Legacy of Leprosy

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Tuesday, July 9, 2019

“Go in peace,” Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.  But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, “My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts.  As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.”  So Gehazi set off after Naaman.  When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him.  “Is everything all right?” Naaman asked.  “Yes,” Gehazi said, “but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived.  He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.”  “By all means, take twice as much silver,” Naaman insisted.  He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi.  But when they arrived at the citadel, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back.  Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house.  When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”  “I haven’t been anywhere,” he replied.  But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you?  Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants?  Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman’s leprosy forever.”  When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.  2 Kings 5:19-27

Naaman, commander of the most powerful army in the world awoke one day to discover he had leprosy.  He would’ve traded all his power and wealth for a good doctor’s report.  When he went to the prophet he got just that…jaundiced, sickly skin, covered in sores and scabs, bordering on rotting, was now smooth and clear.

Naaman was overjoyed and wanted to shower the prophet with gifts of gold, silver, and a lavish wardrobe.  Elisha refused, but Gehazi, his servant couldn’t resist.  He went behind the prophet’s back, running after Naaman, lying straight-faced to him, and managing to snag 150 pounds of silver for himself (worth about $36,000 in today’s money[2]).  Gehazi hid the money, but the prophet knew all about it and the tables turned very quickly. 

The upshot of the story is incredible.  Naaman, a heathen, hardened military political power broker who had every advantage except health was willing to trade it all for relief from leprosy.  He got the relief and became a worshipper of the Lord God.  Gehazi, servant of Elisha, who had seen the prophet’s connection with God as Elisha performed miracles, and who had witnessed the might of JHWH defeating the foes of Israel without so much as a skirmish, traded away his own health, and that of his children and grandchildren, not to mention the possibility of passing along a good name, for some stolen bags of silver, just enough to make a good down payment on a funeral.

The contrast of the two men is striking.  Naaman was sickly and willing to give it all away for the blessing of God.  Gehazi lived in the blessing of God and wanted what Naaman had.  He got way more than he bargained for.

For You Today

Scripture says that contentment with godliness is itself great wealth.[3]  Like Gehazi we always have a choice, we can be content and let our thoughts and lives dwell with God and His ways, or we can trade away our contentment for a little silver or gold…and leave a leprous legacy; should be a no-brainer for believers!

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] According to Silver Market price

[3] 1 Timothy 6:6

When Truth Gets Offensive

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Monday, July 8, 2019

About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.  It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.  He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows:  “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.  But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all.  And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!  Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business.  I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”  Acts 19:23-27     

 (for another post on this text see here)

Truth usually becomes offensive for two reasons:

1.     When you proclaim any truth as absolute…as in 1 plus 1 is always two, and never anything else.

2.     When that truth is, as former Vice President Al Gore called it, inconvenient!

An absolute truth is one which leaves no wiggle room for anything else.  Paul claimed that exclusivity for the Gospel, and it became inconvenient for Demetrius:

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

With those two sentences saying the exclusive way to God is through Jesus Christ Paul claimed roughly two-thirds of the world’s population is going to Hell when they die.  That is an absolute truth claim, and it’s also quite inconvenient for around 4 billion people; people just like Demetrius, who wasn’t so much worried about going to Hell (he worshipped Artemis, making little silver statues of the goddess who never sent anyone to Hell…well, actually, she never did anything but sit on the fireplace mantel gathering dust).  I have a sneaking suspicion Demetrius was a little more concerned with his idol business franchise losing market share than he was outraged by Paul’s religious views.

When I was being trained in personal evangelism, I had a mentor who was rather firm, forthright, and forceful about presenting the Gospel to anyone.  I asked him the question everyone seems so worried about these days:  if you come on strong with all this Jesus being the only way, won’t you wind up offending them…you know, scare people off?  I will never forget his response:  Russell, if you scare them off, where they gonna go…Hell #2?

It’s true; there are only two possibilities, and the fact remains that Jesus is the only One standing at the fork in that road.  One way leads to Heaven, the other to Hell.  I got the point.

For You Today

You don’t have to be a hard-shell nutcase, foaming at the mouth, rather, just the opposite; your job is to let the Holy Spirit make you a winsome witness who just tells the truth.

Let me borrow John Wesley’s way of saying it:

Tell all the people you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

As long as ever you can…

…that Jesus loves them, died for them, and they can know God through Him.

And if that scares them off to Hell #2, you couldn’t have helped them by keeping your mouth shut!

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

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[1] Title Image:  Mathilde Hospital   via Wikimedia Commons    Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

More?

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Friday, July 5, 2019

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.  They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor.  But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.  For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more.  And they did it of their own free will.  They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.  They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.  So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.  Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.                                                                  2 Corinthians 8:1-7

His show on the old black and white TV was always corny, full of clean humor and stuff that would make a third grader roll his eyes, but I liked the way Tennessee Ernie Ford sang…so I listened to his stories.  And then one day he caught me by surprise when he described somebody:  that feller’s as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room-full-o-rockers.

Applying Ernie’s colloquialism to humans, just like you’d never ask a long-tailed cat to take up residence in a rocker-room, you don’t ask busy people to do more, do you?  Well, I guess if we could ask Ernie, he’d say…if’n you want somethin’ done, ask a busy person.

The Apostle Paul understood that, and it wasn’t just some psychological ploy to milk a bigger offering out of the group.  Jesus moved Paul to understand how God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Most times it happens best if the preachers will just state the need, and then get back out of the way.  God’s people know how to get things done.

The Macedonian area churches, Philippi included, were not a financially affluent bunch.  But they pressed Paul to let them give to help the believers in Jerusalem who were in dire financial need.  And now Paul was asking the Corinthian tribe to finish up their part in sending aid.  They were much more well-to-do than the others, but somewhat hesitant in the actual doing.  Isn’t it amazing how often poor people put rich people to shame when it comes to being generous?  Did I just hear the clinking of the Widow’s mites hitting the collection jar?

We all know God calls us to be generous in our giving to others.  Often I think we understand that, but miss being generous because we don’t understand what it means to get to that level of sacrifice.  God will teach us if we open our hearts.

For You Today

Let’s let Tennessee Ernie have the last word today:

You ain’t bein’ generous until yer as nervous as that-thar long-tailed kitty in the rocker shop over what yer about t’give.

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

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

Trapped

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Thursday, July 4, 2019

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  So you see how it is:  In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  Romans 7:21-25

A man is trying desperately to overcome his extreme fondness/addiction to doughnuts, and other delightful pastries.  Having ordered every pill antidote ever offered on the Internet and late-night TV commercials, tried all the fad diets, hypnosis, psychotherapy, and playing the mental tapes of his mother shaking her judge-like index finger in his face, the man resorts (finally) to prayer.  He whispers this prayer moments before leaving for work:  Lord, if it’s ok for me to get a half-dozen pastries on the way to work today, let there be a parking space right in front of the bakery this morning.  He wasn’t sure it was going to work, but as he circled the block for the eighth time, sure enough there was a space open!

The typical reaction of a human being discovering he is trapped is to begin the frantic search for a way out!  It is like the knee-jerking jump when you’ve walked barefoot into the hot coals of a fire…you want out!  And it is no different in the emotional arena…the minute you sense being bullied, smothered by somebody’s too powerful personality, or caught in a dead-end job or lifestyle; you’re looking around for an exit door.

As with most conditions that exist in the physical and emotional realms, our spiritual side has its corresponding reality.  Paul discovered a life-principle that he really was a slave, trapped like a rat in a maze, unable to free himself from the sinful ways his human nature craved.  Even when he wanted to, resolved to, wouldn’t settle for anything less than being better…it was impossible; he did the bad stuff anyway!  He described it as something that was common in Paul’s day, being a prisoner, walking around chained to a dead, rotting body.  When the Roman government punished convicted wrong doers, they would be sentenced to life with a corpse, strapped to their backs.  It was a reminder that their lives were not their own; they were at the mercy of a greater power – Rome.  Paul said it’s like that, carrying the live virus of sin around with you, being a slave to your sin nature.  The Apostle James described what that virus does:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  James 1:14-15

Now, that guy who couldn’t stay out of the bakery…that’s not just a joke you’ve heard 20 times over the past year…that guy is me!  And he’s you, too.  In some way that joke is funny because it connects with who we are…people descended from Adam and Eve, trapped in the human condition of being slaves to our desires.  And when we finally get to the place where we understand there is no release, that the corpse of our sin debt will follow us to the grave, there are only two ways out:

1.     There is self-justification.  We rationalize with our prayers and intelligent post church theories how we’re ok because we were born that way, and who is anybody to judge me, anyway.  Leave me alone, I’m just going to circle the bakery eight-times, until I feel better about myself.

2.     There is justification that God offers, as he takes our place, hanging on a cross for what sin has done to us.  And His death sets us free!

For You Today

If you’ve circled the bakery enough, and you’re beginning to feel the weight of being trapped…rejoice…you’re not far from the Kingdom.

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, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

More Than Enough

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Wednesday, July 3, 2019

One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord.  But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”  “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked.  “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”  “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.  And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.  Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you.  Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”  So she did as she was told.  Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.  Soon every container was full to the brim!  “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.  “There aren’t any more!” he told her.  And then the olive oil stopped flowing.  When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”                              2 Kings 4:1-7

Scripture goes into great detail to make the point that faith requires little in the way of wealth, health, or strength as the world sees such.  The widow of one of Elisha’s prophet band had nothing to her name but a flask of olive oil, and the wolves were at the door.  When Elisha delivered the Word of the Lord to her she did what she was told.  Faith in God is always a matter of obedience, even in the face of great odds, or little understanding. 

The widow’s mite, an offering of less than a penny’s value by a woman who had less than poverty to live-on, is often held up as the example of true Christian stewardship.  Heaven’s standard for judging your offering is never a matter of how much you give, but what you have left to keep.  

And while that’s so, faith is not the sole possession of those on the margins.  We must also see that the size of your portfolio never determines if your faith is great, puny, or non-existent; sometimes those who are rich, strong, and well-placed in society are also people of great faith.  Job was rich, but was also a man of intense, durable faith.  In fact, he was among the richest, healthiest, and most respected men of his time.  John Wesley had fortunes pass into and out of his hands in his lifetime.  But, as a true “man of God” those fortunes found ways to bless those less fortunate. 

Jesus warned about the trap riches can be to your spiritual health:

·      the rich young ruler preferred his money rather than eternal life

·      the successful farmer built bigger barns to store his biggest crop ever, rather than sharing with his neighbors

·      The rich man (Dives) ignored Lazarus the beggar right on his doorstep.

But sometimes I believe we must be put in difficult circumstances for us to see how relying on God (faith) is our biggest need.   And that was the entire point of Jesus’ teaching in each of the three stories:

The rich young ruler, successful farmer, and cold-hearted Dives all trusted their wealth to carry them into a comfortable life.  They were wrong; the allure of riches comes with a hook – a hook that sets in your soul and yanks it far from the Heavenly courts above!

For You Today

It’s not wrong to have the blessing of money…God can do great things through people who are generous and also listening for the Spirit’s direction how to use what little or great blessings He’s put in your hand. 

But those people for whom money has become their God, the question they really need to hear is, have you EVER seen a U-Haul trailer hitched to a hearse?

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, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

The Promise Over the Power

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Tuesday, July 2, 2019

We thank you, O God!  We give thanks because you are near.  People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds.  God says, “At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked.  When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.    Interlude 

“I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’  I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!  Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’”  For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness—should raise a defiant fist.  It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.  For the Lord holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.  He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs.  But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.  For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly.”  Psalm 75:1-10

Twice in my life I have stood near the great Niagara and Horseshoe Falls at the New York/Canada border.  The first time, as a young boy, when Mom and Dad took my brother and me to see this fantastic place, the sense of overwhelming power, enforced by the roaring river crashing over the precipice, thundering its way to the rocks below just shut my mouth altogether.  It is stunning to take-in the ominous – almost eerie – sight and sounds.  There is something quite holy about that kind of brute dynamism. 

The second time, as a young family man, I took my children to see what I had seen.  This time I was more prepared to take it in; I could see more.  I could take-in the facts of man harnessing the awesome power God placed in the movement of his water over the falls.  I could understand the caution of the captain of the Maid-of-the-Mist on the river below, carrying her passengers draped in raincoats close (but not too close) to where that water crashed to the earth after a 167-foot drop from above.  And I could see the gentle misty spray rising from the rocks below, with the sun shining through that haze to form a perfect rainbow above and alongside the falls.  I could make the connection of that rainbow with God’s promise to Noah, that God’s judgment would never-again come by a worldwide flood. 

The fact that the Creator of all we see holds such places of incomparable strength and power as one of us might hold a feather, sparks the imagination to places unknown when it comes to the depth and breadth of His powerful will.  If JHWH created the universe with just the words let there be…what more has he done? (And what, if it pleased Him, might He undo?).   

Dare we even say it?  Reverence for Almighty God, and attention to His word and will, are more than the constraint of His law on our lives, it is the only sensible thing we created creatures can do.  And yet some people, (perhaps more people than not these days) find it fashionable, cool, or just arrogantly independent to raise a fist towards the heavens and, in their self-proclaimed wisdom defy what they assume does not exist; in the all-too-familiar contradictory nature of atheism they rail against their assumption of an absence of anything greater than themselves.

For You Today

With all the forces that rock the earth and culture in which we live, each of us who lives as children of God, friends of Jesus, indwelt by the Comforter, must keep that second look at the promises of the rainbow.  We must be ready to proclaim as did the Psalmist the words of He whom we serve:

When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.    

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, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©