steveford

Opened your Christmas gift yet?

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you that I got the coolest gift for Christmas this year!

I was thinking of asking Santa for one of the new color e-readers fromone of the two major booksellers in our country. After doing some research, Idiscovered that the two top contenders were really just small tablet computersrunning the Android operating system. So I opted for asking Santa for a tabletcomputer and he brought me a Vizio Vtab 8-inch tablet. I know, some of you arestill wondering what that is and why anybody would want one.

Well let me tell you what it can do!

By downloading the reading applications (apps) from both of the twobooksellers, I now have the equivalent of both a Nook and a Kindle in onedevice. I have the Bible, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God and many more titles.

But it’s more than a library! I can send and receive email, video chatby Skype with people all around the world, organize and edit my photographs,check my calendar, record and send a voice message, play Solitaire, update myFacebook status (meh, who cares?), surf the internet and….well, there seems tobe no end to what I can do with this device.

Now why in the world would I want to write all of this about a Christmasgift? To make you jealous or wish you had one? To sell tablet computers? No,none of the above. I hope you have followed me up until now so that you catchmy very important point.

What if I had not opened that particular Christmas present and begun touse it? What if I had allowed it to continue to lie beneath the Christmas treeunwrapped? What difference would it have made? It would have been of no valueto me whatsoever. It would have been a major waste of money and resources had Inot picked it up and begun to use the device.

And yet each one of you reading this article has received something ofmuch greater value that you could be in danger of leaving unwrapped beneathyour spiritual Christmas tree. I amtalking about the spiritual gifts that God has given you.

You see, each Christian is given a special gift or gifts by God.

Jesus hints at the giving of gifts in the parable of the talents, withthree laborers each receiving a different quantity of talents. Paul delvesfurther into the issue of gifts in three separate passages in his writings.

In 1 Cor. 12, the Holy Spirit leads Paul to observe that there aredifferent kinds of gifts, all given by the same Spirit. In 1 Cor. 12:11, Paul writes that God “distributesthem to each one, just as he determines.” Every believer, then, is given one ormore gifts, just as God determines.

“God has given you a unique combination of spiritual gifts to accomplisha unique purpose that will lead to unique results, but you must be willing touse your gifts to glorify God,” writes Elmer Towns in his little book What Every Sunday School Teacher ShouldKnow. Towns lists the following gifts:

Evangelism (see Eph. 4:11)

Prophecy (see Rom 12:6)

Teaching (see Rom. 12:7)

Exhortation (see Rom. 12:8)

Shepherding (see Eph. 4:11)

Mercy (see Rom. 12:8)

Ministry (see Rom. 12:7, 1 Cor. 12:28)

Giving (see Rom. 12:8)

Administration (see Rom 12:8, 1 Cor. 12:28)

“God’s goal in giving us gifts is not just to help us develop labels forministry but also to help us find ways to be effective in ministry,” writesTowns. “When you know your gift, begin thinking about how you can use that giftas a Sunday School teacher.”

Towns says that in order to be an effective teacher, you must discoverand identify your unique spiritual gifts.

I would take that a step forward and say that to be an effectiveteacher, you must also help your learners discover their unique spiritual gifts. After all, a Sunday School class isnot simply a group of people grouped together to study and learn more about theBible. We are also the church, grouped together into small ministry teams,equipped to do the work that God is calling us to do. And what is that work? Toreach the lost, to disciple them and minister to their needs.

As we are able to help our learners discover and use their individualgifts, they are able to function as individual parts of the body and allow theentire church to do its job effectively and efficiently.

If I had never opened and begun to use my Christmas gift, the tremendouspotential of that device would have gone to waste. The same can be said for anyteacher or learner who fails to “open” their spiritual gift and begin to learnhow to use it.

I hope you will remind yourself of the importance of spiritual gifts andlead your class to do the same. What a difference it would make if each of usknew our spiritual gifts and understood the importance of using them.

Do what is right, and tell people

2011-09-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act went first went into the books back in 1967, a short three years before this aspiring journalist landed his first newspaper. Elected officials were still getting into the habit of complying with the law, namely that of making public records and public meetings open to the, er, well, public. Sounds simple, but it took a while for officials to get used to giving the mandatory notifications of special called meetings of public bodies.

From the enactment of that law, mayors could no longer gather around the table with a few alderman to make decisions affecting the public without the public having the right to look over their shoulders. A number of attempts were made to bring the "Sunshine Law" a little more into the shade, but by and large it has remained unchanged. I'm glad for that, too.

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul explained that Titus would be accompanying him as he delivered a sizable offering intended to help the suffering poor in Jerusalem. Not only was Titus accompanying Paul, he had been chosen for that task by the churches, not by Paul. There could be no charge of cronyism leveled against Paul.

Paul had learned the lesson or knew instinctively that openness in such matters would effectively eliminate criticism. As he put it in 2 Cor. 8:20-21:

We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

I took one class in public relations in college and one fact from that semester stuck with me: Public relations can be defined as doing what is right and telling people about it. Who knows what the definition of PR is today, but in my college days it was not trying to throw a load of whitewash over a pile of manure. It meant not creating the pile of manure in the first place, and taking pains to explain that to folks.

Paul emphasized this principle, pointing out that "we are taking pains to do what is right..." He had not secret plans or ulterior motives. He hadn't been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was doing what was right.

And he was telling people about it. In his letter to the church at Corinth, he publicly outlined how the money was to be delivered, how it was to be safeguarded and what would become of it. He wanted to do what was right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but in the eyes of the people who had contributed.

Those in leadership positions today should take a page from Paul's playbook. Let people know what you are up to, especially when it comes to the handling of money. Take pains to do what is right, not only in the eys of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

Worse yet....

2011-08-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

What would make a man tear his clothing and pull hair from his head and beard? For Ezra, it was hearing the news that his people left behind in Israel--including some of the priests and Levites--had intermarried with the neighboring peoples, and even adopted their religious practices. But the topper to this bad news if found at the end of Ezra 9:2:

Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.

Worse yet! It was bad enough that the people had done this bad deed. It was bad that some of the priests and Levites were guilty. But it was "worse yet" that the leaders had led the people down the wrong path.

Leadership is a weighty responsibility.

James warned his readers that not many should presume to teach, because those who did would be judged more strictly (James 3:1).

Paul warned the church at Rome that those who taught the Word should live by it:

...you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? (Romans 2:21-22)

He told Timothy that the overseer "must be above reproach" (1 Timothy 3:1).

Jesus put it this way in Luke 17:1-3

Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.

Those in leadership will be held to a higher standard. Why? Because they hold influence over God's people. We must guard this great responsibility with great care. We must guard ourselves, our doctrine and our practices.

How? By cherishing and protecting our relationship with Jesus Christ. By allowing His Holy Spirit to reign in our hearts, convicting us of our sins and leading us to live in such a way that we do not lead others to stumble. What an awesome responsibility!

Keeping guard over your heart

2011-06-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

Why do good people fall away from following and serving God? Not only are the headlines full of accounts of leaders who went bad, the Bible also records such stories. Take the case of Solomon, son of the "man after God's own heart."

He had prayed and asked God for wisdom in order to lead the Jewish people, but eventually he turned away from God. Here's what 1 Kings 11 says:

The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. (1 Kings 11:9-11)

The same chapter records in greater detail how Solomon had taken wives of the nations that had once been sworn enemies. His wives and concubines did eventually entice him to turn away and follow other gods.

There's an interesting article on the Business Insider website entitled Why Talented Leaders are Driven to Bad Behavior. After looking at several recent cases of moral failure in leadership, this secular article sums up the problem like this:

Leaders who lose their way are not necessarily bad people; rather, they lose their moral bearings, often yielding to seductions in their paths. Very few people go into leadership roles to cheat or do evil, yet we all have the capacity for actions we deeply regret unless we stay grounded.

Solomon lost his moral bearings, and it was a process. No doubt his many wives influenced him away from the one path that he knew to be correct--the path that God had shown him in His Word. He allowed his heart to be swayed away from what he knew to be truth. Small wonder that Prov. 4:23 offers this advice:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Prov. 4:23)

We need a true north in our lives as leaders. God's Word points us in the direction we should go. But Solomon had God's Word to tell him which way to go. He simply chose not to follow it. Paul talked about the importance of how we run our race, and shared his secret in 1 Cor. 9:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Father, help me to follow after you with my whole heart. Do not let me turn away or allow my heart to be
corrupted. Teach me to guard it while I listen to you. Amen!

Encouragement

2011-05-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

In the midst of David moving around from place to place trying to find a secure location against the murderous threats of Saul, David gets a bit of an encouragement:

Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. 1 Samuel 23:16

Doing what is right will cause people to hate you. Simple as that. Jesus put it this way:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

If that wasn't enough, he also put it this way:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. John 15:18-21

Paul put it like this:

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted... 2 Tim. 3:12

So, we know that we as Christians will be persecuted, we will face trouble. Shouldn't we as Christians be like Jonathan and find those godly men and women who are being persecuted and encourage them to stay strong in their faith?

You can begin to make your own list. It might include those Christians in Egypt who have been killed in recent days. You might visit a website such as http://www.persecution.com/ to learn of others. Or you may know of someone personally who is under pressure or attack because of their faith.

Father, help me to be a Jonathan, and not a Saul! Help me to lift up those who are discouraged, for the sake of Jesus! Amen.

Samuel was a leader!

2011-05-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Approaching the end of his career, Samuel called the people of Israel together. As he prepared to pass the mantle over to their newly anointed king, he took the opportunity to remind them of a few things. Want to know what makes a great leader? There is much to emulate in Samuel's life! Think about the following:

1. His life. In contrast to Eli and his evil sons, Samuel's life had been an open book of honesty and clean living. Where Eli's sons had robbed from the temple and carried on immorally with women who came there to worship, Samuel had a clean slate. This is how he put it:

I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” (1 Samuel 12:2-3)

No one could lay an accusation against the man! How many of our leaders can say that today? It seems that hardly a day goes by that one of God's leaders is caught in an embarrassing, compromising, career-ending event. Samuel was not of that genre! He lived a clean life. He understood the ethos of the speaker was of vital importance. Who he was as a person was as important as what he said or did.

2. His doctrine. Samuel realized that God was the author of everything. He rightly understood the relationship of God to His people. As he continued to speak, Samuel made sure that God was given all of the credit for the good that had taken place.

It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: (1 Samuel 12:6-7)

Samuel took pains to point out that it was God who had done the mighty deeds through his servants Moses and Aaron. He was quick to point out that it was God who worked in them, both to will and to act (Phil 2:13). He knew the danger of not giving God the credit for His mighty works.

3. His prayer life. As he demonstrated by asking God for rain during the dry season, Samuel knew the power of prayer. He practiced it and encouraged his listeners by reminding them of his prayers for them:

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; (1 Samuel 12:23)

We often remind ourselves of the importance of prayer, but how often do we think that the failure to pray is actually a sin against the Lord? From the time Samuel had heard God's voice in the Temple and responded (1 Samuel 3), he knew the importance of prayer. He knew it theoretically and he knew it practically. Prayer became a way of life for Samuel, and failing to pray for God's people would be sin.

4. His teaching. Samuel knew God through the relationship that he himself enjoyed with Him. And he was willing to teach others how to have that kind of relationship.

but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. (1 Samuel 12:23-24)

Samuel was willing to share what he knew about God. He was willing to be a teacher. He warned, he encouraged, he cajoled, he admonished. What he knew about God he held out for others to learn and he encouraged them to put it into practice. It was not simply theory that he taught; it was a way of life. Serve Him, fear Him, obey Him,, be confident in Him. This was teaching that demanded action; this was application was well as Scripture.

What a great example Samuel set for leaders through the ages! Father, help me to be a faithful leader as I live my life, consider my doctrine, pray for my learners and teach them how to live in you. Amen!

How's your heart?

2011-05-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

Leading a Bible study or teaching Sunday School can be a lot like the work of Samuel in the Old Testament. The prophet/seer/judge of Israel encountered a young man who was looking for some lost donkeys. But when Samuel got through telling him what would God would do through him, Saul was literally changed forever.

Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day. When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy.

People get involved in Bible study or Sunday School for a variety of reasons--perhaps there is peer pressure to do so, perhaps they hope to meet new friends, maybe they want to set a good example for their children.

But as teachers and leaders, we should have the desire that Samuel had for Saul--to see him changed and transformed forever as the Holy Spirit came to live in the young man! Our goal as Bible teachers should be the same as the desire that Paul expressed for the church at Galatia when he wrote, "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..."

We should desire to see Christ formed in our learners, to see them being transformed by the renewing of their minds as they fight to avoid conformity to the world (Romans 12:1-2).

The good news with regards to the story of Saul and Samuel is that it is more possible for this to happen in our time than it was in the Old Testament. In those days, the Holy Spirit indwelt a limited number of spiritual leaders as God spoke through prophets and priests. But today, God is willing to speak to all of us through His Son Jesus (Heb. 1:1). Our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed in us (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

How do we work for this kind of transformation in the lives of our learners? I think we must first seek this kind of spiritually vibrant life for ourselves before we can see it produced in others. Saul sought out Samuel because he heard that he was a man of God. Do people seek us out for the same reason? Are we allowing God to rule and reign in us?

But just as importantly, we must see spiritual transformation as something that only God can do. As Jesus pointed out in today's New Testament reading, "For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. ⁴⁵ As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me" (John 6:44-45).

Father, help me to be about your business today--that of seeing lives changed and transformed as people come to your Son and are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Putting it into practice

2011-05-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

What was Jesus up to with Phillip? A huge crowd had been following him and his band of disciples because they had seen the miracles he did. As he sat down with his disciples, the crowd pressed in around them.

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” ⁶ He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

It was a question without an easy answer, and Phillip didn't know what to say. Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed this crowd, Phillip answered Jesus.

Andrew eventually answered the question, and perhaps his answer helped Phillip to grow spiritually in his faith in Jesus.

Steve Parr, in his book Sunday School that Really Works, notes that leadership principle #1 states that we must pray and directly enlist people to be a part of our small groups, taking responsibility for their spiritual growth.

It is not coincidental that the apostles were with Jesus as he went about preaching and teaching. Jesus had specifically asked them to follow him. As you read the Gospels, you see Jesus taking opportunities to instruct the apostles as he modeled a healthy relationship with the Father. They were not meeting at 9:45 every Sunday morning, but they were meeting together frequently, receiving instructions from Jesus, asking and answering questions, learning to minister to the needs of others, praying together, and growing in their relationship with God in spite of many personal failures and setbacks.

Too many small group leaders take a passive approach to spiritual development, placing emphasis on preparing to teach a lesson but not placing equal emphasis on spiritual growth.

Many teachers will go through an entire year (or many years) without ever applying the first principle of praying about and directly enlisting others to be a part of the group as Jesus did. The Sunday School will not grow if others are not invited to become involved.

We must plan for involving our learners in developing their spiritual gifts and then putting them to use, just as Jesus did.

He took responsibility for their spiritual growth. He did not teach them and leave it up to them to apply the Scripture and to grow. He personally engaged and challenged them to live what they learned. His approach was intentional, intense, comprehensive, active, applicable and personal. That stands in contrast to many Sunday School classes where a teacher shows up just on time, presents an uninspiring lecture, prays and says, "I'll see you all next week." It is this type of approach that leads people to conclude that Sunday School is irrelevent.

Father, help me to grow spiritually and to lead those over whom I have influence to do the same!

Fear is good

2011-05-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident. --Prov 14:16

What's wrong with the food?

2011-04-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

The Israelites were suckered by a ruse from the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites sent envoys to the Jews, asking them to sign a peace treaty. They told them they had come from a long distance and their food and drink was fresh when they set out. But in the ensuing "long journey" the wine skins had cracked and the bread had become dry and moldy.

So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby! (Joshua 9:14-16)

Suckers! They fell for the story the Gibeonites had spun for them and so were taken in. Problem was, they listened to their enemies rather than to God. They looked at the physical evidence without consulting their spiritual proof.

Jesus issued a warning:

There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. So watch yourselves! (Luke 17:1-3)

Sometimes the temptation will be direct and frontal. But at other times, the temptation will be smooth and silky. We will be tempted to "examine the food" but "not consult the Lord."

Father, help me not to fall into temptation today. Help me to consult you and not rely on my own understanding. Amen!

Why read the Bible?

2011-03-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 gives some good reasons. When a king is installed in Israel, he is expected to do the following:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

1. As I get older, I find that my memory gets worse. Writing things down doesn't help my memory improve, but it does keep me from forgetting the things I need to remember. The physical act of writing is a great memory boost. Anybody ever try writing out passages of scripture? Anybody ever write out an entire copy of the Bible? It has been done! Here is somebody who is trying it!

2. Reading the Bible teaches us to revere God. Human beings do not naturally do many things. We do not instinctively know how to dress ourselves, talk, drive a car, any of the things we need to know to survive in modern society. Neither do we instinctively know how to revere God. One way we learn to do so is by reading the Bible.

3. We learn to keep God's laws by reading them.

4. Reading God's Word keeps us humble and from seeing ourselves as better than others.

5. Pride would lead us to bend or break God's laws; reading the Bible helps us to see ourselves as God does.

There are probably more reasons in this brief passage than the ones I have listed, but these grabbed me this morning as I read the Bible. I'm not the king, but I need to be reading God's Word!

Father, help me to read, heed and obey your Word. Thanks for preserving it for me; now help me to apply it to my life and so please you!

Amen!

New word of the day

2011-02-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

Today's new word find is sure to be useful for demonstrating your erudition, dropping into conversations around the water cooler and confounding small children. Our word for the day is cleromancy.

Serious etymologists will recognize the suffix -mancy as deriving from the Old French -mancie or the Latin -mantia, a combining form meaning divination, of the kind indicated by the prefix. Hence, necromancy would be the practice of divination or foretelling of secrets or the future by consulting the spirit or ghost of a deceased person. Such a suffix can be combined with literally dozens of words to come up with your choice of divination. There's meteormancy, which is divination by consulting meteors and shooting stars; pegomancy, the consultation of fountains or springs; pyromancy, the consultation of fire or flames; rhabdomancy, the consultation or a rod or wand, especially for the location of underground water or ores. My grandmother was a professional rhabdomancer and was paid $25 by a water well company to locate water well sites. She taught this art to many of her grandchildren and some have used it in modern times for locating water wells for African villages. For a more complete listing of many possibilities of words using the -mancy suffix, consult here.

Cleromancy, therefore is a form of divination involving casting of lots. Clero, from which we get our modern word cleric or clerk, is derived from the Latin and indicated one who obtained his office through the casting of lots. When prefix and suffix are combined, cleromancer then become a clerk or clergyman who practices divination through the casting of lots. Biblical examples of cleromancers include Aaron and the Levitical priests, Joshua (Joshua 18:8-10), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:34), the sailors who were transporting Jonah (Jonah 1:7), and the disciples in Acts 1 when they selected a successor to Judas. One might be tempted to include the soldiers who crucified Jesus and cast lots for his garments. This story appears in all four of the Gospels, but it appears that they merely cast lots to see who would win Jesus' cloak, rather than seeking divine wisdom in decision making.

Today's One Year Bible reading includes the formula for the construction of Aaron's breastplate, which was to contain the Urim and the Thummim, and served as a basis of decision making. The Urim and Thummim were most likely gemstones that were used for the casting of lots. If you already knew that Urim and Thummim meant "lights" and "perfections", give yourself an additional 10 points. Hence, Aaron was the first officially ordained and recognized cleromancer.

Your final assignment for today is to confuse and amaze your friends and colleagues by using the word cleromancy in a sentence. Then move on to more serious matters!

Warning, warning!

2011-01-28T07:02:00.000-08:00

Interesting story in the news today: The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has released the results of its investigation into the financial and economic crisis of 2008. Among the many conclusions reached:

Widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision proved devastating to the stability of the nation’s financial markets.
Dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systemically important financial institutions were a key cause of this crisis.
A combination of excessive borrowing, risky investments, and lack of transparency put the financial system on a collision course with crisis.
The government was ill prepared for the crisis, and its inconsistent response added to the uncertainty and panic in the financial markets.
There was a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics.

But perhaps the most disturbing of all the conclusions: there were warning signs that could have been heeded to avoid the massive mess we are in today.

Now I have not suddenly become consumed with politics and changed this from a Scriptural to a political blog (1). To the contrary! But I did catch a parallel between the news and my daily Bible reading. Just as we did not walk blindly into the biggest economic and political disaster of my lifetime, neither do most people find themselves in a spiritually debilitating situation with no hint of a warning beforehand.

Proverbs 5:22-23 is a fitting conclusion to the section we have read concerning marital faithfulness. The author writes:

An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

The previous verse tells us that the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. If we stay close to the Lord and listen to the warnings, shouldn't we be able to avoid such moral mayhem in our lives?

Now Josh Hunt is one of my favorite bloggers and Sunday School/small group experts. He recently began a new blog entitled What Divorce Taught Me About Marriage. Today's posting is by Chris Watkins, the ex-husband of Hunt's wife. My story could be your story is most insightful and I would highly recommend it for anyone in ministry or any sort of a Christian leadership position.

We read Jesus' warning yesterday in Matthew 18:7:

What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.

The warning is there, just as there were adequate warnings prior to the financial meltdown of 2008. The question is, will be the warning be heeded?

(1) For an excellent article on why legislation and political activism are not the key to solving our nation's moral problems, see MacArthur's article The Gospel and Politics.

Where's your heart?

2011-01-07T05:16:00.000-08:00

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Jesus spoke these words in the Sermon on the Mount and they speak of the importance of where we place our focus in life. Oswald Chambers writes,

Jesus said, "It is expedient for you that I go away" - in that relationship, so that He might lead them on. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to step more intimately with Him. Fruit bearing is always mentioned as the manifestation of an intimate union with Jesus Christ (John 15:1-4).

Becoming more intimate with Jesus is to make Him the desire of our hearts. So many things clamor for first place in our lives; only He deserves it.

Lord, be my treasure, as the hymn writer wrote:Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Amen!

What's on the menu?

2011-01-04T05:15:00.000-08:00

I have decided to give up deer hunting. Not for religious reasons, just for practical ones. For the past two seasons I've not gotten a shot at anything! I did get some nice pictures of deer on my game camera over the past two years. Oh, I enjoyed going to the woods, being out in nature. But I'm glad I don't have to live on the meat I brought home!

In today's reading of the One Year Bible, Noah and his family come out of the ark after a year in watery isolation, and God changes their menu. As we have read so far, man's diet in the garden seems to have been only fruit (Gen. 2:15-17). I thought I had invented a new word for a moment when I described that practice in my mind as fruitarianism.Nope. Somebody beat me to it! Following man's rebellion against God, it is clear that he became a vegetarian, being condemned to till the earth for food (Gen. 3:17-19).

In today's reading God changes the menu again, opening up to man the whole smorgasbord of creation as his diet. Gen. 9:1-4 tells us:

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.

Ham and cheese sandwich is now a possibility! Meat lover's pizza would not have existed without this passage. Later, God will restrict the diet of his chosen people, the Jews, with certain restrictions in Leviticus, but those will be put back on the table for Christians in Acts 10.

Funny, but some people want to restrict our diet again. There are those folks who are not happy unless they are calling all of the shots. They are the kind of people who tell you when it is time to drink the Kool-aid! Paul warns Timothy about them in 1 Timothy 4:1-5:

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

Certainly there may be health considerations for what we eat. A diet high in fats may clog your arteries. And some people have allergies to certain kinds of food. But to forbid certain foods on the basis of faith or belief is a teaching that Paul says comes from deceptive spirits and demons and is taught by hypocrites and liars.

Hmmm, wonder what I will have for breakfast today?

Want to frolic?

2010-12-31T06:56:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you enjoyed the freedom of a good romp or frolic? Although the last book of the Old Testament closes with the threat of a curse, there is the promise of frolicking freedom for those who honor God. In fact, writes Malachi,

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. (Mal. 4:2)

The law of reciprocal honor can be simply put: "Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained." (1 Samuel 2:20)

A.W. Tozer, author of The Pursuit of God and numerous other inspiring works, makes the following observation of this spiritual law:

"Be thou exalted" is the language of victorious spiritual experience. It is a little key to unlock the door to great treasures of grace. It is central in the life of God in the soul. Let the seeking man reach a place where life and lips join to say continually, "Be thou exalted," and a thousand minor problems will be solved at once. His Christian life ceases to be the complicated thing it was before and becomes the very essence of simplicity. By the exercise of his will he has set the course, and on that course he will stay as if guided by automatic pilot. If blown off course for a moment by some adverse wind, he will surely return again as by a secret bent of the soul. The hidden motions of the Spirit are working in his favor, and the "stars in their courses" fight for him. He has met his life problem at its center, and everything else must follow along.

Ready for a frolic with God? I know I am! Revere His name, put Him first in all that you do. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves!

Wanna make God angry?

2010-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hey, do you want to make God mad at you? Here is a sure-fire way to do so. Not only will it affect your relationship with Him, it will affect your entire community! What is it that will cause God to no longer bless you?

Divorce your wife.

Here's what God told the children of Israel in Malachi 2:13-16:

Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

Phillip Yancey tells the story of counseling a friend who was contemplating leaving his wife. It sounds all too familiar and I would recommend reading the brief excerpt here or here.

I wonder why there are not folks fighting against divorce with the same fervor that some groups fight against abortion? Personally, I think abortion would not be the problem it is if divorce was not the problem that it is. Broken relationships leave children looking for love in all the wrong places. God wants godly offspring, and the institution of marriage was designed to help produce them.

I wouldn't want God to be mad at me. Or my country. Would you?

The most ______ time of the year

2010-12-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

I am often surprised at how the different readings in the One Year Bible relate to one another. As we enter what should be the "most wonderful time of the year," often it is with a sense of fear and trepidation caused by how much it is going to cost us. It is a shame that so much of the emphasis on Christmas has become related to economics. As we watch the news, it often seems that the patriotic thing to do is to spend ourselves into oblivion in the rush up to Christmas.

And yet the two readings that seem to correspond today--one from 1 John and the other from Proverbs 28--talk about the danger of materialism.

John puts it this way:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. --1 John 2:15-17

All of the things that we desire to consume that come from the world put us in conflict with the Father. They distract us from setting our eyes on Jesus.

True prosperity is not measured by what we own, but rather in who we trust. As the writer of Proverbs puts it:

A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper. --Proverbs 28:25

Certainly the economy that provides jobs and financial security for so all of us is dependent upon sales. I don't want to see anyone go without work. But neither should we chase after the false god of materialism to provide our sense of self-worth. Those things that we covet at this time of the year come not from the Father, John says, but from the world. And all of that will pass away one day.

Want to live forever? Do the will of God, John says, and seek His kingdom first. Then it will truly be the most wonderful time of the year!

Good advice

2010-10-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

I thought about that verse from 2 Timothy 4:5 when I saw this headless scarecrow on Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch in El Dorado. Then, lo and behold, it popped up in today's One Year Bible reading. It's always good advice not to lose your head, and this fellow illustrates that well.

But the verse itself is like a loose head rolling around by itself when it's not seen in the full context of Paul's charge to his young pastor friend Timothy:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

The time has come when people don't put up with sound doctrine! In fact, most people it seems would prefer no doctrine at all!

Nevertheless, Paul tells Timothy:

1. Preach the Word.

2. Correct, rebuke and encourage.

3. Keep your head as you endure hardship, doing all the work that God has called you to do.

Hey, that would make a great teaching/preaching outline! Just need the poem--seems like Rudyard Kipling said something along the lines "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

Sign me up!

2010-10-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

A doorway in Slovenia

I want what God is offering! Before, when He related to people through his agreement with His chosen people, they still wandered away from Him. They still broke His laws and lived in ways that did not please Him. But God wasn't finished yet--He was in a process of restoring people to Him, all people to Him. Here's how the prophet Jeremiah quoted God:

"The time is coming," declares the LORD,

"when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant

I made with their forefathers

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husband to them,"

declares the LORD.

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time," declares the LORD.

"I will put my law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest,"

declares the LORD.

"For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more."

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The old covenant that God had established with Israel when He led them out of slavery was marked by the blood of a lamb which had been painted on the doorposts of their homes. The new covenant that God has made is marked by the blood of a perfect, sinless lamb--God's Son Jesus. The blood is not painted on the doorpost of my house, but rather on the doorpost of my heart. That's why Jesus portrayed Himself as standing at the door to my heart with these words:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. --Revelation 3:20

If His law is written in our minds and our hearts, instead of on pieces of stone, how much easier it is to hear and heed His law and to live in such a way to please Him.

Father, thank you for your Word and thank you for placing your Law in our minds and in our hearts. Now, enable me to live by your Law through the power of the Holy Spirit who is also dwelling in my heart. Thank you for sending Jesus to knock at the door of my heart!

You got a friend

2010-08-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

"Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you. Well they'll take your soul if you let them. Oh yeah, but don't you let them."

Job must have felt a little bit like Carole King or James Taylor when they sang this popular song. There he was in the worst place he had ever been in his life, and the friends who should have supported him instead hurled accusations at him, hinting that his misfortune was somehow his own fault. Job needed a friend!

He had it right to ascribe wisdom and power to God: "To God belong wisdom and power; what he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his."

But he had it wrong to believe that death was the end of existence. "But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come."

Paul had it right when he wrote: "Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'"

If there's nothing beyond the grave, we ought to live it up while we are here. Indeed, plenty of people seem to live life that way--either in wanton disregard for the future or in simple abandonment to earthly lusts and pleasures.

But Paul reminds us, "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."

Some days more than others I look forward to my imperishable body, especially on those days when the aches and pains are a little more noticeable. Especially on those days when I see good people battling painful diseases.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Cor. 15:51-52)

Hey, ain't it good to know you got a friend?

Discredited!

2010-08-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

Even as Nehemiah approached completion on the wall around Jerusalem, his enemies kept trying to stop him. Their final effort involved a plot designed to make Nehemiah run away for safety or flee to the Temple. Shemaiah tried to frighten the wall builder with a campaign of whispers.

"They are coming to kill you," Shemaiah warned Nehemiah. He suggested that the wall builder go into the Temple and shut the doors for safety. But Nehemiah realized that the people would take this for cowardice and it would cost him his influence. "The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright," says Proverbs 21:8 in today's reading.

"Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!"

Nehemiah realized that the whisper campaign was not from God, so he refused to listen. Had he fled, they would have given him a bad name and so he would have been discredited. "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold," says Proverbs 22:1.

So how does Nehemiah react to this whisper campaign against him. As he has done on so many previous instances, Nehemiah reacts by praying:

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.

Nehemiah simply puts the matter into God's hands and asks Him to remember the two who had given him so much grief all along the way. Nehemiah did not lose sleep nor energy over this act of guile, but rather left it for God to deal with.

No doubt Nehemiah had read the words God had spoken to Joshua when He commanded him to conquer the Promised Land. There would be no room for cowardice:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

Father, help me to be brave and never to extract revenge. Let me follow Nehemiah's example and act with courage in the face of temptation. May all who seek to discredit your leaders fail in their attempts and may you remember what they have done. Amen!

"But will God really..."

2010-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Solomon must have had an inkling, despite the beauty of the Temple that he had just constructed in which God would dwell, that the edifice was not sufficient to contain Him. So at the time of the Temple's consecration, he prayed in these words:

But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. --2 Chron. 6:18-20

And so perhaps it came as no great surprise, centuries later, when Paul answered Solomon's question. No, God would not dwell in that temple, but another, more intimate one. One which had been wondrously made! Paul answers Solomon's question with a question to the church at Corinth:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? --1 Cor.6:19

Despite the grandeur of Solomon's Temple, God would eventually dwell in another temple--within the body of all who accept His call to follow.

But how could a human body, one condemned by sin, ever be purified so that God could dwell in it? The answer to that question is also found in today's OYB reading. Again, Paul writes to the Romans:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. --Rom. 8 1-4

God not only provides the Temple in which to live, He purifies it so that there is no condemnation! As a result, we live not according to the sinful nature, not under the yoke of the Law, but according to the Spirit.

Dear Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Thank you for choosing to dwell within me. Help me to live in a way to please you at all times.

Amen!

Death has its advantage

2010-07-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's impossible to live without breaking God's law. Breaking God's law is called sin, and the Bible tells us we have all done it. And the wages of sin is death. There's a payday coming someday! How do we avoid it?

Paul gives us the answer in today's Bible reading: we escape the wages of sin by dying! In Romans 7 he uses the analogy of marriage--two people are to remain wed together till death do us part. If one of the partners marries another, they commit adultery, Paul says. But if one of the partners dies and the other remarries, there is no adultery involved. Why? Because marriage ends at death.

So, too, the law of God ends at death. Romans 7:6 states it this way:

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

We don't sing this old hymn very often, but perhaps we ought to:

Free from the law, O happy condition,

Jesus has bled and there is remission,

Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,

Grace hath redeemed us once for all.

Refrain

Now we are free, there’s no condemnation,

Jesus provides a perfect salvation.

“Come unto Me,” O hear His sweet call,

Come, and He saves us once for all.

Refrain

“Children of God,” O glorious calling,

Surely His grace will keep us from falling;

Passing from death to life at His call;

Blessèd salvation once for all.

Refrain:

Once for all, O sinner, receive it,

Once for all, O brother, believe it;

Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,

Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

Father, thank you for saving me by my death through Christ. Help me to live in the new way that You have provided--by grace, and not by law. Amen!

A new person

2010-05-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

We've all read the fairy tale: a wicked witch turns the handsome prince into a frog and the only thing that will change him back is the kiss of a fair maiden. Poof! His life will be changed forever!

Today's reading from the One Year Bible isn't a fairy tale, though: it actually took place. When the prophet Samuel anointed Samuel as king over Israel, he gave him some specific instructions about where to go and what to do. But he also gave him a spiritual promise in 1 Samuel 10:6-7:

The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

What would happen to Saul is precisely what happens to anyone who turns from their old lifestyle and begins a new spiritual life by trusting in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 1:13-14 that when we believe in Jesus, God places the Holy Spirit within us as a seal of the transaction that takes place. We are spiritually changed, to the extent that Paul later writes in 2 Corinthians 5 :

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Saul was not changed forever just to be placed on a spiritual pedestal or showcase, but rather to do the works that God had prepared for him to do. "Do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you," Samuel tells Saul. There is work to be done; we are changed for a purpose, not just to live happily ever after!

Ephesians 2:10 explains it this way:

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

There's work to be done, and that's why God has created us and transformed us. Just as Samuel to do whatever his hands found to do, we are to do the same. And there's plenty of work to be done: sharing this great news with the world, teaching others to follow God, ministering to those in need.

Father, thank you for changing me. Help me to remember that you have transformed my life for a purpose. Help me to do the works you have prepared for me to do, by allowing you to live through me. All praise to you for your mighty works--amen!

Monday morning

2010-05-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Time to go to work already? Wow, Monday mornings get here fast! What kind of work do you do? What's the most important kind of work a person can do?

In John 6:26-29, Jesus spoke to a crowd of people who had followed him from one place to another. Maybe they were following him because they didn't want to go to work. Or maybe they were following him because he had fed them.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

How can believing be work? The word believe comes from a Greek word which means "to think to be true, to be persuaded of". It's not just simple assent, such as "I believe it's going to rain." It carries the idea of entrusting one's entire self to an idea or person. This kind of believing is faith!

When you believe in the one God has sent, it is a life-changing proposition. It affects everything you think, do or say. You can't work your way into a relationship with God, but you can believe your way into one.

Father, help me to do the work you require: help me to believe in the one you have sent!

Poor in spirit

2010-01-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

He was a "fine figger of a man" and everything he did prospered. Though he had been thrown in a hole in the ground, sold into slavery and exported to a foreign country, Joseph still prospered. Sold to a man named Potiphar, his owner soon recognized that Joseph was blessed with success. Because the Lord gave him success in everything, Potiphar eventually entrusted his whole household into Joseph's care.

Someone else noticed what a fine young man Joseph was becoming, and Potiphar's wife tried to woo him into bed. When he refused her advances, she accused him of attempted rape and had him thrown into prison. But even there the scent of success was all over Joseph. The prison warden literally turned the whole jail over to this remarkable prisoner because God had granted him favor.

Did Joseph let "his" success go to his head? One day two prisoners came to him with dreams that troubled them, and with God's help he was able to interpret the dreams. Once freed from prison, word came to Pharaoh that Joseph had this gift, and he was summoned in to the royal presence to interpret Pharoah's dream.

"I hear you can interpret dreams when you hear them," Pharaoh told Joseph. Listen carefully to Joseph's reply:

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

Joseph exhibited what Jesus would describe as being "poor in spirit." He recognized that whatever good came from his life, came as a result of God's power resting on him. Here's how Paul described that attitude in Romans 7:18-19:

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Human desire and will are not sufficient for carrying out the good that God desires. Try as we might, we keep falling under the influence of our sinful nature. Is there no escape for us? Paul jubilantly concludes that there is, and he states it in Romans 7:24-25(a):

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Being poor in spirit drives us to our one and only rescuer: Jesus Christ our Lord! It is when we recognize ourselves as poor in spirit, incapable of doing the good that God requires, that we turn to Christ and ask him to do it through us. Being poor in spirit means not only turning to God, but also offering him all the credit and glory for what He is able to accomplish. "I cannot do it," Joseph told Pharaoh, "but God will give..."

Being poor in spirit leads us to acknowledge God as the source of every good thing that He produces through us. Being poor in spirit leads us to total dependence on God and allows us to says with Paul:

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13.

Father, help me to be poor in spirit, to depend on you for everything. Help me to trust in you with all my heart and in all my ways to acknowledge you. Get me out of the way so that you can work! Amen.

Peacemakers

2010-01-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

When you only have one cookie or one piece of cake, how do you divide it fairly between two children? Somehow in raising our two, we stumbled upon a method that managed to keep peace when it came time to divide--we simply let one child divide the goody and the other child could then choose which "half" he wanted. This pretty much guaranteed that the "divider" was going to do his or her level best to divide exactly evenly.

So I was interested to read how Abram suggested that he and Lot divide up the land for the their flocks. As there wasn't enough land for both families' servants and flocks, Abram told Lot:

"Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." (Gen. 13:8-9)

Abram graciously gave Lot his choice of the land. The decision had become necessary because quarreling had broken out between their two sets of herdsman. As Abram pointed out in his offer to Lot, peace between the two families was more important than who got what. He was willing to sacrifice for the sake of harmony.

Abram demonstrated that he was a true son of God in the beatitude sense of the word--as Jesus would later point out in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." That beatitude is a two-pronged promise--it's a promise for right now and for the future. Those who are peace makers are happy, as the sense of the word blessed would convey. They are happy right now. Abram was happy to put an end to the quarreling. He was pleased that the two families could live in harmony. But there's a future sense of blessing from the beatitudes--when one is a peacemaker right now, he or she will be called a son of God. All of the beatitudes carry this duality of both a present and a future happiness.

Want to be happy right now? Do like Abram and work for peace. If you don't believe he found happiness as a result of his peacemaking, just follow his nephew Lot and see how happy he became!

Want to be happy in the future? Do like Abram and work for peace. You'll be called a son of God and as James pointed out, "Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."

Father, help me to work for peace and unity. May we be one in spirit as you are One. Amen!

Hogs!

2010-01-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

My son was here for Christmas and we decided to go deer hunting on the last day of modern gun season here in Arkansas. I have a deer stand and a ground blind about 50 yards apart, both of them overlooking a different feeding site. I put my son in the deer stand with strict instructions not to turn around and fire my way. I was in the ground blind, nothing more than a glorified pup tent facing some scattered corn under an oak tree. We both got into position and settled down to wait.

About 5:15 p.m. I was ready to call it a day. Just a few minutes of daylight left anyway, and by 5:23 I could hardly see the oak tree where the corn and acorns were located. Suddenly behind me I heard something running--something big! It crashed through the brush and stopped directly behind my ground blind. It seemed to let out a low guttural growl. The little hairs on my neck wanted to stand up! It moved a few feet and growled again. I had never heard anything like it. I could hear its breath, but because the window was zipped shut behind me I couldn't see what it was.

Now I was hunting with my muzzleloader, and it only gives you one shot between a lengthy reload. What if it were a lion or a tiger and it pounced on my little ground stand? What if it were a werewolf and I didn't have a silver bullet sitting on top of my powder charge? What would I do?

Just then my cell phone buzzed with an incoming message from my son: "Hogs coming your way!" I didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or be more worried! I remembered the movie Ole Yeller and wasn't interested in getting into a one-bullet fight with a pack of wild boar. And I had seen pictures of the hogs that had crossed this land before.

I sat still a few more minutes and then it was all over. Just as suddenly as they had run up, they were gone. I unzipped my blind and climbed out for a look/see. "John," I told my son, "if this ever happens again, forget what I said about shooting my way and turn around and open fire! One of us needed some backup!" We both laughed.

But as wily and dangerous as a wild boar can be, there are more dangerous things than animals. Today's Bible reading from the One Year Bible reminds us:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. (Gen. 3:1)

We do have an enemy that is crafty and seeks our destruction. Just as unpredictable as wild hogs, he can appear when we least expect him, and do untold damage to us, to our family or friends, and to God's church. But we are not as defenseless against him as I was against a pack of wild boar.

First, we have God's Word. It is useful for teaching and training in righteousness, and in the case of the devil, it warns us:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

God's Word also teaches us what to do when the devil would attack or destroy:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:7-8)

Staying close to God is our first defense against the devil. It's when we've wandered away from God's presence and his people that we are apt to succumb to the devil's tactics. Sitting in a "spiritual ground blind" away other believers can leave you open to attack. Stay close to God; submit to what He teaches and tells you.

Resist the devil--he doesn't need an accomplice, he only needs someone to tell him off and shoo him away. Resist and he will flee, the Bible says.

If Eve had been close to God and close to her husband, she would have been less likely to fall prey to the devil in serpent's guise. If she had resisted his suggestion he would have been powerless to entice her and forced to flee.

Father, thank you for your Word! Help me to stay close to you and close to other believers during 2010 and always. May I resist the devil and know that he will flee from me. In Jesus name may it be so! Amen.

A rock

2009-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

New Year’s eve finally arrived, and as 2009 bit the dust, I hope you finished reading your Bible through and are making plans to do it again in 2010!

Malachi is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. Once in preaching class at seminary, we “cast lots” to see which Scripture passage we would be assigned to preach at the end of the semester. I remember people all around me getting passages like Romans 8:28, John 3:16, 2 Cor. 5:16-21.

I put my hand in the goldfish bowl, pulled out the slip of paper, opened it and read: “Malachi 1:2-3”. I had to look up this passage to see what it said:

“ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ the Lord asks. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated…’ ”

I knew how Charlie Brown felt when he saw all the kids around him with their Hallowe’en candy, when in his sack, “I got a rock!”

Yet what a “rock” the book of Malachi is! Yes, it is filled with warnings and chastisement. But it is also filled with the promise of God’s love! One of the greatest promises in the Bible, one of approximately 3,000, is found in Malachi 3:7:

Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.

I believe this verse stands as a mighty bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament, a contrast between the old covenant that God had with his people Israel, and the new covenant found in Jesus Christ.

No one had been able to perfectly keep God’s Law, and as a result the people turned away from God’s covenant. But God urged them to return to him, to come to him in faith.

Malachi clearly points to the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In Mal. 3:1 we read:

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.

It is the Lord we are seeking! Jesus is our salvation and the power we need to live victorious lives. Adrian Rogers put it this way, “You do not keep the commandments of God in order to be saved; you keep the commandments of God because you are saved.”

Fascinating that the Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi, concluding with the threat of a curse. And yet the New Testament will begin in Matthew with the promise of the coming of a King, a King whose birth we have just celebrated.

What?

2009-12-30T05:33:00.000-08:00

The book of Malachi! We're almost to the end of the Old Testament, and if God wills it we will get there tomorrow. But in the meantime, what does God say to us today? He has warnings for his people, but one very special warning for the priests:

And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.

First off, the priests are told they must hear. The word hear can mean to listen, but it can also mean to hear with attention or interest; to obey or be obedient. Jesus compared the one who hears his words and puts them into practice with the wise man who builds his house on the rock (Mt. 7:24ff). As spiritual leaders, we must be eager to hear God's Word, anxious to learn more, willing to put into practice what we are being shown by God.

Second, we must set our hearts to honor God's name. His name is to be great, and it is to be proclaimed to the peoples of the Earth. There's not enough time or space here to mention all the references to God's name and the honor due it. If God himself is eager to proclaim His name, we too must set our hearts to do the same.

Father, help me to listen to you today. Help me to hear your face. I set my heart to honor your name in all that I do. Be my strength, be my vision. Amen!

What's that smell?

2009-12-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

When we arrived in Burkina Faso for the very first time to begin serving as missionaries, two things hit us strongly as we stepped off the plane: the heat and the smell. The heat was intense, melting, inescapable. But the smell! How to describe it? It was a sharp, pungent odor, coming from a thousand cooking fires, a hundred city markets selling peppers and spices and dead lizards and warm meat. If only it could be condensed and converted into one of those "scratch and sniff" samplers. Anyone who had ever visited Ouagadougou would only have to scratch and sniff once to say, "Ah, Ouaga!"

Smells and odors can trigger thoughts and memories. Remember grandmother's kitchen on Thanksgiving day? What about the smell of fresh bread baking? The scent of a certain perfume that she wore on a first date?

But what about the smell of incense? There's a recipe for just such an incense in Exodus 30. God dictated it to Moses in exact quantities and He forbade its creation or use in any other setting than worship. The scent was so sacred that a person could be cut off from Israel for illegally manufacturing it! Moses was to use that scent alone in creating the anointing oil, the oil which would be used for anointing the tabernacle and Aaron the priest, as well as his sons.

When the people smelled that odor, they would be reminded of God's presence among them, of the Holy of Holies which Aaron would enter to make atonement for the people. The smell represented God at work among His people. We Baptists don't have anything similar today, other than perhaps apple pie brought to a fellowship dinner. How wonderful if that fragrance represented God, loving and caring for His people!

But think of the smell of that special incense and all it represented to the Jewish people when you read Psalm 133. It's the second-shortest Psalm in the Bible, after Psalm 117, and its three verses go like this:

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes.

It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Though we do not use incense in our worship services, there should be a fragrance present--the fragrance of brothers (and sisters!) living together in unity. When we love one another as Jesus commanded, a sweet fragrance is produced, figuratively, that shows to all the world that our fellowship is with the Father and that He is making a difference in our lives.

In John 13:35, Jesus told His disciples, "By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." Our Christian love for each other should be proof to the world that we are genuine in our faith and in our lives.

John took this command of Jesus and elaborated on it further in his first epistle:

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. (1 John 2:7-11)

How are we to find the resources, the strength to love and maintain our relationship with other disciples? Look at the last verse of the Psalm: "It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mt. Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." Mt. Hermon is the highest peak in all of Israel, and it has the highest rate of dew fall. In the arid regions of Israel, that dew fall is often the difference between life and death for the plants.

In both the picture of the anointing oil and the dew of Mt. Hermon, the action is running down, running down, coming down. There's no clearer picture of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament than the anointing oil, and the action of "coming down" is inescapable--the resource we need to live together in unity is the Holy Spirit coming down from God to fill us and guide us.

If we stay close to Aaron, we will see and smell the anointing oil on his collar. If we stay close to Mt. Hermon, we will benefit from the cooling, moisture-giving dews coming down. If we stay close to God--living, moving and having our being in Him--we will benefit from the life-giving, love-inducing power of the Holy Spirit.

The result will be that the world around us will smell the savor of love among brothers (and sisters). It will be a testimony that is hard to refute. And it will be pleasing to God.

Father, help me to live in unity with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Help me to remain close enough to you that I am watered and grow from the Holy Spirit coming down from you. Help me to be a peacemaker, sowing peace to raise a harvest of righteousness. Amen!

A great promise

2009-12-09T05:15:00.000-08:00

Another "minor" prophet opens before us today and with him one of the greatest promises of the Bible. Peter will quote from Joel in the first sermon preached after Jesus has gone back to heaven. The promise that he updates from Joel will be of comfort to all believers. Joel writes in Chapter 2:28-31, after warning of impending disaster and the need to repent, the words God has given him:

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Peter quotes from Joel in Acts 2, and Paul also uses the prophet's word in his explanation of the salvation process from Romans 10:

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

A common citation states there are 3,000 promises in the Bible; still others say there may be as many as 7,000 or 8,000. Regardless of the number, this is one precious promise to anyone who ever wonders if they may be saved. Mark it down: EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

It's also a great verse for assurance of salvation. Doesn't say that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved unless they fall from grace or lose their salvation. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Father, thank you for hearing my call for salvation and responding by saving me. Help me to live in such a way that I reflect your promise to others. Amen!

Words

2009-12-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows the power of words. The power to bless or curse has been sufficiently documented. But have you ever thought of carrying words around with you? The phrase that caught my attention today was from Hosea 14:2:

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

Hosea has been urging Israel to return to God. Now he encourages them to use words to express their sentiments. It is not enough to have a sense of repentance in their hearts, they must voice their prayer to God.

Do you know what makes God happier than an ox or a bull? Our words of praise and thanksgiving! Listen to Ps. 69:30-31:

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me and saving me. Remind me to take words with me as I pray and worship you. Amen!

Downpour!

2009-12-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

¹ "Come, let us return to the LORD.
       He has torn us to pieces
       but he will heal us;
       he has injured us
       but he will bind up our wounds.
² After two days he will revive us;
       on the third day he will restore us,
       that we may live in his presence.
³ Let us acknowledge the LORD;
       let us press on to acknowledge him.
       As surely as the sun rises,
       he will appear;
       he will come to us like the winter rains,
       like the spring rains that water the earth."

--Hosea 6:1-3

Knowledge

2009-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hosea numbers among the "minor" prophets, but there's nothing minor in his warning:

...my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
"Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children. (Hosea 4:6)

You read all kinds of theories and ideas about why the children of church members leave church once they have graduated from high school. Estimates range in the 80-85 per cent range of children from Christian homes who abandon church attendance once they are on their own.

But could Hosea's warning be as valid or more so than any other idea proposed today?

The same conditions exist in our country that existed in the time that Hosea prophesied. Listen to a description of Israel prior to the fall and compare it to today's headlines:

"There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed..." (Hosea 4:1b-2)

Turn back to God, Hosea pleaded with his people. We need the same!

Father, forgive our sins, heal out nation. Help us to seek you with all our heart. Amen!

Sheep

2009-11-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

I've had sheep on my mind this morning, ever since I saw a new Tiger Woods television ad for a consulting organization. Tiger is on the 16th hole of the Bandon Dunes golf course in Scotland, debating with his caddy over whether to use the 6 or 7 iron when a voice comes apparently from the sheep. Tiger's about to opt for the 7 when the voice tells him, "I saw Arnold Palmer make that same mistake..." Tiger switches to the 6 iron and of course makes a perfect shot. He gives the "talking" sheep a parting glance and heads off down the course. At which point the shepherd steps out from behind the tree where he's been hiding and offering advice to Tiger and tells his sheep, "Move along, laddies..."

The role of the shepherd is prominent in today's One Year Bible reading, both in the book of Ezekiel and in the letter to the Hebrews. A quick search showed the word "shepherd" appearing 16 times in all of the passages for today.

For the most part, the shepherds of Israel are given a stern warning for their lack of attention to the flock. Ezekiel speaks on God's behalf when he says:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

A chilling warning from God is voiced for these shepherds: "I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock."

I heard a missionary speaker say ask the question, What would happen to us if God cared for the names in the Lamb's Book of Life the way we take care of church and Sunday School rolls? Here in Ezekiel he issues a stern warning that we are to care for the flock, strengthening the weak, healing the sick, binding up the injured, bringing back the strays and searching for the lost. If the shepherds of Israel fail in their task, they will be held accountable.

But the sheep will not be left untended! God speaks through Ezekiel:

I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

But a portion of the care that this Good Shepherd makes available to his sheep also involves discipline. The sheep will not be allowed to wander as they please. God says of His Shepherd:

I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.

And God tells explicitly how He will do this:

I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

And He concludes the Ezekiel passage for today with these words:

You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.

In the final chapter of Hebrews, the identity of the Good Shepherd is made clear. In the benediction found in Hebrews 13:20-21 we read:

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Father, equip me to serve as your under-shepherd, and help me to be faithful in strengthening, healing, bringing back and seeking the lost. Grant that I may be faithful in what you have called me to do. Amen!

Old friend

2009-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

I read a verse today that was required memorization in the personal evangelism class I took at seminary. It seems straightforward enough:

For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. Ezekiel 18:4

We're neither saved nor lost because of who we are--we are saved or lost because of what we do. The one who sins is the one who will pay for his sins by his death. Read on:

If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Ezekiel 18:26-27

Now, just as Abraham was saved and considered righteous because of his faith, so are we all, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Repenting or turning away from our sins is a necessary first step.

Finally, Ezekiel records these words at the end of Chapter 18:

"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Small wonder, then, that when Jesus began his preaching ministry, he began by preaching repentance. Once he had offered the sacrifice for our sins, the way was open for us to enter into the Most Holy Place. Interesting that today's reading also includes this passage from Hebrews 9:6-8, which follows a description of the Jewish tabernacle worship and the duties of the priest:

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.

Father, help me to realize that my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who is within me. Thank you for giving me a new heart and a new spirit. Help me to worship you in Spirit and in truth today and everyday. Thank you for saving me from my sins. Help me to share that salvation with others. Amen!

Heart surgery!

2009-11-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

The nation of Israel was in exile because of the sins they had committed. God used Babylon to discipline Israel, and though it seemed harsh, it was necessary to break them of their sin of idolatry. But they would not be abandoned forever. God spoke to Ezekiel and told him that one day the Jews would return to the land He had promised them:

They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD." (Ezekiel 11:18-21)

There would be a heart-level change in God's people, He tells Ezekiel. It would take heart surgery to enable them to serve God. How will this take place?

1. God is the Master Surgeon. "I will give them..." Heart surgery is never self-performed, at least not successfully! God must be the surgeon, and His tools are divinely powerful. Isaiah saw God as Father and Potter:

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

Titus 3:5 makes it clear, as do numerous other verses, that God is the author of our salvation:

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5a)

Why is the authorship of salvation so important? Why must God be not only the perfecter of our faith but the author of it as well? Because only God is worthy of receiving honor and glory. And because we humans battle constantly against self and pride. Given the opportunity, I will take credit for whatever spiritual success
God grants. Who wants to steal from God by claiming even a bit of the credit? So how does He do it?

2. God will give His people an undivided heart. Out with the old heart, in with the new. The old heart must go because it has a fatal flaw--it is divided. Obviously we're not talking about the physical heart with its different chambers, although that might make a good analogy. Our spiritual heart is of divided loyalties. It seeks after its own welfare and chases its various desires and gods. That's why David prayed:

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. (Ps. 86:11)

3. Surgical tools. And what is the Instrument that God will use to give us this new, undivided heart? 2 Cor. 5:17-18 spells it out:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

It is through Jesus Christ that the spiritual heart replacement takes place. When God replaces the old, sinful heart inside us, He puts in its place a new heart, one in which Jesus Christ himself can live. Paul elaborates on this in 1 Cor. 6:18-20:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

When the old heart has been replaced as we repent, or turn away from our sins and our old way of living, in its place comes a heart in which Jesus Christ himself can live. Our body, then, becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit and then and only then can we follow God's decrees and keep his laws.

Father, thank you saving me! Thank you for replacing my old heart which was divided and replacing it with a new one, in which Jesus Christ lives. Help me to worship in that Temple every moment, to be aware of your presence, and follow all that you show me to do. Amen!

Watchman

2009-11-02T04:56:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you tried to talk to someone one about something they were doing wrong in their lives? Perhaps it was only a small matter or perhaps a friend was involved in some wrong doing that could completely destroy them and everything they had worked to accomplish. Just the thought of confrontation stirs mixed emotions within us. Most people shy away from it, while few seem to relish the task. Who wants to lead an intervention?

Yet that was just what the prophet Ezekiel was commanded to do. Living with the Jews who had been taken into Babylon as captives, Ezekiel was given an assignment from the Lord. It was one that came with consequences. Hear what God told the prophet to do in Ezekiel 3:

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

"Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself."

What a tough assignment! Ezekiel was not responsible for keeping the people from sinning, but he was responsible for warning them. There were a few things that made the job a little easier for this prophet in exile:

Ezekiel was commissioned by God. "I have made you a watchman," God tells him. It was not a job he sought out, but it was one for which he was divinely chosen. The sense of calling keeps us going when circumstances would tell us it's time to quit.
Ezekiel was coached by God. "Hear the words I speak," God tells him. He was not responsible for judging or forming an opinion on his own; rather, he was to listen to God and repeat the message he had been given.
Ezekiel was held accountable by God. "I will hold you accountable for his blood," God tells him. The sense of calling and coaching are coupled with a severe warning if he does not do as God has commanded.

If the righteous hear the words of God spoken by Ezekiel and turn from their sins, not only will they live, but so will the prophet. James reminds us in Chapter 5:19-20:

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Ezekiel had the opportunity to proclaim God's warning to his countrymen and so perhaps to turn them from the error of their ways. He was not held responsible for their decision, but he was held responsible for his faithfulness.

Father, help me to be faithful to proclaim and faithfully teach your word. Remind me of my sense of calling, help me to hear your voice and let me be faithful in sharing with others what you are teaching me. Amen!

Smooth talk

2009-11-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Interesting episode of House the other night, the demented TV doctor with the weirdest of patients (it's never lupus) and who always manages to come up with a diagnosis by the end of the program. This particular patient is a book editor who suddenly loses his inhibitions in what he says. If the thought pops into his mind, then it's out of his lips, sometimes with funny consequences but ultimately threatening to destroy his family and estrange the patient from all that he loves. It's a theme that's been done before in movies such as Liar Liar.

But what really was the problem? Was it that the patient was saying inappropriate things? That he could not control what came out of his mouth? Or was the problem more deeply rooted than it appeared. It wasn't actually what he was saying that was inappropriate, it was what he was thinking.

Proverbs 26:23 from the Message reads:

Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.

It was the old glaze-over-cracked pottery syndrome that House never diagnosed! Had the man's heart been right, what came out of his mouth would have been fine.

So how do you make the heart right? First, by being born again. Second, by being filled with the Spirit. Third,taking heed to God's Word so that we can avoid wrong thoughts and motives to begin with. James traces the root of the problem back like this:

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews has a valid suggestion:

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. (Heb. 3:1-6)

Colossians 3:1-2 says nearly the same thing:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

And finally, Romans 12:2 sums up the importance of our thought life with these words:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Father, help me to set my thoughts on Jesus, to let my mind be transformed. May what I say reflect who I am in Jesus Christ. Amen!

Justice

2009-10-29T06:57:00.000-07:00

Most people would rather consider a root canal than an in-depth study of the book of Lamentations. Just the name of this book can make you sad! The book was apparently written by Jeremiah as a later addition to his book of prophecy, and it describes the situation Jerusalem finds itself in following God's judgment. There's an excellent introduction to Lamentations here.

One of the attributes of God is His justice. When the seven bowls of God's wrath are being poured out upon humanity as described in Rev. 16, the angel assigned to change water into blood made an observation:

Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: "You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve." (Rev. 16:5-6)

In today's reading from the One Year Bible, the author of the book of Lamentations describes the agony that comes upon Jerusalem as God's justice is meted out on that city. He writes in Lamentation 1:18:

"The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my suffering.

A.W. Tozer observes that justice is indistinguishable from righteousness in the Old Testament. "It's the same root word with variations according to the part of speech used," he writes. Tozer continues:

It means uprightness or rectitude. To say that God is just or that the justice of God is a fact is to say that there is uprightness and rectitude in God....Justice and righteousness are indistinguishable from each other.

He explains justice further and tells why Israel finds itself in a place of judgment:

To say that God is just is to say that God is equitable, that He is morally equal. If you go to Ezekiel 18:25 you will find God scolding Israel there. He says, "Yet yet say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?" That word "unequal" simply means inequity. Do you know that the word inequity and the word iniquity are the same word? The iniquitous person is not morally equal, not symmetrical morally, unequal to him.

And so judgment is simply the application of God's justice to a moral situation, whether favorable or unfavorable, writes Tozer. Israel is suffering not because God is evil or unjust but because He is just and is simply applying His justice to the moral situation in which Israel had placed herself.

But God's judgment then raises an interesting question. If judgment is God's justice being applied to a moral situation, why are we not all destroyed today? The early church father Anselm poses an interest question, writes Tozer: "But how dost thou spare the wicked, if thou art all just and supremely just?"

Anselm explains it this way:

For thou art all just and supremely just, yet thou art kind even to the wicked, even because thou art all supremely good. For thou wouldst be less good if thou wert not kind to any wicked being. For, he who is good, both to the righteous and the wicked, is better than he who is good to the wicked alone; p. 14 and he who is good to the wicked, both by punishing and sparing them, is better than he who is good by punishing them alone. Therefore, thou art compassionate, because thou art all supremely good.

And fortunately for us, God is supremely compassionate. And his supreme compassion means that He is patient. Peter, a man who benefited as much from God's patience and compassion as any of us, puts it this way:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
If God has not yet dealt with us as He did Jerusalem, it is because He is patient. In Genesis 15, God appears to Abraham in a dream, and He spells out for him the picture of what is to come for his descendants. God tells Abraham:

Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. (Gen 15:13-16)

For four hundred years, God tells Abraham, He will allow the Amorites to continue in their wicked ways. But a day of judgment is coming, and it will come when Joshua returns with Abraham's descendants and acts to bring God's judgment on that people. He has been patient with them and gives them ample opportunity to repent and to turn to Him.

Don't test God's patience and compassion! There is a limit, and Prov. 29:1 puts the warning like this:

A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

Father, praise you for your justice, and thank you for your compassion. Help me to walk in repentance and humbleness before you. Amen!

Grace

2009-10-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Why are we saved? Is it because we deserve it? Paul writes in Titus 2 that it is because of God's grace:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)

It's not because we deserve salvation, but because God is good. His goodness is expressed in his grace to us. That grace saves us through our faith, and not through anything that we have done. A.W. Tozer puts it this way:

Nobody has ever been saved, from the day that Abel offered his bloody lamb on a homemade altar, down to the latest convert made today, except out of the goodness of God. Because of God's grace, His mercy, His lovinkindness, His goodness and graciousness, His cordiality and approachability, He kindly saved people.

Note that not only are we saved by grace, we are also sustained and supported by it: As Paul told Titus, it is God's grace that teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. Self-controlled, upright and godly lives come through grace.

Father, teach me to stand and to live in your grace. Let my self-control be found in you through your grace. Amen!

Only God

2009-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

The nation that thinks it has everything it needs finds that the one thing it needs the most is God. Unfortunately, it often finds that out too late. Here's what Jeremiah says about Babylon:

"Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because 0f her sins. It is time for the LORD's vengeance; he will pay her what she deserves.

Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.

Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. (Jer. 51:6-8)

A.W. Tozer was talking about the America of the 50s, but what he wrote applies both to Babylon and to us today:

It's rather a cynical thought, an ironic thought, that the richest nation in the world manages to have the most divorces, the most suicides and the most juvenile delinquency. It proves again that no matter how much you give a man, if he misses God he cries "Ever me wanteth," and goes out to do some crime. If you give him everything and then add God to it, you have wronged him, and he has wronged his own soul. For God wants to be first and wants to be all.

He concludes his chapter on God's Immensity with this invitation:

If you gain the whole world and find not God in your own soul, what have you got? It's worth nothing to you. Let's search; let's pray; let's get still; let's get quiet. Let's learn the wonder of silence. Let's learn the beauty, the secret of seeking after God. With our Bible open before us and our knees bent, all alone in humility and penitence, let us cry, "Only God, only God and God alone! Take the wolrd but give me Jesus!"

Amen, let it be so!

Shepherds

2009-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

Pretty much everywhere we've lived abroad there have been shepherds. In Burkina Faso, you could take the loneliest bicycle path out of town and when you got out to the middle of nowhere, you'd find a young boy with a stick tending some goats. In suburban Lisbon, I remember rounding a curve in the road one day and coming up on what must have been a hundred or more sheep.

Shepherds play a prominent role throughout the Bible, and in today's One Year Bible reading there's an indication that God's people had become lost because of their leaders. Read Jeremiah 50:6:

    My people have been lost sheep;
       their shepherds have led them astray
       and caused them to roam on the mountains.
       They wandered over mountain and hill
       and forgot their own resting place.

What an awesome responsibility God has given to those in positions of leadership over His people! Think of some of the leadership lessons the Bible teaches whenever the topic of sheep comes up. Here are just a few:

1. Pay attention to the flock. Prov. 27:23:

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;

2. Meet the spiritual needs of the flock. When Jesus reinstated Peter after he had denied his Lord three times, Jesus instructed him three times with these words:

"Feed my lambs." "Take care of my sheep." "Feed my sheep."

Those words of Jesus must have stuck in Peter's mind, and he used the metaphor of sheep and shepherds when he encouraged the elders in 1 Peter 5:2-4:

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Paul had learned that lesson as well. When he met with the leaders of the Ephesian church for the last time as he journeyed to Jerusalem, he instructed them in Acts 20:28 concerning God's people:

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

3. Love the flock, both individually and collectively. Both in Matthew 9 and Mark 6, Jesus sees the people of Israel as sheep without a shepherd. Their condition moves Jesus to compassion. In Mark 6:34, Jesus demonstrates how love prompts us to meet the spiritual needs of the flock:

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Father, help me to pay attention to your flock, to love them and to care for them. Help me to care for myself and the flock over which you have given me leadership. Teach us to feed on your Word and to grow strong in your grace and truth. Amen!

Authentic faith

2009-10-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

Ever give much thought to different kinds of faith? Are there different kinds of faith? Isn't faith just faith?

Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Timothy possessed what Paul termed sincere faith. The word translated as sincere in the NIV is anypokritos in Greek, which is variously translated as unfeigned,without dissimulation elsewhere in the New Testament.

A.W. Tozer, in his book The Attributes of God, writes:

Faith is of two kinds: nominal and real. The nominal faith is faith that accepts what it is told and can quote text after text to prove it. It's amazing how nominal faith and nominal beliefcan weave these texts into garments, cloaks and curtains for the Church.

Bur there is another kind of faith: it is fath that depends upon the character og Do. You will remember that the Scripture does not say, "Abraham believed the text, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." It says, "Abraham believed God" It was not what Abraham believed, it was who Abraham believed that counted. Abraham believed God, and the man of true faith believes God and his faith rests on the character og Do. The man who has real faith rather than nominal faith has found a right answer to the question, "What is Gd like?" There is no question more important. The man of true faith fas found an answer to that question by revelation and illumination.

But despite Timothy's unfeigned faith, Paul reminded him that he could not be complacent, even in sincere faith.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Despite having faith, Timothy still needed to tend that faith, fanning it into flames.

Father, help me to have sincere, unfeigned faith, and teach me to fan it into flames. Help me to be faithful to your calling and to share your Word with everyone. Amen!

Memory

2009-10-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

I remember once going to eat at a local restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a group of about 10 or 12 people. The waiter, who also happened to be the restaurant owner, came to take our order. We were astonished to note that he did not have a pen or paper with which to take down our meals. Nevertheless, he took each order, even down to the "doneness" of the steak, and some time later returned with everyone's food. Astounding. He was obliged to have a good memory because he could neither read nor write.

Sometimes I think the ability to write hampers us in our ability to remember. True or false, there are times we need to write things down. And that's just what God tells the prophet to do in Jeremiah chapter 30:

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you...'"

One of the reasons I'm working at writing down my thoughts here from my daily Bible time is so that I won't forget the impressions and thoughts that God sends my way. I could always do a better job, but remembering what we hear from God is important.

One of the things that stands out in my mind about the prophet Samuel was his attachment to the Word of God. After hearing God's voice in the Temple, and receiving a message which he had to deliver, Samuel grew into a man who held on to God's Word. In fact, 1 Samuel 3:19 says of him:

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.

Father, help me to hold on to your Word, and to live by it. Help me always to treat it with respect, to remember it and to live by it. Amen!

Plans for you

2009-10-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

One of the most comforting and oft-quoted passages from the Old Testament must surely be Jeremiah 29:11: "'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.'" Scratch the surface of that verse even just a little by looking at its context, and it might not be as comforting a verse as we would like. And yet it is full of comfort for those who love God and are convinced He is still in control and working his purposes out.

The people of Israel had just been taken into exile because they had been unfaithful to God and had turned to idolatry. God was using the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar to discipline his people. Yet the false prophet Hananiah was telling them that the period of exile would last no more than two years. Surely they could hold on for two years, and then God would break the yoke of their captors and allow them to return home.

Not so fast, Jeremiah the true prophet of God would say. It's not going to be two years, it's going to be 70. And the false prophet Hananiah would pay with his own life. Here's the text of a letter Jeremiah would send o the captives in Babylon from where he was writing in Jerusalem:

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place..."

You might as well settle down where you are and get to like, Jeremiah says, because you're going to be there a long time. You might as well work for the peace and prosperity of the city you're located in because that's where you're going to be for a while.

He then throws in the oft quoted verse to comfort them. But the comfort God is offering is through their suffering and not around it. What is happening to them is happening for a reason, and it is within God's plan for his people.

His plans for them, plans to comfort them and give them a future, would be to lead them through a period of exile and into the service of a pagan, foreign king. Why would God do that to his people? Because He loved them!

Hebrews 12, which quotes from Proverbs 3:11-12, reminds us that God disciplines those He loves and we should not despise or reject that discipline. Why?

If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb. 12:8-11)

Don't be too quick to seek relief from hardship or persecution that God sends your way to strengthen and correct you. Although it may not be pleasant, God uses discipline for our own good.

When the 70 years had passed and the Israelites did return to their own land, they no longer had the predisposition to idolatry that they did before. The old farmer, faced with a dog who killed a chicken, used to deal with it in a rather strange manner. He would take the chicken the dog had killed, tie a cord or rope to it and attach it to the dog's collar. Then he would wait a few days. That was all it took for the dog to be repulsed by the idea of killing another chicken. Obviously such discipline is shunned today, but it was effective. God's dealing with Israel by sending them into exile among an idolatrous people was enough to sicken them of the whole thought and turn them wholeheartedly back to Him.

What's the sin in your life that you just won't give up? What's the appetite or craving that draws you always into temptation. Heed God's warning, or be prepared to subject yourself to God's discipline.

Father, thank you for loving me and disciplining me. Help me to see where you are at work in my life refining me and turning me back to serve you with my whole heart. Help me to resist the devil's temptations and live my life in such a way that it brings glory to you. Amen!

Curses!

2009-10-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

So what is the sin in your life that you refuse to deal with once and for all? It is deadly dangerous to keep it around, as we see in today's reading from Jeremiah:

The LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: 'Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, "Obey me." But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.' " (Jer. 11:6-8)

Heard a tremendous sermon yesterday by Ravi Zacharias and he blew me away with the following statement:

I don't know what habits you have that you have not given up, I don't know what dreams you are pursuing that you've not given up, I don't know what things your hands touch that are not yours, I don't know what goals you have set that are ungodly, I don't know what places your feet are taking you that you ought not to go, but I'm going to challenge you if you claim to follow the person of Jesus Christ, are you willing to lay it at his altar and give it up for Him?

Ravi used the story of the prophet Balaam, who was asked by Balak to pronounce a curse on the people of Israel. The first time Balak approached Balaam and asked him to go and look at the Israelites, the prophet prayed about it and heard a clear word from the Lord that he was not to go. But the second time Balak sent emissaries and doubled the offer to Balaam to at least go and look. This time when Balaam prayed about it, God told him he could go. Ravi drew the spiritual principle that God will allow us to do the things we really want to do, if we insist upon our own way. But that freedom comes at a terrible price.

And it was a price that the nation of Israel was about to pay for continued rebellion against God and the continued pursuit of false gods.

All the curses of the covenant would be invoked against God's people if they continued in their wrong ways. Why do we think that we as individuals or as nations can escape God's anger if His own chosen people did not? How we like to blame God for the tragedies He sends upon us, instead of repenting and turning back to Him.

And how we like to come up with our own solutions to spiritual problems. Some folks seem to think that philosophy or psychology can handle the problem of sin; others seem to believe that political action can remedy rebellion.

Jeremiah had just dealt with those options in the opening of Chapter 10, when he writes in verses 1-3:

Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. This is what the LORD says:

"Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

The customs of the peoples are worthless for knowing the one true God! That sounds an awful lot like Col. 2:8 to me:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Don't miss the truth of the Gospel! We cannot improve ourselves by legislation or psychological evaluation.

The best set of laws and the finest running political machinery will not touch the condition of the human heart. Only Jesus can heal the heart. Only His Holy Spirit living inside of me can empower me to overcome sin and live the way God wants me to live.

Father, help me to hear your voice and to give up the things that are displeasing to you! Help me not to lean on my own understanding, but to seek your will and your presence every moment. And give me the strength to place on the altar all that is displeasing to you. Help me never to insist on my way, but always cede to your way. Amen!

I hate my job

2009-10-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

New book today--Jeremiah! You think you have a tough job? Consider Jeremiah. He was called to pronouncement judgment on God's people, to announce that their nation would be defeated and the best of their citizens taken into exile. Not exactly a popular message to deliver, and it would cost him tremendously. But God promised to be with him and to rescue him, even as he delivered the message God told him.
Of his calling as a prophet, Jeremiah writes:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

The failings of Israel can be reduced to two sins, God says in Jeremiah 2:

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Father, help me never to forsake you, nor to turn to cheap imitations. Help me to hear your voice and to proclaim your message. Amen!

The touch of the Master's hand

2009-09-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was really blown away by yesterday's Bible reading, but never really had time to get my thoughts together. Still don't, but can't get that passage out of my mind:

¹⁵ For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—
the breath of man that I have created.
¹⁷ I was enraged by his sinful greed;
I punished him, and hid my face in anger,
yet he kept on in his willful ways.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
¹⁹ creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,"
says the LORD. "And I will heal them."
²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire and mud.
²¹ "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

To think that the High and Lofty One would make his dwelling place with me if I am contrite and lowly in spirit. What a difference that makes in my life!

I'm reminded of the song based on the poem Touch of the Master's Hand. Here's another take on it at YouTube

Father, help me to remain in your hands all this day and all the rest of my life. Amen!

Job description

2009-09-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and told of a Servant that he would send. What a job assignment he gave him!

he says:
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

God's servant would not only restore Jacob and Israel, he would be a light for the Gentiles and bring salvation to the entire world. Jesus fulfilled that promise, and he announced that he was the one God was sending. Read his words in John 8:12:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be the light of the world. Help me to always walk in his light. Amen!

Turning point

2009-09-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Isaiah recorded the words of the Lord in chapter 43 that foretold the change between the Old Testament and the New. While God had miraculously led his people out of bondage and parted the sea for them, He had new words for them in today's reading:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

"I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

Where God had formerly led His people through a physical desert, He now would lead them in a different way. The water He would provide for them would not come through a rock being struck, but rather through His Son. Of course, this was not an unexpected change in course for God, but His plan all along to save His people and provide salvation for the world.

Jesus shocked the people of His day with an assertion:

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

God was doing a new thing! And still the world does not understand. But the coming of Jesus was Good News for the whole world, as Paul observed in Ephesians 3:

In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

But by and large, people hate change. They hate the change in the status quo and they dislike the idea of God doing something new in their midst. Mysteries are for novels, not for life, and so many miss the mystery of new life in Christ.

Father, thank you for sending Jesus. Help me to be filled with His Spirit today and every day. Help me to experience the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed to us today by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets. Amen!

Link to attitude sins

2009-09-19T15:39:00.001-07:00

In a recent sermon, I referenced the list of attitude sins mentioned by James MacDonald in his Downpour study. If you'd like to view the list, click on the link below:

Document with List of Sins

Repentance and rest

2009-09-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Isaiah continues to urge the Jewish people to put their faith and hope in God, and to turn away from the empty idols they have worshiped. There is only one safe place, Isaiah says:

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,

The word for repentance is shuwbah and it's used exactly one time in the Old Testament, here in this verse. The KJV translates that word as returning. The word rest is the same word used for quiet in Ecclesiastes 9:17: The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

But Isaiah finishes that verse by acknowledging that God's people would have none of what he was offering. And so the warning of Isaiah 31:1 and following is sounded by the prophet:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD.

I love 1 Cor. 1:18-31, in which Paul contrasts God's wisdom with man's wisdom. It's summed up pretty well in verse 25:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

Father, help me to return and rest in you, to rely on your wisdom and not my own. Help me to live by faith and not by sight. Amen!

Grace!

2009-09-16T05:47:00.001-07:00

One very short passage, yet one very BIG implication! In his letter to the Galatians, as he argues for the Gospel to be the center of that church's life and not legalism, Paul pens these words:

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" --Gal. 2:19-21

The law brings me to the point where I recognize that I am a sinner. Its purpose is to point out that one fact to me. I need to recognize that when the Bible says "As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one...' " and "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" it is talking about me. By understanding this central point, I can then quit trying to make myself righteous by obeying the law and go on to living for God.

Once the "old me" has been crucified with Christ, I can say with Paul that it is no longer me who lives but Christ who lives in me. That's the only way that I am able to live to please God. What a new and powerful way of life God puts within our reach.

And this kind of Spirit-led life is ours through grace--it is by grace you have been saved and it is by grace you are empowered to live a life that pleases God.

Oh God, help me to fully grasp the fact of your grace and to live by it. Help me to love you more as I understand the grace you put at my disposal. Help me to say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Amen!

What you win them with

2009-09-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

A friend and true man of God stopped me in my tracks last week with one of those blockbuster quotations that you hear ever so often. We were discussing the current state of the church, whether Sunday School was dead, trends in worship and so on when he let drop the following:

What you win them with is what you win them to.

In an age of consumer spirituality, church hopping and just plain lukewarmness, it made sense. Churches may try anything to get more people in through the doors, to "pray this little prayer" in hopes that they will find their place and "stick".

But spiritual drifting is not a new phenomenon. In today's One Year Bible reading, we begin a new book in the New Testament, Paul's letter to the Galatians. It's a letter to a troubled church that has been besieged by false teacher, and Paul begins with the basics in trying to get this congregation back in line with what they had heard in the beginning.

He writes in Galatians 1:6-9:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Keep the main thing the main thing! It's not about the music or the message or the man bringing it: it's all about Jesus and being completely sold out to Him.

Here's how Paul puts that in Philippians 3:8-11:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Father, give me that same burning desire to know Christ, to gain and be found in Him, to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection and sharing with Him through suffering to become like Him in his death. Amen!

Self test

2009-09-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

As Paul completes his second letter to the church in Corinth, he urges them to stop doing the things he had warned them about while he was visiting them. Otherwise, on his third visit he would deal with those issues. He has a recommendation for this church:

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? --2 Cor. 13:5

The word for examine is peirazō in the Greek, and it means to try whether a thing can be done, to try or test. It's the same word that is used in Heb. 11:17 where is written, "by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac..." God was testing to see how strong his faith was. It's what the Psalmist said that he had done in Psalm 119:59: "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes."

We should examine ourselves, not only to see that we are in the faith, but also to make sure that sin has not crept into our lives and destroyed the good work that God began in us. For a list of sins document that was produced by James MacDonald for the Downpour study, please click here.

Father, help me to examine myself, to be sure that I am in the faith--to know that Christ Jesus is reigning in me. Amen!

Conspiracy!

2009-09-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you heard the Lord speak to you? One of the speakers on The Nines shared that he had determined not to leave his house in the morning until he had heard from God. And that he was determined to act on what he had heard! In case you missed it, The Nines was an innovative online leadership conference featuring some 75 speakers. Each one was given nine minutes on Sept. 9 to share what they saw as most important about leadership. Lots and lots of gems, but I digress.

Isaiah heard God speaking to him clearly throughout his life, and in today's reading from the One Year Bible blog, in Isaiah 8:11-14, Isaiah recorded the encounter:

The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

Just a few observations:

God spoke to Isaiah. He had no doubt about the provenance of the message. God's strong hand rested upon him as He spoke to him. Are you sure the message you are hearing is from God?
His Word required action. God didn't speak to Isaiah just to be passing the time of day or to make Isaiah happier and more secure as he went about the details of his life. God's Word required action and obedience. Here's a great verses to memorize: "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." --John 14:21
Don't get caught up in the things of the world. Modern technology allows us to follow the latest conspiracy from the comfort of our living room or office chair. Don't let the news cycle dictate where you place your focus in life. There are plenty of people and forces clamoring for your attention, but God made it clear to Isaiah where he was to focus: "The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary..."

Seek to hear God's voice. Do what He tells you. Place your focus and your confidence in Him and Him alone. Que assim seja em minha vida, Senhor! May it be so in my life, Lord!

Preaching assignment

2009-09-10T04:29:00.001-07:00

The call of Isaiah and his vision of God in Isaiah 6 culminate in his assignment to go and preach to the people of Israel. Listen to what God tells Isaiah to preach after the prophet has volunteered to go on God's behalf:

He said, "Go and tell this people:

" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Isaiah had told God that he was available: "Here am, send me." And God took him up on the offer to go in his behalf. But I wonder if the message was what Isaiah wanted to preach.

In the same passage from the One Year Bible, Isaiah prophecies to King Ahaz. As the country lies under siege, God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz refuses, but Isaiah gives him the sign indicating when the country will be delivered:

"Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria."

Both of these messages were taken up and used again in the New Testament. Jesus quoted Isaiah when explaining to his disciples why He used parables. Matthew explains that the birth of Jesus occurred as it did to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah. In other words, Isaiah's message had meaning for the people of his day which the Holy Spirit used again at a later time. The Word of God is truly living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword, not merely words on a page.

Father, help me to be faithful to proclaim the message you give me. Help me to hear your voice and to understand. Amen.

Where sin lives

2009-09-09T04:11:00.001-07:00

According to Wired.com, a team of researchers at Kansas State University has plotted the occurrence of the seven deadly sins across the United States. The Seven Deadly Sins are greed, envy, wrath, sloth, gluttony, lust and pride. While both Proverbs and Galatians give lists of sins, the "official" listing of Seven Deadly Sins is an invention of man. The 4th century monk, Evagrius Ponticus, began the development by listing eight evil thoughts. Pope Gregory I came up with the final list of seven in 590 AD and it has influenced Western thought and literature ever since.

But back to the present: how did a team of researchers at a respected university come up with seven maps where these sins are the most prevalent? Seven interesting formulae were employed, to wit:

Greed: average income for a region was compared with the number of people living below the poverty line.

Envy: Total thefts (robbery, burglary, larceny, grand theft auto) per capita.

Wrath: Number of violent crimes (murder, assault, rape) per capita.

Sloth: Expenditures on art, entertainment and recreation compared to employment.

Gluttony: Number of fast food restaurants per capita.

Lust: Number of STDs reported per capita.

Pride: Aggregate of the other six offenses--because pride is the root of all sin.

You can read the whole article on the Wired.com site and draw your own conclusions on geography and sin, but I posted all this here for a point: Psalm 53 is correct when it says "They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good." The Psalm paints a picture of God looking down on mankind and drawing the conclusion, "Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

We like to quote Romans 3:10 to make the point that mankind is totally depraved, that is, his natural condition apart from any grace on God's part is sufficiently evil to merit his destruction. "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one...' "

Now some might feel that a return to our Judeo-Christian roots, or a return to the values on which our Founding Fathers built this nation is the number one need of our nation today. You hear it proclaimed from pulpits and you see it toasted at tea parties.

But Malachi spoke correctly when he wrote, "Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty."

Even if we could return our nation to the days of 1776 and the time of the penning of our Constitution, we would still find that "There is no one righteous, not even one..."

Man's greatest need is to return to God, to accept God's free gift of salvation. We ought to be about the business of proclaiming Good News. Just as John the Baptist came preaching, and as Jesus came proclaiming, we too should be shouting, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand...."

Father, help me to seek first your Kingdom and your priorities. Help me not to turn away to lesser things, but to preach the Good News and to share Jesus without fear. Amen!

Turn or burn

2009-09-08T04:13:00.000-07:00

New book today in the OYB, and what a book it is! The prophet Isaiah is credited with its authorship and it is the first book of that section of the Old Testament known as the Major Prophets. Isaiah served during the 7th century BC and his message could be summed up with three words: "Turn or burn!"

Isaiah quotes God with saying the following concerning his chosen nation Israel:

I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. (Isaiah 1:2)

Isaiah refers to the Israelites as a "sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption." He compares them to a person who has been beaten from the soles of their feet to the tops of their head, while their country is being taken away from them before their very eyes. Still they persist in their evil practices and refuse to come to God. He urges them to hear what God is saying to them, to be aware of the fact that their religious practices are detestable to God as long as their hearts are far from Him.

But it is not a situation without hope, if God's people will but turn to Him and listen. Isaiah pens these beautiful words of comfort:

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD.

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.

Although Isaiah warns of impending doom for God's chosen people, his writing is not without hope. He has a vision of a brighter future, of a time in the last days when God's Temple will again be raised up:

Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

I love that picture of walking in the light of the Lord! While Isaiah might have encouraged a political solution to the problems Israel was facing--fortifying walls, negotiating treaties with enemies, encouraging justice--he saw that there was only one solution to the moral decay facing his people: "Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord."

The New Testament writers pick up on this theme of light and are quick to identify it:

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:4-5)
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Matt. 4:16)
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)
Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ³⁶Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. (John 12:35-36)
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:23-25)

Check out this video on YouTube for a picture of coming to the light and living there.

Father, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for judging your people, and for sending Jesus to be the light of the world. Help us that we may never trust in ourselves or any other for our salvation, but to be willing and obedient to your Word. Amen!

Pains

2009-09-06T03:41:00.000-07:00

As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth explaining how he was handling the funds collected to benefit the poor, he said the following:

For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. (2 Cor. 8:21)

Paul took pains to do what was right, knowing that his reputation was linked to that of the Lord's. If he fell, he not only damaged his standing, but that of God's as well. That was why he wrote to Timothy that "the overseer must be above reproach".

The word reproach, which is translated in the King James Version as "blameless", means not apprehended, that cannot be laid hold of; that cannot be reprehended, not open to censure, irreproachable." There's just no room for a margin of error when it comes to doing what is right. The character of the one who would serve God is vitally important.

We're not to give the devil a foothold in our lives. It has been said that the devil takes particular delight when he can cause the ruin of one chosen by God to lead the church. We must be constantly on our guard to do not only what is right, but to avoid even the appearance of evil

That's why Paul wrote in 1 Thess 5:19-22

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

Father, help me to always do what is right, to avoid every kind of evil. Let me be blameless as I serve you. Amen!

Nails

2009-09-05T07:10:00.001-07:00

I started a post yesterday and never finished it. Well, okay, I did finish it, but I just finished it at work and inserted it into my weekly leadership newsletter. The topic was on where we focus our attention, and I used Psalm 48:9 as the verse: Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

Today I came across one of my favorite verses: Ecclesiastes 12:11-12, which is as follows:

The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

I like the picture that Solomon paints of firmly embedded nails. You can almost see a couple of two-by-fours nailed securely together. Pictures can be memorable in helping us grasp a concept, and word pictures are just as useful.

What are some things that the Word of God is like? Take a peek at the following:

A sword--Heb. 4:12.
Sword of the Spirit--Eph. 6:17.
A seed--Luke 8:11.
Fire--Jeremiah 23:29.
A hammer--Jeremiah 23:29.

No wonder that Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. One or two words are like goads, intended to move in a certain direction. The collection of all of the words, which are given by our one true Shepherd, is like a series of nails firmly driven in so that there is no chance of the wood becoming separated.

Father, thank you for your word! Help me to read it, study it and meditate on it, hiding it in my heart so that I will not sin against you. Amen!

Meditate

2009-09-04T04:17:00.000-07:00

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love, says Psalm 48:9.

That one verse caught my eye this morning as I reflected on the importance of meditation and thought.

It stood in stark contrast to the reading we’ve been doing in Ecclesiastes, which is basically Solomon’s treatise on the futility of life.

“This only have I found,” wrote Solomon; “God made mankind upright but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

Funny what we set our minds on. It’s been aptly observed that man is able to accomplish pretty much anything he can dream. So what is the stuff that we fill our dreams with?

Solomon lists plenty of them, from wealth to women to wisdom, but concludes that it’s all “vanity”, all a chasing after the wind.

The psalmist, on the other hand, has fixed his mind on God, and meditates on his unfailing love.

What a powerful organ God has bestowed upon us in the human mind. If we focus our thoughts and set clear goals, we are able to achieve all types of accomplishments. Behavioral scientists have discovered that our mind, once focused by clear thoughts and goals, can sift through the worlds of data that we receive each moment and find and focus on those points that are most relevant in achieving our dreams. It is almost as though, if we set our minds on being happy, we will be happy. If we focus on negative possibilities, they will follow right along as well.

So what would happen if we truly focused our thoughts on God? What if we spent our time and energy focusing on the things of God?

I believe that’s why Jesus told his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing..”

Only as our inner man lives in Jesus can we achieve the things that God wants to accomplish through us. As we meditate on God’s unfailing love, then God’s desires become ours.

Interesting that the word the psalmist chose for meditate is damah. In the original Hebrew it can also mean to be like, to resemble. We become like, we resemble the things that we think about.

You’ve no doubt met people who are unhappy with their lot in life. They almost resemble that poor, sad donkey Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, walking about with a dark cloud over their heads. When you focus on only the sad and negative things in life, you become like them, and I believe attract more negative than positive in your own life. Perhaps it all began with one event which negatively impacted them, and they’ve clung to it ever since. Bitterness and lack of forgiveness do more damage to the one who is injured than to the other party. Let past hurts and disappointments go and live for the future!

When you actively seek God’s will for your life through meditating on his goodness and mercy, you become a channel of blessing. Interesting that today's reading concluded with other words penned by Solomon, from Proverbs 22:17-19:

“Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even today.”

Father, help me to focus my thoughts on you. Within your temple may I meditate on your unfailing love. Amen!

Awesome

2009-09-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

My friend Hal pointed me to the YouTube video linked here to this photo. Click on the picture or click here to go to YouTube and watch what happened when Hubble scientists pointed the giant telescope to one of the darkest spots around. It's become known as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, and the results were astounding. What appeared to be a completely dark region actually turned out to be filled with 10,000 galaxies. Using that data, it has been calculated that there are over 100 billion galaxies in the universe, a number that is mind boggling to the normal human.

You can view the video as it was intended to understand the size and complexity of the universe. Or, just as the Hubble was pointed at what was unseen to come up with what has been called the most important image ever taken, you can also use the video to understand another fact: how awesome is our God, who created all this!

Listen to the words of Psalm 47:

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.
He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah
God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

How awesome is the Lord most high! The word translated as awesome comes from the Greek word yare which means to fear, to revere, to be afraid of. It can also mean to cause astonishment and awe, to inspire reverence or godly fear.

We also encountered the word awesome in another passage from today's reading: Ecclesiastes 5:7, which states:

Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

What an awesome God we serve; what an awesome God who loves us and desires to fellowship with us! Father, help me to be aware of your awesome presence throughout this day. Help me to hear your voice and to obey what you tell me. Amen!

New day!

2009-09-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

It was 63 degrees when I left home this morning, and I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise over the flower garden across from where I work. It felt as though everything was new and fresh! Paul captures the newness of rebirth with these familiar words from 2 Cor. 5:17-21:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

There's something about the Christian life that should be new, fresh, appealing. We don't have to carry around our old selves, our old mistakes, our old failings. Everything is new! Small wonder we use the words "buried with him in death, raised to walk in newness of life" when we baptize a new believer. Listen to what Paul said in Romans 6:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. (Rom 6:6-9)

Hello, new life! Goodbye, old! Help me to be your ambassador, fearless and bold!

Father, thank you for this new day, but most of all thank you for my new life. Help me to walk with you all day long. Amen!

Self-examination

2009-08-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

Walter Hilton was a contemporary of John Wycliffe, and a spiritual writer in the 1300s. Like Job in today's Bible reading, he realized it was futile to hide our weakness and immaturity. Hilton felt that all Christians should be involved in the practice of self-examination, having a deep awareness of our own soul and its weakness.

This is the proper work to which all of us are called, to draw our hearts and minds away from fleshly love and worldly appetites, away from vain thought and carnal imagination, and out from self-love and every destructive preoccupation with the self.

Job digs into his life in several areas, probing to see if there is any shortcoming or sin. Notice the areas that he examines:

Sexual sins: In Job 31:1-12, Job affirms that he has been careful not to even look at a girl with lust, making a covenant with his eyes that he will not do so. His vow is reminiscent of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:27-30. Job says that the price for such infidelity would be that his own wife would serve other men if he were guilty of such sin.
Social injustice: In verses 13-23, Job affirms the importance of not only dealing fairly but also graciously with his employees, the poor, widows and the fatherless. Fear of God, says Job, should keep one from ignoring the plight of the less fortunate, he and calls down a curse on himself should he ever be guilty of such.
Idolatry: Job says that placing confidence in anything other than God would be a sin. In verses 24-28, he equates reliance upon wealth with worshiping the sun or the moon. Neither should ever replace our reliance upon God.
Lovelessness: Job implies that it is sin when one doesn't show compassion and concern, not only for his own household but for his enemies as well. Verses 29-32 are echoed in the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount when He tells us we must love our enemies.
Secret sin: Living the unexamined life is sin, says Job in 33-37. Just as Moses reminded himself that God was aware of all of our sins, including the secret ones,
Abusing the land: Job took seriously the commands of God to care for the land, to return a portion of its yield to him in tithes and offerings in verses 38-40.

Hilton observed,

We see that if God chooses to prepare someone to receive any special gift of His love, He first scours and cleanses that person by fires of compunction for all of his great sins previously committed.

Although Job's suffering was not a result of his sin, his self-examination led him closer to God in knowing his strengths and weaknesses.

Father, help me to examine myself, to number my days aright. Teach me your ways and give me an undivided heart. Amen!

Strength through suffering

2009-08-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I haven't much enjoyed the reading of the book of Job these last few days. It's tough going, requires a good deal of thought and concentration and sometimes you just want to "lay hands on" the friends of Job who come to console him. Why do people suffer and why do bad things happen to good people? You can chew and chew on that question.

But Paul writes in 1 Cor. 1:3-4 that there is something helpful that comes out of our hard times:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

A former missionary colleague, reflecting on his Bible study group, the Sweet Spirit Class (c'mon, you know you'd like to at least visit there once!) makes the following observation:

Amazing what grace is bestowed through shared grief, pain, illnesses and the general circumstances associated with aging. It is a precious gift to the church of experienced believers who stay faithful.

Helpful to think that our troubles may serve to help us comfort those in trouble with the comfort we have received from God. It may not explain the why of suffering (Job never received an explanation himself fromGod) but it does help us to face the pain, knowing that God will help us through and that we may in turn help others.

Father, help me to praise you in spite of what may come my way. And help me to strengthen others with the grace you give me. Thank you for providing for me every day. Amen!

Born of woman

2009-08-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

Poor Job! In all his misery, he had some of the most wretched friends to try and "encourage" him. Although their words failed to help, there was a degree of truth in some of what they said. Eliphaz, for example, observed rightly:

What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?

But he failed to understand the power of God in sending His Son Jesus. Paul records in Galatians 4:4-5:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Jesus, who was fully man and fully God, showed that he could be pure, even though born of woman. To what end? The most important fact that we can know about Jesus is recorded by peersecutor-turned-apologist Paul in 1 Cor. 15:3-4:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

I recall a teacher asking us as a group of missionaries the following question: If you could only use one verse to share the heart of the Gospel, and that verse could NOT be John 3:16, which one verse would you select. His was 1 Cor. 15:3, but I think you really need to add 4 on to it, technically making that two verses, but still an important passage. So important that Paul refers to it as being of first importance.

Paul took this truth of first importance and turned it into the heart of his ministry, sharing it everywhere he went. When he said goodbye for the last time to the elders in Ephesus, he reminded them of the importance of this central truth:

You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:20-21)

What Paul had taught everywhere he went sprang out of the truth of the victorious life of Jesus Christ. Because he had lived a sinless life, because he had died and been resurrected, because he had paid the price for our sins, Paul made man's desired reaction to this truth to center piece of his preaching ministry.

And it all sprang from the fact that one man, born of a woman, could lead a pure life and thus be the only acceptable sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. I am saved, redeemed, made right with God because I believe in what Jesus did by living a pure life and paying the price for my sins. So I turn to God in repentance for the mess I have made of my life and I believe, entrust my whole being, on the work that Jesus did in paying the price for my sin.

Thank you, Lord, for saving me! Thank you for sending Jesus to show that he could do what no one else could do. Praise you, holy Father, for thinking of me! Amen.

Self exam

2009-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a health screening today! We ought to examine ourselves, Paul tells the church at Corinth, before we observe the Lord's supper. Self-examination is a useful tool for spiritual growth, as it helps us to look objectively at who we are and how we are living. There's a danger in stumbling through life with our eyes closed, unaware of how we are living and who we have become. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 11:

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

Interesting to remember that Jesus also talked about self examination. In the sermon recorded in Luke 6, Jesus said,

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

We cannot help others if we are first blinded by our own sins and failures! So what do we look for when we think about examining ourselves? The late Ray Stedman listed two areas that require our consideration for self exam:

Double-mindedness. Is there a dual loyalty waging war inside of you? Are you trying to be committed to righteousness and unrighteousness at the same time? Jesus taught that we cannot serve two masters, and David asked in Ps. 86:11 for an undivided heart that he might fear God's name.
Betrayal. "Have we accepted some payoff from the world to abandon our loyalty to Christ," Stedman asks.

Father, thank you for your word that instructs us to examine ourselves. Help me to examine myself by the light of your word and to fear your name. Amen!

A leader's work is never done

2009-08-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

If the book of Nehemiah only had 12 chapters, it could end happily with the dedication of the wall and Nehemiah's completion of the task he had set out to accomplishment. But there is a chapter 13, and it illustrates the fact that a leader's job is never done.

In today's reading, chapter 13 finds Nehemiah returning to his post in Babylon. The work in Jerusalem has been completed, the Temple cleansed and the walls around the city restored. Nehemiah asks permission to return once again, and he finds that there are a few problems that must be dealt with:

1. Eliashib the priest had given Tobiah a large room in the temple. Tobiah the Ammonite had been in league with Sanballat the Horonite, opposing Nehemiah's work in favor of Jerusalem. He had been an enemy to the efforts to restore Jerusalem from the beginning, and now Eliashib had given him a room in the temple complex.

2. The Levites had not been receiving their portion of sustenance from Temple service. In short, they were not being paid, so naturally they returned to the land leaving God's house neglected.

3. All types of labor and commerce were taking place on the Sabbath, which was to be kept holy. Instead, it had become like every other day of the week with agricultural work being done and the city markets set up and operating just like on any other day.

4. Men of Judah had continued to take foreign wives, a practice which Ezra had moved to prevent. The result was children who spoke the languages of their mothers but were unable to speak or read Hebrew, the language of the temple and of Scriptures. These children should have been studying the Torah in religious schools, but the fact that they did not speak Hebrew indicates they were not being instructed in the Jewish faith.

5. One of the high priest's grandson had married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, one of the first and most vocal of the enemies of the rebuilding.

One by one the problems had cropped up and step by step the people were turning away from God's commands. Nehemiah had this five problems to correct and deal with, and deal with them he did. He demonstrated that the successful leader addresses and corrects problems before they are allowed to take root and multiply. A leader's work is never done!

Father, help me to deal with issues as they arise and not allow them to multiply. Amen.

Good advice!

2009-08-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. - 1 Cor. 10:31-33

The joy of the Lord

2009-08-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the "word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Want a good example of that? In Nehemiah 8, the people have completed the wall building and settled in their own towns. In the seventh month they assemble together and tell Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which was all of the Bible available to them at that time. Ezra began to read at daybreak and went on until noon. The people were so touched by the reading that they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Now look at what happened:

The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

It's like the first Sunday School class meeting found in the Bible! The Levites' job was to help the people understand what the Bible said, and explain it they did. The word had such a powerful impact that the people were weeping and crying. They realized that they had not been living according to God's Word. But Nehemiah did not condemn the people, rather encouraged them by saying:

"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

As they dug further into the word and began to apply it to their lives, it changed their actions. They began to try and obey what God's Word told them to do. It changed their thoughts and attitudes, resulting in changed behavior.

What a great calling--to teach the Word of God, explaining it to people and allowing God to touch their hearts. Father, help me to live according to your word and to teach it faithfully. Amen!

Shalat!

2009-08-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

Neat little Hebrew word, שלט, or shalat as it is transliterated into English. It means to domineer, exercise power over. It can also be translated to lord it over, become master. That word pops up into today's reading from Nehemiah, where Nehemiah compares his leadership over the exiles in Jerusalem with that of previous governors. Here's what he says in Nehemiah 5:14-16:

Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.

The Free Dictionary defines that phrase "lord it over" in its idioms section to mean:

to behave as if you are better than someone else and have the right to tell them what to do She likes to lord it over the more junior staff in the office.

Small wonder that Jesus also had a negative view of the practice of leaders abusing their authority. In fact, Jesus defined servant leadership as he spoke against authoritarianism in Mt. 20:25-28

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Want to be a great leader? Become a servant to those you lead. Give your life as a ransom for them. Jesus said that will make you first in his kingdom!

Father, help me to be a servant leader. May I never abuse a position of authority, especially with a view towards receiving personal gain. Amen!

Zealously

2009-08-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

The book of Nehemiah is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and not just in the Old Testament. It is a "how-to" manual for spiritual leadership, as Nehemiah is able to take a defeated, beaten down remnant of people and lead them to begin rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, with its fallen walls and burnt-out gates.

He begins the task with genuine sorrow and repentance for the sins of his people, then pursues a God-given vision for rebuilding. With a clear vision of a better future, Nehemiah is able to motivate the residents of Jerusalem to rebuild, and not without a few barriers along the way.

One fellow stood out in the wall-building experience described in today's passage from the One Year Bible. It was the adverb that caught my attention. Description of the labor was pretty much straightforward: "repairs were made", "repairs were made", but when it came to Baruch, Nehemiah 3:20 describes it this way:

Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

The word translated as the adverb zealously in the New International Version is charah in the Hebrew language. It's translated as earnestly in the King James version, and it means to be hot, furious, to burn. Baruch was on fire for the work he was doing!

What do we know about this Baruch? Not a whole lot. He's one of several "Baruchs" listed in the Old Testament and his name means blessed. He was a priest and would have served as such. He might have thought that wall-building was beneath him, but he evidently did not, for he worked hard at it.

I discovered one more fact about Baruch. He was the son of Zabbai, whose name means "pure" in Hebrew. He did not, however, live up to his name's meaning, for he was one of the men described in the book of Ezra who took a foreign wife and provoked the reaction in Ezra that I described in my last post.

Baruch could have let his family heritage get him down, but he did not. He had no control over what his father had done to disgrace himself, but rather he worked hard to distinguish himself. He earned that adverb in Nehemiah 3:20. He did not let what had happened affect his attitude or work ethic. He distinguished himself by what he did.

Fitting that our reading from the Psalms is Psalm 32:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Baruch could rejoice in the Lord and be glad; he could sing because he was upright in heart. Father, thank you for the chance to serve you, not because or despite of my family, but because I am justified in your eyes. Help me to work zealously in all that I do for you. Amen!

Wanna draw a crowd?

2009-08-10T05:04:00.000-07:00

Want to draw a crowd? Here's what you do--go stand in front of the largest church building in town, then begin to pray out loud, confessing your sin. If that doesn't do it, then begin to bawl and squall and pitch yourself on the ground. That's exactly what Ezra did in Ezra 10: he was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God.

My lands, what brought on such a commotion? Ezra was broken hearted because of the sins of his people. He had just found out that the exiles who had returned to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem had become guilty of a great sin--they had intermarried with the people around them. Even the priests and Levites, who should have taught God's Word and modeled it, were guilty of the sin.

Sexual sins have a way of creeping in and infesting even God's people. Skip down to the New Testament reading in today's One Year Bible and you have Paul reminding the people that they have been washed, sanctified, justified in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. So he warns them in 1 Cor. 6:14 and following:

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

If we have accepted Jesus' invitation to come to him and be yoked together with him, your body becomes special--it becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. As Paul continues to explain:

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Honor God with your body--that is how God expects us to live! How tragic to see so many Christians living exactly like the world around them, trapped by sexual sins, committing adultery, divorcing their spouses and pursuing whoever or whatever interests them.

We need the attitude that Ezra had--we need to be willing to pray and confess, weep and even throw ourselves down when we find ourselves caught by sin. Hope may come through mourning. Shecaniah, one of the priests, comes to Ezra and tells him:

"We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it."

Ezra's confession of sin led to forgiveness and revival. It is always that way. We cannot hold on to what is wicked in God's sight and be blessed by Him at the same time.

Bill Bright relates the following story of how confession led to revival in the small country of Wales, eventually spreading throughout many parts of the world:

In 1904, the leader of a great spiritual awakening in Wales was a young Welsh miner with coal dust in his hair and grime beneath his fingernails. He possessed no skills as an orator, nor was he widely read. The only book he knew was the Bible, and his heart burned with a passion for God and His holy Word.

For years, Evan Roberts yearned to preach the gospel. One day in 1904 while Roberts was in prayer, God revealed to him that He was going to send a revival to Wales.

Burning with this vision, Roberts sought opportunity to preach, but found none. He begged his pastor to let him preach, and at first the bewildered minister said no to this overly enthusiastic coal miner. Finally, after much pleading, the pastor relented.

"All right, Evan, you can preach following the Wednesday night service," he said, "if anyone chooses to stay and listen."

Seventeen curious seekers stayed behind. The young evangelist boldly proclaimed that he had heard from God. His message was simple: (1) You must confess every known sin to God; (2) you must remove every doubtful habit from your life; (3) you must obey the Holy Spirit's prompting; and (4) you must go public with your witness for Christ. Although Roberts was unskilled in preaching, the pastor and those 17 church members began to burn with a fiery touch from God.

The next night more came to hear the young preacher, and the fire quickly spread to other churches. In the next thirty days, 37,000 people came forward to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Within five months, 100,000 were swept into Christ's kingdom across the country, and Roberts' vision was beginning to be fulfilled!

Just as God had shown him, Roberts saw the revival leap to England. There, an estimated 2 million people received Christ. Then the Holy Spirit coursed out into Western and Northern Europe. When the Spirit "fell" upon Norway, so many packed the churches that the clergy had to ordain laypersons in order to serve communion to the masses. Then the Spirit of revival swept across the world to Africa, India, China, Korea and to America. Historians estimate that 20 million people came to Christ while this revival burned in America.

Father, forgive us of the sins that your people have committed against you. Help us to flee immorality and to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to you. Amen!

Mockers!

2009-08-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

In today's One Year Bible passages, there's an interesting contrast found between the Old Testament and the New Testament readings.

In 2 Chronicles 36, we come to the final days of Jerusalem prior to the invasion by the Babylonians and its taking away into captivity. Repeatedly the people had sinned against God by worshiping false gods and forgetting or violating God's laws. If there were any doubts as to why the fall of Jerusalem and the taking of Israel captive to Babylon had occurred, the doubts are all resolved in verses 15 and 16:

The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

Because of his pity, God had repeatedly warned his people by sending them prophets, referred to here as "his messengers". Had they listened to his words? No, they despised his words and scoffed at his prophets. Sad to read what happens when God's anger was aroused.

Flip over to the New Testament. Paul is writing a letter to the church at Corinth, and in the first chapter of his first letter, he expresses gratitude for the grace that has been given the Corinthians. They had been enriched in every way as every spiritual gift had been given to this church. As they waited for Christ to be revealed, they could take confidence that God would hold them secure. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 1:8-9:

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Paul's opening words of encouragement might lead some to believe that we as Christians can live any way we please, since God will "keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless."

Flip over to Chapter 10 of the same 1 Corinthians letter, however, and read the warning from Paul in verses 7-12:

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

The things that happened to Israel and are recorded in the Old Testament happened, says Paul, as examples and warnings on us. We have God's promise that He will keep us strong to the end. But we have warnings in both the Old and New Testament that we are not to abuse this promise. We are to stand firm, being careful so that we don't fall.

Father, thank you for your grace and your spiritual gifts. Help me to fan into flames the gifts that are within me, and to stand firm until the day that Christ is revealed. Amen.

Strength

2009-08-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

What do you do in a hopeless situation, when you are outnumbered and discouraged? King Hezekiah faced just such a scenario. Surrounded by a superior army intent upon destroying his kingdom, Hezekiah assembled his leaders and told them:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." (2 Chron. 32:7-8)

When we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are bound together with the God of the Universe. He who created everything that exists is bound together with us and we with him.

Jesus said in Matt. 11, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I think that is how he intends us to live life moment by moment--bound to him, knowing that there is "a greater power with us than with" our enemy.

Father, help me to live aware of our relationship every moment. Help me to clothe myself with Jesus Christ and to be found in him and him alone. Amen!

Clear, compelling vision

2009-07-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

Now talk about a man who knew where he was going! In today's One Year Bible reading we find the story of Hezekiah, who became king at the age of 25 and is remembered as one who "did right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done." Of all the kings mentioned in the Old Testament, only David and Solomon have more Bible space devoted to them than Hezekiah.

Year one, month one and Hezekiah's first act after repairing the doors of the Temple is to bring in the priests and Levites and "explain things" to them. Listen to what he says in 2 Chronicles 29:4b-11:

Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the LORD's dwelling place and turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.

Hezekiah knew the problem and he knew the solution. He had a clear and compelling vision of a better future. He shared that vision passionately with his people.

I subscribe to an online devotional from Lead Like Jesus and I highly recommend it. Check out their website here, where you can sign up for the devotional by email. Here's what they said July 29 about vision:

Servant leadership begins with a clear and compelling vision of the future that excites passion in the leader and commitment in those who follow. No organization will rise above the passion of the leader.

Hezekiah was passionate about leading God's people back into a right relationship with him. And his first task was to clean out the Temple, which had become badly polluted. You can read all the messy details in 2 Chronicles 29, but the end result? Here it is in verses 35-36:

So the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.

Supernatural results, because God honored the vision of this leader and enabled the people to come together and get the job done. Vision! A clear and compelling vision of a better future must be voiced passionately by the leader if progress is to be made in God's people doing God's will.

Father, help me to be passionate about you and what you want to do through me. Give us a clear and compelling vision of the task you want us to accomplish. Amen!