When the Land is Desolate

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Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Then this message came to me from the Lord:  “Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals.  Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord.  “Or suppose I were to send wild animals to invade the country, kill the people, and make the land too desolate and dangerous to pass through.  As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters.  They alone would be saved, but the land would be made desolate.  “Or suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I sent enemy armies to destroy both people and animals.  As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters.  They alone would be saved.  “Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic into the land, and the disease killed people and animals alike.  As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters.  They alone would be saved by their righteousness.  “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How terrible it will be when all four of these dreadful punishments fall upon Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, and disease—destroying all her people and animals.  Yet there will be survivors, and they will come here to join you as exiles in Babylon.  You will see with your own eyes how wicked they are, and then you will feel better about what I have done to Jerusalem.  When you meet them and see their behavior, you will understand that these things are not being done to Israel without cause.  I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”  Ezekiel 14:12-23 (NLT)

Ezekiel shows God’s people four catastrophes that will come upon their land.  Defeat in war, famine, wild animals gone berserk, and rampant disease are more than natural disasters, rather punishment, sent in response to widespread wickedness throughout a nation God had established; a nation dedicated to showing the world the way to God.

Prophets, and the idea some people have of them are an enigma to me.  Many people see them as nut jobs, deluded monkeys in sandwich sign-boards on city streets proclaiming the end is near.  Some see them in a romanticized frame, robust truth-tellers, admired for their keen spiritual insights and powers of persuasion.  The truth be told, they are all of that at times, and more; they are unorthodox, powerful, theatrical, seemingly a little off, and scary … a perfect blend for Halloween!

However, there is one important reality we must not miss:  prophets are human instruments responding to the call of God to proclaim God’s messages.  And those messages were rarely comforting, and never to be ignored. 

Many of the messages God sent through prophets contained a warning about a current problem, or sin, which only pertained to that moment in history.  Noah’s flood was the only one that wiped out the world’s population; it was a prophecy never to be repeated.  But, more often these alarming counsels are timeless ethics that play out over and over.  Job, for instance, was about one man, and how troubles came into his life; and as the sparks from a fire fly upward, we all know man was born into an adverse, fallen world.

This prophecy of Ezekiel’s contains both momentary warnings for Israel in the 6^th century, but also serve as a caution to every generation…and the message couldn’t be more prominent than it is in America today:

The sinfulness of a generation or a nation will not go unpunished

And there it is; prophecy is short, stark, unsophisticated, often unbelieved, but there nonetheless, and God will be justified in whatever happens in this country.

Perhaps it is time for us to listen to the response of the people of Nineveh when the reluctant prophet, Jonah warned of God’s coming destruction:

When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes.  He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.  Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:  “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all.  People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God.  They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.  Who can tell?  Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”  When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.  Jonah 3:6-10(NLT)

For You Today

If a big fish spit Jonah out on the Eastern coast of America, would there be a revival?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Turn Back ... and Live!

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Tuesday, October 30, 2018

“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord.  Of course not!  I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.  However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live?  No, of course not!  All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.  “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’  Listen to me, O people of Israel.  Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you?  Ezekiel 18:23-25(NLT)

I’ve heard it so often, and I expect to hear it again whenever the news reports:

·      some financial ruin, or a gruesome diagnosis, or …

·      some violent act like a mugging or hate crime, like last week’s shooting.

It goes something like:  How could God let this happen to innocent people?

There are a myriad of responses we could trot-out, but there are two ringing loudly in my bones today on the heels of another deranged man killing eleven people, and the ensuing accusations and counter-blame attempts:

1.      There are no totally innocent people.

2.      While God appears to be passively standing-by and passively letting it all happen, nothing could be farther from the truth.

About innocence in the human family

The apostle Paul, quoting the Old Testament prophets said that, among humans, there are none righteous.[2]  Paul, as well as traditional Christian theology (not to mention common sense) tell us we have inherited, and respond to Adam’s sinful nature.  That is why God’s acceptance of penitent sinners is based on mercy through His grace and mercy[3] not on our behavior.  Thank God for that!  It is our behavior which gets us into trouble; Christ’s behavior of sacrifice on the cross is what gets us out!

About God being a passive by-stander

It’s exactly the opposite; sovereign God is not only our Creator, He is the sustainer of all life and active in all that happens.  Just consider these few verses:

…“O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!  2 Chronicles 20:6(NLT)

Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:  “Praise the Lord!  For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.  Revelation 19:6(NLT)

To reign as a sovereign means you’re actively orchestrating the life and order of your subjects.  God, omniscient, understanding and aware of everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen is the very definition of supervising His Creation … and with a very detailed hand!  When the early stages of man’s development took a wrong turn, God turned things around.  Nimrod, King of Babel, decided to succeed from the union of God with man, and built him a monument…God did not stand passively by:

But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building …  Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages.  Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”  Genesis 11:5-7(NLT)

Ultimately God, Sovereign ruler of the universe and all that exists is orchestrating life and the times and events of mankind to suit His plans for what is His!  Like it or not we must be ready to cooperate with that plan. 

To do otherwise is beyond foolish.

For You Today

Do you have plans for today?  What in those plans convinces you that you are cooperating with God’s sovereign will?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Romans 3

[3] Ephesians 2:8-9

Craving Spiritual Milk

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Monday, October 29, 2018

So get rid of all evil behavior.  Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.  Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.  Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.  1 Peter 2:1-3(NLT)

Peter said God’s requirement for followers of Jesus was to put aside deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.  (Boy, some people would have nothing to do!)  

That phrase “putting aside” is in the Greek aorist tense.  It indicates something that is done “once-for-all”.  It’s like taking off a garment, laying it on the ground, and never again picking it up.  In other words, we don’t just cut-back on our maliciousness and hypocrisy – we give it up altogether! 

Now, Peter wasn’t saying this just to lay out some rules, so preachers would have something to rant about during revivals.  There is a purpose to laying aside all that trash kind of behavior; the purpose is to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. 

If we are to become an exemplary part of the Body of Christ it will mean laying-aside all self-centeredness.  I have known some saved people who are mean-spirited and just plain “hard to get along with”.  Instead of letting the grace of the Lord Jesus transform them into mellow and gracious people, it seems the longer they live, the more demanding they become.  They make life miserable for everyone around them.

How can you prevent that?  You can do what Peter said: 

You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.  And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.  1 Peter 2:4-5a(NLT)

The phrase coming to Christ indicates an habitual approach.  Peter said we are to grow by [habitually] taking in the sincere milk of the Word.  That’s how babies grow…they take in nourishment at every opportunity.  They eat habitually! 

So here is a question for you:

Is prayer and Bible study habitual with you?

As a pastor I have often been in the privileged position of watching the last number of months, days and hours of people who are getting ready to exit this world.  One of the surest signs that the end is near is when the person refuses food.  An appetite is required for health. 

My friend, if you want to be true to the Lord Who died for you, your appetite for growing as a disciple needs to be fed.  If you don’t feed it, it is a sign that you’d rather live closer to spiritual death than robust Christian life! 

For You Today

This daily devotional is more like a spiritual snack than a full, hearty meal.  If you want to be like your big brother, Jesus, spiritual food and spiritual exercise are necessary on Monday through Saturday, not just Sunday mornings.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Assured

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The knot in our picture can stand for many things, but two come to mind:

·      Being tied up in … well, you know … in knots … or…

·      Secure, as in … assured, comforted, safe!

There are a lot of problems for the Christian who lacks assurance that his or her sins have been forgiven, and whether he or she is right with God. 

And one of the toughest issues to deal with is what about my sins after I got saved; am I going to Hell because I didn’t behave once I became God’s child?

What we’d like to do this morning is explore those problems and match them up against the promises of God.  And then, we’ll look at how to apply the principles of God’s promises, so we can live-into that assurance with guilt-free obedience to serve joyfully.  So, let’s dig in!

The “Hell” you live when you Lack Assurance

We don’t have to spend a whole lot of time on this, because, if you lack assurance, you live there, and you know how torturous having that nagging doubt can be.  You second guess everything from why you doubt, to if you’re really saved.  You live on the edge of unbelief, and your prayers are constantly vacillating between asking forgiveness and wondering if it’s all a mirage … if there’s really a God up there to hear your prayers.

You feel guilty all the time, and that makes you a prime target of Satan.  It’s like a football team that is constantly so worried about losing the game they never play their best.  They haven’t got a snowball’s chance in a hot place of winning, because they think about nothing but being afraid of losing.

I preached a sermon once entitled Miserable Christianity; that is exactly what believers live when they are plagued with doubt. 

We are like the man who had a son that was possessed.  They brought the boy to Jesus and the man wanted to believe, but his doubt, as well as the boy’s disease, had lasted so long, ever since the boy was a small child.  He was a miserable man, living in the shadow of doubt.  The man begged Jesus to have mercy and heal the boy if he could; this is what Jesus answered:

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked.  “Anything is possible if a person believes.”  The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”  Mark 9:23-24(NLT)

Help me overcome is the doubter’s plea for assurance, to get beyond the unbelief knot that has tied up his insides.  It’s a miserable place to live and in which to be chained!

God’s Promises that Break the Chains of Doubt

There are a lot of promises, but here are several that are central to the faith:

1.     Confession of sin leads to cleansing from doubt

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  1 John 1:9(NLT)

2.     Pay attention and remain in God’s care

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.  Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.  Colossians 1:23a(NLT)

3.     The Holy Spirit lives within us to keep giving us assurance in grace

For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true.  1 Thessalonians 1:5(NLT)

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 1 John 4:13(NLT)

I don’t need to elaborate on any of these Scriptures; God’s promises speak for themselves.  So, let’s move on to how we can rest in those promises of assurance and overcome our doubt by living-into the kind of believing faith God wants us to have.

Faith Practices of Believers Who Overcome (their own) Evil with Good

I want to give you 5 HOW-TO’s concerning what God expects of forgiven people.  This relies heavily on Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.  This, by-the-way, is how John Wesley approached interpreting how a Christian should live.  It is called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral; Scripture is foremost, with the experience of life, relationships, and the moving, encouraging, and convicting power of God’s Spirit helping us use our reasoning ability within the framework of the faith traditions of our forefathers throughout the ages.  Now that’s a big sentence, but basically, we’re talking about using common sense matched up to, and controlled-by God’s Holy Word.

So, what do I do besides ask God to forgive me? How do I live-into being forgiven? 

1.     Make restitution, if at all possible

Paying back if you have robbed something, whether it is money, property, or another person’s reputation, it’s a no-brainer.  It’s simple arithmetic to give back or pay back.  But making restitution isn’t always that simple.  Sometimes you’re in a mess with another human because you just have trouble giving that person level ground with you. And here’s what God says to do about it:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  Matthew 6:14(NLT)

Years ago, there was a church leader that really ticked me off; I didn’t really know why!  He hadn’t done anything against me that I knew about; there was just something there that made me dislike him.  Much later I found out that dislike was mutual; I knew he didn’t like me because he tried to have me fired as pastor.  Perhaps I was unconsciously picking up on his dislike for me, and it got under my skin. 

But, in prayer I became convinced in my spirit that, as long as I held this against him, my prayers were going nowhere; my prayers were being chained in a knot with my unbelief about my responsibility to be a brother to this Christian man.  So, I made it a point to come alongside that man and be a friend if I could.  That was how I was to make restitution – to restore a relationship that had never really gotten off the ground.

2.     Put embarrassment aside

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  Ephesians 4:15(NLT)

There are some sins you do that are deliberate, and God has to break you before you’ll melt enough to confess, be forgiven, and then, with the knot broken, you can be useable in God’s Kingdom. 

But, there are also some sins that are because of ignorance, or inattention to what’s going on.  These are the sins that sneak up on us and we rarely ask forgiveness, because they seem either too small, or not our fault in the first place. 

Either way, sin is sin, and whether they are by commission or omission, they must be confessed to be forgiven; otherwise they grow and lead us to a death of relationship with our fellow believers on earth, and our Father in Heaven. 

Now, it’s embarrassing to bring them up; we look foolish.  But, not dealing with them means crossing the line of the higher ground to which we are called – to speak the truth in love to each other.

3.     We must make Kingdom Priority our rule

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  Matthew 6:33(NLT)

The Golden Rule (treating others like we want to be treated) is the Kingdom principle.  Sometimes you face a situation where the other person may have sinned bigger, but for the good of the Kingdom of God, a child of God always makes the first move towards restoration.

4.     Be Humble

And he gives grace generously.  As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6(NLT)

Whether you have sinned against someone, or the other way around, always remember that you have been, are, and will be on both sides of that fence.  Only God is the judge; our job is to be humble before God and our fellow believers. 

5.     Rest in God’s Forgiveness

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  1 Peter 5:7(NLT)

This verse ought to be tacked-on to any to-do list.  Because at the end of any list there is always a question or two about what appears to be some special circumstance not covered by the list.  But what if … is a certain way to slip back through the door into the shadowy house of unbelief.

Remember, faith in God means a leap of faith in God.  If God caring for you isn’t big enough to cover the questions in your mind, you’ll never have assurance.  Remember that the first prayer should be:  God, I want to believe…help me overcome my unbelief!

It’s Time to Break the Chains[2]

As a teenager I developed serious doubts about the existence of God, and my faith went on vacation for a number of years.  In my twenties, through the love of some neighbors who bugged us about going to church, I re-found my faith, and assurance began to grow, because I decided to rest in God’s forgiveness.  I decided to trust God; I believed that He was big enough to trust!

There have been struggles and battles over worrying, assaults on my assurance, and some deep water to plow-through the last 50 years or so.  But God’s rest is there; His strength is real, and you can find assurance in that simple trust. 

You can find assurance that will break the chains of doubt and unbelief!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com

How Long?

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Friday, October 26, 2018

I will praise the Lord at all times.  I will constantly speak his praises.  I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart.  Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.  Psalm 34:1-3(NLT)

In Luke 13 we find the story of a woman who must have suffered from a curved spinal column.  That was the physical reality; the spiritual reality was that Satan had “bound” her.  She was bent and bound!  There was a lady like that in a church I served years ago.  Ms. Peggy had crippling arthritis; her hands were gnarled and twisted, and she walked stooped-over as the woman in Scripture.  And just like the crippled woman, Miss Peggy was a fixture at the church.  But she also didn’t let her physical condition get in the way of her spiritual nourishment.

The ruler or leader of the synagogue was quite a different matter.  The woman was powerless and faithful; the rulers of the synagogue were powerful and faithless.  The rulers had responsibility for the widows, the powerless.  Yet the chief ruler could only bring criticism for Jesus healing her.  They kept their bylaws but ignored the greatest commandment to love God and neighbor.

When Jesus saw the pitiful condition of this woman he had compassion on her; something had to be done!  He initiated the healing.  The woman didn’t even ask; Jesus reached out and touched her. 

Consider the Contrast of Reactions to the Woman’s Healing

The woman had been crippled for 18 years.  When Jesus healed her there was no doubt that it was the woman they’d seen each week at synagogue.  When this woman stood up straight for the first time in 18 years it must have been quite a sight!  Luke says that she glorified God.  Can’t you see it?  Like days gone by when you might see someone running down a church aisle because they’d been tapped on the shoulder by the Holy Spirit, this woman lifted un-crippled hands and straight arms without pain for the first time in two decades!  She didn’t care who was looking!  She sang hallelujah, off-key or on…it made no difference!

The people rejoiced.  I can imagine if Ms. Peggy had suddenly gotten healed it would’ve caused a revival at that church!

The rulers got ticked!  What a contrast!  It just proves that control is power-vested.  These rulers, in charge of everything, with the legal right to discipline and punish wrong-doers, were so threatened by the popularity of Jesus. All they could think of was the fact that he was breaking the rules.  They brought no worship, offered up no praise to God for His healing this poor sister of theirs.  They could only think of how Jesus’ popularity was growing, and theirs was shrinking!  Matthew’s gospel (chap. 12) tells us that it was after this that they started to plot how to kill Jesus.

If you follow the timeline of Jesus’ movements, this was the very last time Jesus entered a synagogue before going to the cross.  It kind of makes the point about crossing the line once too often with God.  There is a time when He finally says:  OK, your will be done. And God finally washes His hands of trying to save you.

For You Today

So, this woman was healed on the Sabbath … some big crime, eh? 

There are abused and powerless people all around us in our communities.  Our job is to look for them, find them, and heal them with the touch of Jesus.  They are crying out in their hearts a phrase that is often repeated in the Scripture; it is the phrase/question which is frequently on the lips of a sufferer:  How long, O Lord?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com