they are paid positions and can be voted out just as easily as they are voted in.
Are we any different from the Israelites? Are we trying to follow the ways of the world while pretending to worship and honor God?
“’Woe to the obstinate children,’ declares the Lord, ‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit.’” Isaiah 30:1
“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it… Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:15 & 18
I wonder if I listen more closely for God’s voice, if I will hear him saying, “I’m weary of all your going through the motions. I want your heart. I want all of you!” And I wonder how I will respond when I hear that voice? Will I drop all my pretenses and come to God’s altar to honor him with my life? Will I sing joyfully as I praise the gracious and compassionate God who saves me? Will I give freely – even sacrificially – because he has blessed me so much and I know that he will supply my needs – I don’t have to hold on to things so tightly?
May God continue to shape my heart into one that loves and honors him with my life and with all that I have.
The Israelites had Sabbath rituals and routines. They continued these even as they worshipped other gods. “’The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.’” Isaiah 1:11-14
The Israelites thought they were keeping all the Sabbath laws and ‘honoring’ God with their festivals as they were set up back in the days of Moses. But God does not sound very happy with them. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Isaiah 29:13 It seems that God isn’t so interested with what we do as to where are hearts are at when we are doing it. It is not the gift or sacrifice that pleases God, but rather it is the giving and sacrificial heart of the giver that pleases him. It is not the person who attends a worship service, but the person who comes to worship with all his/her heart that pleases God.
With that understanding of God in my mind, I begin to wonder about our churches today. I wonder if God is weary of our Sunday morning routines. We compete with sports, water parks, and picnics, and in order to keep people coming, we have become a consumer oriented church – providing programs for children, teens and adults. We provide show – I mean worship bands to lead us in singing. We hire charismatic speakers who tell people all the wonderful things God will do for them if they put their money in the offering plate.
Isaiah said of the people, “These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” Isaiah 30:10-11
I wonder if that is what we are telling our pastors. “Don’t teach us from Scripture – that is too boring or out of date.” Or, “Don’t make us too uncomfortable with our wealth or our lifestyles.” And if a pastor crosses the line and begins to challenge people to change, he or she may soon be looking for a new position since they are paid positions and can be voted out just as easily as they are voted in.
Are we any different from the Israelites? Are we trying to follow the ways of the world while pretending to worship and honor God?
“’Woe to the obstinate children,’ declares the Lord, ‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit.’” Isaiah 30:1
“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it… Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:15 & 18
I wonder if I listen more closely for God’s voice, if I will hear him saying, “I’m weary of all your going through the motions. I want your heart. I want all of you!” And I wonder how I will respond when I hear that voice? Will I drop all my pretenses and come to God’s altar to honor him with my life? Will I sing joyfully as I praise the gracious and compassionate God who saves me? Will I give freely – even sacrificially – because he has blessed me so much and I know that he will supply my needs – I don’t have to hold on to things so tightly?
May God continue to shape my heart into one that loves and honors him with my life and with all that I have.
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