DNA of Greatness

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

“Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.  Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations.  When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’  For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him?  And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?  “But watch out!  Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen.  Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live!  And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.  Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them.  Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’  Deuteronomy 4:5-10

Reverberating in my mind from the time I was old enough to walk is that I am blessed to live in a great country.  One of the laments we hear often these days is how far America has fallen from her greatness.  The theme that carried the day in this country’s last Presidential election was a call to Make America Great AGAIN.  That last word presupposes the fall, and hoped-for rise back to glory.

As DNA is that which is built-into a person’s life pattern and determines so much of what we know and experience every day, the Greatness Gene is what we imagine is our birthright and destiny.  Born American, we are blessed and destined to shine among the nations of the world, a beacon of light and freedom.

When Moses stood before all the tribes of Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land, he rehearsed for them how God’s greatness had called them out of Egypt, and how God’s Providence guided, protected, and met every need in the wilderness wanderings.  And now they were to cross Jordan, possess the land, and be that great beacon of light to the Gentiles and all nations.

Sometimes we enjoy the light more than appreciate the light’s source.  Recently, Ken, our thoughtful son-in-law gave his mother-in-law a wonderful gift… kitchen lighting above and below the counter.  There is a motion sensor connected to the lights that detects us moving into the kitchen from any side and turns on the lights.  Early every morning when I walk to the place of coffee (elixir of life) the gift Ken installed is a blessing.  My choice is to enjoy the light; I cannot do that without remembering the hands that gave that gift.  (Or the old guy attached to those hands that climbed around in our attic to do the wiring right).

When Moses spoke to Israel, he reminded them of the gift of God’s commandments and how they were to learn them and also live them.  Any nation blessed like Israel or America ought to remember to pass that along to the next generation, to fear the God who made them. 

For You Today

The counsel of Moses to Israel was to not forget where their greatness originated.  They were to live-in and enjoy the land they possessed; just not ever lose sight of the fact that it was a gift and calling – a responsibility to share and spread the light.  And when God calls a nation or a person, God puts greatness and goodness in their DNA.  When nations or persons trample either they soil the DNA of God’s greatness and goodness. 

Perhaps the message of the next presidential election season should be slightly altered to Make America Great (and GODLY) again!

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

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[1] Title Image:   Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

[2] For another post on this Deuteronomy 4:9-10 see NEVER FORGET

Sometimes It's Better for the Ship to Sink

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Friday, July 26, 2019

“The leaders of Judah have become like thieves.  So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall.  The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols.  I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool.  I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.  “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria—to the great king there—but he could neither help nor cure them.  I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah.  I will tear them to pieces!  I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them.  Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me.  For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”  Hosea 5:10-15[2]

Hosea’s prophecy is not gentle bedtime reading.  As a native of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8^th Century B.C. this man of God was familiar with the corrupt ways of God’s leaders, the priests.  He also had a front row seat to how the people had bought-into the priests’ leading, and how close to the edge this ship was to sinking into the East…namely giving allegiance to Assyria (modern day Iraq).  Hosea’s message was a severe warning of an event that colors today’s tension in the Middle East, and the ancient struggle between Isaac and Ishmael.  The prophecy came to fulfillment at the start of the 7^th Century; Israel was devastated.  Those who survived the siege were scattered and most of the young, bright men and women brought into captivity.  This was a national ship destroyed by its own rotted wood.  They had worshipped idols and it cost them everything!

At the risk of sounding like a “broken record” it’s hard to hear the familiar strains of this tune humming in the background, of ancient Israel’s having God’s blessing, then turning apostate, leaving the God they once loved, as being what is now playing out in the New Israel, God’s church falling apart with rotting timbers.

Scholars debate whether it’s just figurative imagery that Hosea really did marry a prostitute to dramatically illustrate how serious it was that a righteous God, Jehovah, would have an illegitimate bride, Israel.  It may have been that Hosea did just that; there are stranger things in God’s Word.

But, whether we have a metaphorical illustration, or a flesh and blood harlot, the message cannot be missed – Israel’s prostitution of her Godly, spiritual heritage had put them squarely in God’s crosshairs.  They were in for it!

And the point is…so are we. 

Israel turned away from the God they couldn’t see to the native culture of worshipping idols they could carve with their own hands.  That sounds alarmingly like today’s church vesting a whole lot more trust in balance sheets, demographic preferences, technology, and slick presentations…all which we can see, touch (and manipulate for greater impact), trying to get the world’s attention with the world’s methodologies…rather than a plain stepping out in faith in-between the walls of water through the Red Sea.  We have come to trust more in ourselves (leaning on our own understanding), rather than rest in the arms of Jehovah. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Proverbs 3:5-6

With a mild apology for co-opting a campaign slogan, the church has chosen to buy-into Making America Great Again rather than worshipping at the feet of the  One who was never anything but Magnificent!  Are we making the same mistake Hosea’s hometown made nearly 3000 years ago?  I cannot help imagining I hear the roaring young lions about ready to rip into the rotting wood of Zion’s ship.

For You Today

God is the Master Builder; the church is His ship; it belongs to no one else!

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

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com        Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] For another devotion on Hosea 5:15 see HERE