Here I Stand

Job’s friends were without mercy! The kept telling him God wouldn’t be punishing him if he hadn’t done something wrong. Job is in pain – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He is grieving deeply and doesn’t understand why all this has happened to him, but he does believe he is in God’s hands. Job begins his response to his friends with sarcasm. “You know everything, don’t you?” In his pain Job tries to help his friends see how they are hurting him, not helping him! “People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.” Job 12:5 NLT.

Job is frustrated with his friends who are speaking from their own wisdom and not God’s wisdom. He would prefer them to remain silent! He asks them, “Are you defending God with lies?” As though God needs to be defended! He tells them their “platitudes are as valuable as ashes,” and their “defense is as fragile as a clay pot.” Job 13:12 NLT This is so full of warning to self-righteousness! Job teaches us what it means to fear God. “Doesn’t His majesty terrify you? Doesn’t your fear of Him overwhelm you?” Job understands that God is powerful and that his friends could be next and not know it! They believe they are protected by their “right living.”

When we speak from a place of self-righteousness, we are believing it is our good works that protect us. Job understands it is God who protects us and allows us to suffer. He is miserable and he wants relief. He wants so badly to talk with God about what he feels is an injustice visited on him that he says, “God might kill me, but I have no other hope.” Job 13:15 NLT Job understands his vulnerability before God – the God who gives breath and knows the number of our days. Job is in a submissive position – like a dog on his back with his belly exposed. He fully trusts God and yet understands God has full authority and power over his very life.

Psalm 14 reminds us that none of us are righteous in our own right. We all need God! Psalm 15 says, “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?” And then answers … those who speak truth with sincere hearts, refuse to gossip, refuse to harm neighbors, refuse to speak evil of friends… keep promises even when it hurts, lend money without interest, cannot be bribed to lie. While we are busy being self-righteous in our churches, how many of these places do we fail? In the past couple of months, I have seen lies, gossip, harm, and more in our little church alone. How many churches struggle with this? Lord, come and convict us and turn us around! We want to worship you with all our heart and we need to prepare ourselves to do this with repentance!

Self-righteousness is never fruitful. It judges others and harms them without understanding the pain and suffering the other is enduring. It says, “If you live right and make good decisions, no harm will come to you.” And it doesn’t take into account where God is working and that there is an evil force in the world that brings much pain to its victims. Job makes me ask the question, “How can I catch someone who is stumbling rather than push them on down?” What does this look like in our church? In our family? In our neighborhood? Lord, give me eyes to see and wisdom filled with love and mercy to care for those around me and help them get back up!

 

The Battle Rages On

As a follower of Christ, I live in a constant tension. As I am transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ, I fit less and less into the world. Yet, my calling is clear: “Go and make disciples…” says Jesus as He is about to ascend into heaven. We are in a spiritual war. And while we know the outcome (our highest-ranking officer, King Jesus Christ, declared victory when He rose from the dead!), currently the battle rages on and will until the day of His return. That means we are soldiers – some with special units that have special tasks, some with support roles, some on the lines and in the trenches, some spying out the land, some in hand-to-hand combat, some binding wounds and performing surgeries to the injured, some leading and giving commands, some following and working hard toward the victory that is to come.

When there is conflict in the ranks, it brings great devastation to the immediate battles and the strategies of the commanding officers are undermined and everyone is at risk. That is why Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is for unity. We all know that when we are in battle, unity is extremely important. We move as a unit. We cover each other’s backs. We have a common objective.

So I wonder, what does this look like in the church? In the past few months, I have 4 friends who have all lost spouses, 3 to cancer, 1 to a lifetime battle with physical challenges. Each of these individuals are soldiers in God’s army. They have giftings and special assignments. But they are temporarily disabled by severe grief. They are among the wounded. I have another friend who has lost a job and is struggling with confidence. He is among the wounded. I have other friends who have had surgeries and are among the wounded. And still others who have been in abusive relationships and find themselves separated or divorced. And another who was in a severe accident and is recovering from many physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. And there are those who for various health reasons cannot be out on the front. They are not on active duty.

Our objective is to make disciples. Our environment is hostile – in some cases so hostile that our lives are physically endangered. For now, I find myself serving among the wounded. I am on special assignment to go out to the battlefield and bring back the wounded and dress their wounds and do whatever it takes to bring the wounded to a place of healing and help them get back into full service. The Apostle Paul talks frequently about the Church being the body of Christ with many parts. When one part suffers, we all suffer and when one part rejoices, we all rejoice, says Paul in I Corinthians 12. He encourages us to, take care of each other to keep the body strong. When we are living in unity, bringing healing balms to the sick and weary, we strengthen each other – build up the body so we can be a formidable front to the enemy.

Holy Father, sometimes we get battle weary. Sometimes we get angry with those who have fallen and push them out rather than restoring them and strengthening them to bring them back into the battle. Help us, Lord, to be the body of soldiers you have called us to be – to move as one unit and take enemy territory for you! Help us to hear our assignments each day, to obey them and to live in the victory you have already won! Thank you for your constant presence with us guiding us through the rough terrain and bringing us safely home. Amen.

 

Whatever You Ask

I live in a country where political unrest has not been a big deal in my lifetime. Yet in the last 40 years, I have watched polarization to the extremes grow and grow. For the first time in my awareness, we have an election still not declared weeks after the casting of votes. Usually, it is declared almost immediately. My heart and mind are now ready to read God’s Word in a different light. I have been shaken out of my comfort and ability to plod through life without much attention to the greater concerns. In the past, I would say, “Let the politicians handle that. I will concern myself with my immediate family and work and maybe my community from time to time.”

The word that is heavy in my mind this morning is “prayer”. Jerusalem was in ruins. Nehemiah, along with many others, was in captivity and he was serving as cup bearer to the king of the nation that was in control. When he heard news of the condition of his beloved Jerusalem, he was distraught. He didn’t just go to the king and tell him he would need to find another cup bearer because he, Nehemiah, was going to go back to Jerusalem to restore the gates and walls. His life could have been taken from him for even thinking such a thing. Long before the ask, Nehemiah began to pray and fast. He talked to God about the situation, but more than that, he talked to God about the condition of his heart and the heart of his people. He praised God for his awesome power and faithfulness. He confessed his sin and the sin of his people. He reminded God that the covenant between Him and His people declared that if they returned to Him, He would restore them to the land He had brought them to. He asked for favor from the king. This went on for several months and it effected his countenance. Apparently, he had a good relationship with the king because the king took notice that he wasn’t his usual happy self and inquired about it. In his journal, Nehemiah confesses he was terrified to answer the king. As he prayed and fasted, God had been giving him a strategy, but it was huge and unheard of to ask a king to help him rebuild the gates and walls of a city that had been conquered.

Yet, as we read Nehemiah’s journal, we see that he was not only released to go, provisions were made for him and for the rebuilding of the wall and the gates. In his prayers, he had asked God for the king’s favor and he was granted huge favor from the king!

But it was not easy. There was a lot of resistance. And the people were constantly being intimidated by the opposition. False prophets appeared to discourage them. How was Nehemiah able to discern the false prophets from the true ones? I don’t imagine he quit praying once the building was underway.

People came to him saying they were in need. They were having to sell their daughters as slaves to have enough food to eat. They had already mortgaged their houses and land and had nothing else to mortgage. Apparently, it was mortgaged to a few wealthy leaders in the community and Nehemiah was angry! That was not God’s way. They were not to be taxing the people, but rather helping them. He accused the leaders of selling their people into slavery after he had been doing all he could to redeem them from slavery to foreigners. To avoid being mocked by enemy nations, he asked the wealthy to restore the property and homes to the rightful owners and quit charging interest. Nehemiah knew that justice for the oppressed was very close to God’s heart. What is amazing is that the wealthy agreed and did restore property and homes to the people.

Nehemiah did not tax the people in order to provide for his own table that fed 150 Jewish officials and visitors to the land on a daily basis. He led by example and people followed.

He was successful in rebuilding the wall. His success came not through his own genius and wealth. It came through a humble spirit committed to prayer and fasting to the God who had the power to make it happen.

Many years later, Jesus would sit with his disciples and teach them the power of prayer through His own example and words. Jesus was in the habit of going up on the mountain to pray each morning. He taught the disciples that God would do anything they asked if they would “remain or abide in Him.” They were to love each other. And through that, they would glorify the Father and produce “lasting fruit.”

So I wonder, what does it mean to “remain or abide in Him?” And what is “lasting fruit?”

And I begin to imagine. If one man, Nehemiah, could pray and fast and receive the king’s favor for a big ask and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, what could I, one person, accomplish if I began to pray and fast about the injustices around me. First would God reveal to me the particular injustices (for there are many) that He would want me to address? Would He give me strategy to begin to address them? And what if several believers would meet together and pray and fast? What desires and strategies would God place in their hearts to do? And if His Church would be united in fasting and praying, what then might be accomplished that would be “unheard of” and would bring great glory to the Father? What if we stopped protecting our own interests and “loved each other” as Christ loved us – even being willing to give His life for us? What then might our nation and our world look like?

Holy Father, you are an awesome God, full of power, mercy and grace. You have been faithful to us even when we have been less than faithful to you. We confess that we have not loved each other as you have asked us to do, but have trampled on each other trying to get more for ourselves. We repent and ask you to forgive us and restore us to being the children you have called us to be – children who seek your face and carry out your mission to reconcile the world to yourself. Give us strategy and favor Lord, that we might serve you by serving each other and bring glory and honor to your name, the name above every other name. It is in the powerful name of Jesus we ask these things. Amen.

Being Disciples So We Can Make Disciples

COVID-19. USA elections 2020. Just reading/hearing/typing those words brings all kinds of thoughts to the troubled minds of most of us trying to navigate the changes and havoc it has brought into our lives. Rather than keep asking God “Why?” and imploring Him to make it go away, what if we asked the questions, “What do you want to do with this, God?” and “What do you want me to do as a result of this, God?” Maybe it is time to let our minds run free and let God reposition us to fulfill His command to “Go and make disciples.”

I recently listened to Dr. Lucas Leys' talk about the learning and teaching process as it relates to our churches and teaching/discipling believers. He noted that church-going Christians average listening to 50 sermons a year in our churches. But research shows us that the daily life of Christians who attend church vs. people in general is very similar – only a couple percentage points difference. This would indicate that most of us are not absorbing/learning what is being taught in our churches – or what is being taught is not transformational. We accept the salvation through Jesus Christ, but don’t submit ourselves to His lordship in our lives. We refuse to be discipled and transformed by the Gospel that saves us!

James tells us, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1:22-25 NLT (my emphasis).

This is not just a New Testament teaching. This morning, I found this nugget tucked in II Chronicles 24:20 NLT. “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!” I wondered about the full meaning of the word translated as “prospering.” It is a rich word as many Hebrew words are, and it takes many English words to translate the full meaning of it. Here is what Strong’s Definitions says about the word: “to push forward, in various senses (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive):—break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper(-ity, -ous, -ously).”

As I read that passage, I found myself weeping and mourning at the state of the nation of Judah. They had come through and era where the king listened to a priest and had brought the country into a time of peace and prosperity. But when the priest died, King Joash began to listen to other people and opened up the kingdom to worshiping other gods and in the end, stoned Zechariah for prophesying those words. I pondered the parallels of our nation as we have watched Christians go from making Jesus Lord to making politics lord in their lives. Christians who try to speak out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ are frequently “stoned” verbally even by other Christians. And I weep as I realize that few people are allowing the “Lord’s commands” to dwell deeply in us and transform us to be Christ-like in our attitudes, words, and behaviors.

I continue to ponder this and wonder if the problem is that we don’t read and respect the “owner’s manual” that came from the Creator of the world. It starts from a place of believing that God created the world and everything in it. If He created it, it would stand to reason that He knows best how it should operate and what makes it operate smoothly. He gave us annotated instructions and as Zechariah the priest said, when we disobey the Lord’s commands (instructions) we keep ourselves from prospering – moving forward, breaking out, coming mightily, being profitable, prospering!

Oh Lord! I confess that we do not read, learn from and follow your words of wisdom and instruction you have given us. And now we find ourselves in a huge mess! Lord, create in us a hunger for you that leads us to your Word. Change us! Remake us from the mess we have made with ourselves into the disciples you desire for us to be – so we can run smoothly, operate as we are designed to operate, and prosper in the world you created for us and in which you placed us. It is not just about our nation, but about our very souls. Meet with us and change us for your Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven! Amen.

 

Temptations Got You Down?

Temptations are real. We all struggle with them every day. But I wonder, why some people give in more quickly than others. Then there is Jesus. After 40 days of fasting, He still did not give into the temptation to make a rock into bread. Why? He did not give into the temptation for power over all nations. Why? He did not give into the temptation to jump from a high place and prove He was special. Why?

I have studied those temptations may times and from many angles. Today, I saw something different as I was reading the passage in Luke 4. I was hearing John 13:3-5 playing in the background of my mind. “Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.” (NLT)

As I read through the temptations one at a time, I began to understand more why Jesus was victorious over these temptations. The devil started the temptations with three words, “If you are….” And I begin to wonder, do all temptations begin there? At the core of every temptation is the question, “Who am I?”

First, Jesus was tempted to prove He was the Son of God by doing the miracle of turning the stone into bread. But Jesus knew that He was the ‘bread of life’ that came into the world to provide a way for us to repent and be saved. He did not need to make a stone into bread – did not need to prove anything. He knew who He was!

Second, Jesus was tempted to bow down and worship the devil in order to have authority over all the kingdoms of earth. But Jesus knew that He already had that authority not only over all kingdoms but over all creation. He knew that the devil’s days were numbered, and that true authority comes from God, not from the devil. He did not need a shortcut to be honored as king. He was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings!

Third, Jesus was tempted to jump from a high place to prove that God would rescue Him. But Jesus knew that He could call on God and 12 legions of angels would rescue Him. (Matthew 26:53) He did not need to prove anything to the devil. He did not need to test God’s ability to save Him. He came into the world to save us!

So how does that help me overcome temptations? Because I have repented of my sins and accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, I have a new identity in Him. I am His child. My Father is King of the universe! I can have confidence that He will provide for me. I don’t need to steal or connive to get things. I can even be generous with what He has already given me because I know He will provide all I need. I don’t need to try to gain power over others because He is Lord of my life and as I humble myself before Him and before others, He will put me in places of honor in His kingdom. I can even encourage others as I have been encouraged by Him to grow into my role as a child of the King. And I don’t need to constantly test Him to see if He is there. He will rescue me when I need to be rescued. I can trust Him to be there for me. And when I am done on this earth, I know where I am going – to an eternal home with my Father!

If I walk in that identity, temptations will not overtake me. It is when I forget who I am that I am most vulnerable.

Father, thank you for providing a way out for me when I am tempted. Thank you for saving me and for your promises that guide me as I put my trust in you. Help me to continue to grow into my position as your child so that I can become all that you call me to be without fear. You are awesome and I love you. Amen.