Learning from Hindsight

“Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, ‘Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.’ But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel” 2 Chronicles 28:22-23.

I’m going through the history and Chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah right now and it’s stunning how dense they can be. Could they not look back on history and directly point to good following them when they followed God and a very severe inverse if they did not? Verses 1-4 outline the basics of King Ahaz’s wickedness and thus verse 5 God responds with, “Therefore the Lord His God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria…” Unbelievably dense to imagine he could do all the wickedness described and expect God to do nothing- the God who brought down plagues to free His people from Egypt, notably after He Himself hardened Pharaoh’s heart, thus showing his power on any spectrum; The God who threw down hail stones to fight off Israel’s enemies when they were too weak; The God who rained down manna and quail to answer Israel’s hunger in the desert for 40 years; The God who did countless other acts; This God, who Ahab surely knew did all these acts, was the one Ahab also didn’t fear. So he mucked about and squandered God’s goodness.

Throughout King Ahaz’s life he was unfaithful although he knew intimately the amazing acts of his nation’s God. Yet starting in verse 22 above, when he became in distress he turned further from God. He turned to the gods of the nations’ who had defeated him and worshipped them. It makes sense, sort of, but didn’t it occur to him that maybe God was angry and thus allowed those nations to win?

But isn’t that exactly like us? Don’t we have the Bible right in front of us? Haven’t we read it, even if only a few of the amazing stories? Don’t we know about Paul’s miracles, Jesus raising Lazareth and the feeding of the 5,000 men not to mention all the happenings Ahaz knew about as well? Isn’t our arsenal of God’s amazing deeds even larger than Ahaz’s?

I find the unfaithful kings of Israel and Judah insolent. How could they lead their people astray? How could they be so ignorant to God’s power and authority? But it seems the characteristics we detest the most in others are the very ones we ourselves portray. I know God; I know His ways; I know His authority and yet I often turn to other gods, or idols, and worship them. I turn to television; I turn to money; I turn to any form of strength and education for survival in this world and cling to it. I run to any version of immediate success and stability I can get my hands on.

The saying is true that hindsight is 20-20. But if I have this strong of a response to Ahaz in hindsight of his grossly incorrect lifestyle choices, why don’t I know that hindsight of my own life will yield the same results if I don’t correct my actions and turn first to the Lord, knowing He will provide? Have we learned nothing from the sins of our forefathers?

Return to Me

“’I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city; I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to me,’ says the Lord. ‘I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, the locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to me,’ says the Lord. ‘I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to me,’ says the Lord. ‘I overthrew some of you, as the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to me,’ say the Lord. ‘Therefore, thus will I do to you Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel! For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth—the Lord God of hosts is His name’” Amos 4:7-13.

This is a rather long passage but worth printing. We have a jaded concept of God’s wrath and bad things happening in our world. And ironically, it’s not always what an outside observer might think.

Throughout history one could easily draw the connection to what we consider bad things happening on this earth and God. After all, if He’s the judge-figure who sits up on the throne of Heaven spending His leisure time condemning people, He’d spend His active time smiting them surely. Particularly in ancient Israel, when bad things happened it was typically, if not practically always, because the Israelites had gone off course, disobeyed God and needed to refocus on serving only Him. It was essentially a jolt of “Hey you, remember me? Yeah, you’re going to need to get back to the straight and narrow or else.” Do good = good earthly blessings; do bad = bad things. But over time and in cases with nations outside of God, this general rule adjusted.

In today’s culture, this occurs sometimes but often we in the church think it rarely the case. Those outside the church may see a smiting God, but those inside the church usually see the Jesus with the lamb on His shoulders. But as the Psalmist lamented over evil men prospering, so we too see this principle lived out today. But what if it still happens much, much more than we realize? He’s the same God, isn’t He?


In the above passage of Amos’ writing, God over and over gave Israel little warnings. But because of their continued disobedience He sent them into destruction and bondage time and time again. What if our world is similar? When a bad thing happens to us like job loss, marriage trouble, a car wreck or something else tragic, what if we first reconciled our hearts to God and sought Him wholeheartedly? It may not be the case, He may not be punishing or correcting you, He may be using you to further make His name known through your pain. But just in case, what if we first, without anger or feelings of betrayal and indignation, first came to God and prostrated ourselves before Him and sought His favor and guidance. Would He relent? I think if you know God and read the scriptures even a little you can answer unquestionably, yes.

Ancient Adornment

“In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; the headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; the perfume boxes, the charms, and the rings; the nose jewels, the festal apparel, and the mantles; the outer garments, the purses, and the mirrors; the fine linen, the turbans, and the robes” Isaiah 3:18-23.

 When France announced their ban on Islamic full veils several months ago it renewed my interest in Islamic and other cultural attire. Several reasons where sighted for the ban including bondage because of customs and ease of terrorist concealment. While both are fairly valid reasons in my opinion, I also struggle with the interference of government in religion.

 Throughout history is seems the exact opposite occurred: religion controlled government. It may be somewhat of a stretch to make this statement so overtly but religion of a people played a vital role in authority and control. Whatever gods or things a particular sect of people worshipped they usually separated themselves from other bands of worship. Of course, several people groups began over history to break this system down, most noteworthy the Roman Empire. But even Rome, ancient Israel, Great Britain and others who have come close to controlling the world had limits on worship and personal dedication to things other than prescribed. I supposed one could argue religion and government share a rather mutually beneficial, exclusive and at the same time destructive relationship throughout history.

But I particularly wonder, and maybe I’ll just look it up, how Christianity lost its fervor for traditional dress. Islam, a much younger religion than Judaism and Christianity, continues to pass along its traditional garb as a custom and necessity to true pilgrims. Christianity, however, focuses more on inner faith and less on rules and regulations. Freedom. We hear that word a lot in Christianity. But it makes me wonder if we’ve used that freedom to truly be better for it.

 Have we utterly lost the customs of the past like in Ancient Israel? Are any still valid and need revitalizing in our world? In Isaiah 3 they clearly abused their power and because of their greed and need for more they turned aside longing after the wrong things. They let their worldly customs dig too deep into their souls. I think we modern Christians can totally relate to this. But it also makes me wonder how we’ve let ancient, pure customs slip through our fingers in the name of freedom and independence. We no longer adorn ourselves with bangles, veils, ankle bracelets or traditional garments. We dress for work better than we dress to enter the sanctuary of the Lord.

Clearly there are customs we should have and did abandon. But are there customs we should embrace once again? Are there customs that actually reside within the freedom of Christ and strip away our concept of freedom? Freedom is certainly not free and it’s not freedom to this world. Freedom is freedom in Christ and what of the sacred is He calling out and imploring us to embrace?

It Makes No Difference

II Chronicles 14

“Asa [King of Judah] had an army of 300,000 men out of Judah…and 280,000 out of Benjamin…There came out against Judah Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a million [that is, too many to count] …Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to You whether the one You help is mighty or powerless. Help us, O Lord our God! For we rely on You, and we go against this multitude in Your name. O Lord, You are our God; let no man prevail against You! So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled”  II Chronicles 14:8-12, selected parts.

 

 

I love the Old Testament. There’s something about the utter dependence and ignorance of the people in Old Testament Israel that I resonate with. They had a huge disadvantage from us, sure, because of several things. For one, they didn’t have the permanency of the Holy Spirit- no inner guide. They didn’t have the level of individual belief and subsequent works like we do today; it was much more communal worship and belief. Sadly, if a King went astray, odds were good the entire nation fell as well, or likely God took vengeance on the nation because the leader acted wickedly and many followed. Jews lacked individual purpose and direction for the most part and relied very heavily on prophets to point them in God’s direction and the King to point them in everyday life directions.  But the more Israel and Judah went astray, the fewer prophets were around to be called upon for guidance.

But I love the fact that even in the Old Testament some people understood the fact that God desired intimate communion and communication with them. He desired praise and reliance; He desired to be a merciful and all-powerful God to His beloved people. But He demanded obedience and undivided hearts. Asa wasn’t a perfect king, but he did a lot of good for the kingdom. He had a lot of soldiers in this scene and I bet he thought he was prepared for most fights. When he heard about the number of Ethiopians however, he quickly changed his tune. Fear crept in. The Hebrew word for million here means the Ethiopians had so many soldiers you couldn’t count them all. At least double for sure, probably a lot more than that. Judah was way, way up a creek and in trouble.

Then Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to You whether the one You help is mighty or powerless. This mighty king, reigning over all in his land, humbled himself and cried before the Lord. And in his cry he acknowledged a rather odd fact to me. We often limit God’s power to the logical. We rationalize situations and talk to God once we have an agenda and game plan that makes the most sense. We bring order back to our chaos and then inform God through prayer what we wish. And while God clearly does desire for us to pray boldly He also doesn’t need permission or guidance on how to handle anything. He has ultimate power and authority over everything, absolutely everything. He doesn’t care even a tiny little sliver what the situation looks like. If He wants to bring something about, He can. That idea is striking to me- it makes no difference to God whether the person He helps is mighty or powerless; if it did, it would mean God has a limit on His power.

We can’t explain away our issues or problem solve enough to figure out a successful life. Successful lives are built on a Godly foundation where He leads and guides. He doesn’t care if you’re mighty or powerless; He can and will use you exactly how He made you. We just have to trust with every part of our beings that God will fight for us if we rely completely on Him. And the ways we fall short, as we so often will, may we pray that God would intercede and increase our faith to believe He can and He will.

Truth

My car was pinged a few times in the storm a few weeks ago that brought hail. At first I thought I wouldn't take it in- it's getting older and I've been parking it outside too much in the last few years. The doors, hood and truck have their fair share of scratches and tree sap. I had a brick from my chimney fall on it a few months ago that left a fairly large dint in the side and a small crack in the tail light. It's a well loved car.
But there is some hail damage and so I decided to take it in for the estimate. My initial thought was (and still is) a hope that maybe some of the other wear and tear will get fixed too because they're on the same parts damaged by the hail. And then I thought about the brick ding. I hoped they'd include it on the insurance claim- get it all fixed at once. After all, it happened in a storm too.

Ah yes, but it didn't happen in the same storm or at the same time- and I chose not to fix it several months ago. But, my internal justifier says, I can answer truthfully and tell them it happened in a storm (notice the "a" and not "the" but they'll never notice) and get all my mistakes fixed in this one insurance claim.
"Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me"  Psalm 131:2.

We spend so much of our time justifying our actions. We mull over phrasing of words and manerisms until we've crystalized our truth. We can explain away how our mistruths frankly were for the greater good. We get away with things because "they don't hurt anyone" and so they're ok.

Several years ago I was down on the Gulf Coast repairing a few churches with some friends. We started in the main-hub church and most groups went out to other churches. My group stayed to help bring some organization to the operation. The pastor met with us shortly and went into a meeting, leaving instructions with the assistant that we needed to pull up the carpet in the sactuary because it'd been damaged by the storm.

Other than wear and tear nothing was wrong with the carpet. The church had only sustained minor exterior damage in the hurricane, no interior flooding or problems. With my suspicions about me, I spoke with several qualified people who verified my story of no interior claims. They were committing insurance fraud, trying to pull up the carpet and dispose of it before the adjuster got there so they'd get to claim it as damaged.

Fraud. That's a heavy word. No chance that pastor said to himself, "I'll commit fraud today so we can get new carpet." No, they needed new carpet and what was the harm, he probably thought. He'd justified his actions and probably had pushed it out of his mind enough that he felt fine. At the time, to say I was angry was an understatement. I wanted to storm in and tell this guy off- how dare he abuse power, particularly as the shepherd of not only this church body but of this whole reconstruction undertaking. I was disappointed.
God has this amazing way in my life of showing me exactly how other people feel in their lowest points. Not always at the time, sometimes years later, but I get there, eventually. I know how he feels now. What's the harm? Insurance is too expensive anyway, they owe me. I'll tell them it's all one claim. And I may be overly legalistic about all of this and I probably won't argue if they do end of fixing everything- but I hope I won't lie or even mislead them about it (which is the same as lying). "Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." From my understanding, weaning is a hard thing. The child is used to mom being around all the time and making all the decisions. The child trusts mom and whatever she does is what happens.

But when you wean a child he's got to learn to live independently to a large extent. He can still be apart of mom's life but he's now got his own life and his own choices. Isn't that the perfect picture of the soul verses the human condition? We got to pull our souls away from our human depravity. We've got to separate these evil thoughts we have of manipulation and cheating. We've got to wean ourselves from our sinful nature. We won't ever be totally disconnected while we're in these human shells but we've got to live independently as much as we can. It won't be easy just like weaning a child is most unpleasant. But we've got to commit and do it because can you imagine a child that was never weaned? Much like a Christian that's still living in and of this world.

A child that's never weaned would never do well in this world. A Christian that's never weaned would never do well in this world or the next.

Sacrifice Costing Nothing

"Then King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will surely buy it for full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing" 1 Chronicles 21:24.

"Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing" 2 Samuel 24:24.

This idea of sacrifice which costs nothing is of high value in our society today. We tend to do as much as we can to be seen or spoken positively of by others, even at the expense of hard work and true service. We thrive, even in Christian society, on what others think of us and frankly care very little about God's opinion. If we're all being honest, we only really care when we need something from Him.

I just finished reading these two chapters of Samuel and Chronicles, paralleling one another on the very same story. There are minor discrepancies in the authors' retelling of these stories but that's of no value. Hebrew society was an oral traditions society, caring less about factual details and much, much more about contexts and application. These particular verses struck me though with this thought of sacrifices which costs me nothing. David has wrongly numbered the people and God punishes Israel. To end the plague that's killed tens of thousands already, David is to erect an alter and sacrifice to God on it. One could argue, as we do in our day-and-age, that God has already "put them through" so much and they "deserve" for the plague to end and God to bestow kindness once again on them. After all, even David calls them lambs who have done no wrong. What did they do to deserve this punishment?

Interesting our similar we are to all mankind. We're defensive and think highly of ourselves. Deep down, self-confidence issues or not, we're pretty prideful. We deserve heaven, we deserve good things in this life, we deserve wealth and good health. Right? But despite this horrible plague that God reigns down over Israel killing tens of thousands, David still has to build an alter and worship God through sacrifice. And despite even this, David realizes sacrifice has to cost something.

If someone does the work for you but you get the credit, you don't learn true sacrifice. You don't learn the high cost of doing things for others as a service to God. You miss out on glimpsing a piece of the sacrifice Jesus gave to come, live, die and reign for us. If it costs nothing, you learn only pride because only the world thinks you did a great deed. David knew this all too well and knew if this sacrifice to end the plague was to be, he'd had to purchase the alter and all necessary supplies.

That which costs little usually means little but those things which cost much tend to be our priceless treasures. Are you authentically sacrificing for the kingdom? Do you believe it's worth the eternal reward?

Be of Good Courage and Strong

“Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight” 2 Samuel 10:12.

If I were in this situation that Joab finds himself in, sadly I’d be pretty nervous. Joab, the commander of the army and all the mighty men have been ordered by David to go out and fight. And the numbers are against them and Joab knows it. Previous to this moment David sent, in from what I can tell all sincerity, men to comfort the new King of Ammon, whose father had just passed. David was friends with the father and thus wanted to extend the invitation. But whether Hanun the son was still of young age or not wise enough to ignore his friends, he listened to their paranoia and couldn’t see the kindness of David’s actions by sending men to comfort him in his distress. Instead Hanun shamed these men and sent them away.

So of course, the nations are mad at one another. As I read this I think how absurd all the events are leading up to this battle. Silly people putting false meanings behind other people’s actions and because of overthinking they are now looking at thousands of people dying. I realize I probably have a higher view of the sanctity of life than they had back then but come on people. In my opinion (whatever it’s worth) many wars are fought over a great deal of overthinking and miscommunication between parties (and terrible people in those pivotal spots leading everyone else astray). However, I do sympathize with Hanun because I wonder how often I’m lead astray by popular opinion.

But Joab is preparing to fight. He’s split the army in two with his brother leading the other half. If one needs help the other will assist. I love the idea behind what this verse says- “Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” I love his strength, his calm, his enduring belief that if God wills, God provides. I love his confidence. But what I really love is his willingness to do what he can to make the situation better.

Too often we look at dire situations and we’re prone to give up. When we see the odds against us we’re far too quick to throw in the towel and run away. But David and Joab pray. They know God and they believe that if He chooses to, He can. But they believe in a practical sense knowing they still have responsibility here. There’s no pouting from Joab, no whining to make sure God’s actually paying attention and knows what’s going on. He’s pledged loyalty to God and will complete his task. He’s going to be strong and courageous just like God challenged Joshua to be. But Joab’s final word isn’t a plea for help; it’s a statement of faith in God’s plan being bigger than his.

“And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” Do I have this kind of faith? Not my will Lord, not mine but Your will be done. Not what seems good to me or what’s popular but what’s good to You, do that. Do I know God well enough to deeply trust that what’s good in His sight is actually good?

We spend our prayer lives asking for this and that, money, jobs, health, marriage and a laundry list of other services. But I wonder how much time we spend with God, learning from Him, listening to Him, to find that what’s good in His sight is what’s good for us and we can trust in His goodness. I wonder if we actually believe He knows what’s going on all the time and our whining, complaining and sobbing before Him may help us feel better but I’m not sure how much good it actually does to teach us. We have this amazing God before us, longing to be in intimate relations with us, longing for us to know His goodness so that we can find His confidence, even in dire situations.

Laughter and Might

"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision...Yet the Lord has said to me...'Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession'...Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling...Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" Psalm 2, select parts (but feel free to read the whole thing).

Seems like our God is much smaller and much less capable than this passage infers. Not only does it infer He's pretty might but it says God laughs at the mightiest people on the planet when they try to plot harm on His children. But our god is too often in a box- he's shoved in the corner or left at home or kept in your hip pocket for an emergency. He's a safety net only guy that we call out to in desperation when we've gotten into another situation. We don't spend quality time with him and when we talk to him it's the laundry list of needs, mainly including "bless her, bless me" and "be with her, be with me." I read a book about a month ago where the author, Daniel Henderson, said he thought most people's prayer lives would be quite silent if we took out those two phrases.

Picture this passage. The kings and rulers of the earth are plotting. These powerful, ruthless, tyrannical men of the world who everyone probably was deathly afraid of angering were setting themselves to destroy God's anointed. They had decided and the death of many was near.

But before God held them in derision, He laughed at them. In my head He shakes His head in sadness that they hadn't grasped His authority and dominion, that they were so illogical as to think they could do what they want and overpower God. But I wonder how different, even as Christians, we truly are from these men.

Our god-in-a-box isn't powerful. He isn't mighty or strong. He's an idol and He isn't real. The real God is this God, the mighty God who sees that we are dust and not even a dot on the map of eternity. He doesn't need us and He doesn't get confused or flustered when we make plans. But despite our nothingness God makes us very much something. He calls us His people and says when other people plot against us it's like plotting against God and Jesus directly. And He doesn't tolerate that.

And beyond all this fighting for us and His mighty hand covering us, He still says "Ask of me."  Ask of me and I'll give you everything. You think you'll never get a job? You think you'll never get out of the miserable relationship you're in? You think you're stuck and life isn't worth it anymore? He gets it and He's saying "Ask of me." If He is who He says He is, if the Bible is correct then what are we doing mucking around in all the earthly stuff? Don't we believe God can do anything? Don't we want a God who is all-powerful? If He can go head-to-head with the greatest forces of the world and laugh because it's not even a challenge, I'm pretty sure He can also help you. It just takes faith to believe He will- and the amazing thing is He supplies that too.

Mistaken Prayer

"Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord"  Psalm 107:43.

I've often thought there are many parts, particularly in the Old Testament, where God is a very severe God, a wrathful God that sometimes takes a long while to relent if He does at all. And can we believe the Bible teachers that say He's a God of mercy who disciplines those He loves? Psalm 107 beautifully answers all those questions and provides deeper insight into the human condition.

Psalm 107 paints this tragic portrait of humanity and actually the very opposite idea of how severe we often think God. It points to God's extreme goodness and mercy and shows humanity to blame for all chastisement and correction. It's tragic to me because the human condition is so poignantly independent, and that to our demise.  This whole chapter is about God's people, His chosen people, wandering off in pursuit of lesser things that lead to darkness and emptiness. And four times it says "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses" (vs. 6,13,19,28). I look at the Israelites and I think "When will they learn?" God verbally talks to them, how hard could it be to just do what He says? But it must have been infinitely hard, and the more I live life the more I understand their humanity. God doesn't speak audibly to me, not that I doubt His ability, but yet He's provided me with these guides, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, that likely have greater ability to pull me in the right direction than even the Israelites knew in Psalm 107's reflection of events.

But the point I want to make here is the deep sadness I feel in relation to their plight. They call out to God AFTER they've dug themselves into a hole so deep they needed the supernatural to rescue them. It's this continual loop of giving thanks to God for His goodness and praising His name, then slinking downwards rather quickly to set their hearts on lesser things. Then getting too easily caught it darkness and death and needing to be rescued to THEN call out to God. But He rescues anyway. He rescues knowing they'll be back in this position in no time at all. He rescues because He is God and He is good and He is abundantly merciful. He's not accepting of our human condition but He's our Creator and He's chosen to love us and rescue us from ourselves.

I find it intriguing that we often don't learn from experience to experience. We too quickly cast off the trying times in our lives because we don't want to remember the painful memories of oppression and sadness. But really, if we allowed those things to remain as a gentle reminder of His goodness to bring us out, not remain as a crippling to our souls, then we might, just might learn and rely on Him in the good and the bad so that maybe we wouldn't have to endure so much of the bad--or at least we wouldn't view those trying times as bad as before. I think God wants to offer us infinitely more than we even know and we're holding ourselves back from that life of pure joy and peace by turning so quickly away from Him to lesser things.

Prayer is not meant as a last resort. It's not intended to be used solely in the depths of despair and trial. It's meant to praise God, to commune with Him, to meet Him in the stillness and find the right way, the way He'd have us travel so that maybe we wouldn't need or even feel so many moments of despair and helplessness. Maybe the Psalmist is right in this chapter in his deep longing for the people to "give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"  (vs 8 and others). He pleads for that to happen so that they can follow the right way and know God's goodness. I wonder what it would look like if we prayed without needing something- what kind of a world would that be and what kind of works would God perform in that world?

God's Promises are Always True

“Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in His grace gave it to Abraham through a promise” Galatians 3:15-18.

This is so interesting to me; hopefully you’ll find it the same. As you may know, Paul writes this letter to the Galatians for 2 specific purposes. People are coming against Paul and, in his opinion, slandering the Gospel he has put forth. So, he writes to prove his apostleship and to prove that the way to salvation is by faith alone, not by the law. I’m not going to get into all the details today but this letter is truly fascinating. So much of the “how to” of Christian life can be found here. So much of the simplicity, the turning away from all the crazy things we sometimes do and follow and just “putting on Christ” as Paul continues to say in his letters. But listen to these specific verses above. He uses something apparently very common to them. Scholars don’t have a specific example of this human covenant but they think it’s something like a binding contract or final will of a person. We do know that it’s something that’s in stone, meaning it absolutely, positively cannot be changed or altered in any way. So Paul says here that the promises [notice the plural] that were made to Abraham have remained unaltered. This matters sooo much both then and now. The Judaizers of the time, the people going against Paul, were telling the Galatians that if they wanted to fully come into the fellowship of Christ [become a full believer] then they had to take on the Jewish Law AND have faith in Jesus. Essentially, the Gentile believers had to convert to Judaism and then believe in Jesus, while still keeping the Law. Paul sights all sort of issues with this but we’ll save that for another time.

Here’s Paul’s point: The covenant God made with Abraham was unchanged, as it had to be because a covenant could not change. Just because He was God and could change anything He wanted to, He did not change His promise [because He is God and perfect!]. The Judaizers wanted to say God had added the Law to the Abrahamic Covenant. The Covenant can be found in Genesis 15. Look here though, it says promises. And as you read through Galatians Paul handily supplies in that same chapter several of these promises. God promises Abraham that ALL nations will be blessed through him (Galatians 3:8; Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). It says “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Galatians 3:6; Gen 15:6). This is faith in one of its first presentations. Abraham had faith and God gave him His righteousness because of it. This is Paul’s main point- that the law didn’t add, didn’t tack on to Abraham’s faith leading to righteousness. Again, the Judaizers were saying that yes, you have to have faith but you also have to obey the Law because God said you have to. And you know what? I bet that made plenty of very reasonable sense at the time. But Paul backs up his argument with the fulfillment of scripture. If God made this covenant with Abraham and then added the Law or added anything at all, it wouldn’t be a covenant. He would be breaking His promise if He added anything to it. This is HUGE. You can say what you want, there are plenty of evil people out there that pervert the gospel, but I think many of the Judaizers might have really wanted to follow Jesus rightly, they just thought the wrong thing (but I’m sure some were false too). But this is big! Paul’s saying that by making Gentiles follow the Law they are essentially saying God is a liar that couldn’t keep His covenant so He broke it by adding the Law to it. Do you see how crazy that is? It makes me wonder how often we add to His scriptures or try to make it say things it doesn’t. Makes me wonder if I’ve ever called God a liar. Look how easily they did it!

God didn’t change the promises. They stayed the same. The Law was a gap filler, essentially. It was a way to make sin evident and more prevalent. It was a way to make people see, without doubt, that they needed God desperately. We’re free from the Old Testament Law, all of it. Every single last letter of the Law was abolished on the cross and Jesus brought His own Messianic Law with Him that brought life, not death. God isn’t a liar. The Christian life is infinitely hard but the how-to is simple: have faith in Jesus. By believing in Him we will follow Him, which means we’ll learn about Him, get to know Him and do what He did and does. God’s promise from Abraham is extended to us: believe in Jesus and you’ll receive His righteousness [and so be able to enter eternal life with Him].

Mud Pies

"You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire...But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all the tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go...You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--- every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes--- for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide."  Deuteronomy 12:2-11 (parts).

I'm tracking the journey of the Israelites and have come to the place where they're about to enter the full promised land. They're about to cross the Jordan so the other 9 1/2 tribes can gain their inherited land as well. Deuteronomy is a fantastic book in that it so far summarizes the Israelite journey, standing as a great pillar of reminder of the good God has done and the miraculous ways He has brought His people through the hard things of life to mold them and shape them to enter His goodness (which is coming soon!).

And as I read this particular passage I find myself once again understanding similar emotions these people must have felt. At a summary level it's very easy to quickly draw the conclusion that these people were ignorant, self-serving, small-picture people who were too stuborn to follow God because they wanted the blessing immediately and wanted it without fear and possible heartache. It's easy to draw the conclusion that it was easier back then to know the Will of God because He spoke it directly to them. I often find myself thinking that even I could have followed God fairly successfully (at least more successfully than they did) back then. But then in passages like this I'm reminded that we're all human, and therefore so very similar. You'd think we've evolved over the centuries but the heart and emotional matters, the cares and concerns, haven't really changed too much, as I now see.

They didn't want the hard times, the sadness, the pain and trouble. They didn't want to spend all their time honoring God and supressing all their humanity. They didn't want to persevere, they wanted the blessing immediately. It reminds me of the psychology study done years ago with the small children. The adult tester put some type of treat (like a hershey kiss or something) in front of the child. The adult then left the room, telling the child that if the treat was still there when the adult got back the child would get double treats. The idea was to see if the child could hold out and be disciplined enough to get more in the end. If you watch the video you see kids struggling to hold out, trying their best but odds were good they'd eat the candy before the adult returned.

It reminds me because far too often we're that child that tries for a short time to do good, to act justly and to love mercy but we get off the path. We start to see the gray areas and we take baby steps off the narrow road without even realizing the cost. We focus on that one piece of candy (immediate pleasure and ease to our desires and wants) instead of focusing on the long-term, better reward. And in our case, that long-term reward is eternal, not just double the immediate pleasure with 2 candies.

But I look at the Isrealites and that's the exact summation of their problems.God had promised them this grand inheritance filled with peace and prosperity. He promised them abundance. And I pity them because so many times it was within their grasp and they still couldn't set aside their humanity for long enough to take up God's free gift.

And then I take a step back and realize I'm to be pitied too. I can't set aside my earthly pleasures for the eternal reward. I've sunk too far into the American way of life and grown too accustomed to luxury and ease. We want our cake and we want to eat it too- right now. And yet we think these things will make us happy; we think they'll satisfy us, even if just for the moment until we find the next thing to work. But as C.S. Lewis says, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and immorality and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like a ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

They had no idea the actual glory God had in store for them if they'd just obey Him. If they'd just follow Him and trust Him He had exceedingly great joy in store for them. And yet we, like they, continue to fool about and seek pleasure here, too often forgetting we're setting our bar way too low.

A Moment that Changes Your Life

I've always looked for a moment that would change my life. A moment that would alter my reality and set me straight. A moment that I would always look back on and say that was the day that things changed, things became different, and I forever steered my life in the right direction. But I now realize the deep problems with that sentiment.

As I grew up most people I encountered in the Christian life pointed to a particular calendar day in a particular year where they were saved- at summer camp or sitting in the pew at church or in the desperate hours of loss. They reference that day as when life changed. They were lost but now they're found. And as much as I've been totally ok with not having a particular date I look back on to mark my Christian start, I think I've subconsciously still been waiting on a day that would alter my existence.

That may sound strange and you may be wondering if I'm saying I'm not "saved." I'm not saying that. I've been redeemed, no doubt. I'm saying though that we hear so many testimonies about I once was lost but now I'm found and we're prone to want that huge jump start so much so that we sit around waiting on it, all along letting life and love pass us by.

Everyday I wake up wanting that miraculous event to occur that will alter my existence. But I read a verse just now and it occurred to me that the event has already happened. And it's not the event that I want, it's the shedding of all the human weight I carry around each day.

"For the grace of God has appeared; bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodlinesss and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age"  Titus 2:11-12.

The life altering change has happened. Jesus lived perfectly, died to take my place and defeated death by rising from it. The grace of God has appeared. It's happened and salvation has come. But what I didn't learn very well is that once I come on board with this belief (getting saved, that is) I've now entered a new fight. It's fight against evil, against our humanity, against myself. You may be different, but my ungodliness and worldly desires didn't go anywhere after I became a Christian and no matter what miraculous events happen in my life, they'll always be hanging around. And until I shed this earthly body I'll continue on in my humanity, unable to escape it's grasp without Jesus.

But the key to the battle is not some one-time, life-altering event. It's the day-to-day struggle, the moment-to-moment defeat of selfish desires, evil thoughts, slothfulness and materialism. It's not some event that's going to happen; it's my daily decision to be like Christ and to honor Him above myself. It's my committing to let Him do it because I'm continuing to remind myself that I can't do it. It's not a cop out; it's not laissez faire; it's not taking the easy road. It's actually taking the really hard road by letting Him do all. I don't think it's something you can really teach kids or new Christians. I think it's a surrender you've got to feel, to realize and recognize when you get so tired of fighting the battle on your own. That's the spot where God really works.

Life's about the day-to-day struggles and tribulations that make us more like Him. A moment probably won't change your life, but a lifetime will. A lifetime of combating the worldly desires knowing that He's working and He's doing and He's providing much, much more than we could ask or hope for.

Fair

"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount...Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:32-34, 38.

A friend told me that back in this part of history when you went market to get grain you requested it in measure. You held your tunic out (your garment) and the seller heaped the grain into it and you took it home for your family. The interesting thing is that apparently there were many ways to cheat someone of a full measure. The seller could short measure, not pack it down or shake it thus leaving pockets of air and emptiness and I'm sure a plethora of other conniving practices. But here, in this passage, God points out to us the importance of being generous.

I find it interesting how few of us Christians do much above what everyone else in society does. We speak to people that speak back, we lend to people that we expect to be repaid from and we usually adopt the "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine" theory. We've let too much of our world creep in to our Christian thinking. I often attribute it to Southern culture. Here in the south most people would refer to themselves as "Christian" regardless of even owning a Bible (which almost everyone has one sitting on some shelf) or being in the practice of Christ-following. It doesn't require church membership, community engagement, honest living or even kindness. I hear people all the time talking about siblings and friends living very clearly outside of Christian beliefs yet we're so inclined in speaking about these people to give them the benefit of the doubt, as in "of course they've saved." It's a part of the southern life to add "getting saved" to your life checklist:  they've had their moment alone or in church where they "gave their heart to Christ." Check. Set for life.

But if God says I'm being judged according to the measure [I] use, I'm in trouble. We're easily jaded by people taking advantage of us and vow to not be outsmarted again. We adopt the theory "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." And while I think there's still a place for that, it's not what the passage here says. It says, how are we lending and loving, giving and showing generosity to people again and again, without judgment, above the norms of society? How are we showing the kindness of a Savior? How are we different from everybody else? Luke tells us- it's when we give a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over that we're doing the work of Christ and fulfilling his order. And did you catch it? It's a good measure that's not just fair and equal, it's a measure that's running over and so a little beyond fair. It's a measure that shows Jesus' love and compassion, a little more than people expect or even need so that they can know the abundance that the Savior has and wants to give. It's a lot harder than we might think sometimes to live generously but I'm betting the reward will be worth it.

Biblical Meanings

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load" Galations 6:1-5.

This past Monday I had the opportunity to attend a small group of women. It was a sweet group of girls who seemed to truly love and respect each other. They were finishing up a study from before Christmas, rounding off Galations. They've been following some book, never really caught the name- seemed to be a commentary of sorts. Anyway, as we came upon this particular passage everyone began, as we commonly do, to toss out their opinion of what they think it means. One by one each opened up her statement with "Well, I think..." or just simply "I think" or "I believe it means." But as I listened to each speak and tried to absorb, reflect upon and occassionally respond, I realized there were a lot of opinions circulating around. And then I realized that's a skill we've been taught since infancy- critical thinking. We're taught to examine things and find the probable and logical meaning. We're taught to find the reasonable conclusion, the one that makes the most sense to us. We're taught that God is a God of compassion and great grace and to be very conscious of that "plank in our own eye" and not criticize others for their tiny speck (Matt 7:3). But I think, and there I go thinking, that we take these passages sometimes far away from their original meaning to make them make sense to us in our humanity.

Here is a fact I'll struggle my entire Christian life grasping: God is not a reasonable God. He's just God.

As I sat listening around the circle at small group or as I listen to other group discussions on spiritual things, we seem to insert our own opinions a lot instead of seeking and finding the original meaning, as best we can, and allowing that to intersect and change our current thinking.

We want a reasonable God. We want a God that makes sense, that we can predict and that will provide for all our wants.

If you look at the passage above in Galations it begins with "Brothers (and sisters)." So, in order to find the meaning of who we're to hold accountable and how we're to hold those people accountable, we've got to first define who this passage refers to as our "brothers and sisters." Then, we've got to dig up whether the "anyone" (Brothers, if anyone...) refers to "anyone" of the brothers or "anyone" of anyone on earth. Then, it's the "spiritual" people who are to help guide the others. So, we've got to define whether we're actually pursuing Christ and His law at the moment and "keep[ing] watch on [ourselves]," which is another requirement for being able to be a restorer to those fallen off the way. We've also got to see what our "spirit" or purpose is in calling that brother out. Is it of "gentleness" to restore them to the brotherhood of Christ or some ulterior motive?

So we're bound to draw the conclusion that we've got to be perfect before we can call someone out in love by much of this passage and therefore excuse ourselves from having to deal with other people's issues. But then we read verse 2: "Bear one another's burdens." Everyone has burdens, everyone has struggles and no one is perfect, ever (well except Jesus of course). Our job is to bear each other's burdens, support each other when we fall, speak in gentleness and hope, and know that the favor you're giving will be returned in no time at all considering how much we fall and need help to get back up.

We need help. We need each other. But we need each other to do so Biblically and with pure motives and heart. Not in a spirit of perfection but in a spirit of gentleness, testing our own selves and searching out our own faults first. We need to stop thinking so much and let God tell us what's best and do that.

If God is for me

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31b

I've always had a great problem with church division, denominations, high-powered leaders and the like. I have a hard time with many people, believing many different, sometimes very contradictory things, all attaining eternal life. I have a hard time being wrong.

But here's the thing, and please correct me if you disagree. We think that if we pray, if we read God's word, if we give our money and time and follow as dedicated followers of God that we will always be right about the important stuff. Now this may be an overgeneralization but I know it's pretty true in my life. It seems we've taken the above verse out of context. If God is for me, who can be against me is the feel-good phrase we've taught our youth to courageously fight off spiritual bullies. And with even just the change of "us" to "me" it still holds the same value and definition. But the problem I've found is that when we believe ourselves to be firmly planted in Jesus we think that our way is the right way. We unconsciously change the "if" to "because" or just leave it out altogether. Is God really for us all the time? Is God really for me when I intentionally commit some ugly sin, well aware of what I'm getting myself into? Is He for me when I do very human, dumb things? I'm not asking if He forgives me, He knows me utterly, but I'm asking if He's for me in those ugly moments rooting me on in what I'm doing.

I don't believe He is. I believe He'll never leave me or forsake me. I believe He knit my inward parts and He knows all the sins I'll ever commit even before He called me to Himself. I believe He's an all-knowing, all-loving, all-encompassing God, and I believe He's cheering for me to root me out of those deep, dark places of sin. But I don't believe He's for my actions in all circumstances. But I think that's the difference in our often human definition of this passage and God's point. If God is for us, who can be against us? First, we have to look at the "if" and figure out if we're in a situation where God is for our actions. Second, we've got to divide God being for us and being for our actions. Those are two separate things. God is for the rescuing of our souls and He's always "for" us in that capacity. He's not always for our actions (and mine that's most of the time!). The last point I see here is piecing together who actually is being referred to as candidates that would be against us.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" Ephesians 6:12.

We're not fighting other people. We're not fighting ourselves. We're not fighting our church, our government, our neighbors or our people adversaries. We're fighting evil. We're fighting the darkness and the power it takes on. Those people that you're fighting right now, yeah they don't apply to this verse. It doesn't necessarily mean you're fight is in vain, but it needs to be contextualized to find if it's really worth the effort you're putting in to be right and for them to be wrong. It all needs to be contextualized to see if our pride is really the thing getting in the way of making peace in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in our nation above what we think is the narrow way to eternal life. We need to come back, refocus and find out what God is for and stick to those things to advocate.

My Hiding Place

"They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?' He said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself'" Genesis 3:8-10.

I know the exact feeling Adam and Eve felt that day. I can feel it in my bones almost everyday. It's terrifying having someone really know you- know your thoughts, your deeds, your very core so well that you can't run or hide anything from them. It takes a pretty intimate relationship to reach this point and oftentimes we rarely have even one person in our lives we might let in this much. But then there's God.

In my experience this attribute of God is what's so terrifying, but yet awe-inspiring and freeing about Him. He knows my thoughts; He knows my heart; He knows my inner-longings and my goals; He knows my very frame. (Acts 15:8, Ps 44:21 and 103:14 , 1 Corinthians 3:20, Matt 9:4) He knows everything. All the yuckiness that I still hold inside. All the slander, malice, jealousy and anger. All the slothfulness, gluttony and resentment. All my shortcomings and faults. He knows it all. He knows when I give someone advice that I myself am not following, He knows the fronts I put on and the great acting ability I have sometimes. He knows. And He still loves me.

To me, that's the miracle. HE isn't frightened or looking on me smirkingly as He comes to cover my frailties. He isn't wincing because He HAS to love me. He had a choice and He chose me. He picked me out and molded me. He may me perfect, and although I've done an excellent job messing that up, He still calls me whole and puts me back in His arms day after day, despite my carrying on and running after lesser things, and makes His mercies new again.

He sees my nakedness and isn't ashamed- for Himself or for me. So why should I be so afraid? I can think of a thousand reasons still but if you think about it, they all fall short. He already sees all those things. We should find comfort in that nakedness with God, not fear. Because in that comfort we can find forgiveness. And in that forgiveness we can find peace. And in that peace we can find a way to heal and not continue to pile on the clothing layers of self-preservation and acting like we're better than we are. We can come to Him as we are, since He already knows, and find the courage to be better, to do better and to accomplish more for His glory- all the while watching and realizing our other layers are shedding away.

Psalm 32 sums it up perfectly - "You are my hiding place." Adam just picked the wrong one.

Frozen Pipes and Dreams

"Now behold, one came and said to Jesus, 'Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?' So [Jesus] said to him...'Keep the commandments.'...The young man said to him, 'All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'" Matthew 19:16-21.

I had a very inconvenient thing happen to me Sunday- my pipes froze. I had no running water so no way of taking a shower or even washing my face. And you know what my first thought was? Wow, shoot, I can't go to church.

A few days before this I started a chronological plan to read through the Bible in one year. I've been pretty excited about it actually, I'm reading about Job right now and all the calamity he faced. My church also just started this 4 week devotional guide that corresponds with the weekly sermons, which I think is pretty neat. I caught up on my reading Saturday night before I went to bed and decided firmly to wake up early Sunday morning to read my devotional, pray and get to church on time. Then, my faucet went dry.

A call to my dad was the first thing I knew to do. I then called my landlord and left a message. At that point, all I could do was pack a bag and head to my parents house for who knows how long. As I drove the 30 minute car ride to my parents it gave me time to reflect. I'm not always super excited to go to church on Sundays. It's not the church, it's me. I sat irritated because it was a Sunday I was looking forward to, with the new sermon series and all. But then it hit me. I didn't go to church Sunday not necessarily because of the water but because it left me an excuse not to go. It was a viable way out.

I've grown so accustomed to my way of life in America and my comfortable living, building up my savings account, building a life with furniture and things in general, thinking piece by piece I'll feel more secure. I just finished this book called Radical: Taking Your Life Back from the American Dream (or something close to that) and as I said earlier, I'm reading Job. I have also read and reread the passage at the beginning of this blog. It pains me because I've been deathly afraid Jesus would ask me this same question.

What does it mean? Should I really sell ALL my possessions? What about my savings, my future, my retirement? What about my car fund and my emergency fund in case of job loss? Is it wrong to save? Doesn't God tell me to be a good steward of my money? Does he ask this question of everyone or is it just a test like God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?

But as I drove home Sunday, shedding some of the layers of American comfort I've allowed to blanket me, I realized that if God took it all away, I could learn not to miss it. I could learn not to be devastated or angry with Him. I could remember and continue to see how much bigger God is than all the stuff. I realised it on that car ride home and said if he wanted to wash it away in a storm or, in my case, flood water through my house as a result of those frozen pipes, then He could, and He would as He willed. I released another piece of me to His care. Another piece that I think I'll have to release most everyday of my life because of my automatic self-preservation gear. It's not an easy piece to let go and it terrifies me but if God isn't bigger than my stuff and if He can't provide for me outside of my own ability, then He's not a very big God and I need not worry about Him asking me that question.

I also realized that shame on me for thinking church was about coming clean instead of leaving clean. It's sad to think a pajamed girl with cowboy boots over her pj pants, with hair thrown up and face unwashed would be looked at and silently scorned for not taking more time to enter worship. But you know, although some people might have felt that way, it's not about them, it's about Jesus, and how He washed me long ago and He washes me still. And although I did not go to church because I had not realized what I know now, He washed me even Sunday morning. And although my outside still might have been a mess, my insides were clean and His mercies were new and His faithfulness never faultered. And although I do believe we should adorn our outward bodies in respect to the Almighty in worship, I do not believe He would reject me if I didn't. He loves me still and it's time I stopped letting the world determine my relationship with Him and started letting God outline it, no matter the cost.