Study from God’s Word…Judges 6: 1 – Judges 7: 25 … Passage for Reflection: Judges 6: 39 … NIV 39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."
My Journal for Today: I really dig the character of Gideon in the Old Testament; and I do so because I identify with him a lot. First there is his lack of self assurance. Who among us has not doubted our own self worth at some time in our life? Well, Gideon certainly did; and yet, God saw in Gideon a warrior, … in fact God saw a “mighty warrior,” a character trait which Gideon doubted severely. In fact God even allowed this “scaredy cat” more than one test, which we have come to know as “fleeces,” to see if God’s angel (Who was probably Christ in a theophany) was for real. And don’t you just love God’s patience and forbearance as Gideon needs to put out these fleeces more than once to see if he’s moving within God’s will or not.
Have you not wondered at times whether you were working or moving as God would have you move? I certainly have; and there have been times when I looked for God’s signs as to whether a leaning I had or a decision I questioned was in the center of God’s will. And the “fleece” I sought usually came in the form of God’s perfect peace when I needed confirmation of God’s will for my life. Many times in my life, when I felt God driving me forward in a certain direction, I have used Paul’s (i.e., God’s) instruction in Phil. 4: 6,7 to help me fleece out what God wanted me to do.
In this passage, as I hope you’ve memorized, we’re instructed to avoid worry and to take our leaning or quandary to God in prayer, … praying diligently, and with sincere discipline, to seek God’s peace about the direction or focus we have in our mind’s eye. And if what we “feel” is God’s will, we will find that He will send His peace, … that peace which surpasses all understanding, to confirm our leaning or direction. And I have used that method of decision-making many, many times; and when I don’t get that peace from God, I know that He’s saying to me, “stop” or “wait.” But if I do get a peace about the direction or choice in my mind, I move ahead, knowing that Satan cannot counterfeit God’s peace.
So, I’m no different than Gideon. There are times when my “faith” is really no more than doubt in disguise. But Gideon had a heart for God’s will; and God, of course, knew that. And even when we doubt what’s going on in our lives, if we genuinely seek God’s direction and His best for us, just like Gideon, God will give us, in HIS good timing, what we seek from Him, which is His perfect will. Go back and meditate on the passage I’ve referred to here, i.e., Phil. 4: 6-7, as well as Psalm 37: 4, Prov. 3: 5-6, Romans 12: 1-2, and James 1: 5-6, all of which will help you, as they have me for years, give you assurance that seeking and finding God’s will and/or wisdom is a pursuit we all should undertake so that we can fulfill the commands of Jesus, Who said to His disciples (see Luke 9: 23 – common, you know it!), If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
And though I’m not into betting, I’d wager that – if you’re a genuine, born-again Christian – you, like Gideon, seek to find and do God’s will for your life. So, my friend, just like Gideon, you just keep on, keeping on in that pursuit; and God will ultimately honor you with His mind and His heart in the matters which mean the most to you, especially those matters which mean the most to God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I simply seek Your will!!! Amen
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
2010 – Mar. 18 – Reluctant Role Reversals
Study from God’s Word…Judges, Chapters 4 and 5 … Passage for Reflection: Judges 4: 9 … NIV 9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman."
My Journal for Today: HOT BUTTON!!! Today, as I reflected on the stories, in Chapters 4 and 5 of Judges, what came to mind – and what I’m about to post here as a hot-button issue in my life – may not sit well with some of my more, independent, “liberated” female followers [if there are any out there? ;) ]. But today’s lesson is a good one we need to read in these days where the outcomes of “woman’s liberation” are so apparent in our world.
Deborah was a unique – and most interesting – personage in the history of Israel. There is no doubt, as Dr. Smith points out in his devotional today, that Deborah was a very capable, strong, and decisive leader. But one has to take into account the cultural milieu of her time, which was decidedly male dominated when it comes to political and/or military leadership. And yet, in Deborah’s time, the people, including the men, came to Deborah as their “Judge;” and she decided their directions. And this included the political/military leaders of the day. All you have to do is read Judges 5: 7-8, from the song of Deborah and Barak, to see that male leadership had failed in those days of pagan influences in Israel.
God’s order, whether you like it or not, is to have males at the forefront of leadership, taking their assertive roles as leaders of families, communities, cultures, countries, and yes, … churches. In Deborah’s day, reading Judges, Chapters 4 & 5, we see that God’s order had broken down; and a void in the ability to lead the political structure, as well as the military, had been created; and without any capable or willing male leaders on the scene, God led Deborah into the breech to lead the Israelites; and she did, along with another key woman, Jael, who was needed to help the armies kill a fleeing Cannanite King, Sisera.
As we see in these passages, the question is not whether a woman can lead effectively. Deborah is ample proof that women can lead when they’re called upon – by default or desire – to do so. The question becomes, in light of Godly design, whether women SHOULD be put in roles where there are no men to lead. The wavering passivity of leadership began in the Garden of Eden when Adam balked, stood back, and let Eve take the lead. That led to the curse of God upon women, which you can read in Genesis 3: 16, which, in turn, led to women desiring to take the leadership God had intended for man and for man to overcompensate by trying to “rule” women.
The design for man and for woman is modeled in the marital relationship; and there, as you can read from God’s word in Ephesians 5: 22-33 - [linked], God would have the man take the lead in the marriage, honoring and loving his wife the way that Christ loves His Bride, the church. And the order would have a wife (i.e., woman) respecting and yielding to a capable and loving husband, who would lead as God has intended men to lead families – and by extension whole cultures.
But this was not certainly the case in Deborah’s time; and because if it, God’s people once again, in spite of a generation of numbing military peace, were led toward disobedience and disastrous consequences in their history. You may not like my position being state here; but God does not intend for a family, a church, a community, or, I believe, a country to be led by a woman. And when that happens, I see it is because a void of God intended, male-led, leadership which has been cast on the scene. When men become passive and surrender to female leadership, God cannot impart His enabling and empowering grace in the same way He could or would if men were taking their rightful roles of assertive leadership, … following God and pursuing His grace the way they should.
We see this today with default, dead-beat dads taking a hike in our world; and the results become fatherless kids and a social plague of gangs, drugs, and destruction in our world. We see this with husbands not honoring and loving their wives the way they should and not taking the spiritual leadership in their homes; and the results are broken marriages, broken families, and broken communities. We see this with churches, which are being led by women. And God cannot, and will not, honor a church with His Spiritual power when it’s led by a woman, especially with men cowering and not taking their designated and God-led roles as leaders.
Where are the men in our world? Where are the leaders? Where is God when the men are not there to take their place in leadership? You look at our world and answer these questions.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be the man I need to be in my family, in my church; and in my world. Amen
My Journal for Today: HOT BUTTON!!! Today, as I reflected on the stories, in Chapters 4 and 5 of Judges, what came to mind – and what I’m about to post here as a hot-button issue in my life – may not sit well with some of my more, independent, “liberated” female followers [if there are any out there? ;) ]. But today’s lesson is a good one we need to read in these days where the outcomes of “woman’s liberation” are so apparent in our world.
Deborah was a unique – and most interesting – personage in the history of Israel. There is no doubt, as Dr. Smith points out in his devotional today, that Deborah was a very capable, strong, and decisive leader. But one has to take into account the cultural milieu of her time, which was decidedly male dominated when it comes to political and/or military leadership. And yet, in Deborah’s time, the people, including the men, came to Deborah as their “Judge;” and she decided their directions. And this included the political/military leaders of the day. All you have to do is read Judges 5: 7-8, from the song of Deborah and Barak, to see that male leadership had failed in those days of pagan influences in Israel.
God’s order, whether you like it or not, is to have males at the forefront of leadership, taking their assertive roles as leaders of families, communities, cultures, countries, and yes, … churches. In Deborah’s day, reading Judges, Chapters 4 & 5, we see that God’s order had broken down; and a void in the ability to lead the political structure, as well as the military, had been created; and without any capable or willing male leaders on the scene, God led Deborah into the breech to lead the Israelites; and she did, along with another key woman, Jael, who was needed to help the armies kill a fleeing Cannanite King, Sisera.
As we see in these passages, the question is not whether a woman can lead effectively. Deborah is ample proof that women can lead when they’re called upon – by default or desire – to do so. The question becomes, in light of Godly design, whether women SHOULD be put in roles where there are no men to lead. The wavering passivity of leadership began in the Garden of Eden when Adam balked, stood back, and let Eve take the lead. That led to the curse of God upon women, which you can read in Genesis 3: 16, which, in turn, led to women desiring to take the leadership God had intended for man and for man to overcompensate by trying to “rule” women.
The design for man and for woman is modeled in the marital relationship; and there, as you can read from God’s word in Ephesians 5: 22-33 - [linked], God would have the man take the lead in the marriage, honoring and loving his wife the way that Christ loves His Bride, the church. And the order would have a wife (i.e., woman) respecting and yielding to a capable and loving husband, who would lead as God has intended men to lead families – and by extension whole cultures.
But this was not certainly the case in Deborah’s time; and because if it, God’s people once again, in spite of a generation of numbing military peace, were led toward disobedience and disastrous consequences in their history. You may not like my position being state here; but God does not intend for a family, a church, a community, or, I believe, a country to be led by a woman. And when that happens, I see it is because a void of God intended, male-led, leadership which has been cast on the scene. When men become passive and surrender to female leadership, God cannot impart His enabling and empowering grace in the same way He could or would if men were taking their rightful roles of assertive leadership, … following God and pursuing His grace the way they should.
We see this today with default, dead-beat dads taking a hike in our world; and the results become fatherless kids and a social plague of gangs, drugs, and destruction in our world. We see this with husbands not honoring and loving their wives the way they should and not taking the spiritual leadership in their homes; and the results are broken marriages, broken families, and broken communities. We see this with churches, which are being led by women. And God cannot, and will not, honor a church with His Spiritual power when it’s led by a woman, especially with men cowering and not taking their designated and God-led roles as leaders.
Where are the men in our world? Where are the leaders? Where is God when the men are not there to take their place in leadership? You look at our world and answer these questions.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be the man I need to be in my family, in my church; and in my world. Amen
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2010 – Mar. 17 – Just a Single Generation
Study from God’s Word… Judges 2: 7 [Josh 24: 31]; Judges 2: 10 – 23; Judges 3: 1 – 31 … Passage for Reflection: Judges 2: 10 … NIV 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.
My Journal for Today: I’ve now been transported in my journey and journaling through the Bible this year to the time of the Judges, when the Israelites would pay the piper for not having eradicated the pagan peoples and practices from their midst as they conquered and moved into the Promised Land. And having read through the Book of Judges in the past, and these passages which I read today, I know that over a period of some 335 years, there would be succeeding generations of disbelief, disobedience, and destruction experienced by God’s people, the Hebrews. But God would, in each of these generations, raise up Judges to help lead the people out from their collective, national disobedience into patterns of repentance and renewal. But in each era there would be another human cycle of disobedience which would overtake God’s people, sending them back into their own repetitive tarpits of sinfulness. And in each era it only takes one generation of people to miss out on living up to their covenant with God.
Dr. Smith today uses a word picture I think we can understand. Imagine someone trying to tell us an important message via cell phone; and the message would be garbled in the transmission. Imagine also that we were responsible to pass that message on to others because of its importance. Isn’t it likely that the message would get distorted in the transfer? And that is what happened with God’s people after Moses and Joshua were off the scene. The message of God’s covenant, His law, and His commands to God’s people became distorted by the pagan cultural values which had crept into the lives of God’s people, these cultures not having been eradicated completely in the occupation of the Promised Land. And we see the degradation of choices and actions which took place, leading to destruction of the Godly, covenant honoring life which God’s people had promised they would hold onto in their relationship with God.
With our word picture of a messed up phone conversation and the passing on of “the message,” we get a very small picture of what is happening in our times today. As Smith teaches today in his devotional, ”Cultural values are transmitted through customs, traditions, and rituals. When a civilization (or church or family) quits telling its story to the next generation, it isn’t long before cultural screeching begins. And decry as we might the evils of the younger generation, the story of cultural and moral values is theres to HEAR, not to TELL. … Whether it be a whole society, the church, or an individual family, there is ALWAYS only one generation difference between faith and disbelief.”
And is that not what we’re seeing in today’s generation? And Smith pointedly asks his readers (and that’s me – and now you), ”Do my children know about the three little pigs, but precious little about the three persons of the Godhead?” … Maybe that’s not the case with your kids or grandkids. Maybe your kids, like ours, are raising up the next generation as believers; but they are being engulfed in a morass of disbelief and disobedience to God’s ways as well as a generation of cultural disbelief in His word. And I fear that this will be the case for my grandchildren, knowing that “the rain will fall on the saved as well as the unsaved.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I have faith that You will protect your remnant of believers, which is my only hope for the generation of our grandchildren. Amen
My Journal for Today: I’ve now been transported in my journey and journaling through the Bible this year to the time of the Judges, when the Israelites would pay the piper for not having eradicated the pagan peoples and practices from their midst as they conquered and moved into the Promised Land. And having read through the Book of Judges in the past, and these passages which I read today, I know that over a period of some 335 years, there would be succeeding generations of disbelief, disobedience, and destruction experienced by God’s people, the Hebrews. But God would, in each of these generations, raise up Judges to help lead the people out from their collective, national disobedience into patterns of repentance and renewal. But in each era there would be another human cycle of disobedience which would overtake God’s people, sending them back into their own repetitive tarpits of sinfulness. And in each era it only takes one generation of people to miss out on living up to their covenant with God.
Dr. Smith today uses a word picture I think we can understand. Imagine someone trying to tell us an important message via cell phone; and the message would be garbled in the transmission. Imagine also that we were responsible to pass that message on to others because of its importance. Isn’t it likely that the message would get distorted in the transfer? And that is what happened with God’s people after Moses and Joshua were off the scene. The message of God’s covenant, His law, and His commands to God’s people became distorted by the pagan cultural values which had crept into the lives of God’s people, these cultures not having been eradicated completely in the occupation of the Promised Land. And we see the degradation of choices and actions which took place, leading to destruction of the Godly, covenant honoring life which God’s people had promised they would hold onto in their relationship with God.
With our word picture of a messed up phone conversation and the passing on of “the message,” we get a very small picture of what is happening in our times today. As Smith teaches today in his devotional, ”Cultural values are transmitted through customs, traditions, and rituals. When a civilization (or church or family) quits telling its story to the next generation, it isn’t long before cultural screeching begins. And decry as we might the evils of the younger generation, the story of cultural and moral values is theres to HEAR, not to TELL. … Whether it be a whole society, the church, or an individual family, there is ALWAYS only one generation difference between faith and disbelief.”
And is that not what we’re seeing in today’s generation? And Smith pointedly asks his readers (and that’s me – and now you), ”Do my children know about the three little pigs, but precious little about the three persons of the Godhead?” … Maybe that’s not the case with your kids or grandkids. Maybe your kids, like ours, are raising up the next generation as believers; but they are being engulfed in a morass of disbelief and disobedience to God’s ways as well as a generation of cultural disbelief in His word. And I fear that this will be the case for my grandchildren, knowing that “the rain will fall on the saved as well as the unsaved.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I have faith that You will protect your remnant of believers, which is my only hope for the generation of our grandchildren. Amen
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
2010 – Mar. 16 – The True Test of Trust
Study from God’s Word… Judges 2: 8,9 [Josh 24: 29,30]; Josh 24: 32; Judges 1: 1-10, 16-19; Josh 15: 13,14 [Judges 1: 20b]; Judges 1: 11-15 [Josh 15: 15-19]; Judges 1: 22-26; Josh 13: 13; Josh 16: 10 [Judges 1: 29]; Josh 17: 11-13 [Judges 1: 27, 28]; Josh 15: 63; Judges 1: 21; Judges 1: 30 - 36; Judges 2: 1-5; … Passage for Reflection: Judges 1: 19 … NIV 19 The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots.
My Journal for Today: Today my devotional shepherd, Dr. F. LaGard Smith, asked me to read the target verse for today several times, asking, in essence, ”What’s wrong with this picture?” And the answer to that question is really quite obvious when we realize – and believe – that God’s covenant with His people, through Joshua, is truth. God had promised that wherever and whenever His people moved to conquer the pagan peoples who occupied the Promised Land, that He, God, would be with the Israelites and they could – and should – eradicate the pagan peoples and cultures from these lands. So, … what’s with today’s highlighted verse?
It says that God’s people, in this case the men of Judah, stopped short and were failures when it came to taking possession of the hill country because the armies who inhabited these lands had iron chariots. Hey!, … isn’t God able to overcome even thousands of iron chariots? Well, of course He is; and what this shows is that the Hebrew armies (and especially their leaders) failed to trust in God; and they balked when they saw all those iron chariots. And isn’t that the way with all of us who claim to trust in God? We can do fine when we perceive that we are in control; but give our spiritual enemies a seemingly overwhelming advantage; and we, so often, bolt and run from letting God have the victory.
I’m called in ministry to work with men who’ve stared down defeat over and over and over again in the area of sexual purity and freedom. They have confronted the enemies, which are Satan and their own flesh, and they’ve come to believe that they cannot be victorious. They see “iron chariots” in the presence of their own weaknesses of the flesh; and they simply relent, giving in to their fleshly desires, failing to take advantage of the power they have within themselves as Christians, the same resurrection power, the Holy Spirit, Who raised Jesus from the dead, … the same God, Who can, and will, enable and empower any Christian to choose purity over impurity and to defeat the enemies Satan is sending into battle in those “iron chariots.”
When are we, as disciples of Christ, going to realize the truth of 1st John 4: 4, which loudly declares to believers, … every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [i.e. the spirits of antichrist], because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Like the people of God in the times of Joshua, we have, when we fully trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior, have made a covenant with God, believing on the Name of Christ; and trusting/clinging to the truth that He [the Holy Spirit] is greater in us than any spirit in the world and even Satan, who certainly will do all he can to show off his “iron chariots” and try to make us believe that He is stronger that the Spirit of God Who resides in our hearts when we are truly born-again.
Dr. Smith asks his readers today, ”Do I glibly speak of trusting God when all is well, but cower in fear when the situation looks hopeless?” And each of us must answer that question in the light of our faith; because God’s word and His covenant with us are true and strong; and the power we have in ourselves as followers of Christ is most certainly stronger than any “iron chariots” we see coming against us. The question will be answered when we stand and fight or … we cut and run.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand with you in the truth of Romans 8: 31. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today my devotional shepherd, Dr. F. LaGard Smith, asked me to read the target verse for today several times, asking, in essence, ”What’s wrong with this picture?” And the answer to that question is really quite obvious when we realize – and believe – that God’s covenant with His people, through Joshua, is truth. God had promised that wherever and whenever His people moved to conquer the pagan peoples who occupied the Promised Land, that He, God, would be with the Israelites and they could – and should – eradicate the pagan peoples and cultures from these lands. So, … what’s with today’s highlighted verse?
It says that God’s people, in this case the men of Judah, stopped short and were failures when it came to taking possession of the hill country because the armies who inhabited these lands had iron chariots. Hey!, … isn’t God able to overcome even thousands of iron chariots? Well, of course He is; and what this shows is that the Hebrew armies (and especially their leaders) failed to trust in God; and they balked when they saw all those iron chariots. And isn’t that the way with all of us who claim to trust in God? We can do fine when we perceive that we are in control; but give our spiritual enemies a seemingly overwhelming advantage; and we, so often, bolt and run from letting God have the victory.
I’m called in ministry to work with men who’ve stared down defeat over and over and over again in the area of sexual purity and freedom. They have confronted the enemies, which are Satan and their own flesh, and they’ve come to believe that they cannot be victorious. They see “iron chariots” in the presence of their own weaknesses of the flesh; and they simply relent, giving in to their fleshly desires, failing to take advantage of the power they have within themselves as Christians, the same resurrection power, the Holy Spirit, Who raised Jesus from the dead, … the same God, Who can, and will, enable and empower any Christian to choose purity over impurity and to defeat the enemies Satan is sending into battle in those “iron chariots.”
When are we, as disciples of Christ, going to realize the truth of 1st John 4: 4, which loudly declares to believers, … every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [i.e. the spirits of antichrist], because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Like the people of God in the times of Joshua, we have, when we fully trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior, have made a covenant with God, believing on the Name of Christ; and trusting/clinging to the truth that He [the Holy Spirit] is greater in us than any spirit in the world and even Satan, who certainly will do all he can to show off his “iron chariots” and try to make us believe that He is stronger that the Spirit of God Who resides in our hearts when we are truly born-again.
Dr. Smith asks his readers today, ”Do I glibly speak of trusting God when all is well, but cower in fear when the situation looks hopeless?” And each of us must answer that question in the light of our faith; because God’s word and His covenant with us are true and strong; and the power we have in ourselves as followers of Christ is most certainly stronger than any “iron chariots” we see coming against us. The question will be answered when we stand and fight or … we cut and run.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand with you in the truth of Romans 8: 31. Amen
Monday, March 15, 2010
2010 – Mar. 15 – Making Good Choices
Study from God’s Word… Josh 22: 1 – 34; Josh 23: 1 – 16; Josh 24: 1 - 28; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 24: 15 … NIV 15 “ … But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight verse is an oft quoted exhortation from Joshua to God’s people, taken from the third address he made to three separate segments of the Hebrew tribes late in his life. Part of these addresses involves Joshua quoting God as a Prophet; but some of what he said was his own words, as were these when he stated exactly what the chosen people of God would face in their future.
And Joshua could be addressing you and me with what he said to the Israelites, because we certainly have a choice as to whom we serve; … don’t we? We can serve our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, or our own flesh; and unfortunately just like God’s ancient peoples, that’s exactly what we often do. Now, having been one of those pagans who denied God at one point in my own life, I can almost excuse a lost person for their choices. They choose Satan or selfishness or worldly idols above God because they simply don’t believe God exists. Would we really expect the lost to make Godly choices when they don’t even believe that the God of Abraham is there for them? BUT … and this is an enormous “but” … what about those of us who do believe in the God of the Old and New Covenants? What about our choices?
How can I excuse myself when I do believe that God delivered His people from Egypt; and I do believe that God, the Father, did send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay for my sins? And I do believe that I will spend eternity with Jesus, having God, the Spirit, in my heart to seal my eternal future. So, believing all of this, why do I still make unGodly choices?
And Dr. Smith this morning nails our problem as he writes that our big challenge today is the choice to have choices, which so often takes precedence over the one choice to serve God. We live today in a culture which demands choices. We are captivated by the need to have many choices in any situation. When we go to a restaurant, we want to be able to choose from many tasty choices. When we go to select a car, we want to be able to satisfy our need for speed and selectivity by having many vehicles from which we can choose. Our “god” has become the god of many choices rather than what Joshua charged God’s people toward; and that is to have ONE choice which leads us to make all other choices; and that choice is the One True God, … the God Who wants to lead us into making any choice as we desire to serve Him and glorify Him with our choices.
As Smith so aptly puts it, ”Correctly understood, our reverence for choice has so much to do with satisfying our own desires that the lesser god we end up worshiping is self!” We can be pro-choice or pro-life; but above all we desire to have a choice to be one or the other. When, in point of truth, we are pro-God, our choices become His choices and we will live as Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to live, (see Luke 9: 23), … “to deny self … and to follow [Him].”
So, my dear one, what is your choice?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I choose You!!! Amen
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight verse is an oft quoted exhortation from Joshua to God’s people, taken from the third address he made to three separate segments of the Hebrew tribes late in his life. Part of these addresses involves Joshua quoting God as a Prophet; but some of what he said was his own words, as were these when he stated exactly what the chosen people of God would face in their future.
And Joshua could be addressing you and me with what he said to the Israelites, because we certainly have a choice as to whom we serve; … don’t we? We can serve our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, or our own flesh; and unfortunately just like God’s ancient peoples, that’s exactly what we often do. Now, having been one of those pagans who denied God at one point in my own life, I can almost excuse a lost person for their choices. They choose Satan or selfishness or worldly idols above God because they simply don’t believe God exists. Would we really expect the lost to make Godly choices when they don’t even believe that the God of Abraham is there for them? BUT … and this is an enormous “but” … what about those of us who do believe in the God of the Old and New Covenants? What about our choices?
How can I excuse myself when I do believe that God delivered His people from Egypt; and I do believe that God, the Father, did send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay for my sins? And I do believe that I will spend eternity with Jesus, having God, the Spirit, in my heart to seal my eternal future. So, believing all of this, why do I still make unGodly choices?
And Dr. Smith this morning nails our problem as he writes that our big challenge today is the choice to have choices, which so often takes precedence over the one choice to serve God. We live today in a culture which demands choices. We are captivated by the need to have many choices in any situation. When we go to a restaurant, we want to be able to choose from many tasty choices. When we go to select a car, we want to be able to satisfy our need for speed and selectivity by having many vehicles from which we can choose. Our “god” has become the god of many choices rather than what Joshua charged God’s people toward; and that is to have ONE choice which leads us to make all other choices; and that choice is the One True God, … the God Who wants to lead us into making any choice as we desire to serve Him and glorify Him with our choices.
As Smith so aptly puts it, ”Correctly understood, our reverence for choice has so much to do with satisfying our own desires that the lesser god we end up worshiping is self!” We can be pro-choice or pro-life; but above all we desire to have a choice to be one or the other. When, in point of truth, we are pro-God, our choices become His choices and we will live as Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to live, (see Luke 9: 23), … “to deny self … and to follow [Him].”
So, my dear one, what is your choice?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I choose You!!! Amen
Sunday, March 14, 2010
2010 – Mar. 14 – Promises Delayed, Not Promised Denied
Study from God’s Word… Josh 18: 1 – 28; Josh 19: 1 – 51; Josh 20: 1 – 9; Josh 21: 1 - 45; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 21: 43 – 45 … NIV 43 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. 45 Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
My Journal for Today: Okay, here, … F. LaGard Smith has me reading deeply into the times of Joshua when God is working out the fulfillment of a promise He had made to Abraham over seven centuries earlier; and we could ask, “Why is all this documentation so important in the Book of Joshua?” But really the answer to that one is pretty clear-cut, almost three thousand years later, so that we can see that God is a promise-keeping God. And what we read about in these passages documents the reality that our God is the God of His word, as we can also read in Numbers 23: 19, which states, 19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
But how would one of those Jews who was living during that 700 years, when God’s promises were delayed, feel. Maybe like many Christians today feel when they see what is happening in our world, with all the degradation of sin and the mockery of God’s Name and purposes. And here we are, … to wait on promises made by God in the Person of a Man Who died on a cross, as documented in the New Testament. Have you ever wondered why God is so slow in bringing on His full and completed Kingdom?
Well, in this regard, my favorite Old Testament Prophet, old Habakkuk, came to God with such questions; and I’d charge you to go back and read old Habby’s interaction with God in the Book designated by Habakkuk’s name. It’s a wonderful true story about a man who needed to bring his doubts and confusion to his God; and ask “WHY?” of His Lord. And God took the questions and He interacted with Habakkuk, showing the Prophet that Habakkuk would have to wait for God to do HIS thing in HIS time; and that Habakkuk would actually have to watch and see that things would actually get worse before Habakkuk would see that God’s promises would be fulfilled. And don’t you just love that passage in Habakkuk 3: 17 - 18, which reads, 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
My friend, I hope we have the faith to let God be God, trusting in His ways and His timing, and especially in His promises. Because if we don’t, we’re going to live lives of desperation as we see what is transpiring in our world. We need to be post-modern day Habakkuks and choose to hold onto our joy even though we see what is going on today, with the world unfolding as God’s word documents in Romans 1: 18 -32 [linked here]. God is still God, my friend; and we can trust and cling to His promises which were completely fulfilled and punctuated by God, the Son, dying on the cross so that all who believe in Him would live eternally in the hope which is His resurrection.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I do trust You; and I wait on You to do all that You have promised and what You came to us to demonstrate to/for us by living, dying, and being raised again. The promise of Your coming again suspends, but never denies, the promises activated by your first coming. And we stand ready – and waiting – for all You have promised to transpire when You come again. Amen
My Journal for Today: Okay, here, … F. LaGard Smith has me reading deeply into the times of Joshua when God is working out the fulfillment of a promise He had made to Abraham over seven centuries earlier; and we could ask, “Why is all this documentation so important in the Book of Joshua?” But really the answer to that one is pretty clear-cut, almost three thousand years later, so that we can see that God is a promise-keeping God. And what we read about in these passages documents the reality that our God is the God of His word, as we can also read in Numbers 23: 19, which states, 19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
But how would one of those Jews who was living during that 700 years, when God’s promises were delayed, feel. Maybe like many Christians today feel when they see what is happening in our world, with all the degradation of sin and the mockery of God’s Name and purposes. And here we are, … to wait on promises made by God in the Person of a Man Who died on a cross, as documented in the New Testament. Have you ever wondered why God is so slow in bringing on His full and completed Kingdom?
Well, in this regard, my favorite Old Testament Prophet, old Habakkuk, came to God with such questions; and I’d charge you to go back and read old Habby’s interaction with God in the Book designated by Habakkuk’s name. It’s a wonderful true story about a man who needed to bring his doubts and confusion to his God; and ask “WHY?” of His Lord. And God took the questions and He interacted with Habakkuk, showing the Prophet that Habakkuk would have to wait for God to do HIS thing in HIS time; and that Habakkuk would actually have to watch and see that things would actually get worse before Habakkuk would see that God’s promises would be fulfilled. And don’t you just love that passage in Habakkuk 3: 17 - 18, which reads, 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
My friend, I hope we have the faith to let God be God, trusting in His ways and His timing, and especially in His promises. Because if we don’t, we’re going to live lives of desperation as we see what is transpiring in our world. We need to be post-modern day Habakkuks and choose to hold onto our joy even though we see what is going on today, with the world unfolding as God’s word documents in Romans 1: 18 -32 [linked here]. God is still God, my friend; and we can trust and cling to His promises which were completely fulfilled and punctuated by God, the Son, dying on the cross so that all who believe in Him would live eternally in the hope which is His resurrection.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I do trust You; and I wait on You to do all that You have promised and what You came to us to demonstrate to/for us by living, dying, and being raised again. The promise of Your coming again suspends, but never denies, the promises activated by your first coming. And we stand ready – and waiting – for all You have promised to transpire when You come again. Amen
Saturday, March 13, 2010
2010 – Mar. 13 – Old, But Not Out!
Study from God’s Word… Josh 13: 1 – 33; Josh 14: 15a; Josh 15: 1 – 12; Josh 15: 20 – 62; Josh 16: 1 – 9; Josh 17: 1 – 18; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 13: 1 … NIV
1 When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, "You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
My Journal for Today: Today’s study does open up an indictment of our cultural marginalization of Kingdom servants who are older. In the highlight passage for today we see God recognizing Moses’ maturity; but the Lord then immediately indicates that there is much ahead to be done – by Moses – for God’s glory in the taking and partitioning of the Promised Land. And in the passages I read for today there is also the story of how God favored Caleb [see Josh 14: 10 – 12], the other of the two faithful Hebrew spies past, with Caleb’s request for taking the hill country for his tribe. Both Joshua and Caleb were 85 years old at this time in their lives; and in those times, 85 was old, but certainly that age was merely seen as mature. Such people in that culture would be designated as an “elder,” … a person of worthiness, respect, and honor.
I guess that’s why I actually love it when people tease me with the nickname, “ElderBerry,” which I take as a sign of respect, rather than a name denigrating my age. But back to our study, in which we see that God Himself recognized that there was much ahead in the lives of these two servants of God, Joshua and Caleb, which could be done for God in spite of – and likely because of – their maturity.
As I mentioned above, today, there is a strong cultural tread to marginalize our elderly; and unfortunately the older ones in our world play right into that expectation, becoming “victims” of this hyper-aging philosophy. How many people these days look forward to “retiring” and dream of doing selfish pursuits like playing golf, fishing, or traveling the country in RVs, avoiding what they could be contributing to our world and God’s glory by using their maturity, experience, and gifting in/for God’s kingdom?
Elderberry Witness: There was a time, before I became a Christian, when I dreamed of a life filled with 2 or three rounds of golf a week and building a place in Florida on a plot of ground my dad/mom had left to me. But Christ came into my life at age 39; and my desires and pursuits – for God’s glory – thankfully changed. And after I was broken to receive God’s Spirit into my heart, the Lord reshaped my visions and dreams to move toward a very different type of “retirement.” And as I was discipled and grew deeper into my salvation relationship with God, He showed me that I could – and should – view my retirement from my former healthcare career as a “commencement” TO ministry rather than a retirement FROM my former pre-Christian selfish pursuits. And that’s where the Lord has led me in these days of my more mature life for Christ. I may be old; but I’m not out!
Now, … here I am, well over 60 years old; and I find myself trying to emulate Joshua and Caleb. Actually, I see myself as just getting started in my “career” pursuits for God, taking up the mantle of leadership in a ministry to help Christians to walk free from habitual sexual sin, and to work with my wife in this ministry as long as we’re physically and mentally able, … doing all we can to stand for Christ together in this ministry calling. Like Joshua, I may be aging, but I have much to offer to God’s Kingdom from my testimony, my witness, and the gifting with which my Lord has given me to use for His kingdom work.
No matter what your age might be, I hope, and will pray today, that you sharpen your Spirit sword (see Eph. 5: 17; and as we’re commanded in Acts 1: 8, I pray we all will be shining witnesses for our faith and for our Lord; and finally, I pray that we – no matter what our age may be – rigorously follow the commands of our Lord in Luke 9: 23 to deny self, take up our crosses daily, and to follow Christ for His glory.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I beseech You to charge all who read this with Your challenge of commitment with courage to march forward as soldiers in our Lord’s army, doing all we can – at whatever stage in life we might be – to conquer worldly and fleshly kingdoms in His Name. Amen
1 When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, "You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
My Journal for Today: Today’s study does open up an indictment of our cultural marginalization of Kingdom servants who are older. In the highlight passage for today we see God recognizing Moses’ maturity; but the Lord then immediately indicates that there is much ahead to be done – by Moses – for God’s glory in the taking and partitioning of the Promised Land. And in the passages I read for today there is also the story of how God favored Caleb [see Josh 14: 10 – 12], the other of the two faithful Hebrew spies past, with Caleb’s request for taking the hill country for his tribe. Both Joshua and Caleb were 85 years old at this time in their lives; and in those times, 85 was old, but certainly that age was merely seen as mature. Such people in that culture would be designated as an “elder,” … a person of worthiness, respect, and honor.
I guess that’s why I actually love it when people tease me with the nickname, “ElderBerry,” which I take as a sign of respect, rather than a name denigrating my age. But back to our study, in which we see that God Himself recognized that there was much ahead in the lives of these two servants of God, Joshua and Caleb, which could be done for God in spite of – and likely because of – their maturity.
As I mentioned above, today, there is a strong cultural tread to marginalize our elderly; and unfortunately the older ones in our world play right into that expectation, becoming “victims” of this hyper-aging philosophy. How many people these days look forward to “retiring” and dream of doing selfish pursuits like playing golf, fishing, or traveling the country in RVs, avoiding what they could be contributing to our world and God’s glory by using their maturity, experience, and gifting in/for God’s kingdom?
Elderberry Witness: There was a time, before I became a Christian, when I dreamed of a life filled with 2 or three rounds of golf a week and building a place in Florida on a plot of ground my dad/mom had left to me. But Christ came into my life at age 39; and my desires and pursuits – for God’s glory – thankfully changed. And after I was broken to receive God’s Spirit into my heart, the Lord reshaped my visions and dreams to move toward a very different type of “retirement.” And as I was discipled and grew deeper into my salvation relationship with God, He showed me that I could – and should – view my retirement from my former healthcare career as a “commencement” TO ministry rather than a retirement FROM my former pre-Christian selfish pursuits. And that’s where the Lord has led me in these days of my more mature life for Christ. I may be old; but I’m not out!
Now, … here I am, well over 60 years old; and I find myself trying to emulate Joshua and Caleb. Actually, I see myself as just getting started in my “career” pursuits for God, taking up the mantle of leadership in a ministry to help Christians to walk free from habitual sexual sin, and to work with my wife in this ministry as long as we’re physically and mentally able, … doing all we can to stand for Christ together in this ministry calling. Like Joshua, I may be aging, but I have much to offer to God’s Kingdom from my testimony, my witness, and the gifting with which my Lord has given me to use for His kingdom work.
No matter what your age might be, I hope, and will pray today, that you sharpen your Spirit sword (see Eph. 5: 17; and as we’re commanded in Acts 1: 8, I pray we all will be shining witnesses for our faith and for our Lord; and finally, I pray that we – no matter what our age may be – rigorously follow the commands of our Lord in Luke 9: 23 to deny self, take up our crosses daily, and to follow Christ for His glory.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I beseech You to charge all who read this with Your challenge of commitment with courage to march forward as soldiers in our Lord’s army, doing all we can – at whatever stage in life we might be – to conquer worldly and fleshly kingdoms in His Name. Amen
Friday, March 12, 2010
2010 – Mar. 12 – Depreciating An Incredible God
Study from God’s Word… Josh 9: 1 – 27; Josh 10: 1 – 43; Josh 11: 1 – 23 [14: 15b]; Josh 12: 1 - 24; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 6: 4 … NIV 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
My Journal for Today: As I was led to read about the conquests God provided for Joshua and His people over the many tribes and people of that day, … as God delivered the Promised Land into the hands of the Israelites, we come across a remarkable story about an even more remarkable historical event. In pursuit of one of his enemies, Joshua sings out a prayer from an old Song Book in Israel in today’s focus passage, and God stops the sun in the sky, allowing God’s forces to pursue and defeat the enemies of Joshua.
And, … what’s up with this, we might ask? You mean we can pray for something so extraordinary as a sun-stopping even and expect God to suspend the laws of nature to give us what we desire? Have you ever wished you had more time to carry out some task in life? Well, why didn’t you just pray that God stop the day; and give you the time you need to get your task accomplished? … No, we don’t pray that way, because, even though we believe in a wondrous and miraculous God, we, as Christians should – and most of us do – know that God, though He can do what He did for Joshua, even stopping the sun, will do what He, God, wants to do to accomplish for His good purposes.
We have a tendency to put God is a box, which is just as big as our knowledge and experience provides for our understanding. And we also have a tendency to want our God to carve out a future for us which fits in with our desires and focuses on our personal needs. But we need to revisit a truth from God’s word [see Isaiah 55: 8-9 - linked], upon which I often have to meditate to remind me that God is God, and I am not! And I also need to remember the truth evolving out of my interaction with God, as I pray for what I perceive to be my needs/desires.
My friend, we know from both the OT [see Ps. 37: 4] and the NT [see John 15: 7] that God will – in fact – give us the desires of our hearts, when – but only when – we are couching our pursuits within the center of God’s will and purposes. But we must also remember that we serve a God, Who is powerful enough to suspend the very laws of nature for His purposes. That’s how Jesus walked on the water and raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. And we, as born-again, Spirit-filled Christians, have the same power in us; but it is a power which is tempered and controlled by the same God who has and still exercises that power for His good will.
What we need to do is believe in the wondrous sun-stopping power of our God, the same power which raised Jesus from the dead to life eternal. And then, we need to seek to do His will and conform to His good purposes; because when we do this, we will be able to see God’s mighty hand lift us up (see Isaiah 41: 10) and to show us where we need to go in life to be used for His glory. As Pastor Smith says in my devotional for today, … we should avoid being ”… desensitized into thinking that, just because [we’ve] never seen the sun stand still, God either CAN’T or DOESN’T work in [our lives].”
My Prayer for Today: Creator God, my mind is too small; and I try to shape You into a form to fit my life. Help me to conform to Your will as You shape me for Your glory. Amen
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
My Journal for Today: As I was led to read about the conquests God provided for Joshua and His people over the many tribes and people of that day, … as God delivered the Promised Land into the hands of the Israelites, we come across a remarkable story about an even more remarkable historical event. In pursuit of one of his enemies, Joshua sings out a prayer from an old Song Book in Israel in today’s focus passage, and God stops the sun in the sky, allowing God’s forces to pursue and defeat the enemies of Joshua.
And, … what’s up with this, we might ask? You mean we can pray for something so extraordinary as a sun-stopping even and expect God to suspend the laws of nature to give us what we desire? Have you ever wished you had more time to carry out some task in life? Well, why didn’t you just pray that God stop the day; and give you the time you need to get your task accomplished? … No, we don’t pray that way, because, even though we believe in a wondrous and miraculous God, we, as Christians should – and most of us do – know that God, though He can do what He did for Joshua, even stopping the sun, will do what He, God, wants to do to accomplish for His good purposes.
We have a tendency to put God is a box, which is just as big as our knowledge and experience provides for our understanding. And we also have a tendency to want our God to carve out a future for us which fits in with our desires and focuses on our personal needs. But we need to revisit a truth from God’s word [see Isaiah 55: 8-9 - linked], upon which I often have to meditate to remind me that God is God, and I am not! And I also need to remember the truth evolving out of my interaction with God, as I pray for what I perceive to be my needs/desires.
My friend, we know from both the OT [see Ps. 37: 4] and the NT [see John 15: 7] that God will – in fact – give us the desires of our hearts, when – but only when – we are couching our pursuits within the center of God’s will and purposes. But we must also remember that we serve a God, Who is powerful enough to suspend the very laws of nature for His purposes. That’s how Jesus walked on the water and raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. And we, as born-again, Spirit-filled Christians, have the same power in us; but it is a power which is tempered and controlled by the same God who has and still exercises that power for His good will.
What we need to do is believe in the wondrous sun-stopping power of our God, the same power which raised Jesus from the dead to life eternal. And then, we need to seek to do His will and conform to His good purposes; because when we do this, we will be able to see God’s mighty hand lift us up (see Isaiah 41: 10) and to show us where we need to go in life to be used for His glory. As Pastor Smith says in my devotional for today, … we should avoid being ”… desensitized into thinking that, just because [we’ve] never seen the sun stand still, God either CAN’T or DOESN’T work in [our lives].”
My Prayer for Today: Creator God, my mind is too small; and I try to shape You into a form to fit my life. Help me to conform to Your will as You shape me for Your glory. Amen
Thursday, March 11, 2010
2010 – Mar. 11 – When Rule Breaking Becomes A Priority
Study from God’s Word… Josh 6: 1 – 27; Josh 7: 1 – 26; Josh 8: 1 – 35; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 6: 4 … NIV 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.
My Journal for Today: Study of these passages today, concerning Joshua’s victory at Jericho reveals a couple of interesting biblical conundrums. You know, until my devotional teacher, Dr. Smith, pointed it out today, in the marching of God’s army around Jericho, God actually orders the people to break one of the Ten Commandments. At least one of those days, when the Israelites were marching around Jericho had to be The Sabbath; and it was forbidden for God’s people to march or work on the sacred “seventh day,” God’s day, … His day, the Sabbath. And then there was the conundrum of Rehab, the prostitute, being rewarded for telling a lie as she helped the two Hebrew spies there in Jericho.
So, what’s up with these seeming inconsistencies of truth? Obviously both of these are breeches in the strict observance of God’s law; but these actions/decisions were blessed by God. And they are not the only ones in Scripture. You may have questioned in your past Bible studies why God blessed David and his men eating consecrated bread as common bread, … bread which had been consecrated as Holy bread in 1st Samuel 21. And this incident is also mentioned in Matthew 12 as Jesus seems to breech God’s law on the Sabbath by gathering food and then, by healing (i.e., which was seen as work) on this “seventh day.” So, are these instances which show that man can violate God’s commands with impunity? Hardly!
No, what this shows us is that God is in control of God’s Law; and God can – and will – be God, doing what He desires and demonstrating HIS priorities whenever and wherever He decides to do so. God’s Laws are God’s, not man’s … to be breeched whenever such an action seems to fit into man’s feelings or priorities. We must always remember that God is God; and we are not! God can – and may – exercise His merciful override of even His own Laws if He so desires. That is why we must know and believe in the truth of Isaiah 55: 8-9 in the OT and Romans 8: 28 in the NT [I hope you know these passages].
There are going to be times when our understanding and observance of God’s commands/laws becomes challenged in our minds and lives. That’s why, at times, there seems to be conflict in strict observance, and legalistic interpretation, of God’s word when certain circumstances present themselves. Have you ever told a “white lie,” maybe to protect the secret of a surprise birthday party where you’re trying to give your spouse a lovely and memorable time; but you have to fib to make it happen. What about how we protect the image of Santa Claus for our kids? Are those unGodly decisions? … No, I think there are going to be times, as with Rehab, when we make decisions which seem to go against God’s stated law, but the actions represent a higher, and more Godly, decision/action.
Hence, at times there may seem to be a conflict between grace and truth; and, of course, we are always challenged to pursue truth; but then again, we are also, as disciples of Christ, to be exercising God’s grace whenever and wherever we can. And it can be tough, can’t it? But we move forward in these pursuits, knowing that God is still in control; and His will is our pursuit in all such circumstances.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, when making decisions is perplexing, shine Your light on my path that I might take actions, … always for Your glory. Amen
My Journal for Today: Study of these passages today, concerning Joshua’s victory at Jericho reveals a couple of interesting biblical conundrums. You know, until my devotional teacher, Dr. Smith, pointed it out today, in the marching of God’s army around Jericho, God actually orders the people to break one of the Ten Commandments. At least one of those days, when the Israelites were marching around Jericho had to be The Sabbath; and it was forbidden for God’s people to march or work on the sacred “seventh day,” God’s day, … His day, the Sabbath. And then there was the conundrum of Rehab, the prostitute, being rewarded for telling a lie as she helped the two Hebrew spies there in Jericho.
So, what’s up with these seeming inconsistencies of truth? Obviously both of these are breeches in the strict observance of God’s law; but these actions/decisions were blessed by God. And they are not the only ones in Scripture. You may have questioned in your past Bible studies why God blessed David and his men eating consecrated bread as common bread, … bread which had been consecrated as Holy bread in 1st Samuel 21. And this incident is also mentioned in Matthew 12 as Jesus seems to breech God’s law on the Sabbath by gathering food and then, by healing (i.e., which was seen as work) on this “seventh day.” So, are these instances which show that man can violate God’s commands with impunity? Hardly!
No, what this shows us is that God is in control of God’s Law; and God can – and will – be God, doing what He desires and demonstrating HIS priorities whenever and wherever He decides to do so. God’s Laws are God’s, not man’s … to be breeched whenever such an action seems to fit into man’s feelings or priorities. We must always remember that God is God; and we are not! God can – and may – exercise His merciful override of even His own Laws if He so desires. That is why we must know and believe in the truth of Isaiah 55: 8-9 in the OT and Romans 8: 28 in the NT [I hope you know these passages].
There are going to be times when our understanding and observance of God’s commands/laws becomes challenged in our minds and lives. That’s why, at times, there seems to be conflict in strict observance, and legalistic interpretation, of God’s word when certain circumstances present themselves. Have you ever told a “white lie,” maybe to protect the secret of a surprise birthday party where you’re trying to give your spouse a lovely and memorable time; but you have to fib to make it happen. What about how we protect the image of Santa Claus for our kids? Are those unGodly decisions? … No, I think there are going to be times, as with Rehab, when we make decisions which seem to go against God’s stated law, but the actions represent a higher, and more Godly, decision/action.
Hence, at times there may seem to be a conflict between grace and truth; and, of course, we are always challenged to pursue truth; but then again, we are also, as disciples of Christ, to be exercising God’s grace whenever and wherever we can. And it can be tough, can’t it? But we move forward in these pursuits, knowing that God is still in control; and His will is our pursuit in all such circumstances.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, when making decisions is perplexing, shine Your light on my path that I might take actions, … always for Your glory. Amen
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
2010 – Mar. 10 – Crossing Our Own Jordan
Study from God’s Word… Josh 1: 1 – 9; Josh 3: 1; Josh 2: 1 – 24; Josh 1: 10 – 18; Josh 3: 2 – 17; Josh 4: 12 – 12, 13; Josh 4: 9 – 11; Josh 4: 15 – 18; Josh 4: 1 – 8; Josh 4: 19 – 24; Josh 4: 14; Josh 5: 1 – 15; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 1: 9 [along with verse 8 for more context] … NIV 8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 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."
My Journal for Today: Today in my reading of The Daily Bible and the material provided by F. LaGard Smith in his devotional targeted for March 10, I am reading and meditating on one of my favorite passages in all of the Old Testament. It is the time when Joshua is handed the mantle of leadership of God’s people; and he takes them, at God’s command and with His careful instruction, across the Jordan river, once again be protected by another dry-ground crossing of a body of water, engineered by God to miraculously show the people just how powerful their God is and how following Joshua, His designated leader, is the only way to go.
And in today’s target verse (Chapter 1, verse 9) along with one of the most powerful instructions in all of the OT, Verse 8, we read exactly what a believer needs to remember and follow as each of us crosses our own “Jordan.” I don’t know what your “Jordan” might be. Perhaps you’re battling cancer; and you need to decide to cross the Jordan of trust in God and your medical treatment team. Maybe, like many of the men in the ministry I’m called to lead, you’ve had years of repeated sexual sin; and you need to cross the “Jordan” of confessing your sin to others, maybe including your wife or your Pastor. Perhaps, you’re facing the ultimate “Jordan,” and that is impending death, because you have a diagnosis of a fatal disease of some kind.
Actually, every human faces the latter “Jordan,” because we all have the fatal diagnosis of aging and 100% of us will cross our personal “Jordan” from this life into eternity. The question is not whether we will or will not “cross over,” … it is whether we will do so with faith in the same God, through the deliverance of His Son’s death on the cross, Who delivered God’s people across the Jordan, being led by Joshua.
How about you? Will you be crossing the “Jordan” of death, knowing that you’ll be delivered unto eternal life on the other side? And what about any other “Jordan” you might be facing. Do you have absolute assurance that you’ll have spiritual success in the march forward in life once you cross that “Jordan” in your life?
Well, my friend, in today’s passage you have God’s absolute promise of success as you contemplate crossing that “Jordan” in your life. If you get into and stay into God’s word [i.e., the Bible] – day and night – following all that is commanded therein, God’s word promises [see Josh 1: 8] that you’ll have success in the march forward, doing what Jesus has commanded you (again, as I refer so often, see Luke 9: 23). And when we cross the “Jordan” of decision, which God has lain before us for our life, we can know, as did Joshua, that we will enter into God’s Promised Land, with ultimately what Heaven itself has to offer.
And is that not worth following God across the “Jordan” in our lives today?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I crossed the “Jordan” to which You led me long ago; and now I claim the Promised Land in Your Name. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today in my reading of The Daily Bible and the material provided by F. LaGard Smith in his devotional targeted for March 10, I am reading and meditating on one of my favorite passages in all of the Old Testament. It is the time when Joshua is handed the mantle of leadership of God’s people; and he takes them, at God’s command and with His careful instruction, across the Jordan river, once again be protected by another dry-ground crossing of a body of water, engineered by God to miraculously show the people just how powerful their God is and how following Joshua, His designated leader, is the only way to go.
And in today’s target verse (Chapter 1, verse 9) along with one of the most powerful instructions in all of the OT, Verse 8, we read exactly what a believer needs to remember and follow as each of us crosses our own “Jordan.” I don’t know what your “Jordan” might be. Perhaps you’re battling cancer; and you need to decide to cross the Jordan of trust in God and your medical treatment team. Maybe, like many of the men in the ministry I’m called to lead, you’ve had years of repeated sexual sin; and you need to cross the “Jordan” of confessing your sin to others, maybe including your wife or your Pastor. Perhaps, you’re facing the ultimate “Jordan,” and that is impending death, because you have a diagnosis of a fatal disease of some kind.
Actually, every human faces the latter “Jordan,” because we all have the fatal diagnosis of aging and 100% of us will cross our personal “Jordan” from this life into eternity. The question is not whether we will or will not “cross over,” … it is whether we will do so with faith in the same God, through the deliverance of His Son’s death on the cross, Who delivered God’s people across the Jordan, being led by Joshua.
How about you? Will you be crossing the “Jordan” of death, knowing that you’ll be delivered unto eternal life on the other side? And what about any other “Jordan” you might be facing. Do you have absolute assurance that you’ll have spiritual success in the march forward in life once you cross that “Jordan” in your life?
Well, my friend, in today’s passage you have God’s absolute promise of success as you contemplate crossing that “Jordan” in your life. If you get into and stay into God’s word [i.e., the Bible] – day and night – following all that is commanded therein, God’s word promises [see Josh 1: 8] that you’ll have success in the march forward, doing what Jesus has commanded you (again, as I refer so often, see Luke 9: 23). And when we cross the “Jordan” of decision, which God has lain before us for our life, we can know, as did Joshua, that we will enter into God’s Promised Land, with ultimately what Heaven itself has to offer.
And is that not worth following God across the “Jordan” in our lives today?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I crossed the “Jordan” to which You led me long ago; and now I claim the Promised Land in Your Name. Amen
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
2010 – Mar. 9 – Hopeful Disappointments
Study from God’s Word… Deut 31: 48-52; Deut 33: 1 – 29: Deut 34; 1 – 12; … Passage for Reflection: Deut 32: 52 … NIV 52 “Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel."
My Journal for Today: I have been up on the crowning point of Mount Nebo where Moses was led to go to see the promised land [see Deut. 32: 48-52 - linked here], into which he would not set foot in his physical lifetime. We know why Moses didn’t cross the Jordan, as would Joshua later, leading God’s people into that ever so elusive Promised Land, from which God’s People had been restrained for 40 years of wandering so that they would be purged and ready to claim for God’s glory. Moses was restrained from setting foot in the promised land because of the ramifications of past sin.
But as I looked out over the expanse of that Promised Land on that day in Jordan when I was up on Mount Nebo, being where Moses must have stood, I could not get a grasp on the disappointment and emotional discouragement Moses must have felt, knowing that it was nothing but the consequences of his own sin which kept him from entering into that wonderful promised land which God had set before His people. Then as I looked out over that expanse of green and fertile lands, I remembered, … Moses may have physically been restrained from entering that land of promise; but the Promised Land of God will be Moses’ eternally because of his faith.
Yes, there would be another leader of God’s people, the Chosen People, Who would die before He would physically see the realization of God’s plan for His glorious elect. And that One, Whom we would know as our Savior, must’ve felt even more “hope-filled disappointment” when He languished in the garden of Gethsemane that night before His crucifixion.
Sometimes we encounter someone in this life who seems to die “before their time.” Maybe it’s a younger parent or grandparent who never gets the physical/emotional opportunity to see their children or grandkids blossom fully. Perhaps it’s someone who had a great idea which was developed after his death by someone else. I think of Martin Luther King, who had “a dream,” which is now unfolding, … but only after he was so ignominiously and precipitously killed. But, as F. LaGard Smith points out, there is no such thing as a “premature death,” … a concept which is really a spiritual oxymoron; because if someone had a small part in God’s will or His plan for God’s people, that promise will be fulfilled; and that person, who may have died before realizing that dream in this life, will see the fruit of his/her efforts in glory. As Smith writes it, ”No dream or efforts made that are consistent with God’s own good pleasure will be unfulfilled or wasted.”
The question becomes what are we doing NOW which is from or part of God’s will for our lives or for the future God has for His people. And we should (well, really, we MUST) know that anything which is launched or hatched today in God’s Name, of which we are a part, will be realized in God’s future; and being a part of His chosen ones, you or I will see the fruit of our labors growing, if not in this life, … in glory.
So, what we must do is seek to live within God’s will and for His purpose … for as long as we can; … and to move His dreams and plans forward as much as we can. We may not see the endpoint in this life; but as Moses will see the Promised Land and walk in it with his Savior, so we will be able to see our completed future unfold in eternity with God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, point me in Your direction; and may I do all I can to see my part of that glorious plan unfold in my lifetime. Amen
My Journal for Today: I have been up on the crowning point of Mount Nebo where Moses was led to go to see the promised land [see Deut. 32: 48-52 - linked here], into which he would not set foot in his physical lifetime. We know why Moses didn’t cross the Jordan, as would Joshua later, leading God’s people into that ever so elusive Promised Land, from which God’s People had been restrained for 40 years of wandering so that they would be purged and ready to claim for God’s glory. Moses was restrained from setting foot in the promised land because of the ramifications of past sin.
But as I looked out over the expanse of that Promised Land on that day in Jordan when I was up on Mount Nebo, being where Moses must have stood, I could not get a grasp on the disappointment and emotional discouragement Moses must have felt, knowing that it was nothing but the consequences of his own sin which kept him from entering into that wonderful promised land which God had set before His people. Then as I looked out over that expanse of green and fertile lands, I remembered, … Moses may have physically been restrained from entering that land of promise; but the Promised Land of God will be Moses’ eternally because of his faith.
Yes, there would be another leader of God’s people, the Chosen People, Who would die before He would physically see the realization of God’s plan for His glorious elect. And that One, Whom we would know as our Savior, must’ve felt even more “hope-filled disappointment” when He languished in the garden of Gethsemane that night before His crucifixion.
Sometimes we encounter someone in this life who seems to die “before their time.” Maybe it’s a younger parent or grandparent who never gets the physical/emotional opportunity to see their children or grandkids blossom fully. Perhaps it’s someone who had a great idea which was developed after his death by someone else. I think of Martin Luther King, who had “a dream,” which is now unfolding, … but only after he was so ignominiously and precipitously killed. But, as F. LaGard Smith points out, there is no such thing as a “premature death,” … a concept which is really a spiritual oxymoron; because if someone had a small part in God’s will or His plan for God’s people, that promise will be fulfilled; and that person, who may have died before realizing that dream in this life, will see the fruit of his/her efforts in glory. As Smith writes it, ”No dream or efforts made that are consistent with God’s own good pleasure will be unfulfilled or wasted.”
The question becomes what are we doing NOW which is from or part of God’s will for our lives or for the future God has for His people. And we should (well, really, we MUST) know that anything which is launched or hatched today in God’s Name, of which we are a part, will be realized in God’s future; and being a part of His chosen ones, you or I will see the fruit of our labors growing, if not in this life, … in glory.
So, what we must do is seek to live within God’s will and for His purpose … for as long as we can; … and to move His dreams and plans forward as much as we can. We may not see the endpoint in this life; but as Moses will see the Promised Land and walk in it with his Savior, so we will be able to see our completed future unfold in eternity with God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, point me in Your direction; and may I do all I can to see my part of that glorious plan unfold in my lifetime. Amen
Monday, March 08, 2010
2010 – Mar. 8 – The Blame Game
Study from God’s Word… Deut 31: 1-16, 23; Deut 31: 17-18; Deut 31: 19-29; Deut 31: 30 – 32: 43; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 31: 17 – 18… NIV 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' 18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
My Journal for Today: In my study today, my devotional author, Dr. Smith, had me reading about the time, from Deut 31 – 32, where Moses turned over the mantle of earthly leadership to Joshua, with God encouraging God’s people as they are about to cross over the Jordan River and move into the Promised Land. However, God and Moses foresee that these fickle Hebrew people will once again become recalcitrant and selfish, turning away from God and His Law. And once again the people will shift the blame for their selfishness away from their own sinfulness and blame God.
Ever been there? Have you ever been in a place in life where you felt that God had turned away or was distant from you? Maybe you’ve seen some other believer – a good friend or a loved one – who couldn’t see their own sin for what it was and blamed God for all the bad stuff going on in their lives. It probably wasn’t you, was it? ;>)
Certainly we see hardened criminals trying to hide the blame for their crimes by denying responsibility; and we even see three year old kids, caught red-handed, who will blame anything and everyone but themselves. It’s part of the human condition to default to the blame game. Adam did it in the garden by blaming Eve; … Eve did it by blaming the serpent. And we often try to blame God for not being there when we need Him.
But who is really to blame? Does God change in some way or become mysteriously absent in our lives when things go awry? No, … if you’re reading this, I think we’re all looking into God’s mirror of truth; and we probably don’t like what we see looking back at us. We want to see God’s image – that of Christlikeness; and certainly His likeness does reflect back from His word, which is our best mirror of truth. However, we so often want to deny that what we see in the mirror is the self which we have not totally surrendered to God for transformation and re-formation.
My friends, it is only when we can – and will – know that God never leaves us, nor forsakes us, that we can be in the seeking posture God needs for us to be for Him to reshape us into His image. That was actually there for me to read today in Deut. 31: 6. But God not is not only just there for us 24/7, … He goes on ahead of us to prepare the way for our path in life (see Deut. 31: 8). And so, … we need to see the truth when we look into God’s mirror, … His word. We need to see God for Whom He is; and we need to see ourselves for the rank sinners we are. But finally we need to see that God is reshaping those of us who’ve received Him into our hearts to become like God, the Son.
Blame shifting just won’t cut it in this life, my dear one. So, let’s see God, seek God, and let Him shape us into His image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand here a sinner, surrendered to be transformed into Your image. Amen
My Journal for Today: In my study today, my devotional author, Dr. Smith, had me reading about the time, from Deut 31 – 32, where Moses turned over the mantle of earthly leadership to Joshua, with God encouraging God’s people as they are about to cross over the Jordan River and move into the Promised Land. However, God and Moses foresee that these fickle Hebrew people will once again become recalcitrant and selfish, turning away from God and His Law. And once again the people will shift the blame for their selfishness away from their own sinfulness and blame God.
Ever been there? Have you ever been in a place in life where you felt that God had turned away or was distant from you? Maybe you’ve seen some other believer – a good friend or a loved one – who couldn’t see their own sin for what it was and blamed God for all the bad stuff going on in their lives. It probably wasn’t you, was it? ;>)
Certainly we see hardened criminals trying to hide the blame for their crimes by denying responsibility; and we even see three year old kids, caught red-handed, who will blame anything and everyone but themselves. It’s part of the human condition to default to the blame game. Adam did it in the garden by blaming Eve; … Eve did it by blaming the serpent. And we often try to blame God for not being there when we need Him.
But who is really to blame? Does God change in some way or become mysteriously absent in our lives when things go awry? No, … if you’re reading this, I think we’re all looking into God’s mirror of truth; and we probably don’t like what we see looking back at us. We want to see God’s image – that of Christlikeness; and certainly His likeness does reflect back from His word, which is our best mirror of truth. However, we so often want to deny that what we see in the mirror is the self which we have not totally surrendered to God for transformation and re-formation.
My friends, it is only when we can – and will – know that God never leaves us, nor forsakes us, that we can be in the seeking posture God needs for us to be for Him to reshape us into His image. That was actually there for me to read today in Deut. 31: 6. But God not is not only just there for us 24/7, … He goes on ahead of us to prepare the way for our path in life (see Deut. 31: 8). And so, … we need to see the truth when we look into God’s mirror, … His word. We need to see God for Whom He is; and we need to see ourselves for the rank sinners we are. But finally we need to see that God is reshaping those of us who’ve received Him into our hearts to become like God, the Son.
Blame shifting just won’t cut it in this life, my dear one. So, let’s see God, seek God, and let Him shape us into His image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand here a sinner, surrendered to be transformed into Your image. Amen
Sunday, March 07, 2010
2010 – Mar. 7 – A False Sense of Security
Study from God’s Word… Deut 26: 16-19; Deut 28: 1-68; Deut 29: 2-29; Deut 30: 1-20; Deut 27: 1-26; … Passage for Reflection: Deut 29: 19 … NIV 19 When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.
My Journal for Today: Well, in all the devotional entries I’ve read from F. LaGard Smith this year thus far, this one today is the most disquieting and personally disturbing. In The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, Dr. Smith, as the Editor, had readers today reading through the sections from Deuteronomy where God solidified His covenant with His people, demanding that they realize the seriousness of disobedience to this oath to God as well as reviewing the blessings which would flow to them from their obedience.
Unfortunately, I agree with Dr. Smith in his devotional entry today, that in our New Covenant lives as Christians, we have a far too lackadaisical attitude about our saving relationship with Christ than we should. Sadly, in this post-modern era, I believe we’re living in an age of “easy” (or “cheap”) grace, many thinking that they have spiritual fire-insurance against “hell” (though many don’t even believe there is such a place). However, these folks, who become nominal “christians,” don’t live out their lives as if God has saved them from their sinful nature. Smith states, “… it is frightening – as long as we confess our sins, we’re tempted to believe it’s actually okay to persist in those very sins! If we just throw God a bone, we think surely He will be satisfied!” So, making and keeping solemn vows to our God concerning our way of living has become passé; and we float through life thinking and acting no different from the world nor showing any of the fruitfulness promised by our God to those who are truly saved.
Ouch! Ugh!! Groan!!! … I think of the Apostle Paul’s admonition and exhortation in Romans 5: 20 – 6: 4, upon which we should all meditate here and now (as I have in the NIV):
>>> 20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. … 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Yes, 1st John 1: 9 is no less true in the life of any Christian today; but the promise that our sins have been paid for in full on the cross and our confession of those sins brings full cleansing does not give the Christian the right or the license to sin with impunity and treat God’s saving grace with such reckless abandon. In fact, reading the entire 1st letter of John, tells us that Christians – true, born-again believers – simply will not be able to continue to sin with chronic and reckless disregard of God’s Law and His provisions for us to join Him in heaven. I grieve to think that there are many – if not most – of those who will sit with me in church today who believe they have a license to be a sinner, rather than the grace to be a saint in the eyes of God. I can only pray to my Lord that I am not one of those.
My friends, I pray that I pursue the righteousness which is eternally mine when I know that I know that I know that I know that Jesus Christ is my LORD … as well as my Savior, … when I live so that the fruit of His Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23) is apparent in my life, … when I have a sense of dread when I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon my sinfulness so that I can keep short accounts and be cleansed from self in order to glorify my Savior.
May I never have a false sense of security in my walk as a CHRISTIAN.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I sit and stand here as a CHRISTIAN, … let me live as one! Amen
My Journal for Today: Well, in all the devotional entries I’ve read from F. LaGard Smith this year thus far, this one today is the most disquieting and personally disturbing. In The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, Dr. Smith, as the Editor, had readers today reading through the sections from Deuteronomy where God solidified His covenant with His people, demanding that they realize the seriousness of disobedience to this oath to God as well as reviewing the blessings which would flow to them from their obedience.
Unfortunately, I agree with Dr. Smith in his devotional entry today, that in our New Covenant lives as Christians, we have a far too lackadaisical attitude about our saving relationship with Christ than we should. Sadly, in this post-modern era, I believe we’re living in an age of “easy” (or “cheap”) grace, many thinking that they have spiritual fire-insurance against “hell” (though many don’t even believe there is such a place). However, these folks, who become nominal “christians,” don’t live out their lives as if God has saved them from their sinful nature. Smith states, “… it is frightening – as long as we confess our sins, we’re tempted to believe it’s actually okay to persist in those very sins! If we just throw God a bone, we think surely He will be satisfied!” So, making and keeping solemn vows to our God concerning our way of living has become passé; and we float through life thinking and acting no different from the world nor showing any of the fruitfulness promised by our God to those who are truly saved.
Ouch! Ugh!! Groan!!! … I think of the Apostle Paul’s admonition and exhortation in Romans 5: 20 – 6: 4, upon which we should all meditate here and now (as I have in the NIV):
>>> 20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. … 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Yes, 1st John 1: 9 is no less true in the life of any Christian today; but the promise that our sins have been paid for in full on the cross and our confession of those sins brings full cleansing does not give the Christian the right or the license to sin with impunity and treat God’s saving grace with such reckless abandon. In fact, reading the entire 1st letter of John, tells us that Christians – true, born-again believers – simply will not be able to continue to sin with chronic and reckless disregard of God’s Law and His provisions for us to join Him in heaven. I grieve to think that there are many – if not most – of those who will sit with me in church today who believe they have a license to be a sinner, rather than the grace to be a saint in the eyes of God. I can only pray to my Lord that I am not one of those.
My friends, I pray that I pursue the righteousness which is eternally mine when I know that I know that I know that I know that Jesus Christ is my LORD … as well as my Savior, … when I live so that the fruit of His Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23) is apparent in my life, … when I have a sense of dread when I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon my sinfulness so that I can keep short accounts and be cleansed from self in order to glorify my Savior.
May I never have a false sense of security in my walk as a CHRISTIAN.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I sit and stand here as a CHRISTIAN, … let me live as one! Amen
Saturday, March 06, 2010
2010 – Mar. 6 – Tassels of Remembrance
Study from God’s Word… Lev 22: 31-33; Deut 12: 32; Deut 15: 37-41; Deut 22: 12; Deut 31: 9-13; Lev 26: 3: 1-46; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 15: 37 – 41 … NIV 37 “The LORD said to Moses, 38 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.' "
My Journal for Today: Is forgetfulness a challenge in your life? Do you – as I do – have to use “to do” lists to get things accomplished? Do you put important dates, like your spouse’s birthday, on a calendar; or maybe important appointments so that you don’t forget to remember these important events? Do you take notes when you go to seminar, especially one with an important teacher, like yours truly, {yeah, right! ;>)} says something that you don’t want to forget?
Yes, many of us do some, or all, of these things because forgetfulness is part of the human condition. God certainly knew that in the days He gave Moses the Law. So God wrote those big ten laws down on tablets; and Moses placed them in the Arc of the Covenant. And then Moses had all these laws, which I’ve been studying and reviewing these past few days from the Pentateuch, written down; because God, through Moses, recognized that mankind had short memories with regard to obedience to the God who had given them life and had delivered them from Egypt.
And in today’s passage we even see that Moses (from God’s instruction) had the men wear blue tassels on their outer garments as remembrance of God and His Law; so that, by wearing these tassels, the men might remember and be obedient to their very personal God. And if you read through Leviticus 26 – linked here for your study - any Jew in those days might have been really motivated to wear those tassels and to be obedient to God’s provision and practices because the provisions for disobedience was certainly horrible.
Bad things were to be wrought by God if the Israelites disobeyed His Law. And F. LaGard Smith, my devotional shepherd in his devotional entry for today, points out that we may not, as Christians, wear tassels of remembrance on our garments these days; but there are ways we can remind ourselves that we need to be obedient as our Lord has instructed us to be (see John 14: 21). We can have our “tassels of remembrance” whenever we take in God’s word through Scripture memory. Smith points out that teaching God’s word, through verse-by-verse memorization, explaining to our kids the meaning of God’s truth, is one of the best ways to help establish and maintain a relationship with God for our children.
And when we, personally and consciously, decide to take in God’s word into our hearts, truly contextualizing its meaning and understanding its application, we will be doing what God charged Joshua (see Josh. 1: 8) to do so that Joshua (or we) could realize spiritual success. Every verse we memorize, and can use for our lives, becomes our remembrance and use of God’s prescription to avoid sin (seePsalm 119: 9-11). Every verse we memorize, and discipline ourselves to use to deal with life’s challenges, is the way we sharpen and practice with our Spirit-swords for battle (see Eph. 6:17). Jesus certainly used this technique when He was tempted by His arch rival (and ours), Satan. When challenged by Satan, Jesus remembered and invoked the word of God [see Matt. 4 or Luke 4] to demonstrate His “tassels of remembrance.”
And this is a technique of spiritual battle my mentor taught me years ago; and I now teach it to any Christian who’ll listen to me. We are weaklings when it comes to remembering God’s truth and applying it to our lives. We need the kind of help which God imparted to His people by having them wear those blue tassels on their garments. What “tassels of remembrance” do you have in your life, … “tassels” which help you to continue to go deep – on a daily basis – in your relationship with God? Is your daily priority time with God one of those tassels? How many tassels of scripture memory do you wear in your heart, … tassels which bubble forth in your consciousness when you’re confronted by some spiritual enemy which is trying to get you to live in accord with Satan or self, rather than to remember and live for our Savior?
I leave it to you to see if you’re wearing any “tassels of remembrance” where others can see that your life is a living display of your relationship with and obedience to Christ.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m so grateful that Your word has become my garment with tassels to help me remember You each day; and to display Your glory for the world to see – YOU – and Your Robes of Righteousness, covering my rags of sin. Amen
My Journal for Today: Is forgetfulness a challenge in your life? Do you – as I do – have to use “to do” lists to get things accomplished? Do you put important dates, like your spouse’s birthday, on a calendar; or maybe important appointments so that you don’t forget to remember these important events? Do you take notes when you go to seminar, especially one with an important teacher, like yours truly, {yeah, right! ;>)} says something that you don’t want to forget?
Yes, many of us do some, or all, of these things because forgetfulness is part of the human condition. God certainly knew that in the days He gave Moses the Law. So God wrote those big ten laws down on tablets; and Moses placed them in the Arc of the Covenant. And then Moses had all these laws, which I’ve been studying and reviewing these past few days from the Pentateuch, written down; because God, through Moses, recognized that mankind had short memories with regard to obedience to the God who had given them life and had delivered them from Egypt.
And in today’s passage we even see that Moses (from God’s instruction) had the men wear blue tassels on their outer garments as remembrance of God and His Law; so that, by wearing these tassels, the men might remember and be obedient to their very personal God. And if you read through Leviticus 26 – linked here for your study - any Jew in those days might have been really motivated to wear those tassels and to be obedient to God’s provision and practices because the provisions for disobedience was certainly horrible.
Bad things were to be wrought by God if the Israelites disobeyed His Law. And F. LaGard Smith, my devotional shepherd in his devotional entry for today, points out that we may not, as Christians, wear tassels of remembrance on our garments these days; but there are ways we can remind ourselves that we need to be obedient as our Lord has instructed us to be (see John 14: 21). We can have our “tassels of remembrance” whenever we take in God’s word through Scripture memory. Smith points out that teaching God’s word, through verse-by-verse memorization, explaining to our kids the meaning of God’s truth, is one of the best ways to help establish and maintain a relationship with God for our children.
And when we, personally and consciously, decide to take in God’s word into our hearts, truly contextualizing its meaning and understanding its application, we will be doing what God charged Joshua (see Josh. 1: 8) to do so that Joshua (or we) could realize spiritual success. Every verse we memorize, and can use for our lives, becomes our remembrance and use of God’s prescription to avoid sin (seePsalm 119: 9-11). Every verse we memorize, and discipline ourselves to use to deal with life’s challenges, is the way we sharpen and practice with our Spirit-swords for battle (see Eph. 6:17). Jesus certainly used this technique when He was tempted by His arch rival (and ours), Satan. When challenged by Satan, Jesus remembered and invoked the word of God [see Matt. 4 or Luke 4] to demonstrate His “tassels of remembrance.”
And this is a technique of spiritual battle my mentor taught me years ago; and I now teach it to any Christian who’ll listen to me. We are weaklings when it comes to remembering God’s truth and applying it to our lives. We need the kind of help which God imparted to His people by having them wear those blue tassels on their garments. What “tassels of remembrance” do you have in your life, … “tassels” which help you to continue to go deep – on a daily basis – in your relationship with God? Is your daily priority time with God one of those tassels? How many tassels of scripture memory do you wear in your heart, … tassels which bubble forth in your consciousness when you’re confronted by some spiritual enemy which is trying to get you to live in accord with Satan or self, rather than to remember and live for our Savior?
I leave it to you to see if you’re wearing any “tassels of remembrance” where others can see that your life is a living display of your relationship with and obedience to Christ.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m so grateful that Your word has become my garment with tassels to help me remember You each day; and to display Your glory for the world to see – YOU – and Your Robes of Righteousness, covering my rags of sin. Amen
Friday, March 05, 2010
2010 – Mar. 5 – Acts of Compassion
Study from God’s Word… Lev 19: 9-10, 23: 22; Deut 24: 19-22, 24-25; Lev 25: 35-38; Deut 5: 16; Lev 19: 3a; Ex 21: 17; Lev 20: 9; Ex 21: 17; Lev 20: 9; Deut 21: 18-21; Lev 19: 32; Ex 22: 22-24; Ex 22: 21, 23: 9; Lev 19: 33-34; Lev 24: 22; Lev 19: 14; Lev 19: 16-18; Ex 23: 4-5; Deut 22: 1-4; Deut 5: 21; Deut 25: 4; Deut 22: 6-7; Deut 20: 1-20; Deut 23: 9-14; Deut 24: 5; Deut 21: 10-14; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 22: 6 – 7 … NIV 6 If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
My Journal for Today: Today’s study was a review of the Old Testament social welfare laws and principles God passed on to His people to aid them interacting with one another and promoting compassion, which is the focus virtue highlighted in today’s study verses. And when you, as I did, read these verses, you might have a tendency to say, “Well, … how quaint!” And we see that God cares even for His little birds; and then we extract the argument from the lesser to the greater … that if God so cares for birds the way He does, how much more does He care for you and me? And wow, in the Person of Christ we certainly see the answer to that one, don’t we?
In today’s study we see that structure, laws, and social principles were set in motion to provide for the poor, to help the handicapped, to honor the elderly (especially our parents), and even to take in foreigners when they were in need of accommodations. And F. LaGard Smith, in raising these issues, asks a couple of very pointed questions of his readers, “Can you even begin to imagine a world without daily acts of compassion? Indeed, what would you and I be like if we were devoid of compassion?”
And it was just yesterday, while I was going through my physical therapy in rehab after my shoulder surgery, the TV was on in the PT clinic; and I saw a segment from the Dr. Phil show (wow, such enlightenment!] where a Pediatrician had sexually abused over 100 little girls by taking advantage of them while he was examining them in his clinic; and there was another segment where three security guards in a shopping mall watched – and did nothing – to aid a young girl who was being pummeled by four other girls. And the question “Dr. Phil” was posing with his show was, “How can people act like this?” And there you and I have the answer to Dr. Smith’s question above. If the world was compassionless, anarchy would rule; and we’d see that the man with the biggest stick would rule.
And if we let – as a culture – the family degenerate into a structure God did not intend; or … we – as a people – are unwilling to take care of the Samaritan who is lying on the road, beaten down by the world [Luke 10: 25-37 - linked], we will become what I was viewing yesterday on that Dr. Phil show – a world devoid of compassion; and that my friends, would be sad, beyond measure, and personally intolerable. But that, my dear ones, is where we’re headed as mankind begins to live out what Paul wrote about in Romans 1: 18-32; and if we’re unwilling to live with compassion and promote caring love in our laws and culture, we will become an unlivable world.
So, as Dr. Smith asks today, ”Whose life might be uplifted today because of some compassion I might show?” A good question to move us to become what Christ would have us become … like Himself.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, Help me to live beyond self and to act like You toward my fellow man. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today’s study was a review of the Old Testament social welfare laws and principles God passed on to His people to aid them interacting with one another and promoting compassion, which is the focus virtue highlighted in today’s study verses. And when you, as I did, read these verses, you might have a tendency to say, “Well, … how quaint!” And we see that God cares even for His little birds; and then we extract the argument from the lesser to the greater … that if God so cares for birds the way He does, how much more does He care for you and me? And wow, in the Person of Christ we certainly see the answer to that one, don’t we?
In today’s study we see that structure, laws, and social principles were set in motion to provide for the poor, to help the handicapped, to honor the elderly (especially our parents), and even to take in foreigners when they were in need of accommodations. And F. LaGard Smith, in raising these issues, asks a couple of very pointed questions of his readers, “Can you even begin to imagine a world without daily acts of compassion? Indeed, what would you and I be like if we were devoid of compassion?”
And it was just yesterday, while I was going through my physical therapy in rehab after my shoulder surgery, the TV was on in the PT clinic; and I saw a segment from the Dr. Phil show (wow, such enlightenment!] where a Pediatrician had sexually abused over 100 little girls by taking advantage of them while he was examining them in his clinic; and there was another segment where three security guards in a shopping mall watched – and did nothing – to aid a young girl who was being pummeled by four other girls. And the question “Dr. Phil” was posing with his show was, “How can people act like this?” And there you and I have the answer to Dr. Smith’s question above. If the world was compassionless, anarchy would rule; and we’d see that the man with the biggest stick would rule.
And if we let – as a culture – the family degenerate into a structure God did not intend; or … we – as a people – are unwilling to take care of the Samaritan who is lying on the road, beaten down by the world [Luke 10: 25-37 - linked], we will become what I was viewing yesterday on that Dr. Phil show – a world devoid of compassion; and that my friends, would be sad, beyond measure, and personally intolerable. But that, my dear ones, is where we’re headed as mankind begins to live out what Paul wrote about in Romans 1: 18-32; and if we’re unwilling to live with compassion and promote caring love in our laws and culture, we will become an unlivable world.
So, as Dr. Smith asks today, ”Whose life might be uplifted today because of some compassion I might show?” A good question to move us to become what Christ would have us become … like Himself.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, Help me to live beyond self and to act like You toward my fellow man. Amen
Thursday, March 04, 2010
2010 – Mar. 4 – Dining Separately
Study from God’s Word… Lev 11: 46 – 47; Lev 11: 1-3; Deut 14: 3-5; Lev 11: 4-8; Deut 14: 6-8; Lev 11: 9-12; Deut 14: 9-10; Lev 11: 13-19; Deut 14: 11-18; Lev 11: 20-23; Deut 14: 19-20; Lev 11: 41-45; Lev 11: 24-38; Lev 20: 25-26; Lev 11: 39-40; Deut 14: 21a; Lev 17: 15-16; Ex 22: 31; Lev 17: 10-14, 7: 26-27, 19: 26a; Deut 12: 16, 12: 23-25; Lev 7: 22-25; Ex 23: 19b, 34: 26b; Deut 14: 21b; … Passage for Reflection: Leviticus 11: 47 … NIV 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.
My Journal for Today: Today F. LaGard Smith had me into the study of ancient Jewish dietary laws and practices; and there is some debate as to whether God declared all these dietary restrictions for His people to protect their health or to separate their eating habits from those pagan cultures which surrounded them. Perhaps it was a lot of both; but most certainly the Jewish dietary restrictions did separate the Jews from other cultures; and we read of that illustrated in the Book of Daniel when Daniel was confronted by the Babylonian king/court with foods he decided not to eat because eating the foods would dishonor God (see Daniel 1: 8).
In today’s world there are religions, such as Muslims, who will not eat certain foods because of religious restrictions. When I was growing up, my best friends were Roman Catholic; and I found it fascinating that they would eat fish every Friday. And later in life, even now, we have Orthodox Jewish friends who “keep Kosher,” which certainly separates them from the world as we, here in the southlands, eat our barbecued pork and often devour shell fish, both of which are part of these Jewish dietary restrictions. So, what does this illustrate for us in our world today?
Well, as Smith points out in today’s devotional study, we unfortunately don’t separate ourselves as Christians often enough with the way we live. Oh, certainly some do … by dressing differently (such as kids today who dress in the “GOTH” style); or there are others who are “Vegans” and will not eat meat. But are these practices done to illustrate Godly values of modesty or sobriety which witness our Christian faith; or are they just practices which call attention to ourselves as being different as individuals in the world?
Again today Smith is right when he says, “Modesty, sobriety, and self-control are increasingly rare [Christian] virtues.” And as he also states, “Dressing oddly doesn’t necessarily make us separate – only odd. Eating strangely doesn’t make us separate – only strange. If we truly want to be seen as separate, it will come in our conversations and values … in our material possessions and financial priorities; … in what we listen to and what we watch.”
Yes, my friends, what we have to ask ourselves is this, “Are we living up to the standards of separation set up by the Apostle Paul, who instructed God’s people in Romans 12: 2 to avoid becoming like the world or from Jesus, Himself, Who charged His disciples to avoid loving the world (see 1st John 2: 15 and John 14: 21)?”
You know, as Smith points out, it’s interesting that we seem to intuitively know some things which would separate us from the world. For example, we know which jokes are “clean” jokes and which are “dirty” jokes. You probably can discern which activities are “just plain fun” and those which are “just plain filth.” The late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, as to whether a certain movie was to be ruled obscene, wrote, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [i.e., that it was “pornographic”]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it [i.e., pornography] when I see it.” I think you know which entertainment media we should be viewing and which dishonors God by our witness in seeing it.
Unfortunately there are way too many Christians who know that something is self destructive (such as smoking) or visually evil (such as pornography); but they do not separate themselves from the world by standing up and refusing to participate and giving witness that they do so avoid these things out of conviction – just like Daniel refused to eat the food the Babylonians desired for him because he knew he must remain separate from the world and honor God’s way of living.
May we be “anointed” (i.e., set apart) for God’s glory by the way we live, … yes, even by the way we eat. May we stand up and be counted for righteousness in a world which is pushing us ever more to accept evil or sinful practices. At the water cooler this week when a co-worker is saying that we should just let homosexuals get married, what will be your response? When someone wants you to take a drink to join them at dinner in their home when your sobriety is a witness to your faith, what will be your decision? As the world demands us to be more and more tolerant of what God’s word teaches is evil, how will we separate ourselves for God’s glory?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may I have the courage of my conviction and commitment to Your ways and living for Your glory. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today F. LaGard Smith had me into the study of ancient Jewish dietary laws and practices; and there is some debate as to whether God declared all these dietary restrictions for His people to protect their health or to separate their eating habits from those pagan cultures which surrounded them. Perhaps it was a lot of both; but most certainly the Jewish dietary restrictions did separate the Jews from other cultures; and we read of that illustrated in the Book of Daniel when Daniel was confronted by the Babylonian king/court with foods he decided not to eat because eating the foods would dishonor God (see Daniel 1: 8).
In today’s world there are religions, such as Muslims, who will not eat certain foods because of religious restrictions. When I was growing up, my best friends were Roman Catholic; and I found it fascinating that they would eat fish every Friday. And later in life, even now, we have Orthodox Jewish friends who “keep Kosher,” which certainly separates them from the world as we, here in the southlands, eat our barbecued pork and often devour shell fish, both of which are part of these Jewish dietary restrictions. So, what does this illustrate for us in our world today?
Well, as Smith points out in today’s devotional study, we unfortunately don’t separate ourselves as Christians often enough with the way we live. Oh, certainly some do … by dressing differently (such as kids today who dress in the “GOTH” style); or there are others who are “Vegans” and will not eat meat. But are these practices done to illustrate Godly values of modesty or sobriety which witness our Christian faith; or are they just practices which call attention to ourselves as being different as individuals in the world?
Again today Smith is right when he says, “Modesty, sobriety, and self-control are increasingly rare [Christian] virtues.” And as he also states, “Dressing oddly doesn’t necessarily make us separate – only odd. Eating strangely doesn’t make us separate – only strange. If we truly want to be seen as separate, it will come in our conversations and values … in our material possessions and financial priorities; … in what we listen to and what we watch.”
Yes, my friends, what we have to ask ourselves is this, “Are we living up to the standards of separation set up by the Apostle Paul, who instructed God’s people in Romans 12: 2 to avoid becoming like the world or from Jesus, Himself, Who charged His disciples to avoid loving the world (see 1st John 2: 15 and John 14: 21)?”
You know, as Smith points out, it’s interesting that we seem to intuitively know some things which would separate us from the world. For example, we know which jokes are “clean” jokes and which are “dirty” jokes. You probably can discern which activities are “just plain fun” and those which are “just plain filth.” The late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, as to whether a certain movie was to be ruled obscene, wrote, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [i.e., that it was “pornographic”]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it [i.e., pornography] when I see it.” I think you know which entertainment media we should be viewing and which dishonors God by our witness in seeing it.
Unfortunately there are way too many Christians who know that something is self destructive (such as smoking) or visually evil (such as pornography); but they do not separate themselves from the world by standing up and refusing to participate and giving witness that they do so avoid these things out of conviction – just like Daniel refused to eat the food the Babylonians desired for him because he knew he must remain separate from the world and honor God’s way of living.
May we be “anointed” (i.e., set apart) for God’s glory by the way we live, … yes, even by the way we eat. May we stand up and be counted for righteousness in a world which is pushing us ever more to accept evil or sinful practices. At the water cooler this week when a co-worker is saying that we should just let homosexuals get married, what will be your response? When someone wants you to take a drink to join them at dinner in their home when your sobriety is a witness to your faith, what will be your decision? As the world demands us to be more and more tolerant of what God’s word teaches is evil, how will we separate ourselves for God’s glory?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may I have the courage of my conviction and commitment to Your ways and living for Your glory. Amen
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
2010 – Mar. 3 – Spiritual Isolation
Study from God’s Word… Lev 13: 1-59; Lev 14: 33-57; Deut 24: 8-9; Lev 15: 1-27, 32-33; Num 5: 1-4; Lev 15: 31; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 24: 8 – 9 … NIV 8 In cases of leprous diseases be very careful to do exactly as the priests, who are Levites, instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.
My Journal for Today: We’ve likely heard the phrase “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Well, that phrase and concept likely had its social origins in the series of health regulations given to the Hebrews in the time of Moses. And my study today took me through these passages, mostly found in Leviticus, chapters 13-15. However, there were others found in Numbers and Deuteronomy, one of which is our focus verse today from Deut. 24, concerning what the Israelites must do when someone is found to have “leprosy,” which was actually a Hebrew term referring to any of a number of skin conditions or diseases which became apparent from an acute outbreak of skin lesions.
And as we read, the Levite Priests were to put the person outside the walls from the tribe, caring for the person’s needs, but not coming into contact with the infected or diseased condition. And then, when the disease passed, they were to accept the healed person back into the tribe with open arms. And in referring to this prescribed treatment process, God’s word reminded His people of what happened with Miriam when she challenged the authority of Moses; and God punished her spiritual disobedience with a serious skin disease; and she was put out of the encampment for seven days.
Really, it is not surprising that people in those days would connect obvious skin diseases with some spiritual weakness or sinfulness. We remember how Job’s friends made such a connection when they saw the boils he was scraping from his skin. And this actually happened to Miriam; so, we can see the origins, in Hebrew Law, in what later became God’s instructions, through Jesus Himself, for the handling of the spiritual disease of chronic and recurring sin. We can read about how, just like the case of physical quarantine was commanded by God for those with leprous conditions, Jesus, in Matt. 18: 15-18 - Matt. 18 linked here - recommended spiritual isolation for one who would not or could not repent of and turn from his/her obvious sinful practices. And Paul exhorted the church – God’s people – to be the place where the spiritual disease of sin should be handled (see 1Cor. 6: 1-6 - linked). Paul also exhorted Christians to stay away from someone who was obviously a sinner who caused divisiveness or sin within the camp of believers (see Romans 16: 17-18 - linked).
So, this way of treating physical skin disease has its carry-over into how we, the Church, and as individual Christians, need to handle the spiritual “disease” of chronic, unrepented sin. And we must remember, as Jesus also taught in Matt. 18 (see verses 21-22 - see link above) that separating the “diseased” person from the flock for a time is a treatment for the disease – whether it be a quarantine for a skin condition or a separation from a sinning Christians. However, we must be willing to forgive the one who has sinned against the Body of Christ or other Christians and take them back into the fellowship of believers when we see evidence of repentance and contrition.
Sometimes it’s obvious, though difficult, to confront a chronic case of sinfulness; and we might be able to go through the Matthew 18 process of dealing with a chronic/hardened sinner. However, it’s more difficult to be there for that person, to forgive them, and to take them back into the Body of Christ when/if they’re willing and able to repent of their sinfulness and seek restoration. I deal with this all the time in the ministry God has called me to lead where husbands have been “busted” for their sexual sin; and this man must be confronted with his sin and even put out from the flock if he’s unwilling/unable to repent. However, when he does repent, it becomes very difficult for his wife and the church to bring him back into the camp and to deal with the restoration of this brother sinner. And there is a social plague of sexual sin going on in the church these days, which would be like a plague of “leprosy” in Moses’ day … if it were not handled properly according to God’s laws and His word.
I hope we see the parallels between how God wanted His People, the Israelites, to diagnose and to deal with infectious diseases in those days and how the church must discipline and deal with the social plagues of problems like Christian men who become “addicted” to pornography, and even for problems like obesity (from the sin of gluttony), where often the church becomes an enabler rather than an agent of correction and discipline. It saddens me to see how few churches have ministries to help the more than 50% of their men who’re into chronic sexual sin. And what church do you know of which confronts its obviously obese members, doing all they can as a church to help that person deal with that Saint’s sin of gluttony?
God’s Law had a way of dealing with diagnosed skin diseases; and God’s church has been given a way to deal with the infectious and growing problem of sin in our midst. The question becomes, “Will we do what God’s word teaches?”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, convict Your church to be Your agent of healing and restoration from the sinfulness which so abounds in our world. Amen
My Journal for Today: We’ve likely heard the phrase “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Well, that phrase and concept likely had its social origins in the series of health regulations given to the Hebrews in the time of Moses. And my study today took me through these passages, mostly found in Leviticus, chapters 13-15. However, there were others found in Numbers and Deuteronomy, one of which is our focus verse today from Deut. 24, concerning what the Israelites must do when someone is found to have “leprosy,” which was actually a Hebrew term referring to any of a number of skin conditions or diseases which became apparent from an acute outbreak of skin lesions.
And as we read, the Levite Priests were to put the person outside the walls from the tribe, caring for the person’s needs, but not coming into contact with the infected or diseased condition. And then, when the disease passed, they were to accept the healed person back into the tribe with open arms. And in referring to this prescribed treatment process, God’s word reminded His people of what happened with Miriam when she challenged the authority of Moses; and God punished her spiritual disobedience with a serious skin disease; and she was put out of the encampment for seven days.
Really, it is not surprising that people in those days would connect obvious skin diseases with some spiritual weakness or sinfulness. We remember how Job’s friends made such a connection when they saw the boils he was scraping from his skin. And this actually happened to Miriam; so, we can see the origins, in Hebrew Law, in what later became God’s instructions, through Jesus Himself, for the handling of the spiritual disease of chronic and recurring sin. We can read about how, just like the case of physical quarantine was commanded by God for those with leprous conditions, Jesus, in Matt. 18: 15-18 - Matt. 18 linked here - recommended spiritual isolation for one who would not or could not repent of and turn from his/her obvious sinful practices. And Paul exhorted the church – God’s people – to be the place where the spiritual disease of sin should be handled (see 1Cor. 6: 1-6 - linked). Paul also exhorted Christians to stay away from someone who was obviously a sinner who caused divisiveness or sin within the camp of believers (see Romans 16: 17-18 - linked).
So, this way of treating physical skin disease has its carry-over into how we, the Church, and as individual Christians, need to handle the spiritual “disease” of chronic, unrepented sin. And we must remember, as Jesus also taught in Matt. 18 (see verses 21-22 - see link above) that separating the “diseased” person from the flock for a time is a treatment for the disease – whether it be a quarantine for a skin condition or a separation from a sinning Christians. However, we must be willing to forgive the one who has sinned against the Body of Christ or other Christians and take them back into the fellowship of believers when we see evidence of repentance and contrition.
Sometimes it’s obvious, though difficult, to confront a chronic case of sinfulness; and we might be able to go through the Matthew 18 process of dealing with a chronic/hardened sinner. However, it’s more difficult to be there for that person, to forgive them, and to take them back into the Body of Christ when/if they’re willing and able to repent of their sinfulness and seek restoration. I deal with this all the time in the ministry God has called me to lead where husbands have been “busted” for their sexual sin; and this man must be confronted with his sin and even put out from the flock if he’s unwilling/unable to repent. However, when he does repent, it becomes very difficult for his wife and the church to bring him back into the camp and to deal with the restoration of this brother sinner. And there is a social plague of sexual sin going on in the church these days, which would be like a plague of “leprosy” in Moses’ day … if it were not handled properly according to God’s laws and His word.
I hope we see the parallels between how God wanted His People, the Israelites, to diagnose and to deal with infectious diseases in those days and how the church must discipline and deal with the social plagues of problems like Christian men who become “addicted” to pornography, and even for problems like obesity (from the sin of gluttony), where often the church becomes an enabler rather than an agent of correction and discipline. It saddens me to see how few churches have ministries to help the more than 50% of their men who’re into chronic sexual sin. And what church do you know of which confronts its obviously obese members, doing all they can as a church to help that person deal with that Saint’s sin of gluttony?
God’s Law had a way of dealing with diagnosed skin diseases; and God’s church has been given a way to deal with the infectious and growing problem of sin in our midst. The question becomes, “Will we do what God’s word teaches?”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, convict Your church to be Your agent of healing and restoration from the sinfulness which so abounds in our world. Amen
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
2010 – Mar. 2 – Sexual Taboos
Study from God’s Word… Deut 21 10-14; Deut 24: 5; Deut 22: 13-21; Deut 24: 1-4; Lev 18: 1-5; Deut 5: 18; Lev 18: 20; Lev 20: 10; Deut 22: 22-24; Lev 19: 20-22; Num 5: 11-31; Lev 19: 29; Deut 23: 17-18; Lev 18: 6-8; Deut 22: 30; Lev 20: 11; Lev 18: 9-14; Lev 20: 11; Lev 20: 19-20; Lev 18: 15-18; Lev 20: 12; 14, 21; Lev 18: 18-22; Lev 20: 13; Lev 18: 23; Ex 22: 19; Lev 20: 15-16; Lev 18: 24-30, 20: 22-24; Deut 22: 5 … Passage for Reflection: Leviticus 18: 24 … NIV 24 " 'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
My Journal for Today: Okay, … in these studies I’m undertaking from the Law of God through Moses to the ancient Hebrews, under the direction of F. LaGard Smith, it’s time to have “the sex talk.” And Dr. Smith puts it right out there when he writes for this date, ”Nothing is quite the barometer of a culture’s moral values like sex. … If one can throw off the shackles of sexual restraint with impunity, then there are no moral boundaries that cannot be safely traversed. That culture wars are fought mostly on the battle-grounds of sexual issues is not happenstance.”
And in saying this, I am very personally caught up in the playing out of such issues because of where my own sexual immorality led me for so many years of my life before I came to know Christ as my Lord and Savior. And all those years where I rejected the morays of God, calling myself an “agnostic,” but actually being an atheist, were moral attempts to justify my own personal immorality, saying that the so-called “Christian ways” were antiquated and meaningless for my life and for our world. And today we see many, like I once was, trying to excuse or redefine the sexual morals of our times, positing that the Biblical morals of the Old Testament are totally antiquated and meaningless for our generation and world.
We have kids who call themselves “christian,” who participate in oral sex outside of marriage; and they call such practices “christian sex” because there’s no “sexual intercourse” involved. We had a President a few years ago who tried to redefine “sex” to fit his own personal sexual practices, reshaping his so-called “Southern Baptist” past. We have people pursuing a sexual lifestyle called “gay,” who say that it’s a normal “christian” mode of behavior, given their post-modern definition of “christianity.”
So, … are there no taboos, … no limits, … no absolutes with regard to sexual morals in our world today? And here it’s interesting for us to observe that those who say that homosexuality is “normal,” do not want to compare themselves morally with those who claim that pedophilia should be considered within the realm of normalcy. But, there are few who would claim that bestiality is “normal,” … except maybe those who have a sexual fetish for animals. And so, it doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see why God, who was setting His Hebrew nation apart from the cultures surrounding them, would place some pretty definite limitations on sexual practices in God’s ancient Israelite nation.
Surrounding the Israelites in Moses’ times, were cultures who used prostitutes in their practices of worship. There were peoples and tribes where homosexuality and bestiality were openly and morally condoned. And hence, as it indicates in today’s highlight passage, God was going to separate His children from such immorality and make His chosen people different; and many of the laws, especially those involving sexual expression, became God’s vehicle to set His ways apart from those of the pagan lands surrounding the Israelites. And God’s desire to hold out moral standards even today shows us that there are sexual pursuits we, as believers in the truth of Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) should avoid; and there are moral absolutes, we should protect and pursue diligently.
Unfortunately, we live in times where many of the Christian sexual morays are breaking down; and it’s hard to lead our families into following the so-called “Biblical” ways of honoring God with sex only in the confines of how the Bible defines marriage and family. Today the definitions of these concepts of “marriage” and “family” are morphing rapidly; and the sexual practices involved in these definitions are also changing so that sexual pursuits which were TABOO 50 years ago are accepted and even promoted today.
And when I read a passage like Romans 1: 18-32 [linked here for your study], I can’t help but think that God, though He has been incredibly merciful for many years in our land, is now lifting the protective shield of His Spirit, and letting mankind pursue deviant practices which will ultimately lead us, as a people and culture, into an abyss of death and destruction. Unfortunately the rain of consequences from the sin of any nation will fall from God on the righteous as well as the unrighteous.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, have mercy on any of the remnant of Your family who hold fast to Your sexual principles of truth. Amen
My Journal for Today: Okay, … in these studies I’m undertaking from the Law of God through Moses to the ancient Hebrews, under the direction of F. LaGard Smith, it’s time to have “the sex talk.” And Dr. Smith puts it right out there when he writes for this date, ”Nothing is quite the barometer of a culture’s moral values like sex. … If one can throw off the shackles of sexual restraint with impunity, then there are no moral boundaries that cannot be safely traversed. That culture wars are fought mostly on the battle-grounds of sexual issues is not happenstance.”
And in saying this, I am very personally caught up in the playing out of such issues because of where my own sexual immorality led me for so many years of my life before I came to know Christ as my Lord and Savior. And all those years where I rejected the morays of God, calling myself an “agnostic,” but actually being an atheist, were moral attempts to justify my own personal immorality, saying that the so-called “Christian ways” were antiquated and meaningless for my life and for our world. And today we see many, like I once was, trying to excuse or redefine the sexual morals of our times, positing that the Biblical morals of the Old Testament are totally antiquated and meaningless for our generation and world.
We have kids who call themselves “christian,” who participate in oral sex outside of marriage; and they call such practices “christian sex” because there’s no “sexual intercourse” involved. We had a President a few years ago who tried to redefine “sex” to fit his own personal sexual practices, reshaping his so-called “Southern Baptist” past. We have people pursuing a sexual lifestyle called “gay,” who say that it’s a normal “christian” mode of behavior, given their post-modern definition of “christianity.”
So, … are there no taboos, … no limits, … no absolutes with regard to sexual morals in our world today? And here it’s interesting for us to observe that those who say that homosexuality is “normal,” do not want to compare themselves morally with those who claim that pedophilia should be considered within the realm of normalcy. But, there are few who would claim that bestiality is “normal,” … except maybe those who have a sexual fetish for animals. And so, it doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see why God, who was setting His Hebrew nation apart from the cultures surrounding them, would place some pretty definite limitations on sexual practices in God’s ancient Israelite nation.
Surrounding the Israelites in Moses’ times, were cultures who used prostitutes in their practices of worship. There were peoples and tribes where homosexuality and bestiality were openly and morally condoned. And hence, as it indicates in today’s highlight passage, God was going to separate His children from such immorality and make His chosen people different; and many of the laws, especially those involving sexual expression, became God’s vehicle to set His ways apart from those of the pagan lands surrounding the Israelites. And God’s desire to hold out moral standards even today shows us that there are sexual pursuits we, as believers in the truth of Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) should avoid; and there are moral absolutes, we should protect and pursue diligently.
Unfortunately, we live in times where many of the Christian sexual morays are breaking down; and it’s hard to lead our families into following the so-called “Biblical” ways of honoring God with sex only in the confines of how the Bible defines marriage and family. Today the definitions of these concepts of “marriage” and “family” are morphing rapidly; and the sexual practices involved in these definitions are also changing so that sexual pursuits which were TABOO 50 years ago are accepted and even promoted today.
And when I read a passage like Romans 1: 18-32 [linked here for your study], I can’t help but think that God, though He has been incredibly merciful for many years in our land, is now lifting the protective shield of His Spirit, and letting mankind pursue deviant practices which will ultimately lead us, as a people and culture, into an abyss of death and destruction. Unfortunately the rain of consequences from the sin of any nation will fall from God on the righteous as well as the unrighteous.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, have mercy on any of the remnant of Your family who hold fast to Your sexual principles of truth. Amen
Monday, March 01, 2010
2010 – Mar. 1 – Dignifying the Poor
Study from God’s Word… Num. 5: 5-10; Exod. 22: 7-17; Ex. 21: 33-34, 28; Ex. 21: 28-36; Lev. 24: 18, 21a; Deut. 22: 8; Lev. 19: 13; Deut. 24: 14-15; Lev. 25: 44-46; Deut. 23: 12-18; Ex. 21: 1-11, 26-27; Deut. 23: 19-20; Ex. 22: 25-27; Deut. 24: 12-13; Deut. 24: 6; Deut. 24: 10-11; Deut. 15: 1-11; Lev. 19: 12; Num 20: 1-16; Lev. 19: 11, 35-37; Deut 25: 15-16; Deut. 21: 15-17; Deut 25: 5-10; Num. 27: 1-11; Num. 36: 1-13; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 24: 10 – 11 … NIV 10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you.
My Journal for Today: Today, in my study, Dr. Smith, in a rather long reading session, had me wading through many of the civil laws dispensed by God through Moses to help the people in those times of Theocracy, which had singled out the Hebrews to be unlike any culture or society on earth to that point in history. God was setting them apart, i.e., anointed them, for His purposes; and the laws the Lord had for them were at times complex and specific, … at times very general and common sense oriented. But they were dealing with how mankind must interact in ways that glorified their God above the selfish nature of mankind.
One of the aspects of all these laws shows the mercy of God in sparing the dignity of His children when they are stripped of that dignity by poverty; and this was highlighted by today’s study passage concerning how the poor, who could not pay their debt, would be handled by those who were the lenders or land-lords. And herein we see a dilemma which plays out even today. As Jesus said, thousands of years later than Moses was living, we will always have the poor [see Matt. 26: 11]; but how we treat them in their poverty is what God’s Law was focused on in this highlighted study for today; and it’s what Jesus was dealing with in the context of the poor woman who lavished expensive perfume on Jesus to honor Him.
So, how do we personally, and as a society, handle the poor? Do you recoil, as I do, when pan-handlers are pushing you for donations with a sign on a corner in traffic which reads, “Homeless, please help!” Or another which reads, “Will work for food.” Do you immediately, as I have in the past, refuse to give, assuming that this is some drunk trying to ply a few bucks from you so that he can turn it into a bottle of cheap wine to satisfy his addiction? What do we, as Christians, do to help the poor when we live so securely and satisfied in our warm, well-fed homes and there are so many out there who will be sleeping in their cars in the cold tonight? And how do we reach out to help the poor in a way, as today’s study suggests, that we help them to retain their dignity, which has to suffer when any person is to the point of being evicted or cast into a state of homelessness?
Wow. This is a tough one. Because we’re all confronted with individual cases, like the ones I mentioned above on the street corners; but there are many others, that are bigger in social scope, that these street-corner beggars. So, we must ask ourselves what the Church and what our government is doing to give those some sense of dignity and to help them find a hand up and not so much a hand out. Easier said than done, isn’t it?
I must admit I will continue to be convicted and confronted with this dilemma beyond this morning’s devotional; and I can only pray that when I’m at least confronted, on an individual basis, that I will look to God’s Spirit to guide me in doing what I feel is right and what my Lord is leading me to do in that moment.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to do what You taught in reaching out to serve You when I see the least of those who really need my help. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, in my study, Dr. Smith, in a rather long reading session, had me wading through many of the civil laws dispensed by God through Moses to help the people in those times of Theocracy, which had singled out the Hebrews to be unlike any culture or society on earth to that point in history. God was setting them apart, i.e., anointed them, for His purposes; and the laws the Lord had for them were at times complex and specific, … at times very general and common sense oriented. But they were dealing with how mankind must interact in ways that glorified their God above the selfish nature of mankind.
One of the aspects of all these laws shows the mercy of God in sparing the dignity of His children when they are stripped of that dignity by poverty; and this was highlighted by today’s study passage concerning how the poor, who could not pay their debt, would be handled by those who were the lenders or land-lords. And herein we see a dilemma which plays out even today. As Jesus said, thousands of years later than Moses was living, we will always have the poor [see Matt. 26: 11]; but how we treat them in their poverty is what God’s Law was focused on in this highlighted study for today; and it’s what Jesus was dealing with in the context of the poor woman who lavished expensive perfume on Jesus to honor Him.
So, how do we personally, and as a society, handle the poor? Do you recoil, as I do, when pan-handlers are pushing you for donations with a sign on a corner in traffic which reads, “Homeless, please help!” Or another which reads, “Will work for food.” Do you immediately, as I have in the past, refuse to give, assuming that this is some drunk trying to ply a few bucks from you so that he can turn it into a bottle of cheap wine to satisfy his addiction? What do we, as Christians, do to help the poor when we live so securely and satisfied in our warm, well-fed homes and there are so many out there who will be sleeping in their cars in the cold tonight? And how do we reach out to help the poor in a way, as today’s study suggests, that we help them to retain their dignity, which has to suffer when any person is to the point of being evicted or cast into a state of homelessness?
Wow. This is a tough one. Because we’re all confronted with individual cases, like the ones I mentioned above on the street corners; but there are many others, that are bigger in social scope, that these street-corner beggars. So, we must ask ourselves what the Church and what our government is doing to give those some sense of dignity and to help them find a hand up and not so much a hand out. Easier said than done, isn’t it?
I must admit I will continue to be convicted and confronted with this dilemma beyond this morning’s devotional; and I can only pray that when I’m at least confronted, on an individual basis, that I will look to God’s Spirit to guide me in doing what I feel is right and what my Lord is leading me to do in that moment.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to do what You taught in reaching out to serve You when I see the least of those who really need my help. Amen
Sunday, February 28, 2010
2010 – Feb. 28 – Mixed Signals from the Law
Study from God’s Word… Deut. 5: 17; Exod. 21: 12-14; Lev. 24: 17, 24b; Num. 35: 20-21, 16-19, 29-34; Exod. 22: 2-3; Num. 35: 22-25; Deut. 19: 4-6; Num. 35: 9-15; Deut. 19: 1-3, 7-10; Num. 35: 26-28; Deut. 19: 11-13; Num. 35: 32; Exod. 21: 25; Exod. 21: 16; Deut. 24: 7; Lev. 24: 19-20; Exod. 21: 26-27; Deut. 22: 25-29; Exod. 21: 15-21; Deut. 25: 11-12; Deut. 5: 19; Exod. 22: 1-4; Deut. 19: 14; … Passage for Reflection: Exodus 21: 20-21 … NIV 20 "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, 21 but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlighted passage (oh, I wish Dr. Smith had not chosen this one) is a case where my human comprehension cries out for explanation from God; but from our so-called “modern day” concept of justice; God’s word, in this regard, is nothing but confusing to me.
For centuries, and even into the 19th century in this county, I can imagine that this passage was used to justify the horrible enslavement of other humans, especially the stench on our country which was our enslavement of our African-American brothers/sisters. I know that there were those, even into the 20th century, wearing KKK robes and calling themselves “christian,” who spouted out this very passage as justification for their beatings of our darker-skinned brothers/sisters in Christ, whom they felt should have been retained as their “property.”
So, how do we explain many of the laws and rules of justice which I have studied today as the precursors for the system of law we have today? I’m afraid my heart, and especially my mind, is not astute enough to be able to do so with any great clarity. Dr. Smith feels that it may have been God moving His children through a cultural milieu which was much more cruel and punitive with regard to justice than those laws about which I was reading today which He imparted through Moses to His people. The pagan cultures surrounding the Israelites in Moses’ time were much harsher than would God’s Law be for the Hebrews as they were being prepared to go into the Promised Land. So, … maybe God had to give them laws which they could accept and use in their culture and their times; but by today’s standards, these laws, at times, seem bizarre at best and unusually vindictive at times.
Hence, here’s where I am forced, by my very limited ability to grasp these concepts of justice, to trust that God knew EXACTLY what He was giving His children for their just needs and cultural limitations in those days. I have to trust that God was moving His people toward the realization of justice which would come in the Person of The Messiah, Who would become the fulfillment of THE LAW. So, I’ll not try to speculate with “perhaps this” or “perhaps that” when it comes to understanding why God set His law in motion through Moses with laws like the one quoted as a study passage today.
As Dr. Smith closes, he asks a provocative question, ”If I am ever tempted to give up on God when I don’t understand how He acts (i.e., through His word and truth), what would be my alternative?” And to that I say, “Right on, brother!” When I don’t understand God’s word, I know that I’m being challenged to dig deeper into God’s full counsel (i.e., His entire Word) to get to know Him more deeply and intimately and to find His wisdom; and I know that every time I do that, I come out loving Him more, wanting to obey Him more diligently, and desiring to serve Him with more fervor. And that I know is a good and Godly pursuit, drawing me ever closer to my Savior.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to understand; but even more, help me to trust You when I don’t. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlighted passage (oh, I wish Dr. Smith had not chosen this one) is a case where my human comprehension cries out for explanation from God; but from our so-called “modern day” concept of justice; God’s word, in this regard, is nothing but confusing to me.
For centuries, and even into the 19th century in this county, I can imagine that this passage was used to justify the horrible enslavement of other humans, especially the stench on our country which was our enslavement of our African-American brothers/sisters. I know that there were those, even into the 20th century, wearing KKK robes and calling themselves “christian,” who spouted out this very passage as justification for their beatings of our darker-skinned brothers/sisters in Christ, whom they felt should have been retained as their “property.”
So, how do we explain many of the laws and rules of justice which I have studied today as the precursors for the system of law we have today? I’m afraid my heart, and especially my mind, is not astute enough to be able to do so with any great clarity. Dr. Smith feels that it may have been God moving His children through a cultural milieu which was much more cruel and punitive with regard to justice than those laws about which I was reading today which He imparted through Moses to His people. The pagan cultures surrounding the Israelites in Moses’ time were much harsher than would God’s Law be for the Hebrews as they were being prepared to go into the Promised Land. So, … maybe God had to give them laws which they could accept and use in their culture and their times; but by today’s standards, these laws, at times, seem bizarre at best and unusually vindictive at times.
Hence, here’s where I am forced, by my very limited ability to grasp these concepts of justice, to trust that God knew EXACTLY what He was giving His children for their just needs and cultural limitations in those days. I have to trust that God was moving His people toward the realization of justice which would come in the Person of The Messiah, Who would become the fulfillment of THE LAW. So, I’ll not try to speculate with “perhaps this” or “perhaps that” when it comes to understanding why God set His law in motion through Moses with laws like the one quoted as a study passage today.
As Dr. Smith closes, he asks a provocative question, ”If I am ever tempted to give up on God when I don’t understand how He acts (i.e., through His word and truth), what would be my alternative?” And to that I say, “Right on, brother!” When I don’t understand God’s word, I know that I’m being challenged to dig deeper into God’s full counsel (i.e., His entire Word) to get to know Him more deeply and intimately and to find His wisdom; and I know that every time I do that, I come out loving Him more, wanting to obey Him more diligently, and desiring to serve Him with more fervor. And that I know is a good and Godly pursuit, drawing me ever closer to my Savior.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to understand; but even more, help me to trust You when I don’t. Amen
Saturday, February 27, 2010
2010 – Feb. 27 – A Most Intriguing God
Study from God’s Word… Deut. 17: 14-20; Exod. 22: 28b; Deut. 16: 18; Deut. 17: 8-9; Deut. 17: 8-13; Deut. 1: 9-18; Exod. 23: 8, 3-6, Lev. 19: 15; Deut. 24: 17-18; Deut 16: 19-20; Deut. 5: 20; Exod. 23: 1-2; Exod. 23: 7; Deut. 19: 16-21; Deut. 19: 15; Deut. 24: 16; Deut. 25: 1-3; Deut. 21: 22-23; … Passage for Reflection: Deut. 17: 14 – 15a … NIV 14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses.
My Journal for Today: Today, in my devotional studies from The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, Dr. Smith, the Editor, had me bouncing through quite a bit of the Pentateuch to see some pretty intriguing principles about God and how He governed His people during the times of Moses and those theocratic times. And in this topical area of study today, we read of God actually anticipating man’s desire – much later in history – for a king; and so we read of the establishment of God’s laws with regard to the rule of men over men by earthy kings.
And, as Smith points out, isn’t it intriguing that God would actually allow man to rule men when he knows the sin nature of His fallen creature; and when God’s chosen could see what the pagan governments and cultures which surrounded them in Moses’ day had done? But God, in His omniscience, did anticipate and establish rules and methods for kingship; and really, in retrospect, it all makes perfect sense.
And let me quote the questions raised by Dr. Smith which help us to answer this seeming conundrum. He writes, “Without earthy kings how would we (i.e., believers) understand God’s own kingship over a (His) spiritual kingdom? … Without bad kings, how could we (God’s people) appreciate good kings – especially the righteous King of kings? … And how could we learn to honor our secular leaders, whether kings, presidents, or governors?” Yes, we do serve a most intriguing God, with a most intriguing sense of justice and righteousness, as well as an infinitely intriguing sense of humor. And so, it’s our responsibility to go with God’s flow; and wow, that is certainly being called into question in today’s world, isn’t it?
We have kingdoms [i.e., nations] in today’s world which are much like the pagan lands into which God injected Moses and His people, setting them free from one such mighty nation to follow Moses, a very human sinner; but one who would follow God and lead God’s people. And we see how even Moses, who certainly had God’s ear, had trouble ruling a nation of sinners. Now, today, why would we be surprised by kings and Presidents trying to rule nations of sinners, who are very much like God’s chosen … fickle, selfish, and disobedient people? And yet, we are to understand that it is God Who establishes governments and leaders of governments – for His good favor and as part of His plan. Thereby, and therefore, we must let our leaders lead; and we must do so until and unless our leaders cause us to break God’s law and to be disobedient, individually, to our God. Then, and only then, must we stand for righteousness in anticipation of the coming of the King of kings who will rule forever on God’s throne of grace and righteousness.
So, are you hanging in these days while governments all over the world seem to be becoming more and more evil and corrupt? We must always remember that God is still in control; and His righteousness will one day rule in the Personage of the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Jesus WILL RETURN; and HE WILL RULE - … FOREVER !!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You will always be my King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, in my devotional studies from The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, Dr. Smith, the Editor, had me bouncing through quite a bit of the Pentateuch to see some pretty intriguing principles about God and how He governed His people during the times of Moses and those theocratic times. And in this topical area of study today, we read of God actually anticipating man’s desire – much later in history – for a king; and so we read of the establishment of God’s laws with regard to the rule of men over men by earthy kings.
And, as Smith points out, isn’t it intriguing that God would actually allow man to rule men when he knows the sin nature of His fallen creature; and when God’s chosen could see what the pagan governments and cultures which surrounded them in Moses’ day had done? But God, in His omniscience, did anticipate and establish rules and methods for kingship; and really, in retrospect, it all makes perfect sense.
And let me quote the questions raised by Dr. Smith which help us to answer this seeming conundrum. He writes, “Without earthy kings how would we (i.e., believers) understand God’s own kingship over a (His) spiritual kingdom? … Without bad kings, how could we (God’s people) appreciate good kings – especially the righteous King of kings? … And how could we learn to honor our secular leaders, whether kings, presidents, or governors?” Yes, we do serve a most intriguing God, with a most intriguing sense of justice and righteousness, as well as an infinitely intriguing sense of humor. And so, it’s our responsibility to go with God’s flow; and wow, that is certainly being called into question in today’s world, isn’t it?
We have kingdoms [i.e., nations] in today’s world which are much like the pagan lands into which God injected Moses and His people, setting them free from one such mighty nation to follow Moses, a very human sinner; but one who would follow God and lead God’s people. And we see how even Moses, who certainly had God’s ear, had trouble ruling a nation of sinners. Now, today, why would we be surprised by kings and Presidents trying to rule nations of sinners, who are very much like God’s chosen … fickle, selfish, and disobedient people? And yet, we are to understand that it is God Who establishes governments and leaders of governments – for His good favor and as part of His plan. Thereby, and therefore, we must let our leaders lead; and we must do so until and unless our leaders cause us to break God’s law and to be disobedient, individually, to our God. Then, and only then, must we stand for righteousness in anticipation of the coming of the King of kings who will rule forever on God’s throne of grace and righteousness.
So, are you hanging in these days while governments all over the world seem to be becoming more and more evil and corrupt? We must always remember that God is still in control; and His righteousness will one day rule in the Personage of the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Jesus WILL RETURN; and HE WILL RULE - … FOREVER !!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You will always be my King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen
Friday, February 26, 2010
2010 – Feb. 26 – The Making/Keeping of Vows
Study from God’s Word… Deut. 23: 1-8; Num. 6: 1-21; Lev. 27: 1-34; Deut. 23: 21-23; Lev. 19: 1-2, 19; Deut. 22: 9-11… Passage for Reflection: Deut. 23: 23 … NIV 21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
My Journal for Today: The making and keeping of VOWS has waned in our western culture. Certainly in the days I read about in today’s study, vows were considered very important; and that would be a definite understatement. When one made a vow to God in the days of Moses, under God’s law, he was expected to keep that vow as a sign of surrender to God and man’s attempt to be holy just as God is Holy (see Lev. 19: 2 or 20: 7 in today’s OT readings or 1st Peter 1: 15, 16, repeated in the New Testament]. Today, I’m afraid that our use of vows has become far too superficial, even such ceremonial vows as marriage, which we know, in commitment and reality, only last about half the time.
Under the Old Covenant, the making and keeping of vows was serious business; and Nazirite vows were good examples of that. When a Hebrew man took a Nazirite vow, he vowed to separate himself in holiness so as to be used by God. Examples of those who took Nazirite vows in the Bible were Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist; and in those days, these Nazirites vowed to let their hair grow and abstain from wine as signs of their intent and commitment to separate themselves unto holiness. Well, we know what happened to Samson, who definitely had trouble keeping his vows. Today, about as close to making vows as most of us get is in making New Year’s resolutions; and I think we know how often these fall by the wayside when it comes to keeping them.
This year, I have undertaken to make, and prayerfully keep, some commitments that are more like vows than resolutions. I began the year attempting to activate or maintain a series of behavioral commitments which I felt were those things which helped me to deepen my desire toward becoming a “living sacrifice,” as spelled out in Romans 12: 1-2. My initial surge was a 40 day commitment to maintain these habits and record these commitments to/for God; and I was able to go through those 40 days at the outset of this year, keeping – and even reporting my daily fulfillment. At the end of the 40 days, however, I realized that I needed to keep up the accountability and maintain my “vows” to God, which I felt were Spirit-led, anointed, and a calling to become more intimate in my relationship with my Lord. THEREFORE, I have surrendered myself to keep doing and reporting these vow-like commitments, at least for the remainder of this year. Those who are part of the ministry I lead [Battle Plan Ministries] see my logging of completion of these behaviors daily so that I might be accountable, somewhere, to someone, to document what I’m doing in surrender mode to God.
I don’t desire to be seen as being a “Nazirite” or something special because of my calling to pursue these commitments. I’m not doing these things to be seen as some kind of disciplined “Minister of commitment.” If anyone really knew me, they would know how far from that is from my normal, default, and very human mode of living. Bill Berry is naturally undisciplined, disorganized, and definitely selfish. Hence, this is my need to be more serious about going into and remaining in “surrender mode,” as I call it, to a Spirit-led life which allows me to deepen my relationship with Christ.
I know that only when I make habitual choices to follow Christ will I be able to receive His enabling grace and then to become fruitful for His Kingdom. Allowing myself to go into my default, natural mode of fulfilling my fleshly tendencies, I would become useless for God. And in the spirit of self analysis (which is exhorted by God’s word in 2nd Cor. 13: 5), I would charge you to take an inventory of your commitments to God (i.e., your vows of holiness); and decide which areas you might “tune up” for God’s glory. Then, write down those commitments (“goals,” if you will); and finally develop some way to be accountable for your commitments. And this needs to be far above any new year’s type resolutions. These need to be “VOWS” in the sense of today’s highlight verse; and I think you know which ones need to be made, recorded, and maintained for God’s glory.
I know that doing what I’ve been doing thus far this year has deepened my intimacy of relationship with Christ; and that is well worth any brief failures I’ve experienced during this year.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I can keep on keeping on in my desire and intent to be more holy and follow You. Amen
My Journal for Today: The making and keeping of VOWS has waned in our western culture. Certainly in the days I read about in today’s study, vows were considered very important; and that would be a definite understatement. When one made a vow to God in the days of Moses, under God’s law, he was expected to keep that vow as a sign of surrender to God and man’s attempt to be holy just as God is Holy (see Lev. 19: 2 or 20: 7 in today’s OT readings or 1st Peter 1: 15, 16, repeated in the New Testament]. Today, I’m afraid that our use of vows has become far too superficial, even such ceremonial vows as marriage, which we know, in commitment and reality, only last about half the time.
Under the Old Covenant, the making and keeping of vows was serious business; and Nazirite vows were good examples of that. When a Hebrew man took a Nazirite vow, he vowed to separate himself in holiness so as to be used by God. Examples of those who took Nazirite vows in the Bible were Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist; and in those days, these Nazirites vowed to let their hair grow and abstain from wine as signs of their intent and commitment to separate themselves unto holiness. Well, we know what happened to Samson, who definitely had trouble keeping his vows. Today, about as close to making vows as most of us get is in making New Year’s resolutions; and I think we know how often these fall by the wayside when it comes to keeping them.
This year, I have undertaken to make, and prayerfully keep, some commitments that are more like vows than resolutions. I began the year attempting to activate or maintain a series of behavioral commitments which I felt were those things which helped me to deepen my desire toward becoming a “living sacrifice,” as spelled out in Romans 12: 1-2. My initial surge was a 40 day commitment to maintain these habits and record these commitments to/for God; and I was able to go through those 40 days at the outset of this year, keeping – and even reporting my daily fulfillment. At the end of the 40 days, however, I realized that I needed to keep up the accountability and maintain my “vows” to God, which I felt were Spirit-led, anointed, and a calling to become more intimate in my relationship with my Lord. THEREFORE, I have surrendered myself to keep doing and reporting these vow-like commitments, at least for the remainder of this year. Those who are part of the ministry I lead [Battle Plan Ministries] see my logging of completion of these behaviors daily so that I might be accountable, somewhere, to someone, to document what I’m doing in surrender mode to God.
I don’t desire to be seen as being a “Nazirite” or something special because of my calling to pursue these commitments. I’m not doing these things to be seen as some kind of disciplined “Minister of commitment.” If anyone really knew me, they would know how far from that is from my normal, default, and very human mode of living. Bill Berry is naturally undisciplined, disorganized, and definitely selfish. Hence, this is my need to be more serious about going into and remaining in “surrender mode,” as I call it, to a Spirit-led life which allows me to deepen my relationship with Christ.
I know that only when I make habitual choices to follow Christ will I be able to receive His enabling grace and then to become fruitful for His Kingdom. Allowing myself to go into my default, natural mode of fulfilling my fleshly tendencies, I would become useless for God. And in the spirit of self analysis (which is exhorted by God’s word in 2nd Cor. 13: 5), I would charge you to take an inventory of your commitments to God (i.e., your vows of holiness); and decide which areas you might “tune up” for God’s glory. Then, write down those commitments (“goals,” if you will); and finally develop some way to be accountable for your commitments. And this needs to be far above any new year’s type resolutions. These need to be “VOWS” in the sense of today’s highlight verse; and I think you know which ones need to be made, recorded, and maintained for God’s glory.
I know that doing what I’ve been doing thus far this year has deepened my intimacy of relationship with Christ; and that is well worth any brief failures I’ve experienced during this year.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I can keep on keeping on in my desire and intent to be more holy and follow You. Amen
Thursday, February 25, 2010
2010 – Feb. 25 – Water, Water, Everywhere
Study from God’s Word… Lev. 12: 1-8; Lev. 14: 1-32; Lev. 15: 13-15, 28-30; Num. 19: 1-22 [Num. 9: 10]; … Passage for Reflection: Lev. 14: 8a … NIV "The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. …”
My Journal for Today: My readings for today focused on the ceremonial cleansing, such as actions or offerings, which were required by God and the Israelite Priesthood, especially when God’s people confronted certain elements of life such as childbirth, certain diseases [especially skin diseases], bodily secretions, and contact or close presence with a dead body. My devotional shepherd, Dr. Smith, had me reading about many of the Hebrew ceremonies, offerings, and actions required of the people who were confronted with some of these life challenging issues which God’s Law had laid out to help protect His people.
For example in my focus verse/passage for today, I read about how someone with a skin disease was required to be cleansed by the Priests, … first outside the camp; and then, after that ritual cleansing, he was to stay outside his own tent for seven days and be cleansed for a week with ceremonially blessed waters by the Priests until he was bodily healed and ceremoniously cleansed.
As Dr. Smith points out, many religions have ceremonial cleansing with water in their rituals; and often these rituals picture the basic sinfulness of man and the need to be cleansed from sin. Hindus actually “bath” themselves in the polluted waters of the Ganges, believing that it cleanses the soul of the one so cleansed. I’ve been to the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem; and I know that the Muslims entering their temple there have to be “cleansed” by a ceremonial washing before entering the Temple. And even Christ submitted Himself to the ceremonial cleansing of the waters of the Jordan River as He, being baptized by John, the Baptistizer, wanted to paint the picture of the need for man to be cleansed of sinfulness by submitting himself to the cleansing of God’s Spirit. This latter process, of course (i.e., Baptism) doesn’t save the believer who is baptized. No, it merely signifies that the person has surrendered to God, in submission to the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb of God, who shed His blood for our sins on the Cross at Calvary. And if you go back to Leviticus 14: 1-8, you’ll read how the blood of a clean dove was sacrificed by the Priest who combined that blood with the ceremonial water for cleansing of the one with the skin disease. All of these are pictures of God’s desire that we be cleansed of our sin and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God.
When asked about the saving power of baptism, I once heard a preacher say, “That water [in the Baptismal font] doesn’t save anyone. If you haven’t surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ when you’re baptized, you’ll come up out of the water, and all you’ll be is a wet sinner.” And that is Dr. F. LaGard Smith’s point today, as he closes his devotional entry with this application question, “If God has painted me pure in the waters of baptism, have I allowed myself to become polluted?” And it is so true that we can be made positionally holy by believing in and receiving the baptism of God’s Spirit with our faith in the atoning and finished act of Christ’s death and resurrection; but practically, our sin choices can make us as unclean as those Jews with skin diseases who needed to be ceremonially cleansed from their disease.
We need to ask ourselves if we are living out the holiness which became our right of cleansing when we were cleansed by the blood of Christ. If not, we need to be cleansed by our own personal surrender in confession to God so that we can receive His promised cleansing by His Spirit (see 1st John 1: 9 - linked) How about it? Are we keeping short accounts for our sins; and are we living out the cleansing which has been given to us by our Savior on the Cross?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to live holy because You are holy; and my only reflection of Your holiness comes in the way I make my choices and live my life. I am cleansed by the blood of the Lamb; and so, may I live cleanly to show Your presence in my life. Amen
My Journal for Today: My readings for today focused on the ceremonial cleansing, such as actions or offerings, which were required by God and the Israelite Priesthood, especially when God’s people confronted certain elements of life such as childbirth, certain diseases [especially skin diseases], bodily secretions, and contact or close presence with a dead body. My devotional shepherd, Dr. Smith, had me reading about many of the Hebrew ceremonies, offerings, and actions required of the people who were confronted with some of these life challenging issues which God’s Law had laid out to help protect His people.
For example in my focus verse/passage for today, I read about how someone with a skin disease was required to be cleansed by the Priests, … first outside the camp; and then, after that ritual cleansing, he was to stay outside his own tent for seven days and be cleansed for a week with ceremonially blessed waters by the Priests until he was bodily healed and ceremoniously cleansed.
As Dr. Smith points out, many religions have ceremonial cleansing with water in their rituals; and often these rituals picture the basic sinfulness of man and the need to be cleansed from sin. Hindus actually “bath” themselves in the polluted waters of the Ganges, believing that it cleanses the soul of the one so cleansed. I’ve been to the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem; and I know that the Muslims entering their temple there have to be “cleansed” by a ceremonial washing before entering the Temple. And even Christ submitted Himself to the ceremonial cleansing of the waters of the Jordan River as He, being baptized by John, the Baptistizer, wanted to paint the picture of the need for man to be cleansed of sinfulness by submitting himself to the cleansing of God’s Spirit. This latter process, of course (i.e., Baptism) doesn’t save the believer who is baptized. No, it merely signifies that the person has surrendered to God, in submission to the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb of God, who shed His blood for our sins on the Cross at Calvary. And if you go back to Leviticus 14: 1-8, you’ll read how the blood of a clean dove was sacrificed by the Priest who combined that blood with the ceremonial water for cleansing of the one with the skin disease. All of these are pictures of God’s desire that we be cleansed of our sin and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God.
When asked about the saving power of baptism, I once heard a preacher say, “That water [in the Baptismal font] doesn’t save anyone. If you haven’t surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ when you’re baptized, you’ll come up out of the water, and all you’ll be is a wet sinner.” And that is Dr. F. LaGard Smith’s point today, as he closes his devotional entry with this application question, “If God has painted me pure in the waters of baptism, have I allowed myself to become polluted?” And it is so true that we can be made positionally holy by believing in and receiving the baptism of God’s Spirit with our faith in the atoning and finished act of Christ’s death and resurrection; but practically, our sin choices can make us as unclean as those Jews with skin diseases who needed to be ceremonially cleansed from their disease.
We need to ask ourselves if we are living out the holiness which became our right of cleansing when we were cleansed by the blood of Christ. If not, we need to be cleansed by our own personal surrender in confession to God so that we can receive His promised cleansing by His Spirit (see 1st John 1: 9 - linked) How about it? Are we keeping short accounts for our sins; and are we living out the cleansing which has been given to us by our Savior on the Cross?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to live holy because You are holy; and my only reflection of Your holiness comes in the way I make my choices and live my life. I am cleansed by the blood of the Lamb; and so, may I live cleanly to show Your presence in my life. Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
