A Christmas to Remember

For years the materialism that has overtaken one of the world's most important holidays has shaken me to say the least. I understand that Christmas trees and Santa Clauses appear sometime before Thanksgiving to merely line the pockets of advertisers and merchants alike. I know that most of the world sees this time of year as simply a time for celebration of gifts and merriment. Before you think that I am just another cynical Christian ranting about things we should expect from the world, let me say that I enjoy giving and receiving gifts, I enjoy celebrating and merriment. What I don't like is the hijacking of a day that is supposed to be the memorial of the birth of the Savior of the world. I don't like that we forget to appreciate God for His gift to us.
This year, however, I get to put my jealousy for God to the test. I have been without a job for seven months since moving to Arkansas and I have no means to buy gifts for my kids or anyone else. I realized this morning, as I was driving back from the grocery store, that my attitude was poor. I was feeling sorry for my self because I couldn't put presents under the tree. Having a gut check moment, I realized that I was being given the opportunity to prove to myself and my family that I truly believe we should give thanks to God for giving us His Son on Christmas; that's what it is all about. Presents are great if you can buy them, learning that giving is more blessed than receiving is wonderful, and having family around is perfect. But, if all that were gone, it would still be Christmas because Jesus came to earth to become the sacrifice for our sins once for all.
I hope I can put my current financial situation behind me for the next couple of days and truly give thanks to God the way He deserves. A job will come. money will come, this difficult season of my life will be a thing of the past. It is not worth losing sight of the greatest gift ever given to man over temporary problems that God has the answer to anyway!
Merry Christmas!

Wisdom and Prudence

Solomon's life was monumental in the history of the world; never before had there been one man who gathered so many riches, possessions, and land to himself. The building of the Temple and his palace were works of art in themselves. The gold that he was given by kings and kingdoms who seemed, like Sheba, to be gawking school girls looking for emotional satisfaction would rival the stores of great countries anywhere anytime! Not to mention the wisdom he had because of his prayer for discernment. It seems the whole known world was most in awe of his metal acumen. The editor of Kings finds it so hard to communicate the grandeur of Solomon's kingdom and the man himself that he simply states that his legend is chronicled elsewhere.

Prudence, however, was apparently not within his abilities. In Solomon we have the story of a man who lost his entire empire over one indiscretion. That choice became a weakness that was revisited time and again over his life however. This repetition was what cost him the throne. God promised him that the loss would not come in his lifetime because of David's faithfulness, but it was gone none the less.

What was this lapse of judgment from the wisest man ever to live? Marrying women from countries known for idolatry and known to be enemies of Israel. The idol worship thing was pretty big with God on His do not do list! Some may point to David's harem as a precedent and ask why the kingdom was not ripped from his hands. The answer is that David married many women, but he did not follow them in worshipping other gods. David's heart stayed true to the God of Abraham. Solomon, on the other hand, began to stray from the God who placed him on the throne and gave him the wisdom so cherished by the entire known world.

On the morning I write this the leaves are falling and there is a distinct chill in the air. The seasons are changing and life continues on a cycle that only God can sustain. Our lives are full of change and newness from time to time. We often find ourselves entering a molting period, if you will. For the most part, change is good. What we must be careful of is the change that draws us away from God as Solomon was. We cannot wholeheartedly embrace all change as God directed because God will not preserve life that veers from His outline. We will continue to live. But, the life giving flow of the Spirit through us will dwindle and fade as it did for Solomon and we will lose what was so precious to us and to those around us.

To live by the Spirit we must not only strive for the things of God, we must also keep ourselves from the things of the world and the enemy. Don't allow the lure of the "beautiful women from foreign nations" to pull you away from God's design for you. It will not happen in a minute; rather, it will happen over time as you simply think you are entering another season of your life. Paul reminds us that all things are permissible for us as we live under grace, but that not all things are beneficial for us! Be wise and prudent in all you do.

In God's Hands

I find it hard to imagine what David must have been going through as God gave him a pick of three consequences to his sin.

In 2 Samuel 24 David has numbered the fighting men of Israel and began feeling guilty for having done so. Maybe he sensed he did not trust God to protect him and Israel. Perhaps it was because he numbered them as if they belonged to him, the king of Israel. God wanted to be Israel's King all along and this is why he chose a man “after His own heart” and not one who would build his own kingdom as Saul and Absalom had tried to do. In any case, he had sinned and God would send retribution as he was just in doing.

What is hard to imagine is being in David's shoes as he considers how it is that, not only he, but all of Israel will “finance” the sin of the king. He is given three choices of which one is a three year famine, one is to flee from their enemies for three months and one is to endure a plague for three days. How does one decide on the manner in which people will loose their lives for something they have done? We often ask our children what their punishment should be for doing something wrong, but that is only about one person. How can a man decide what to do for a whole nation because of sin and how can he do so when he knows that he is the one who sinned and not the whole of the nation?

David's answer is telling. No matter how I envision David coming to this choice, he surprises me by the way he comes to it. The selection does not come from severity, or from length of time, nor from number of people possibly affected. The weight is placed solely on the mercy of God. Literally David says, "I do not want to make the same mistake again by being the one to try and protect Israel. I cannot protect them, nor can I keep them. I will not put Israel in the hands of my enemies again. In stead, I will place all of us back in God's hands because he is merciful." Had he learned his lesson of trying to take God's place? Was he coming to a place in his life where he could truly trust in God?

I believe David had always trusted God and humbled himself before the One who saved him time and again from his enemies. What David was overcoming was the enemy that had defeated Saul and Absalom; pride. The moment David began to act like kings from the surrounding pagan nations God had to get his attention. God had to warn David that his throne would not endure if he chose the way of those before him. He was learning how much of a struggle it truly is to be a “man after God’s own heart.” Being a self-sufficient person is not what God wanted from David. He wanted a king that would show the rest of His people how to follow and depend wholly on a strength that lay in God alone, not in their military or any other human commodity.

The lie that we can handle this life all on our own is still a difficult one to tackle. We are taught from birth to be mature means to be independent. Those who seek out help or community are weak. The truth is that we need God and we need each other. We must not listen to Satan when he tells us the opposite. God created us to be dependent on Him. True maturity is allowing God to provide for and care for us.

Rest in God’s hands!

The Good Stuff

Reading the Old Testament this week I am reminded there are good and bad sacrifices in God's mind. That said, I wonder if we still bring the wrong kind of sacrifice to God thinking we are doing the right thing.
It all started with Cain bringing a sacrifice that wasn't what God asked for and continued on through the history of Israel. One intriguing story concerns Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, taking and eating meat that was meant for sacrifice from the people of Israel. The meat was rightfully theirs as they were priest like their father. However, they were taking it with the fat still on it and before it could be boiled. Now, we all see the health implications of eating too much fat and none of us really wants to eat boiled meat when it could be grilled, but, these two sons of Eli were not concerned with anything outside of feeding their own appetites. They were so absorbed with themselves they disobeyed the regulations of God for preparing meat period; not to mention meat that was to be sacrificed to Him. The regulations of Moses dealt with discarding the blood, bowels, hooves and other non-eatable pieces outside the camp or city. Only properly prepared parts of the animal were to be brought into the Holy of holies and given to God.

I wonder how many times we bring the fat and blood to God in place of the good stuff. Do we bring him our sin as an offering and ask him to be happy with that? Have we forgotten that God wants the best of the best from us? What we should be sacrificing to Him is our happy families, our satisfying jobs, our healthy bodies, our stable finances, and our fulfilling churches. The next time you want to bring God something and lay it at the altar, make sure it has value. Giving a sacrifice implies we are relinquishing the rights to important properties or people. God doesn't take pleasure in us bringing Him things that belong outside the camp. Leave the guts and the eyeballs where they belong and offer God your best!

To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

Reading the first fifteen chapters of 1 Samuel again today I came across an important lesson. Unfortunately for Saul, it was an expensive lesson. It cost him the kingdom, his children the opportunity to succeed him and his relationship with Samuel.

The point comes as God commands Saul to take revenge on the Amalekites for their treatment of Israel when they fled Egypt. God instructs Saul to kill every living thing in the country and return home with nothing. Saul decides to disobey God and spare the king and bring home some of the best livestock. When Samuel confronts Saul he backtracks, says that the people wanted to bring God some offerings and that he feared the people. Samuel rings out in detest of this explanation leaving us with one of the most memorable quotes of the Old Testament:

            “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

                  For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”

We may struggle to find meaning for our lives in this tongue lashing being that we do not offer sacrifices to God anymore. However, the point is not the sacrifice at all. I believe that Saul was full of bologna when he gave his answer to Samuel. I believe that he intended to take the prizes for himself and to appease the people. I do not suppose that he ever planned to offer them to God. Samuel’s rebuke then is not only about the proper place of sacrifice and obedience. (Although God would have asked them to bring home animals to sacrifice if that were His desire.) I feel that Samuel’s reprimand was based on an earlier insight. When Saul was impatient and offered sacrifices himself instead of waiting on Samuel as God had commanded, Samuel’s reproof was that God was rejecting Saul and “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people.” (Which is what was said of David by God) Saul’s struggle was not telling the truth, nor was it fearing people instead of God, nor was it placing the value of offerings over the value of obedience. Saul’s failing was placing his own interests above God’s desires.

There is only one stumbling block when it comes to obeying God; selfish desires. Saul wanted things his way as do we. The lesson here is not only about fearing God and rejecting legalism, it is learning to put God’s requirements above our wishes. Let us keep in step with the Spirit by being David and not Saul.

Beautiful Dirt

Reading Isaiah 64 and Jeremiah 18 today I put myself in the shoes of the clay; if that is possible. I began thinking about how clay is prepared by the potter to be shaped into something of his/her desire. I am not a potter, but I remember fourth grade art. I remember playing with 'Playdough' with my kids. I remember watching some potters through my lifetime and seeing their intense working of the clay.
Sometimes the clay is kneaded like bread dough to work in water and soften it. Sometimes it is rolled to lengthen it. Sometimes it is even thrown on the ground in an effort to promote elasticity. My kids used to put 'Playdough' in little vices and 'pasta' making machines and squish it until it submitted to them.
Well, maybe we can take the metaphor too far. But, God does want us to be like clay in His hands. The illustration in Jeremiah is of a potter changing his mind mid-creation. It even alludes to the fact that the first idea didn't work out (I'm not sure if that was because the clay didn't submit, but it may be implied.) so he finished with a whole new idea.
Three thoughts come to mind here. First, God wants to take us and make us into something. We don't have to make ourselves into something. We don't have to 'become' what God desires for us. We only need to submit ourselves to the potter's hand and allow him to make us into his desired image! That is not necessarily easy, but possible. I believe it takes humility and pressure from the Holy Spirit. I don't know if God intentionally throws us on the ground or puts us through a vice-like pasta machine, but, if he did, would we submit? If his preparation for making us into his image caused pain, would we say he was a bad God and jump off the table? James says that our trials cause us to mature. Isaiah asks why the clay should be able to tell the potter what to make it into. I'm not saying that God hurts us on purpose. I'm saying that cutting things out of our life and taking an honest look at how we need to change might hurt. But, in the long run, God's intentions for us are to allow us to look back in the mirror and be pleased by seeing his creation.
Second, if you are in a situation that seems like no one nor nothing can fix it; don't give up on God! He is able to take clay that no one else (even the clay itself) could make beautiful and make it an amazing creation! Just because we sinned or wandered away or rebelled in some other way doesn't mean God can't make something of our lives! Jump back on the table. Let the Holy Spirit add a little water. Let God begin to work with you again. He can and will create something that you never dreamed could come from your life!
Third, don't be jealous of what your neighbor, spouse, children, friends at church, or anyone else is shaping up to look like. Just because you are an art piece and your neighbor is a bowl doesn't mean you won't be used. Just because you are a cup and you think your spouse the wind chime is much more attractive than you doesn't mean that God doesn't see beauty in you! Listen to Simon Cowell. Save us all from embarrassment. Don't join the choir of you can't sing. God works miracles, but allow him to give you a singing voice before you join...please. My point is that we are all being made into the image that God wants if we are submitting to him! There is beauty and purpose in all of us in his hands!
So, while the image of being clay is not always pleasant, we are God's clay and that is what matters! We are Gods and God is ours and the relationship is one of long standing plan and preparation for this time in history; and we are part of it. Keeping in step with the Spirit means that we look in the mirror to see what God is creating, not to see what we want to see.

Walls of Purpose

In the first two chapters of the book of Nehemiah, we are told that God placed a desire in Nehemiah's heart to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls. He was the cupbearer to king Artaxerxes of the Persian Empire. This meant that his job was very important and that his life would have been very comfortable. It wasn't easy to find a guy who actually enjoyed tasting the king's wine to see if it was poisoned. So, the fact that he would return to a place that he had little authority (except that which the king would give him in a letter), and enter a venture that was sure by human opinions to fail, was nothing short of a God-given task in deed.
I understand why Nehemiah would want to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around the city of his God. In Nehemiah's time, cities without walls were laughed at. Cities without walls were treated as having little consequence in the lives of their neighbors and in the affairs of the region in which they lay. So, for Nehemiah to attend to this project was akin to us having the President of the United States visit our town and give us a commendation for volunteerism, or charity work, or creating jobs for our country. It was a statement of love for his city and an acknowledgement that he saw it as a great city, not the ruin that it was.
But, God doesn't look on the outside of things to determine the worth that they hold. So why would he care about Jerusalem's walls? Why would he place it on Nehemiah's heart to return and rebuild them? Why was this so important?
I believe it was the mission of God in action that caused God to care so much. It was the fact that God had ordained that the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world would come through those very walls! God promised Abraham that he would bless all the nations of the world through Israel. He had brought them back from captivity so he could do just that. And now, he was restoring the beauty and grandeur of HIS city so that all nations would recognize God's power and authority over all created things; even kings! These walls were not for Nehemiah, nor for Ezra, nor for the Persian Empire to brag about! These walls were for Israel to brag on their God about! God was restoring the credentials of Israel so that the world could look past the city to the God of the city.
Does God care about the walls in your life? If they have a greater purpose to bring attention to God and the good news of Christ, then he always cares! If we will submit the use of our walls to him, then we can expect him to help us build, or rebuild them every time. God loves us and wants to build walls for us anyway, but the real promise comes as we see HIS purpose for our walls!

If You are Willing

My take on the thoughts and experience of the leper in Mark 1:40-45; from his fictional perspective:

I had heard about this man before.

I had heard that the religious leaders were trying to discount his teaching.

But, it's kind of hard to discount teaching that is evidenced by such miracles.

When he came back to Galilee and started telling people about the truth in the Law of Moses and healing people, I wondered if he would come this way.

I was hesitant to make my way to town though.

Every time I go near the place and yell out UCLEAN, UNCLEAN, I'm so humiliated that it takes me months to want to do that again!

But, if this guy could really do what everyone is saying he can...it's worth the trip and the humiliation.

Sure enough, not long after I got to town I started hearing a commotion. I only dared to leave my hiding place when I really thought it was him.

Was this worth it? Was it worth the punishment that would come by letting myself be found in a public place. To be discovered a leper in town was bad enough, but there would be religious leaders with him for sure. What would they do to me if they knew I dared get that close to them?

Not to mention my sin. I wasn't sure what it was but, to be given this fate by God, I had to have done something! There must have been a time that I did something so bad that God thought I deserved this punishment. Why would this teacher and healer do anything for a guy like me? Those other people must have been good people that happened to have small problems.

I barely gave it thought before the noise of the crowd grew louder. It was time to make my move; they might kill me, but it was this or death anyway!

As I pushed my way through the crowd I caught sight of his eyes. I wasn't sure what he looked like or who exactly I was looking for, but, when I saw his eyes, the compassion that they held, the concern for all those around him, I knew this was him!

I fell on my knees and begged him to heal me. I knew by looking into his eyes that the stories were true! I knew that if he wanted to he could make me clean.

He stretched out his hand to me and TOUCHED ME! I hadn't been touched in years...not even by my wife or mother! But this man had such compassion that he overlooked the possibility of contaminating himself.

Then, I looked at my hands and there was no more white skin... no more missing fingers. This Jesus had made me into the man I used to be! He cleaned me up and change my destiny! Not only that... I knew that whatever I had done to deserve this punishment was washed away with the disease!

He told me to do the ritual thing and tell the priest and offer my sacrifice. Beyond that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. The miracle was supposed to be for the religious leaders only. But I couldn't keep it to myself! This man had done an awesome thing and I was convinced he was more than just a teacher. I hope I didn't mess anything up for him, but this was too good to keep to myself!

I'm healed and renewed and only Jesus could have done that for me!

Never say that your sin is too much for Jesus to forgive! Never say that your situation is too great (or too small) for Jesus to intervene in! Jesus loves you just as much as He loved this leper!

Purpose

Allow me to start this blog by giving my purpose for its creation.

In my study of Galatians chapter 5, I discovered that Paul asks us to live by the Spirit by keeping in step with the Spirit (NIV). I had to ask myself what "keeping in step with the Spirit means." How does one begin this process? How does one know where the Spirit is walking? How does one deal with the rocks and sticks in the road that might keep us from walking where He is walking?

Those questions are what I seek to answer in this blog. I will simply put my thoughts and personal answers into writing. Together we can seek to live by the Spirit.