“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? … In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling… You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance, the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever.” Exodus 15:11, 13, 17-18
Some friends are concerned that I am not grieving enough. They believe I should be angry with God because our 28-year-old son died. Of course my heart aches at not seeing his smile, hearing his gregarious laughter, or receiving and giving those bear hugs anymore in this life. There are times when my heart is overwhelmed by grief. But it is my sorrow for myself – my missing him. He has been an important part of my life on this earth. There are many habits tied up in those memories… wanting to buy a favorite food at the grocery store, wanting to make a special meal that he really likes, longing to discuss an idea from a book I just read, enjoying a photograph he took… And there are memories we were looking forward to making with him and his lovely bride to be, vacations together, possibly grandchildren down the road...
But I cannot be angry with God. It was Eve that took the fruit from the tree that led to sin and death entering this world. And if it hadn’t been her, it would have been the next person. We all have this idea we want to be our own god and make our own choices. When we think we know better than God how something should be and choose our way, we are committing the same sin Eve did in taking the fruit. We are being disobedient to the God of all creation. But God, loving us so much and knowing we would make that choice, made a way for us to be back in right relationship with him making him Lord of our lives. He has prepared a glorious place for us when we are done in this world and we know our son is in that glorious place. It won’t be long until we will be together again in the presence of Jesus, singing praises to the Lord of all.
We grieve but not as the world grieves. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of the men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him… Therefore, encourage each other with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:13-14, 18
The source of my joy is my Salvation in Jesus Christ. It is knowing that he is with me every day and that I will spend eternity with my Lord and Savior. And now I look forward even more to that day because Andrew is waiting for us there. It seems the veil between life and death has gotten thinner for me. Death has lost its sting because it is merely a passage from this world to the next – not an end. Jesus taught us that and showed us that in his death and resurrection. That reality is stronger than ever for me.
God did not change because my circumstances have changed.“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 If God was awesome January 23, 2011, before our son died, he was just as awesome January 24 and January 25 and February 16, 2011, after our son died. The same God that loved me before Andrew’s death still loves me and carries me tenderly through this difficult circumstance in my life. In fact, his love has become even more obvious to me as he gently leads me through this valley. I truly believe that God will not take us where he has not gone before us and prepared the way.
Most mothers share two worst fears: losing their spouse and losing a child. I was no exception. Significant separation anxiety was a normal part of my life. God patiently taught and nurtured me year by year and especially for the last 10-15 years has consistently placed people and circumstances in my life to help me deal with my mortality and the mortality of my family and increase my faith and trust in him. In fact a few weeks before our son’s death, I felt God say to me, “I think you are ready. Your trust of me has grown to the point that you could deal with significant loss and still trust my love for you.” I responded with, “Maybe, but I don’t want to try it out.” I always wanted the growth in faith that I saw in people who went through hard times, but didn’t want to go through the hard times to get there.
God in his going before us provided us with many delightful experiences to lessen the blow of losing our son. He tenderly prepared us and has continued to walk with us every step of the way.
Though Andrew lived in another state (12 hours of driving away), using a short Thanksgiving break (Thursday through Sunday), our son made sure he spent time with family and friends as he and his fiancé made a quick about 1,800-mile tour to spend time with her family, his grandparents and great aunt, his parents, friends in two different states, and got back home safely, exhausted but happy. This has become part of our son’s finishing his life on this earth well. He valued family and friends and was, in a way, able to say good-bye. God blessed us with a special sweet memory to hold on to.
A change in plans added two days on to our time spent with Andrew in his apartment from December 24-January 3. We always enjoyed time with him, but these days were especially sweet, filled with good family time, laughter, friends, Christmas joy, and special gifts with meaning. We returned home filled with joy and contentment because of that special time together. Again, this was part of Andrew’s finishing life on this earth well. He valued family and enjoyed spending time together – another sweet memory to hold on to - a special gift of extended time together.
The day prior to his death, Andrew called home and we talked over an hour on the telephone. Conversations with him were always a delight. He and I enjoyed ‘rabbit trailing’ and wandered through many topics, just enjoying each other and loving the sound of each other’s voices. One of the topics was his new Honda Insight. He was telling me how it had a long blind spot, but he figured out how to set the mirrors to eliminate the blind spot all together. He went into great detail about it. How did he know that in just a couple of days I would need to drive his car in heavy Atlanta traffic and would need to know how to set the mirrors to help me? We lingered in our conversation, not wanting to say good-bye. Did our spirits within us know that this would be our last conversation on this earth? Another sweet memory to hold on to – this one with a special detail only God would have known I’d need.
While we were still trying to breathe and wrap our brains around what was happening, family members stepped in and began to carry the ‘detail’ load that we could not think clearly enough to handle. They ordered plane tickets for us and told us when and where to get on the plane. They made lists of things we needed to do and people we needed to speak to including phone numbers to help us stay on track. They chauffeured us through heavy city traffic to appointments with a lawyer, funeral home, medical examiner office, etc. They made sure we were fed, had a place to sleep, and shared memories and cried with us. God provided family to care for us.
Our son’s fiancé and her family were able to be with us the entire week and we cried together, supported each other with many hugs and assurances, and planned how to care for the body and how to honor his wishes with a memorial service of praise and worship and God’s message of hope and salvation shared with all who would come. While we were beginning to develop relationship with the family, that week bonded us for life. God gave us each other to walk through this valley together. We are not alone.
Friends in the state where we chose to bury our son took over the details of the memorial service, making phone calls, designing and printing programs, getting others involved with preparing and serving a meal following the service, parking details, etc. They walked us through the planning as we chose who would speak, sing, lead songs, etc. How precious these friends were as they housed and fed us and walked with us through one of the hardest days of our lives. God provided friends to care for us.
Andrew had written a paper for a college class entitled, “Plans for My Funeral.” One of the things stressed in that paper was that he wanted those who knew his God and Savior to celebrate with him that he was enjoying eternity in heaven. He also wanted to make sure that people heard the Gospel and for any who were not saved, he was asking them to give their hearts and lives to Jesus so they could join him in his eternal home. God led so that about 800 people through 4 separate memorial services heard this message. A video made for extended family who could not be at the service will continue to share this message. God in his infinite wisdom had a plan to honor our son’s request – more than we could imagine!
Andrew had a tender heart for those the world tends to see as problems or of no value. He took up their cause and tried to give them a ‘leg up’ whenever he could. His job was helping jobless people get back into the job market by training and giving them experience. He spent volunteer hours helping homeless people through organizations that feed and care for the homeless. In memory of his tender heart toward those in need, we asked that people send money to one of several shelters rather than flowers. Money continues to come in that we are aware of and there may be more that we are not aware of yet. God is helping those our son would have helped should he still be living.
Yes, God has tenderly held our hearts and souls close to him as he walks with us through this valley of the shadow of death. He has assured us our son is in a better place where we will soon join him. Life is but a breath. Eternity is forever. We believe Andrew is dancing with the angels, playing his drums and singing praises to the one he served while here on this earth. He is in the most joyful place of all. His life and his death have served his Lord and King well.
Yes, our God is an amazing God – worthy of our praise even as we grieve! Lord, keep my eyes open to see your mighty outstretched arm reaching down and tenderly touching our lives with your deep love.
Well done, Andrew. Enjoy your eternal rest with Jesus. We’ll see you soon.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Be Still
The Israelites were in a tough spot – a sea on one side and one of the best, if not the best, armies in the world on the other. Pharaoh took all his ‘super’ chariots (600 of them) plus all his other chariots, horses and horsemen and troops and pursued the Israelites. Could it appear any more bleak for the Israelites? They were losing confidence in Moses and his God – their God – pretty fast. They even thought slavery in Egypt looked better than what was obviously coming – dying in the desert.
Moses encouraged the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the Deliverance the Lord will bring you today… The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
God parted the sea, dried up the ground with his wind and sent the Israelites across while, “The angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.” Exodus 14:19 As the Egyptians pursued them, “The Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving… the Lord swept them into the sea… not one of them survived.” Exodus 14:24-25; 27-28
Sometimes, the circumstances I face in this world seem like a sea on one side and a vast army on the other. I think I need to fight with all my might even though I know I will lose. Then I hear God’s voice, “You need only to be still… The Lord will fight for you.”
When the sea of grief overwhelms me, God is my strength. I trust him to knock the wheels off of the fears that pursue me and drown the armies of discouragement that want to take me down. I see God standing between me and my circumstances, protecting me and guiding me out to the other side while disabling and drowning my enemy.
Today I choose to put my trust in the God that loves me, guides me and goes before me and behind me. He is the “Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:13 He knows the way out and I will follow him.
Moses encouraged the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the Deliverance the Lord will bring you today… The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
God parted the sea, dried up the ground with his wind and sent the Israelites across while, “The angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.” Exodus 14:19 As the Egyptians pursued them, “The Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving… the Lord swept them into the sea… not one of them survived.” Exodus 14:24-25; 27-28
Sometimes, the circumstances I face in this world seem like a sea on one side and a vast army on the other. I think I need to fight with all my might even though I know I will lose. Then I hear God’s voice, “You need only to be still… The Lord will fight for you.”
When the sea of grief overwhelms me, God is my strength. I trust him to knock the wheels off of the fears that pursue me and drown the armies of discouragement that want to take me down. I see God standing between me and my circumstances, protecting me and guiding me out to the other side while disabling and drowning my enemy.
Today I choose to put my trust in the God that loves me, guides me and goes before me and behind me. He is the “Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:13 He knows the way out and I will follow him.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Is God Working or Just Toying with Egypt?
They say if you put a frog in cold water in a pan on the stove and start heating the water, the frog will not jump out. You can take it all the way to boiling and the frog stays there because it is not aware of the change or the danger. I wonder if the Israelites weren’t a bit like that in Egypt… they were losing their relationship with God and getting into the Egyptian culture. It was getting close to boiling and they still weren’t jumping out. They weren’t noticing that they lost their interest in the Covenant with God.
Amazingly, they were even so comfortable in that culture, they didn’t seem to mind being enslaved by it. They just worked hard and kept enjoying the ‘good things’ in Egypt.
After Moses met with Pharaoh and requested they be allowed to go sacrifice, Pharaoh made life even more miserable for them by requiring them to make the same number of bricks without straw provided. They had to gather the straw too. Was God taking the water up to boiling trying to help them see they were living in bondage and needed to leave Egypt? God had promised them they could be free in a land flowing with milk and honey, yet here they were… still in Egypt.
The Israelite people were mad at Moses for making things worse for them. They still didn’t see God working to free them and using Moses to do this. They saw Moses as the bad guy messing up the good thing they had going. God had a huge job getting their attention!
What was God doing while Israel was sweating under the increased load? We know from reading Scripture that God was meeting regularly with Moses and giving him specific things for him and Aaron to do as they met with Pharaoh and went through plague after plague. But what did the Israelites see happening from their perspective? And what was God doing with them while he was sending plague after plague to Egypt?
I think God was getting them ready to leave Egypt, helping them want to leave. He was:
1. Teaching them that they were living as slaves – not as heirs of the Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
2. Teaching Egypt that there was a God and they weren’t it! (Pharaoh’s officials got it before he did! Exodus 10:7)
3. Establishing Moses as their leader. Teaching Moses to lead and the Israelites to follow.
4. Teaching Moses to listen to God’s voice and obey.
5. Teaching Israel that they were special, set apart .
6. Teaching patience in all.
7. Teaching both Israel and Egypt God was a powerful God, able to do far more than they could imagine.
8. Teaching Israel that there would come a time to celebrate and how to do that well.
When they finally left Egypt, the people were ready to go, ready to follow Moses and ready to follow God to their Promised Land.
I wonder what I might be allowing to enslave me, keeping me from the fullness of what God has planned for me. I wonder when things become difficult in my life, do I think God has forgotten me? Or do I look for what he is teaching me to prepare me for the next journey in my life? Even as I walk through my valley of sadness at the sudden death of my 28-year-old son, do I beg God to take away my pain, or do I look for what God is doing to call me even closer to himself – to seek him and follow him with my whole heart?
Sometimes I get impatient and want God to act quickly. But God has a plan for me… “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:11-14
If I can’t see what God is doing, that doesn’t mean he is not doing anything. It means I need to be seeking him with all my hearts so he can show himself to me and I can become part of his solution rather than working against him.
I don’t think God wants us to be too comfortable in our Egypt. He wants us to remember that our Promised Land (heaven) is ahead of us and he wants us to live like the heirs to his kingdom that we are rather than being comfortable living as slaves in this world. Going through a difficult time is sharpening my focus. It is removing distractions and clarifying who I am and where I am going. It is increasing the urgency that others be introduced to my loving God so they can get their journey going in the right direction as well.
Father, fill me with your Spirit of Life and Love. Help me to live my life well so others will seek you and find you and join us in the land that you have promised to all who follow you – our eternal home in heaven. Amen.
Amazingly, they were even so comfortable in that culture, they didn’t seem to mind being enslaved by it. They just worked hard and kept enjoying the ‘good things’ in Egypt.
After Moses met with Pharaoh and requested they be allowed to go sacrifice, Pharaoh made life even more miserable for them by requiring them to make the same number of bricks without straw provided. They had to gather the straw too. Was God taking the water up to boiling trying to help them see they were living in bondage and needed to leave Egypt? God had promised them they could be free in a land flowing with milk and honey, yet here they were… still in Egypt.
The Israelite people were mad at Moses for making things worse for them. They still didn’t see God working to free them and using Moses to do this. They saw Moses as the bad guy messing up the good thing they had going. God had a huge job getting their attention!
What was God doing while Israel was sweating under the increased load? We know from reading Scripture that God was meeting regularly with Moses and giving him specific things for him and Aaron to do as they met with Pharaoh and went through plague after plague. But what did the Israelites see happening from their perspective? And what was God doing with them while he was sending plague after plague to Egypt?
I think God was getting them ready to leave Egypt, helping them want to leave. He was:
1. Teaching them that they were living as slaves – not as heirs of the Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
2. Teaching Egypt that there was a God and they weren’t it! (Pharaoh’s officials got it before he did! Exodus 10:7)
3. Establishing Moses as their leader. Teaching Moses to lead and the Israelites to follow.
4. Teaching Moses to listen to God’s voice and obey.
5. Teaching Israel that they were special, set apart .
6. Teaching patience in all.
7. Teaching both Israel and Egypt God was a powerful God, able to do far more than they could imagine.
8. Teaching Israel that there would come a time to celebrate and how to do that well.
When they finally left Egypt, the people were ready to go, ready to follow Moses and ready to follow God to their Promised Land.
I wonder what I might be allowing to enslave me, keeping me from the fullness of what God has planned for me. I wonder when things become difficult in my life, do I think God has forgotten me? Or do I look for what he is teaching me to prepare me for the next journey in my life? Even as I walk through my valley of sadness at the sudden death of my 28-year-old son, do I beg God to take away my pain, or do I look for what God is doing to call me even closer to himself – to seek him and follow him with my whole heart?
Sometimes I get impatient and want God to act quickly. But God has a plan for me… “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:11-14
If I can’t see what God is doing, that doesn’t mean he is not doing anything. It means I need to be seeking him with all my hearts so he can show himself to me and I can become part of his solution rather than working against him.
I don’t think God wants us to be too comfortable in our Egypt. He wants us to remember that our Promised Land (heaven) is ahead of us and he wants us to live like the heirs to his kingdom that we are rather than being comfortable living as slaves in this world. Going through a difficult time is sharpening my focus. It is removing distractions and clarifying who I am and where I am going. It is increasing the urgency that others be introduced to my loving God so they can get their journey going in the right direction as well.
Father, fill me with your Spirit of Life and Love. Help me to live my life well so others will seek you and find you and join us in the land that you have promised to all who follow you – our eternal home in heaven. Amen.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Called to Serve
We have stories of Moses’ beginning – hidden in a basket, Pharaoh’s daughter finding and adopting him, a glimpse of him killing an Egyptian who was hurting an Israelite and then fleeing when he knew he had been found out. Then there is a big blank spot in his life until the incident of the burning bush. I wonder what Moses’ relationship with God was during that time. Did he talk to God? Did he follow Jewish customs he had been taught while his mother was caring for him for Pharaoh’s daughter? How much would a young boy remember?
Yet, when God spoke to him from the burning bush, Moses answered, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4 Obviously, there was some relationship there. God went on to introduce himself as the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6 Moses had obviously been taught enough to know the stories of his ancestors, because he hid his face afraid to look at God.
God then told him that he was going to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and send them back to the land promised Abraham in the Covenant. And he said to Moses, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 I would suppose that would be a pretty terrifying thought to Moses to have to go back to Pharaoh. He had killed an Egyptian, run for his life, and thought he was doing okay with Jethro, his father-in-law, and his wife Zipporah and their son. He also didn’t see himself as being so eloquent in speech – the leader type.
God didn’t except Moses’ excuses. He said, “I have come down to rescue them,” Exodus 3:8; “I will be with you,” Exodus 3:12; and “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:12
Though Moses went with a lot of apprehension, he went. God called and he went. When I think about what he accomplished in the years to follow, it is staggering. He became one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was one who appeared with Jesus in the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13).
I wonder how God could take a timid person who ran from trouble and make him into that kind of a leader. It seems it was a relationship built over time. It began with God calling and Moses saying, “Here I am.”
Since our son’s death, God has continued to fill me with his Spirit and words flow from my mouth as I interact with others, comforting, encouraging, teaching that we don’t need to ask why, but rather we need to ask God what he is doing here and how can I glorify him in this circumstance in my life. Yet, when a friend mentions I should be doing public speaking, I find myself recoiling and saying that is something I am not good at. I can’t do that. Then I hear the Lord’s answers to Moses… I am sending you, I will be with you, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. And I wonder if I am called, will I say, “Here I am,” or will I run the other way and hide?
Peter was a little different than Moses in personality. Peter thought he could do anything and was quick to speak when he thought he had something to say. He appeared to have no fear when he was with his friends. He was impulsive and whole-hearted at whatever he did. Peter is the one who jumped out of the boat and walked on water to meet Jesus. Matthew 14:29-30 He did okay until he looked back at what he thought his reality was… the boat tossing in the wind. Then he began to sink and cried out, “Lord save me!” Matthew 14:30 “Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:31
And I wonder, what is my boat in the wind that I look back at? What do I tether myself to for safety? Am I willing to say, “Here I am,” and keep my eyes on Jesus and keep walking toward him no matter what is under my feet? No matter what he calls me to do or say? Can I trust him to give me the words if he calls me to speak? Can I trust him to hold me up when my knees are bending and my voice is shaking?
He has already showed himself faithful to me in many ways in this life journey I am on. I am confident that he does not take me where he has not prepared the way for me to go. Yes, even as I walk through this journey of losing my 28-year-old son, he has prepared the way. And he walks beside us and he goes before us, comforting, strengthening, encouraging and providing opportunities to witness to others of the goodness of God, his love and his mercy and his grace. To God be the Glory!
Lord make me your servant today, confident that I can follow you wherever you lead me and that your will can and will be done through me as I make myself available to you. Amen
Yet, when God spoke to him from the burning bush, Moses answered, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4 Obviously, there was some relationship there. God went on to introduce himself as the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6 Moses had obviously been taught enough to know the stories of his ancestors, because he hid his face afraid to look at God.
God then told him that he was going to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and send them back to the land promised Abraham in the Covenant. And he said to Moses, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 I would suppose that would be a pretty terrifying thought to Moses to have to go back to Pharaoh. He had killed an Egyptian, run for his life, and thought he was doing okay with Jethro, his father-in-law, and his wife Zipporah and their son. He also didn’t see himself as being so eloquent in speech – the leader type.
God didn’t except Moses’ excuses. He said, “I have come down to rescue them,” Exodus 3:8; “I will be with you,” Exodus 3:12; and “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:12
Though Moses went with a lot of apprehension, he went. God called and he went. When I think about what he accomplished in the years to follow, it is staggering. He became one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was one who appeared with Jesus in the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13).
I wonder how God could take a timid person who ran from trouble and make him into that kind of a leader. It seems it was a relationship built over time. It began with God calling and Moses saying, “Here I am.”
Since our son’s death, God has continued to fill me with his Spirit and words flow from my mouth as I interact with others, comforting, encouraging, teaching that we don’t need to ask why, but rather we need to ask God what he is doing here and how can I glorify him in this circumstance in my life. Yet, when a friend mentions I should be doing public speaking, I find myself recoiling and saying that is something I am not good at. I can’t do that. Then I hear the Lord’s answers to Moses… I am sending you, I will be with you, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. And I wonder if I am called, will I say, “Here I am,” or will I run the other way and hide?
Peter was a little different than Moses in personality. Peter thought he could do anything and was quick to speak when he thought he had something to say. He appeared to have no fear when he was with his friends. He was impulsive and whole-hearted at whatever he did. Peter is the one who jumped out of the boat and walked on water to meet Jesus. Matthew 14:29-30 He did okay until he looked back at what he thought his reality was… the boat tossing in the wind. Then he began to sink and cried out, “Lord save me!” Matthew 14:30 “Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:31
And I wonder, what is my boat in the wind that I look back at? What do I tether myself to for safety? Am I willing to say, “Here I am,” and keep my eyes on Jesus and keep walking toward him no matter what is under my feet? No matter what he calls me to do or say? Can I trust him to give me the words if he calls me to speak? Can I trust him to hold me up when my knees are bending and my voice is shaking?
He has already showed himself faithful to me in many ways in this life journey I am on. I am confident that he does not take me where he has not prepared the way for me to go. Yes, even as I walk through this journey of losing my 28-year-old son, he has prepared the way. And he walks beside us and he goes before us, comforting, strengthening, encouraging and providing opportunities to witness to others of the goodness of God, his love and his mercy and his grace. To God be the Glory!
Lord make me your servant today, confident that I can follow you wherever you lead me and that your will can and will be done through me as I make myself available to you. Amen
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Egypt: The Good Life?
Joseph went from slavery to being second only to Pharaoh and had control and power and prestige in the land of Egypt. When his brothers came looking for food during the famine, Joseph was able to forgive them and invited them to bring his father down and live in Egypt during the famine. It seems that the Israelites enjoyed living in Egypt. It became comfortable for them and they didn’t return to the land that was promised to them through the Covenant with God. Very likely, Joseph had responsibilities that he didn’t want to walk away from. It felt pretty good being in power after being sold as a slave. And his brothers and their families enjoyed the ‘good life’ provided them in Egypt.
But what of God’s Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob during that time? I don’t think the Israelites purposefully forgot the Covenant… they just lingered in Egypt because it was comfortable. God remembered the Covenant. I wonder if that may be why the Israelites were made slaves in Egypt. God was trying to make them uncomfortable so they would remember the Covenant he had with them. They belonged somewhere else – not in Egypt.
As time went on, the favor Joseph and his family had with Pharaoh was lost as new Pharaohs came into power. The Israelites became a stench in the eyes of the Egyptians. Was it because they were consuming the wealth of the Egyptians? Maybe the Egyptians didn’t ever really like having them there and finally the Pharaoh who liked Joseph died and there was no one to protect them anymore.
Whatever the reason, the Israelites found themselves slaves in a foreign land. “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.” Exodus 2:23-24
I wonder when I am comfortable… what ‘good things’ have made me into a slave? When I get to the end of a day, does God say, “Well done good and faithful servant”? Or do I have regrets that I allowed some things in my day to consume me and keep me from being the Lord’s servant?
‘Stuff’ accumulates in our home. And then we need to take time to manage the ‘stuff’ around us. Does God mean for me to have all that ‘stuff’ or would he rather I share the blessings with others and have less ‘stuff’ to manage so I can have more time to build relationships with others? Have I become a slave to my ‘stuff’? Sometimes we go camping and it is so refreshing to just have a few simple things to deal with. I often come back thinking I need to back a truck up to the door and start shoveling! Did God send the Israelites on a camping trip to help them see they didn’t need so much ‘stuff’ or the comforts of this world?
Jesus tried to help us with this one… “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34
Today I choose to not be a slave to things in this world, but rather a servant to the God who will meet all of my needs. I choose to not look back to Egypt for comfort, but to God for Covenant – the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ when he died on the cross and rose again. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still around. He is still ready to build Covenant with anyone who will choose to follow him. Will I be a “Moses” and point people back to the New Covenant established by Christ even as I walk closely with him allowing him to transform my life daily? Or will I be an “Israelite from Egypt” who comes willingly, but then kicks and screams every time it gets a little tough? Another choice is to not come at all. How sad that some people choose to remain in their slavery even when they are offered a way out.
May God give me a tender heart filled with wisdom through his Holy Spirit to teach and bring along any who need to learn to follow him out of their slavery and into freedom in Christ.
But what of God’s Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob during that time? I don’t think the Israelites purposefully forgot the Covenant… they just lingered in Egypt because it was comfortable. God remembered the Covenant. I wonder if that may be why the Israelites were made slaves in Egypt. God was trying to make them uncomfortable so they would remember the Covenant he had with them. They belonged somewhere else – not in Egypt.
As time went on, the favor Joseph and his family had with Pharaoh was lost as new Pharaohs came into power. The Israelites became a stench in the eyes of the Egyptians. Was it because they were consuming the wealth of the Egyptians? Maybe the Egyptians didn’t ever really like having them there and finally the Pharaoh who liked Joseph died and there was no one to protect them anymore.
Whatever the reason, the Israelites found themselves slaves in a foreign land. “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.” Exodus 2:23-24
I wonder when I am comfortable… what ‘good things’ have made me into a slave? When I get to the end of a day, does God say, “Well done good and faithful servant”? Or do I have regrets that I allowed some things in my day to consume me and keep me from being the Lord’s servant?
‘Stuff’ accumulates in our home. And then we need to take time to manage the ‘stuff’ around us. Does God mean for me to have all that ‘stuff’ or would he rather I share the blessings with others and have less ‘stuff’ to manage so I can have more time to build relationships with others? Have I become a slave to my ‘stuff’? Sometimes we go camping and it is so refreshing to just have a few simple things to deal with. I often come back thinking I need to back a truck up to the door and start shoveling! Did God send the Israelites on a camping trip to help them see they didn’t need so much ‘stuff’ or the comforts of this world?
Jesus tried to help us with this one… “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34
Today I choose to not be a slave to things in this world, but rather a servant to the God who will meet all of my needs. I choose to not look back to Egypt for comfort, but to God for Covenant – the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ when he died on the cross and rose again. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still around. He is still ready to build Covenant with anyone who will choose to follow him. Will I be a “Moses” and point people back to the New Covenant established by Christ even as I walk closely with him allowing him to transform my life daily? Or will I be an “Israelite from Egypt” who comes willingly, but then kicks and screams every time it gets a little tough? Another choice is to not come at all. How sad that some people choose to remain in their slavery even when they are offered a way out.
May God give me a tender heart filled with wisdom through his Holy Spirit to teach and bring along any who need to learn to follow him out of their slavery and into freedom in Christ.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven!
Andrew, my 28-year-old son died suddenly 11 days ago. It took me about two days to start breathing again after we received the calls, first from his fiancé saying they were asking for medical history (obviously, he was unconscious) and then from the hospital administrator and doctor telling us they had done all they could do. They couldn’t even tell me that he had died… just that they had done all that they could do. I asked them, “Are you telling me he didn’t make it?” The doctor said, “Yes.” I don’t think she even said, “I’m sorry.” That would admit guilt should we decide to sue the hospital and doctor for negligence. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12
I could hear his fiancé sobbing in the background. We were 800 miles away, yet I longed to hug her and grieve with her. They assured us a chaplain was with her and we made a call to a family member living in the area to go be with her as well. They also assured us her parents were on the way there to be with her.
There is no way one can prepare the mind to accept this kind of information. We walked in circles not knowing what to do… trying to breathe… trying not to faint… Then I felt it... ministering angels. A song entered my mind… “Blessed be the name of the Lord… You give and take away… Still I will choose to say… Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Yes, Andrew was a gift from the Lord. We knew that when he was conceived. We dedicated him to the Lord when he was an infant. We taught him all about the Lord and taught him to read his Bible and follow Jesus. We released him to the Lord as an adult to serve where God called him… even if that was very dangerous. God and I had many talks about that. We didn’t expect his heart to just stop. That kind of death never entered our minds. Yet, he is the Lord’s… He always was and will continue to be.
Once we were past the initial shock, we began to weep for our loss, yet rejoice that Andrew was with Jesus. I guess God wanted Andrew’s great smile and cheerfulness in heaven. I imagine he is singing “Hallelujah” at the top of his lungs – in full harmony of course. He immediately cast his many crowns at Jesus’ feet and said, “I am your servant… do with me as you please.” Luke 1:38 paraphrased That was his life verse. Andrew took risks to love and serve others – risks that most of us would not take. Yet it was not those risks that took him from us.
Somehow, I believe that even in his leaving us, Andrew has asked many angels to surround those he loves here on earth. With him in heaven, it seems that heaven isn’t so far away… the Spiritual realm is almost palpable. God’s kingdom is here on earth as it is in heaven. When we choose to be part of his kingdom here, the only thing that separates us from his heavenly kingdom is death of our mortal bodies.
Death is not what God wanted for us… it is what Eve chose… it is what we choose every time we go our way instead of God’s way… it is what we choose every time we act on our knowledge rather than God’s wisdom. Jesus wept over death. He wept when Lazarus died. He had compassion and raised the dead son of a widow as the funeral procession passed by. God is a God of life. He invites us to choose life. “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess… Now choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20
And so, I have lived through my worst fear – losing a family member – and yet, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:10-11 And each day, he gives us the manna we need, the grace we need, and the breath we need for this world.
We grieve… but not as the world grieves. We have hope and knowledge of eternity with Jesus in heaven. And we look forward to the day we walk through heaven’s gates and Andrew will be standing with Jesus and he will flash that great smile and give us a hug and say with Jesus, “Welcome home!” I can hardly wait… But God still has things for me to do on this earth and I will say with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant…”
I could hear his fiancé sobbing in the background. We were 800 miles away, yet I longed to hug her and grieve with her. They assured us a chaplain was with her and we made a call to a family member living in the area to go be with her as well. They also assured us her parents were on the way there to be with her.
There is no way one can prepare the mind to accept this kind of information. We walked in circles not knowing what to do… trying to breathe… trying not to faint… Then I felt it... ministering angels. A song entered my mind… “Blessed be the name of the Lord… You give and take away… Still I will choose to say… Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Yes, Andrew was a gift from the Lord. We knew that when he was conceived. We dedicated him to the Lord when he was an infant. We taught him all about the Lord and taught him to read his Bible and follow Jesus. We released him to the Lord as an adult to serve where God called him… even if that was very dangerous. God and I had many talks about that. We didn’t expect his heart to just stop. That kind of death never entered our minds. Yet, he is the Lord’s… He always was and will continue to be.
Once we were past the initial shock, we began to weep for our loss, yet rejoice that Andrew was with Jesus. I guess God wanted Andrew’s great smile and cheerfulness in heaven. I imagine he is singing “Hallelujah” at the top of his lungs – in full harmony of course. He immediately cast his many crowns at Jesus’ feet and said, “I am your servant… do with me as you please.” Luke 1:38 paraphrased That was his life verse. Andrew took risks to love and serve others – risks that most of us would not take. Yet it was not those risks that took him from us.
Somehow, I believe that even in his leaving us, Andrew has asked many angels to surround those he loves here on earth. With him in heaven, it seems that heaven isn’t so far away… the Spiritual realm is almost palpable. God’s kingdom is here on earth as it is in heaven. When we choose to be part of his kingdom here, the only thing that separates us from his heavenly kingdom is death of our mortal bodies.
Death is not what God wanted for us… it is what Eve chose… it is what we choose every time we go our way instead of God’s way… it is what we choose every time we act on our knowledge rather than God’s wisdom. Jesus wept over death. He wept when Lazarus died. He had compassion and raised the dead son of a widow as the funeral procession passed by. God is a God of life. He invites us to choose life. “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess… Now choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20
And so, I have lived through my worst fear – losing a family member – and yet, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:10-11 And each day, he gives us the manna we need, the grace we need, and the breath we need for this world.
We grieve… but not as the world grieves. We have hope and knowledge of eternity with Jesus in heaven. And we look forward to the day we walk through heaven’s gates and Andrew will be standing with Jesus and he will flash that great smile and give us a hug and say with Jesus, “Welcome home!” I can hardly wait… But God still has things for me to do on this earth and I will say with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant…”
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Deceit of Wealth
Interesting discussions can come from rewriting history in our imaginations. What if the USA government had responded differently to the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon? Would we be at war today? What if General Lee had not joined the Confederate army but had joined President Lincoln in the north? What if Hitler had not been elected to leadership in Germany? And what if the Israelites hadn’t stayed in Egypt after the famine?
God had called Abraham away from the wealth in Ur and made a covenant with him promising him descendants as numerous as the sand of the seashore and the stars in the heavens. God’s instructions to Abraham were, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
Abraham took a few detours on the way, but in the end, he got to Canaan, the land God showed him. When there was a famine, he went to Egypt. (Jacob did the same many years later.) Pharaoh sent Abraham on his way so Abraham didn’t get stuck in Egypt as Jacob and his sons did much later. I wonder if Abraham would have stayed in Egypt had Pharaoh not sent him away.
Through time, Abraham began to understand more and more about what God was asking of him and when it came time for Isaac to get a wife, he made it very clear that whatever happened, his son Isaac was not to go back to where they came from. He sent a servant to go back to get a wife from his relatives, but Isaac was to stay. I wonder why it was so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back. Was it because the wealth of Ur he had left behind could deceive him and keep him from coming back to Canaan where he belonged?
Jacob left Canaan after he made his brother so mad he wanted to kill him – all that over a birthright and blessings. Funny thing is that in the end, Jacob didn’t need the birthright – the inheritance from his father. He did quite well for himself working for Laban for 20 years. God spoke to Jacob and told him to return to Canaan. When he returned, he brought with him wives, children, and large herds of livestock.
But in his old age, when famine struck again, Jacob and his family went to Egypt where Joseph had prepared the way for them and they were well cared for. “Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours,” Pharaoh instructed Joseph to tell his family. Before Jacob died, he made it clear that his sons were not to stay in Egypt, but to return to the land God had promised them. He said to Joseph, “God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” Genesis 48:22
Joseph had a decision to make. The others would listen to him. He could stay where he was with all the authority and power and wealth of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, or he could return to Canaan where God had instructed Abraham to go, where Isaac had stayed, where his father Jacob had returned and prospered, and where Jacob was now telling him to return. It seems Joseph could not walk away from everything he had in Egypt. They continued to stay even after the famine was over. And they prospered in the land.
Yet, when Joseph died, he asked his family to make sure his bones got back to the land God had promised Abraham. He told them, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” Genesis 50:25
If they were prospering, why would God need to come to their aid? Is it possible Joseph foresaw the slavery that was to come? Is it possible that he even saw the slavery to wealth that was already there? I wonder if on his deathbed, Joseph wished he had had the courage to leave Egypt and go back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
And so, I wonder… Would the Israelites have had to become slaves in Egypt and wonder in the desert 40 years if they had not lingered so long in Egypt? If they had been willing to give up the wealth they thought they wanted and return to the promise God had given them, could they have avoided all those years of pain and instead have experienced God’s peace?
And I wonder… Would Canaan have been as settled by the other nations and would the Israelites have had to fight so much for the land they were to occupy if they had stayed there in the first place? Were the years after returning harder because they had stayed away so long?
Moses left Egypt. And once he was away from it for a while, his vision was cleared and he was able to hear God’s voice. And God sent him back to rescue the rest of Israel and lead them out. Even though they had been enslaved, the Israelites left kicking and screaming. Their tantrums cost them 40 more years of desert time. And it was their children, who grew up not knowing Egypt, that were finally able to move on to the Promised Land.
I have a friend who is going through a very hard time with a family crisis that has gone on for many months and just can’t seem to end. This friend asked me, “Why is it taking so long to get through this?” And I wonder… Is it because your heart has been deceived by wealth and power and you have not yet learned to yield and let God have control? How much of this struggle could be avoided if God was allowed to have his way instead of trying to get to peace on earth your way using wealth and power?
And I wonder, day by day, how often my struggles are related to whether my eyes are on Egypt (this world’s goods) or on my Father, seeking his wisdom and power. Wealth is so deceitful. It promises everything, but delivers nothing. Yet the human race has been beguiled by it from the beginning of time.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“And my God will meet all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” II Corinthians 9:8
May God’s grace and provision abound as we seek him daily in life.
God had called Abraham away from the wealth in Ur and made a covenant with him promising him descendants as numerous as the sand of the seashore and the stars in the heavens. God’s instructions to Abraham were, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
Abraham took a few detours on the way, but in the end, he got to Canaan, the land God showed him. When there was a famine, he went to Egypt. (Jacob did the same many years later.) Pharaoh sent Abraham on his way so Abraham didn’t get stuck in Egypt as Jacob and his sons did much later. I wonder if Abraham would have stayed in Egypt had Pharaoh not sent him away.
Through time, Abraham began to understand more and more about what God was asking of him and when it came time for Isaac to get a wife, he made it very clear that whatever happened, his son Isaac was not to go back to where they came from. He sent a servant to go back to get a wife from his relatives, but Isaac was to stay. I wonder why it was so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back. Was it because the wealth of Ur he had left behind could deceive him and keep him from coming back to Canaan where he belonged?
Jacob left Canaan after he made his brother so mad he wanted to kill him – all that over a birthright and blessings. Funny thing is that in the end, Jacob didn’t need the birthright – the inheritance from his father. He did quite well for himself working for Laban for 20 years. God spoke to Jacob and told him to return to Canaan. When he returned, he brought with him wives, children, and large herds of livestock.
But in his old age, when famine struck again, Jacob and his family went to Egypt where Joseph had prepared the way for them and they were well cared for. “Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours,” Pharaoh instructed Joseph to tell his family. Before Jacob died, he made it clear that his sons were not to stay in Egypt, but to return to the land God had promised them. He said to Joseph, “God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” Genesis 48:22
Joseph had a decision to make. The others would listen to him. He could stay where he was with all the authority and power and wealth of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, or he could return to Canaan where God had instructed Abraham to go, where Isaac had stayed, where his father Jacob had returned and prospered, and where Jacob was now telling him to return. It seems Joseph could not walk away from everything he had in Egypt. They continued to stay even after the famine was over. And they prospered in the land.
Yet, when Joseph died, he asked his family to make sure his bones got back to the land God had promised Abraham. He told them, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” Genesis 50:25
If they were prospering, why would God need to come to their aid? Is it possible Joseph foresaw the slavery that was to come? Is it possible that he even saw the slavery to wealth that was already there? I wonder if on his deathbed, Joseph wished he had had the courage to leave Egypt and go back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
And so, I wonder… Would the Israelites have had to become slaves in Egypt and wonder in the desert 40 years if they had not lingered so long in Egypt? If they had been willing to give up the wealth they thought they wanted and return to the promise God had given them, could they have avoided all those years of pain and instead have experienced God’s peace?
And I wonder… Would Canaan have been as settled by the other nations and would the Israelites have had to fight so much for the land they were to occupy if they had stayed there in the first place? Were the years after returning harder because they had stayed away so long?
Moses left Egypt. And once he was away from it for a while, his vision was cleared and he was able to hear God’s voice. And God sent him back to rescue the rest of Israel and lead them out. Even though they had been enslaved, the Israelites left kicking and screaming. Their tantrums cost them 40 more years of desert time. And it was their children, who grew up not knowing Egypt, that were finally able to move on to the Promised Land.
I have a friend who is going through a very hard time with a family crisis that has gone on for many months and just can’t seem to end. This friend asked me, “Why is it taking so long to get through this?” And I wonder… Is it because your heart has been deceived by wealth and power and you have not yet learned to yield and let God have control? How much of this struggle could be avoided if God was allowed to have his way instead of trying to get to peace on earth your way using wealth and power?
And I wonder, day by day, how often my struggles are related to whether my eyes are on Egypt (this world’s goods) or on my Father, seeking his wisdom and power. Wealth is so deceitful. It promises everything, but delivers nothing. Yet the human race has been beguiled by it from the beginning of time.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“And my God will meet all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” II Corinthians 9:8
May God’s grace and provision abound as we seek him daily in life.
Monday, January 17, 2011
As Usual
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.
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.
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.
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