Wow,
After celebrating the risen Savior yesterday, I am confronted with the biggest sin we all commit – rejecting God. Can you believe that we would even conceive rejecting God? Do we really need clarity on rejection? Rejection is this verse means to spurn, contemn, despise, abhor. It is unconscionable to hate, despise, devalue or spurn the God of heaven; yet, when we do not believe Him, that is exactly what we do. God asks the question “And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” Wow, God is saying with all that I have done in their lives they still don’t and refuse to believe in Me. Where are you? Have you considered what God has done in your life? We need not consider all because we do not know all. We only consider what we can recall, now. That should be enough. Let me give an example.
Seven years ago right after my daughter’s birth, I was told that I would die if I did not take immediate and drastic actions because of my cholesterol and triglycerides. I was prescribed lipitor to control my cholesterol. I did not want to take that medicine for the rest of my life. While quite shaken with that prognosis, I did not believe that God let me, after trying for six years, participate in the conception and delivery of my daughter only to die. Well, as you can see, I am still alive. I have never taken lipitor. In fact, there was another employee at the school who told me that her husband had been on it, but it had left residue on his liver, so he had to come off of it. She told me about fish oil pills with omega 3. In six weeks, my cholesterol went from 275 to 157 and my triglycerides went from 333 to below 200. It was the Almighty God who caused all of that.
For the sake of running too long, let me give you one more. In the summer of 89, I was planning on going to summer school. This would allow me to graduate in December of 89. I had a few friends who rented a house. They invited me to live with them for the summer. My portion of the rent would have been $60 a month. What a deal? Well, there were two guys on the football team who were looking for a roommate. While I knew that, it did not register with me because I was looking to conserve funds, plus I had a place to stay for the summer. Well, one day I was speaking to one of those guys and I thought the Lord said to me that He wanted me to move in with them for the summer for Him. I said, “What! Nah, God, I have this sweet deal for rent” I felt God nudging me to offer to be their roommate, but I was not having any part of that. It did not make sense to me. It was not in line with my plan and for that sake finances. It would cost me a heck of lot more. I was not having any part of it, but God continued to work on me through His Spirit. He kept speaking to me. Finally, I relented and spoke with the guys. They were delighted, but I wasn’t. I was selfish. All I could think about was what I was loosing in money. Funny how short-sighted we become when it comes to doing God’s work when money is involved. God did not give up on me though. A new twist developed just as I was getting ready to accept the situation. Neither of the guys had their portion of the deposit for the rent, they asked me if I would front it for them until they returned from home. They would give me their money then. I conveyed to them that I could not have them default on this because that was my summer school money. After all, it was my plan to graduate in December. I could not have them or God interfere with my plan to graduate at my designated time. Well, they assured me that they would have the money when they returned from home. Needless to say, they did not. As my students would say, I was 38 (as in a 38 special gun) hot. I was mad at them, and I was mad at God. Imagine my foolishness, I told God we gotta talk. I was so hurt that it seemed that I had gone out of my way to trust God and that He let me down. I was wrong, but I accused God. I told Him that I had a place to stay. I was just trying to reach out to those guys for Him. I did not even want the extra headache and costs. He was just quiet. God did not say anything. As I started out walking late that night talking to God, I ran across one of my dearest buddies. We had been in a discipleship group together. When he saw me, he knew that I was disturbed. Asking what was the matter, I conveyed to him what had transpired. He commiserated with me sharing his money woes. We both talked about how broke we were and that our parents had not been able to give us much assistance with summer school. Then out of no where, he said, “Frankie, I will give you the money for summer school.” I asked him, “how could he give me the money when we both were just talking about how broke we were?” He conveyed that the Spirit of God had convicted him about some scholarship money he had received. He was going to save that money, but the Spirit of God told him that the people who gave that money intended for it to pay for someone’s schooling. At that, he wrote out a check for $400. That was enough to help pay for my classes. At that, I cried, prayed and praised God. God, at that moment, told me to never doubt Him when I give for Him and to Him. He told me that I could never make a mistake when I was truly doing something for Him. He told me that He is able to overcome anything when I stand for Him.
With those examples and countless others, I still struggle in believing God. It’s sad but true. I am like the man in Mark 9 who sought help for his son. The man struggled with faith. He knew that God could but would He. He said, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Jesus honored the man’s request and healed his son. How many times has Jesus honored our request even when we fainted in faith?
Fainting in faith is not good, but it certainly better than rejection. In Numbers today, we see 10 men who caused an entire nation of people several million strong to reject God through disbelief. The consequences are grave. Those 10 men died and the people wondered in the desert for 40 years because of their unbelief. Their children had to endure that 40 year journey because of their disbelief. Despite that, it was a blessing because God spared them from complaining and rejecting Him. Consider the impact of our disbelief in God. It displeases Him and provokes Him to chastise us. We really need to consider our wavering or rejection of faith in the Lord. It could really cost us.
Challenge your thoughts today regarding the rejection of the Almighty God.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Read: Numbers 14:1-45
How long will they refuse to believe in me? - Numbers 14:11
TODAY IN THE WORDAfter fleeing from Egypt, God’s people encamped in the Desert of Paran. The Lord commanded Moses to send twelve men to explore the Promised Land of Canaan (Numbers 13). The scouting trip lasted forty days. The explorers returned with a mixed report (13:27-28). They roused the whole Israelite community to fear the people in the land and distrust the Lord. Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, sustained confidence in the Lord’s plan. This is the context of our passage today.
Verses 1 through 12 recount the heightening tension between the people and the four faithful men (Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua). Notice the emphasis that everyone is grumbling and rebelling: “all,” “whole,” and “entire” are used seven times (vv. 1-10). The people speculate about alternatives (vv. 2-3; cf. Gen. 3:1-6). They question God’s trustworthiness and take matters into their own hands. Despite Joshua and Caleb’s attempt to change their hearts, the Israelites remain obstinate, and the Lord intervenes (vv. 10-12).
Moses mediates and seeks God’s restraint (Ex. 32:11-13). First, he appeals to God’s reputation among the Egyptians (vv. 13-16). Then, he evokes the Lord’s promise by referencing the declaration of his name (vv. 17-19; Ex. 34:4-7). The Lord is gracious and compassionate and forgives them (v. 20). Yet, He does not leave the guilty unpunished (vv. 21-35). God declares that everyone who is 20 years old or older and grumbled against Him will die in the desert and not see the Promised Land; the scouts who kindled the rebellion are killed immediately. This passage also illuminates what it means that the Lord punishes the children for the sin of the fathers (v. 33).
When the people realize that their heavenly Father is serious and true to His name, they change their tune. They try to repent, but it is too late (vv. 40-41). Moses warns them that the Lord will not go with them (vv. 42-43), but “in their presumption” they attempt to redeem what they have broken—and are defeated (v. 45).
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Last week, my daughter and I were discussing idioms. She told me that she knew what they were. I asked for an example. She replied by stating “wake up and smell the coffee.” I did not realize the irony and humor of her statement with my assessment of what she knew until this very moment. I see the connection to what I want to talk about today. Idioms are used to express how we feel or our opinion about our condition.
There are many times in our lives when the odds are stacked against us. Someone has stacked the cards against me. Do you really think that someone has stacked the deck? Isn't it just fate? More importantly, people some times believe that God himself has stacked the deck against them. This is seen in verse 13 below. I know many people ask me that. I hope by today’s reading you can make the correct conclusion. Right now, you may be facing insurmountable circumstances relationally, financially, vocationally, physically, spiritually and in many other ways, but God is able (Eph 3:20). Whether we have created a situation by our own disobedience or not, we should seek the Lord God for help, then feel confident rather than afraid. I have faced that very situation this week and in recent months – in fact all my life. I admit that I have not always responded by calling on the Lord God initially, but after God’s faithful redirection for me, I did.
This was also true for Gideon when it appeared that he could not fulfill the call God had for him (Judges 6). The pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Gideon and told him who he was (mighty warrior) and that He was with him, but Gideon chose not to believe the creator but the created -his own opinion. Gideon chose not to believe the promise but the problem. Gideon talked about how his family pedigree could not afford him that ability; he stated that he was the weakest in his clan. It’s not about who we are but about who God is and what God has decreed. God normally takes the weakest to prove the point that He is able even with the weakest. God wants to glorify himself and cause us to rely and depend on him.
11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
15 "But Lord , [a] " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
The same that happened to Gideon has happened to you and me. God, through His Word, His Spirit, and His people, have told us who were are and that He is with us. He has proclaimed things about us (royal priesthood, holy nation, people belonging to God, co-heirs with Christ, more than conquerors) but we do not believe what God says. Instead, we believe what we think or what some other person has told us. God keeps telling me to believe. He keeps telling you to believe. We do not believe, so God allows us to experience things to show us. Just like Gideon. Just like Elijah from the devotion below. Our lives, like the greatest from the Word of God, are cycles of trusting God and not trusting God. God calls our lack of trusting Him evil. It is evil because we assign attributes to God’s character when we don’t trust Him. When we do not trust Him, we are saying that God is not faithful, credible or true. He does not keep His word. When that happens, he can’t (no will not) help us. God will make sure that He receives the honor due to him. Usually, we get engulfed by our circumstance that we “cry out” then God comes to our aid. This is how Judges 6 starts out. The people had just finished 40 years of peace in the land, so they forgot God as we normally do when things are going really well for us. Forgetting God is depriving Him of the rightful place He has in our lives – 1st! For those who surrendered to Christ as Lord and Savior, God says that we should honor him other wise He will humble us now. For those who have not surrendered to him as Lord and Savior, He says that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Let’s get it right now.
Realize that we should “… fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Hebrews 12:2
It would great if you took 30 minutes and read Judges 6 – 8 and I Kings 18-19. You will see the ebb and flow of us trusting not trusting despite powerful and miraculous things that God does in our lives. Oh praise God for his faithfulness and commitment to me. I should have mastered all of this by now, but I have not.
Be blessed.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Read: 1 Kings 18:16-40
O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God. - 1 Kings 18:37
TODAY IN THE WORDIf you’ve ever lived in a home with a teenager, you’ve probably experienced sarcasm. Requests to do chores are met with, “Sure, Mom, I’d LOVE to take out the trash [huff, huff, eye roll].” When queried whether homework has been completed, the little darling says, “Of COURSE, Dad, I’m not STUPID!”
Scripture contains descriptions of ungodly people using sarcasm, but you might be surprised to find accounts of sarcasm from saints like Paul and Elijah and even God Himself. For the next few days we’ll explore occasions when sarcasm is used to make a redemptive point.
Today’s passage opens with Ahab’s inverted view of reality. He addressed the prophet Elijah as the “troubler of Israel,” yet from the litany of sins committed and endorsed by Ahab, he himself was the source of much of Israel’s misery (vv. 17-18). He not only tolerated the worship of false gods in Israel, but he also actively promoted the cult of Baal and supported its prophets (see 1 Kings 16:29-33).
Elijah confronted the people of Israel with the choice between serving God and Baal (v. 21). Yet the people refused to choose the Lord, so Elijah prepared a dramatic demonstration of the difference. He stacked the deck in favor of Baal: Baal had 450 prophets; God had one. Baal had a dry altar; God had an altar that was completely drenched with water.
Even with these advantages, the prophets of Baal failed to produce fire. Elijah taunted them: “Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (v. 27). This egged the prophets of Baal to further exertion, and it contrasted Baal with the Lord who never sleeps and who is always present with His people (v. 36; see Ps. 121:4).
There was no answer from Baal, but there were consequences from Jehovah (v. 40). Ultimately, though, Elijah’s sarcasm was intended to provoke the people of Israel to repentance by revealing the ridiculousness of Baal worship. His sarcasm challenged evil in order to turn the people back to reality.
TODAY ALONG THE WAYElijah’s sarcasm toward the prophets of Baal contrasts with his sober prayer to the Lord in verses 36 and 37. Elijah was not flippant when it came to the worship of God. Is your own worship characterized by ridiculous posturing and exertions to no effect? Or do you come before the Lord humbly and prayerfully, expecting Him to work in accord with His Word and character? The pretension and presumptuousness of sin should be scorned, but the worship of our holy God demands our offering of praise.
There are many times in our lives when the odds are stacked against us. Someone has stacked the cards against me. Do you really think that someone has stacked the deck? Isn't it just fate? More importantly, people some times believe that God himself has stacked the deck against them. This is seen in verse 13 below. I know many people ask me that. I hope by today’s reading you can make the correct conclusion. Right now, you may be facing insurmountable circumstances relationally, financially, vocationally, physically, spiritually and in many other ways, but God is able (Eph 3:20). Whether we have created a situation by our own disobedience or not, we should seek the Lord God for help, then feel confident rather than afraid. I have faced that very situation this week and in recent months – in fact all my life. I admit that I have not always responded by calling on the Lord God initially, but after God’s faithful redirection for me, I did.
This was also true for Gideon when it appeared that he could not fulfill the call God had for him (Judges 6). The pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Gideon and told him who he was (mighty warrior) and that He was with him, but Gideon chose not to believe the creator but the created -his own opinion. Gideon chose not to believe the promise but the problem. Gideon talked about how his family pedigree could not afford him that ability; he stated that he was the weakest in his clan. It’s not about who we are but about who God is and what God has decreed. God normally takes the weakest to prove the point that He is able even with the weakest. God wants to glorify himself and cause us to rely and depend on him.
11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
15 "But Lord , [a] " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
The same that happened to Gideon has happened to you and me. God, through His Word, His Spirit, and His people, have told us who were are and that He is with us. He has proclaimed things about us (royal priesthood, holy nation, people belonging to God, co-heirs with Christ, more than conquerors) but we do not believe what God says. Instead, we believe what we think or what some other person has told us. God keeps telling me to believe. He keeps telling you to believe. We do not believe, so God allows us to experience things to show us. Just like Gideon. Just like Elijah from the devotion below. Our lives, like the greatest from the Word of God, are cycles of trusting God and not trusting God. God calls our lack of trusting Him evil. It is evil because we assign attributes to God’s character when we don’t trust Him. When we do not trust Him, we are saying that God is not faithful, credible or true. He does not keep His word. When that happens, he can’t (no will not) help us. God will make sure that He receives the honor due to him. Usually, we get engulfed by our circumstance that we “cry out” then God comes to our aid. This is how Judges 6 starts out. The people had just finished 40 years of peace in the land, so they forgot God as we normally do when things are going really well for us. Forgetting God is depriving Him of the rightful place He has in our lives – 1st! For those who surrendered to Christ as Lord and Savior, God says that we should honor him other wise He will humble us now. For those who have not surrendered to him as Lord and Savior, He says that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Let’s get it right now.
Realize that we should “… fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Hebrews 12:2
It would great if you took 30 minutes and read Judges 6 – 8 and I Kings 18-19. You will see the ebb and flow of us trusting not trusting despite powerful and miraculous things that God does in our lives. Oh praise God for his faithfulness and commitment to me. I should have mastered all of this by now, but I have not.
Be blessed.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Read: 1 Kings 18:16-40
O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God. - 1 Kings 18:37
TODAY IN THE WORDIf you’ve ever lived in a home with a teenager, you’ve probably experienced sarcasm. Requests to do chores are met with, “Sure, Mom, I’d LOVE to take out the trash [huff, huff, eye roll].” When queried whether homework has been completed, the little darling says, “Of COURSE, Dad, I’m not STUPID!”
Scripture contains descriptions of ungodly people using sarcasm, but you might be surprised to find accounts of sarcasm from saints like Paul and Elijah and even God Himself. For the next few days we’ll explore occasions when sarcasm is used to make a redemptive point.
Today’s passage opens with Ahab’s inverted view of reality. He addressed the prophet Elijah as the “troubler of Israel,” yet from the litany of sins committed and endorsed by Ahab, he himself was the source of much of Israel’s misery (vv. 17-18). He not only tolerated the worship of false gods in Israel, but he also actively promoted the cult of Baal and supported its prophets (see 1 Kings 16:29-33).
Elijah confronted the people of Israel with the choice between serving God and Baal (v. 21). Yet the people refused to choose the Lord, so Elijah prepared a dramatic demonstration of the difference. He stacked the deck in favor of Baal: Baal had 450 prophets; God had one. Baal had a dry altar; God had an altar that was completely drenched with water.
Even with these advantages, the prophets of Baal failed to produce fire. Elijah taunted them: “Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (v. 27). This egged the prophets of Baal to further exertion, and it contrasted Baal with the Lord who never sleeps and who is always present with His people (v. 36; see Ps. 121:4).
There was no answer from Baal, but there were consequences from Jehovah (v. 40). Ultimately, though, Elijah’s sarcasm was intended to provoke the people of Israel to repentance by revealing the ridiculousness of Baal worship. His sarcasm challenged evil in order to turn the people back to reality.
TODAY ALONG THE WAYElijah’s sarcasm toward the prophets of Baal contrasts with his sober prayer to the Lord in verses 36 and 37. Elijah was not flippant when it came to the worship of God. Is your own worship characterized by ridiculous posturing and exertions to no effect? Or do you come before the Lord humbly and prayerfully, expecting Him to work in accord with His Word and character? The pretension and presumptuousness of sin should be scorned, but the worship of our holy God demands our offering of praise.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
