Resetting the Compass

 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Listen to what the Lord is saying:  “Stand up and state your case against me.  Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.  And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint!  He has a case against his people.  He will bring charges against Israel.  “O my people, what have I done to you?  What have I done to make you tired of me?  Answer me!  For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery.  I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.  Don’t you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?  And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, when I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness.”  What can we bring to the Lord?  Should we bring him burnt offerings?  Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves?  Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?  Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?  No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:  to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

The prophet speaks a word from Heaven’s courts to Israel, particularly Jerusalem, about their failure to honor the blessings they had received by God’s mercy and miraculous leading, from the time they left the bondage of being Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt until they were given Canaan land as God’s promise of continued blessing.  At every step God had blessed and, in the end, Jerusalem fell into lip service instead of genuine worship.  They offered sacrifices of bulls and rams by the herd, but with their lives they ignored the weightier issue of living life in full dedication to God’s will.  Three hundred years prior, Israel’s chronicler recorded the nation’s responsibility for resetting their national compass:

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

Now, as a last ditch offer of mercy, the Lord reminds Israel of their covenant requirements through the prophet Micah.  It was time to reset the national compass.

Today is Inauguration Day for the presidency of our nation.  It is a quadrennial occurrence of a (supposedly) peaceful transfer of power from an outgoing administration’s chief to the next.  To this moment it has been anything but serene and reassuring.  It has been more than a rocky road; it has been a war zone, complete with storming the halls of government.

Inauguration speeches by a new leader traditionally carry hope for the future, and a call to unselfish patriotism, with humility towards one another.  It is my fervent wish that this transition of power, however uncertain to this point, will teach us the lesson we need to learn – God is not mocked…whatever we have been sowing, both nationally as a people, and personally in our lives…we will continue to reap.

Toward that end, let us remember that doing what is right, not party affiliation and power, but righteousness and justice, with humility before God and with each other, is our only hope of living-out what it is going to take to have our land healed of its divisiveness and anger.

There is no other way for any nation under God.

For You Today

If there is anger in your inner being it must be rooted-out; this is what children of God do. 

And the way to begin the “rooting” out of anger is to confess it in prayer, and then resolve to act towards all, as Abraham Lincoln spoke to a nation suffering the division of civil war:

With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.

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   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on this text see America // Israel and Do WHAT?      

 

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