Mar 30 - Judges 2:7-13 Have you seen the Lord's work?

Reading in Judges lately has brought a couple things to light. First, In Judges 2, we read that Israel served the Lord all during Joshua's lifetime and the elders that outlived Joshua. These were all people who had seen first hand the great things that God had done for Israel. The implication is that they remembered these things and reminded Israel and kept them focused on serving Him. But after all those had died, a generation grew up that had not seen these things and they did not "know" the Lord personally. They immediately fell into evil and pursued their own view of what was right or they were easily influenced by other people's religious practices.

This says to me that we need to capture those times in our life when we know God worked in His awesome way, remember them, talk about them, teach our children about what He has done. Then what follows is an expectation and faith that He will continue to work in our lives if we trust Him. Failure to constantly remember God and all He has done places us in danger of falling into evil just as Israel did.

As I read further into Judges, a pattern emerges. Israel falls into evil. An enemy torments Israel. God raises up a judge to lead them. He delivers them from their enemy. Israel enjoys a period of peace. It has always been so easy for me to judge Israel and wonder how they could abandon God so quickly and easily. This is not really the case. When God saved them each time, they had significant periods of peace. Then it was during this time when things were going good that they fell away from God and into evil practices. Aren't we the same way? We often think less about God when things are really going well and we turn to Him more readily when things aren't so good. I am much less judgmental of Israel now and I realize that thanking God every day and staying aware of His hand in my life is important at all times - even more so when things are good.

Feb 18 - Numbers 3-4 - Naming names

Reading these two chapters today, this is what struck me. God directed Moses to appoint specific families/clans to specific jobs. One clan had responsibility for one part of the care and transport of the Tabernacle and another had different duties associated with the care and transport of a different part of the Tabernacle. Then in chapter 4, God names specific names. One clan would work under the direction of Aaron. Another would work under the direction of Eleazar. And another clan would be under the direction of Ithamar. I thought about being one of those men, and knowing that the Lord has spoken my name and assigned duties to me. How amazing it would be to really know that He knows me and that He wants me to do something! I would feel a bit overwhelmed that the Lord of the universe gave little ol' me something to do for Him. And I would feel completely commited to doing the appointed task. After all, if He knows me enough to make the assignment, He will know what I do with the assignment. I would want to give it my all, do everything possible to do it the best I could.

Well guess what, I believe He names names today. I believe that for every believer, He has called your name and said, I want you to do this particular job. He knows you, He has assigned something to you, and He knows how you are doing with that assignment. Gulp!! It seemed more straight-forward when God spoke directly to Moses and gave these specific individuals assigned tasks and a little easier perhaps to sense the awesomeness of the Lord's direction for that individual. To me, it simply means that we must diligently seek Him to learn what He has for us at this season of life. And it means just as much as then that we should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to doing it.

The great thing is that God has prepared us for the task He has for us, He has given us His Spirit to enable and empower us, and in confident faith we can see the job accomplished, maybe through our hands, but most assuredly by His Strength. Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (NKJV).

Feb 12 - Leviticus - Holy Cow!

So I have been reading through Leviticus these last few days and as many others have experienced, I began to wonder what I'm supposed to get out of these passages. The sacrificial and behavioral laws are being described and at least the sacrifices are no longer a part of our relationship with God. And the behavioral stuff, you need to sort through to determine what was applicable to that culture and what is universal and applies to us today (much discernment required in this - you can to easily rationalize away something important!). Certainly you get the picture that for Israel to make sacrifices for their sin and guilt, there was a lot of work involved and it was messy. Holy cow! I can't imagine killing, draining the blood, piecing out and burning even one animal in a day, but Israel had many, many animals sacrificed in one day. So this is all interesting, but what am I supposed to take away from this.

Two things have struck me so far. One is the realization of just how costly a mistake it was for mankind to fall into sin. It cost us relationship with God without some provision of atonement. To make atonement cost a lot in terms of both the value of unblemished animals and the blood that was necessary to cover sin. This must have something to do with the fact that sin brought death to us and somehow to make amends for it required that something else die in our place.

That brings me to the second thing. It makes it all the more amazing to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf when you think about all these sacrifices Israel made over centuries. Jesus covered them all and made them unnecessary. I have heard some say they are so thankful to be on this side of the cross and reading Leviticus really highlights one of the reasons why.

This next thought is a "freebie", not really related to my latest Scripture reading. Although reading all the rules given to Israel relates a little. Have you ever come across someone who doesn't believe in Jesus and their view of Christianity is that it is just a bunch of rules designed to spoil all the fun in life? This illustration has occurred to me. When you buy a complicated piece of electronic gear (or anything else really involved), you will probably spend at least a little time consulting the instruction manual which was put together by the manufacturer - the people who designed the product and knows how it works. Maybe you have also experienced not consulting the instructions thinking you can figure it out yourself. You may get some things right, but it only takes doing one thing wrong for it not to work right (I'm thinking about when I hooked up my surround sound system!). Well, many unbelievers do believe there is a God (even if they don't know Him yet) and many believe there was intelligent design behind the creation of the world. The "rules" of Christianity are not fun spoilers, they are the designer's instructions telling us how things work best in what He created. I have always found that doing things God's way makes for a better functioning life with more blessings and (dare I say it?), fun than trying to do things on my own. Try it, you might like it!

Jan 28 - Acts 4 - Does anyone know you have been with Jesus?

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted. Time gets away so quickly. I've been enjoying reading some of my favorite passages in recent weeks about Joseph and Moses and the Day of Pentecost. Today In Acts 4, verse 13 stood out to me. "When they (elders, rulers, high priest) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized thay they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

What hits me is that it stood out to those questioning Peter and John that they had been with Jesus. Affected by Jesus, taught by Jesus, empowered by Jesus, encouraged by Jesus. These men were doing and saying things way beyond their worldly capabilities and education. This was only possible because of thier encounter with Jesus and the empowering of the Holy Spirit sent by Him. It made me wonder, would anyone know that I have had an encounter with Jesus? Do I operate beyond my natural abilities because of Him and the working of the Holy Spirit? Do you?

Now these questions can feel judgmental and condemning if the answer is something along the lines of "Not so much." But for me it is more of a challenge. I believe it happens over time.
2 Cor 3:18 says "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Ever-increasing implies to me that we forever grow into His likeness, it doesn't happen at once. So the challenge to me is to let my words and my actions reflect more and more the fact that "I have been with Jesus!"

Jan 9 - Gen 23 - Do the Right Thing

I've been enjoying reading about Abraham the last several days, and then I came across this curious story in Gen 23 today. Abraham's wife Sarah had died and he wanted to buy a burial site in the land in which he was living. He asked the Hittites if he might purchase a suitable site to bury his wife. The Hittites viewed Abraham as a wealthy and powerful prince and they told him that any one of them would happily give Abraham their best tomb site for his family. Again Abraham insisted that he buy the site and he apparently had his eye on a specific location, a cave at the end of a field that belonged to Ephron. Abraham insisted that he pay full price.

Ephron came to Abraham and said he would gladly give him the field and the cave. Now at this stage of the story, I'm thinking this is an amazing gesture of kindness and respect. I'm thinking Abraham should accept the gift with dignity and go on to bury his wife. But no! Abraham insists again on paying full price. Ephron tells him what the price of the field is, Abraham pays him and goes to bury his wife with a clear conscience.

This got me to thinking and wondering why Abraham was so insistent on paying for this land. Several thoughts have come to me. First, when you accept a gift, there is a sense of obligation or indebtedness to the giver. Abraham did not want to be indebted to the Hittites. Second, I felt that there was a matter of honor about where you buried your family. To bury a loved one on someone else's property would not accord the proper respect to your departed family member. But I felt that there was something more than this. Now Abraham had trusted God his whole life and exhibited tremendous faith in various situations. So while this whole incident may simply have been a matter of doing the right thing to honor his family, it may also have been that Abraham's trust in God would somehow be lessened if he accepted such a great gift. His sustenance and his blessings all came from God. He needed to trust God for provision, not these strangers that he lived among. It does happen that God will bless someone through the kindness of others, but Abraham knew this gift from the Hittites was not from God and would turn him away from his faith in the Lord.

These kind of situations require much discernment. In a different setting and with different players involved, this could have been how God provided. How do you know the difference? Only by the Holy Spirit can we discern God's will. And then only if we are transformed from the world's ways to God's ways by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2) - and I believe this renewing is also the work of the Holy Spirit within you. Then we will be able to know God's will. Then we will know what the right thing is.

Jan 5 - Luke 5 - The Call to Follow Jesus

Today in my reading, I noticed a difference in the call of Simon Peter, James and John from that of Levi. Peter, James and John spent the day listening to Jesus teach the crowd from one of their boats. They then experienced a miracle in the huge catch of fish they had when Jesus instructed them to put down their nets again (after a long night of catching nothing!). When Jesus asked them to come with Him to catch men, they were ready. They had been convinced, they knew there was something about Him, they expected to see and do great things.

Levi on the other hand, simply had Jesus walk up to him and ask him to follow Jesus. Levi responded immediately. Now we can suppose that Levi had heard something about Jesus, maybe even saw Him at some point. But all we have recorded in Scripture is this simply "Follow me."

I believe it has been the same for all people down through the ages. Some people need to hear and think and comtemplate what they have heard and seen about Jesus. They slowly become convinced that He is who He claims to be and ultimately make a decision about following Him. Others have this immediate recognition that Jesus is the Son of God, a Savior who died for them and they know right away that this is what they want for their life. In both circumstances, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that speaks to the heart and mind of the person. Is either path to Jesus more holy or spiritual than the other? No, not at all. For those of us who are Christians, this tells us we need to have patience and let the Spirit work in the way that is most effective for any given individual. The last thing we want is to pressure someone into making a decision they are not ready for only to see them rebel, or make a choice that they quickly fall away from later (see the parable of the seeds, Matt 13, Mk 4 & Luke 8). Our job is to show the light of Christ in us and let the Spirit do the rest. Praise God for the many ways He can deal with us!

Jan 1 - Home with the Lord

My entry today will be short and simple. Our in-law Peggy went home to be with the Lord last night. While my heart goes out to my daughter and her husband, all the family and especially Peggy's husband Perry, I also rejoice that Peggy's suffering was not long and she is now in that wonderful place - in paradise with Jesus.
God bless all the family who are mourning the loss of this special family member. May your time of sadness be short and may your memories be sweet and sustaining.