Just a Stick

10.30.13

Mark 6.8-9 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. (ESV)

This morning as I was driving home from the gym, sipping my complimentary gym-coffee, and warming myself with the heater in my vehicle I had this thought: if I won the lottery, my worries would be over. And then the Voice said, “Why do you worry at all!?” And then I thought about how foolish my winning-the-lottery thoughts are and why I seem to think I would the lottery over the riches I have in God. My value system is often pathetic.

Jesus sent His men out – two-by-two – and charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff. I can hear Him say: “Boys, you’re on your own here; preach what I’ve told you to preach and don’t depend on anyone for anything except God. Got it?” And they went and did it. I think there were lots of pot-luck meals and possibly some hungry nights.

I struggle with the whole money-thing. What’s ironic is I live in a land where even the poverty-stricken have things like cell-phones, TV’s, and computers. In America if one makes forty-thousand dollars a year that person is in the top 10% income bracket compared to the rest of the world. Even if someone makes $1500 a year that person is still in the top 25%. Wow!

I struggle with the money-thing because I have a crappy system of value, and believe (like many others) that if I were to strike it rich I could coast through the rest of life worry-free. I don’t think God agrees with me. I’m not sure how I would handle it if Jesus walked into my room right now and said: Here’s my zero-balance credit card, now go preach the Gospel in the cities and towns of Eastern Oregon and take nothing for the journey except a staff… Jesus? Really? Yep, Paul. Really!

As I enter the close-out years of my life I think about finishing well and making sure my values are where they need to be. The only True riches in this life are found in the knowledge of God and completion of the assignment He charges: live in Me, trust in Me, and do what I tell you to do…every moment of every day. Not even the lottery can compare with riches like that.

I’m so stinking American sometimes I can’t stand it; but I look into the fearsome appearing black-hole of the disciple’s life and strangely am drawn to it. I’ve never been much good at the money-thing anyway.

Today, the call I hear is to live simply, listen carefully, and obey entirely; take nothing for the journey except your staff. Wow Jesus, it feels overwhelming but it calls to freedom and that’s more appealing.

Lord, forgive me for the foolishness of worry and insisting, in my own petty little ways, that I’ll find some big pile of cash as if that would solve all my worrying and unbelief. Help me today as I try to take nothing for the journey except a stick AND the belief that You are with me, and will provide all I ever need – Amen.

Influencing someone about Someone

10.28.13

Job 19.25-27a 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last [He] will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,

27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. (ESV)

Job is perhaps one of the strangest books in the Bible. The story is of a man (not a Jewish man) from Uz (not a part of Israel) and his suffering at the hand of God (Yaweh). I don’t think the theological themes of Job are an issue but the presence of the writing as a whole is strange to me: why would this book appear in the canon of Scripture and not have to do with God’s own? I probably think too much.

Job apparently was influenced by the people of God: the patriarchs if his story is related to their time; or at some other point in history. Ezekiel seems to think he existed and James makes reference to him as well. But here in the midst of a non-Jewish setting with a non-Jewish man we hear these words: For I know that my Redeemer lives... Really? Apparently so.

The fact that the conversation God had with Satan regarding Job is astounding; and more astounding to me is Mr. Job himself said he knew his Redeemer lived. Huh! Who knew?

In Genesis 4.26 it’s written: To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. It’s conceivable to me that Job’s people were some of those who called upon the name of the Lord. Job certainly knew something about his Redeemer.

Okay, Paul, your point? God makes Himself known to all mankind – some get it and some don’t; some will see Him and some won’t. And if a Gentile non-descendant of Abraham had faith there’s hope for others who look upon this world and come up wanting. Somehow Job was influenced and convinced his Redeemer lived. I’m not sure if he came to that conclusion because of the Jews (Hebrews) or if there was something else that got him on that track. Bottomline: Job was influenced by someone about Someone.

And that is our job today (yours and mine): influencing someone about Someone. How do they know that there is such a Person as a Redeemer if they don’t see His presence in our lives? How do they know that after they die they will see – in their flesh – they shall see God for themselves? They won’t unless someone influences them. This puts a new (but old and established) spin on how I’m to live my days: I’m representing Him to them so they can come to know Him for themselves.

Him: I know You live and I know You’ve redeemed me. Help me to influence others for Your sake and theirs that they may know You and proclaim in good times and bad: I know my Redeemer lives! And on that day they shall see You in their flesh… Amen.

Listening

10.27.13

Acts 27.25-26 25 "So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” (ESV)

I wonder if men then were like men now: superstitious, skeptical, cautious, suspicious; I wonder what they thought of this man who stood before them and said, "So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”  I wonder what they thought of what he said. I wonder if they remembered he had told them, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” (Acts 27.10) I wonder.

And Paul (who said all these things) also told them: “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’” (Vv. 21-24). Everyone hates being told: I told you so!

Today, I sat in our church gathering and listened to what my Pastor said. Today, I read my Bible and read the words Paul said. And I gleaned this: when God speaks, it will happen exactly as it is spoken. The question is: am I listening?

Paul was given some inside information that was essentially two-fold: 1. God says: If we’re patient, we’ll get there soon enough with all of the cargo and passengers intact. Now isn’t a good time to set sail. 2. “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” God said it, and it will come to pass.

The lives were saved but the cargo and the ship were lost. Hmmmm.

For me it may be about adjusting my hearing. For me it might be adjusting my faith. For me it just might be a shipwreck and loss of cargo. More than anything I think it’s about listening and obeying and walking in God’s wisdom, not my own.

Father, today, I think I heard You say: Paul, listen to Me! I think I heard You say: Give Me all of your ambitions, hopes, and plans; I’m to surrender these into Your (capable) hands. Today, I think I heard You say: My miracles happen when you have a need Paul and as long as you keep trying to figure this thing out on your own, you don’t need My miracles. Father, I’m tired of my way and sailing when I shouldn’t. Help me to hear. Help me to be patient. And help me to trust. I pray to You because You listen. Amen.

That Place

10.26.13

Acts 26.18 18 "'...to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’" - Jesus (ESV)

When I was a boy, I was fascinated with the words of Jesus that were printed in red ink in my Bible. Mind you, I never read or studied the Bible until much later in life, but I was fascinated that whole portions of the Scripture (at least in the Bible I owned) were in red ink. Woweth! Thoughtest I, they must be importantneth!! (As a lad, I was also quite fluent in a variant of King James speech because that’s all I ever heardeth in church and in prayers, etc.)

So, this morning I blew the dust off my old zipper-bound KJV Bible and sure enough the words of Christ in Acts 26 are in red ink. I was glad. I thought maybe those words had been forgotten. Those words are important, not because they another set of do’s and don’ts, but because they’re the words of the Lord to someone He’d commissioned as a servant to speak them. And here’s what those words are: live with your eyes wide open in order to quit thinking this life is all there is and that it’s all about you. An enemy has power to hold you, but God has power to set you free from the things that separate you from Him so you can inherit a place among those who believe this message!

I like the part about a place among those who are set apart by faith in Him. There are many things in this old world that give me indigestion and cause wrinkles on my brow. I hate how people treat one another; I hate how I treat others. I hate the fact that most of us, including this former King James speaker, pretend and play the game. I long for truth and accuracy (my OCD cropping up) and I relish the thought of a place among God’s people who are set apart because they believe – they have faith in Him. I’m glad the Bible didn’t open with Book 1, Chapter 1, verse 1 stating: In the beginning God began keeping score…

I’m glad there is a place promised to me because I believe. It’s not because of me, but because it’s true. I've come to that place where I accept that truth. I’m coming to that place where I actually act like I believe that truth. But I’ll let my actions speak for my beliefs – that’s what Paul did – he said, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” (Acts 24.16 ) Actions speak way louder than words. And actions reveal where we are in the whole faith-thing.

I've a long way to go – I know that. But I’m motivated by that place Jesus told Paul about and that Paul told those in Acts 26 about. That place is with God and away from the madness, inconsistency, and incompleteness of this life. That place is where there is forgiveness, understanding, and peace filled with the best gift of all: God’s favor all over it. So, red letters or no, I’m there! You?

Father God, there is a place of sanctity and sanctuary in Your presence and it shows up even when others call faith in You just another sect. There is a place where You set apart Your children and promise to love and care for them forever and Lord, warts and all, I’m in that place. And I’m glad. Help me, like Paul, to share about that place and to see others get it that they can live there too! I’m Yours, use me – Amen.

The Ministry of Inference

10.25.13

Job 16.12 12 “I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target...” – Job (ESV)

I have labored for years under the misconception that Job spoke the truth and his friends, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad spoke error. I’m wrong. There I said it, I’m wrong. Now, lest you think I think I speak the truth and the characters in the book are wrong, then I would say you are wrong. I read Job’s account and I find a very different conversation going on than what I previously determined was going on – I think they all had their closely held opinions of who God is and what God does, but I think they, like us, attempt to tackle the understanding of the Almighty with feeble human understanding.

This time through Job, I think God is truth, and speaks the truth, and we men are at various places of understanding with regard to that truth and some understand more than others but like Job and his friends, we tend to filter God through our own day-to-day lives and then when we get to church we turn up the preening a notch or two so that others may think we have a firmer grasp of the truth than we actually do. (Sigh)

Here’s where I think I am wrong, or have gone wrong. In Job 1.8 we read: And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Part of Scripture reading is what I would term: the Ministry of Inference. (Or the foolishness of jumping to conclusions.)

What is inferred here is not that Job spoke the truth, but that Job pleased the Lord; and God considered him His servant. What Job did and how he lived is what pleased God. I think we can infer from the above that Job lived a God-conscious life. In the subsequent narrative we can infer that God basically said to Satan, Go ahead, do your worst, but Job will still stick with Me!

What I cannot infer that God’s view of Job made Job any better or worse than anyone else. What I can infer is that somehow in this narrative, Job’s life was pleasing to God and that Job wasn’t a Jew, and Job didn’t quote Scripture or declare himself God’s man. I can infer that Job lived his day-to-day life understanding the reality and presence of God. But I cannot infer that God’s pleasure made Job smarter or truth-ier than anyone else.

Here’s what I can infer from what I read today: Job wasn’t ready for his life to become a train-wreck. Nor am I. Nor are you. Stuff happens and our permission isn’t sought. But in the midst of our train-wreck, can we believe we are pleasing to God? Or do we jump to conclusions that God is somehow mad at us and punishing us unfairly? I think God wants us to believe we are pleasing to Him. Just sayin’…

Father, like Job I have no control over any conversations You have with anyone within or without my realm. All I know is that You have told me in Your word and I have inferred that You love me without question. If I, in my ease, am struck with calamity today, then I have no choice but to believe You love me – You always have and always will. So help me to correctly infer what it is You are really saying to me so that I can help others in that regard as well – Amen.

An Outward Sign

10.23.13

Acts 18.18 18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

The temptation for me today is to make a mountain out of a molehill with this verse. I, like many, tend to see Paul as a reformist and separatist from Judaism. While that might be partially true, it is probably more correct that Paul understood the difference between grace and law. Paul understood grace in its purest form: God’s love and favor for His creation and in the midst of it, His creatures: mankind.

Paul was quite aware of the dangers of religion and keeping the rules. Paul was quite aware of the deadly effects of legalism. And Paul was keen on the fact that the Jews had misunderstood God’s interaction with them. And Paul was painfully aware of what the doctrine of grace was doing to his under-the-law Jewish brethren.

But despite all that Paul preached and experienced with God; even with all the grace stuff and the doctrinal enlightenment – Paul remained a Jew. He fully believed in Christ and was a messenger of the Lord’s to the Gentiles but he remained a Jew. And so when he cut his hair at the fulfillment of a vow he’d taken, that was a very much Jew thing to do. Paul did it his way in his day (to plagerize McKnight).

I don’t think Paul short-sold his belief’s by demonstrating outwardly what he’d committed to inwardly: the vow was between him and God. If anyone else was watching, they’d have seen Paul do a very Jewish thing (See Numbers 6). But his Jewishness didn’t shortchange his relationship with Jesus or his mission before the Father. Paul was still very much a Jew.

Our relationship with God ought to be governed by our actions before God. Now I know that sounds like a blank check but what I mean is we are who we are and we walk with God in our way in our day. Personally, I wear a wedding ring. The wedding ring doesn't prove I’m married but it is an outward display of my inward commitment to Cathy. I don’t have to wear a ring (although on those rare occasions I do take it off for whatever reason I do feel a sense of nakedness).

Things like going to church and being part of a faith community don’t prove I am a follower of Jesus, but they are outward signs of my inward commitment.

Symbols and rituals and jewelry don’t mean anything without heart behind them. My stainless steel wedding band isn’t a fashion statement – it’s not even the ring I got 35 years ago – at the end of the day however, it’s the heart behind my wearing it that matters.

Lord, may the actions of my life be backed up by the intent and knowledge in my heart and may all of it be entwined in my love for you. May my life be an outward sign of an inward commitment to You and Your Kingdom and the Son of Your love – in His Name, amen.

True Friend

10.22.13

Job 11.6b Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. (ESV)

Imagine the group of codgers having coffee at the local McDonalds in the morning. Their conversation ranges in topic from medical to political and everything in between. They talk about who is sick, who has died, and what malady they themselves are currently dealing with. At times the conversation raises in intensity, and at times it ebbs in understanding.

Job was really sick. He was sick in body and sick in heart. He was confused and concerned. And three of his friends come to offer him their perspective: Job, nothing happens for nothing; there has to be a reason for this season; surely you’ve done something to deserve this. And Job’s buddy Zophar chides Job: God [has given you] less that your guilt deserves.

Some friend in need… Nothing happens for nothing.

We do get less than our guilt deserves. If there is such a thing as guilt. “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34) It seems God is less concerned about our sin than He is about our growth in Him.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103.2, 8-12) No, we don’t get what we deserve; but what we do get, if we’ll take it, is Him.

It sure seems God has gone a long way out of His way to restore the likes of us to a place of perfect friendship. It sure seems God is more interested in our being with Him and learning all He has to offer than He is with beating us into submission over the stupid things we have done and continue to do. It sure seems that way because it’s true – that’s what His word says He’s up to.

It is the smallness of man that says, “You’re getting what you deserve! God is repaying you for your sins! You can only be saved if you get circumcised!” Horses#$%! God wants to be our Friend, not our Prosecutor. He’s our Defense. He’s our Fortress and Strong Tower. He’s our relief. He is our Freedom. God wants us to see what He sees and He sees love and compassion and serving others in their need (just like He does with us.)

I notice Job’s friends don’t ever offer to pray for him. I notice Job’s friends are more interested in fixing him than allowing God to teach him; to redeem him, to heal him. I notice circumcision doesn’t ever get once mentioned in the Book that bears his name.

Father, it is about Your love, Your grace, and Your restoring me through Jesus Christ to that place of friendship with You. Weed from me the evil in my heart that clings to the thought that we get what we deserve when things go wrong. Help me Lord to be a friend like Jesus, rather than the friends like Job’s… amen!

The Poison Arrows of God

10.20.13

Job 6.4 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. (ESV)

I think in this part of Job’s suffering his pain was brutally intense – internally and externally. I think he was confused, concerned, and crying out: Why God!? And I think Heaven was silent.

We often (mistakenly) think we deserve an explanation from God: God why is this happening to me; what have I done? Pain is a season in life where we tend to quickly draw conclusions and make judgments about our plight – no one likes to be sick or disabled. So we ask God for answers and possibly come to the conclusion in the silence that follows that God somehow doesn’t care and it isn’t fair that He didn’t bring us in on the planning meeting for our current condition.

And as Job sought answers and he thought about arrows and poison, and terrors.

Thank God there is Jesus. Thank God there is the Holy Spirit. Thank God that in the midst of very troubling, trying, terrifying and tough circumstances He has told us: I love you and I am with you. There is nothing like pain that brings us to that place where we have to make a decision as to whether or not we believe that.

For us, the difficulty of Job is we’re let in on the story – we’re told from the get-go that God allowed Satan to buffet Job as he sought – only don’t kill him. Today’s narrative in Job 6 and 7 indicates Job preferred death: at least if that happened he quit being so miserable and mystified.

Recently I’ve come across two different posts that have to do with the myth of God’s only giving us what we can handle: WE CAN’T HANDLE ANY OF IT!!!!! It doesn’t matter if we’re in on the planning meeting or not – we can’t handle any of it. Perhaps that thought stems from a misunderstanding of 1 Corinthians 10: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (V.13)

Temptation is different than suffering, and even in the midst of intense suffering the temptation may be to blame God; but according to Paul, there is even a way to avoid that and to endure.

Even if, the arrows of the Almighty are in me and my spirit drinks in their poison, and the terrors of doubt and misunderstanding are arrayed against me there is still this unfailing truth: Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. I have to cling steadfastly to that. I’m sunk and miserable if I don’t. I don’t have all the answers – but I do have one: He loves me.

Lord,

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. – amen.

Learning Their Story

10.19.13

Acts 5.28-29 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

Three weeks ago a man came to our church gathering and spoke about reaching out to others, saying: Don’t judge others, get to know their story.

Judgment is so misunderstood in our culture. We’re told not to judge (i.e. don’t make assessments about other) people, but we do it all the time. We pick and choose who we’re going to hang with or like because of what they look like, what they say, how they act; what they believe. I think when we’re told not to judge what we’re really being told is: pretend not to judge and just don’t get caught.

I have caught myself “assessing” people this week. I have caught myself making judgments on folk because of what they look like, what they say, how they act; what they believe. And today I read about an ancient Jew who was very good at judging – or calling unclean what God had called clean. In Joppa on the roof that day, Peter experienced a massive paradigm shift that caused him to go to Caesarea and go into the house of a Roman and preach the gospel. Something big had happened.

Peter was troubled at his call to go to Caesarea. Peter was troubled that Gentiles came to summon him to Caesarea. Peter troubled about what it all meant. But once Peter heard the story, things changed dramatically: Oh! God told you to call for me!

Like Peter, I have lived as one who follows a set of protocols when it comes to dealing with others. The problem is, the older I get the worser it has become. But God seems to be telling me: Don’t judge others, get to know their story. There is a greater calling upon my life than making assessments. It requires time and courage to get to know others and learn their story.

I’ve caught myself selfishly thinking: let them stew in their own juices. God seems to want them free from their “juices” and God knows the troubles in their lives and wants them to be free from what holds them back from their getting to know Him. And God has called His children to be those who’ll take the time to courageously get to know them and their stories and tell them of a Savior – just like Peter did all those years ago. Peter couldn’t do it by writing them off as “unclean”; nor can we if they don’t meet our standards of who is acceptable and who isn’t.

Father, it’s all about Your presence in the lives of others. They mostly don’t know about You but there is a need for courageous ones to come along and learn their story and pray knowledgeably and see the miracle of the Holy Spirit falling on them and setting them free from their past, their problems, and their people. Today Lord, help me help them. You have no partiality because anyone who fears You and does what is right is acceptable to You. Lord who am I to make assessments? Lead me into the lives of others I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Say No Live So

10.18.13

Job 4.17 17 ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?’ (ESV)

There was an assumption on the part of Eliphaz the Temanite: man is irreparably guilty. There is no one who is right and all men deserve what they get – no one stands before God righteous or pure. And that’s true: in one sense.

God created Adam in goodness and purity: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1.27, 31 ESV) Whatever God proclaims good is good and we can assess to that goodness: right and pure. Even though our first parents fell, they didn’t fall beyond grace – God always favors His creation.

Granted, Mr. Eliphaz, (whose name meant: God is fine gold), man is fallen and capable of the worst atrocities, but he isn’t fallen without remedy, and not everyone commits the worst atrocities. Man in his fallenness still appreciates goodness, kindness, doing things right the first time, and purity. These things may be tainted because of man’s condition, but they aren’t beyond God’s power to transform them. Unless Eliphaz, you cynically persist in thinking that things will always remain the way they are at the moment, and that people are beyond God’s power, influence, and presence.

Many think like Eliphaz – and they may be fine gold people – but their tarnish is cynicism, and their view of God is too small.

To answer Eliphaz’s question to Job, the answer is: yes – mortal man can be right before God and a man can be pure before his Maker. God’s view of us is different than ours – He sees our potential in Him and He knows our need for Him.

I’ve heard it called stinking thinking – this incessant proclivity of man to undersell himself because he’s either too focused on his own shortcomings, or on those of others. He gives himself names like sinner, loser, unrighteous, impure because he leaves God out of the equation. Low self-esteem is built upon a foundation of denial of the gift of life that is ours because of God. We refuse to admit who we are and Whose we are. It’s a deadly form of pride.

I wrestle constantly with the cynicism of Eliphaz and I have to fight it because though I read the truth, I tend to believe my conduct. I am called righteous and pure not because I say so, but because God says so: that is my status in Christ. That is my response to the Eliphaz-isms of the world which steadfastly deny God His opinion of who we are and Whose we are.

Father, Eliphaz may have been a fine-gold kind of guy but he was un-right and impure in his view of You. Help me in the fight to say no, and to live so, because of who You say I am and because I belong to You. Amen.

A Possible Enemy

10.17.13

Job 1.1 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. (ESV)

This is my favorite time of the year: the leaves are turning, the temperature is dropping, sweatshirts are uniform of the day, and I start reading Job. Great reading for this time of year.

I noticed in my commentary that the name Job, etymologically, can mean: “[my] enemy”, or “Where is my father?” When I think about these two possible meanings it makes my perspective of Job take on a different hue.

There is one school of thought which says: “enemy” may be a reference to Job’s attitude toward God in his suffering: God is Job’s enemy. The other part is Job’s response to God in that Job is the enemy of God’s interaction in his life. The “where is my father” slant appeals to me empathetically where one is dreadfully confused in his suffering and is drifting dangerously toward irreversible hopelessness. I think this slant is the slant of many who suffer – they just can’t find a way to pull it together. Who can blame them?

So, if Job is (possibly) an enemy who maybe thinks of God as (possibly) an enemy, then what is our understanding of the real enemy: Satan, the accuser, the adversary? Satan’s verbal assaults on God for coddling Job are simply terrorism or an attempt at it. Our adversary is a terrorist.

Job obviously didn’t ask for what he got and, I think, painfully lost his perspective of God. I think he put on a brave face and tried to be strong but so much came all at once and he just couldn’t bear it all. So much for the stoic…

And later, when Job’s “friends” show up it’s pretty clear they harbor some kind of suspicion that Job must’ve done something dreadful to merit the trauma he was experiencing.

It’s easy to find enmity in difficulty. It’s easy to look for a place to lay blame. Countless young Christians have cruised along blissfully thinking it’ll be smooth sailing now that they’re on board with God only to shipwreck in suffering: how could God do this to me!? What’d I do to deserve this!?

My friend, Jim Stephens posted this quote on Facebook the other night: There is a necessary suffering to human life, and if we avoid its cycles we remain immature forever. - Richard Rohr. So, despite our suffering, there seems to be a point to it all: we’re intended to grow in it. I think that happened to Job and I know it happens to me. Smallness makes God the unfair Meany in the midst of suffering. Maturity causes us to say: O God! How I need You in this!

Father, suffering is a precious tool in Your workshop where You transform ordinary people into extraordinary saints. My prayer is for patience, contentment, trust, and maturity in the process of the place I find myself today: feeling forgotten and underutilized. Suffering is necessary in one regard and the wise will accept it and embrace it, not in what it is doing to them, but what it is doing for them. Help me God! Amen.

An Unchanging God

10.16.13

Malachi 3.6 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (ESV)

You know, you find the most interesting stuff in the Bible and some of it lays around in the prophecies of the minor prophets. (They’re only called minor because their prophecies don’t take up that much space in the whole of the Bible. Small, yes. Less important, NO!) What I read today in Malachi 3 helped me in my understanding of God and I quote: “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” That’s good news!

Israel (and in this context I mean the entire nation of the Jews, not just the northern 10 tribes) deserved much more than they got (i.e. the exile). They got off fairly lightly, all things considered. So, in Malachi’s prophecy we find the restoration of the Jewish nation back in Palestine after seventy years of banishment. Or at least we find the words of a prophet encouraging those people who had come back from Babylonian (and subsequently, Median and Persian) captivity.

The big questiona in their minds may have been something like: Now what!? What’s next? Malachi revealed what God told him about the coming days of the Lord and the ‘malachi’ (i.e. messenger) leading up to those days. Malachi told them it was to be a whole new ballgame. And things were going to be set right. He encouraged them to keep looking forward but don’t forget the things they’ve already been instructed to do: be Jews according to God’s wishes and live by the rules He already established. Keep doing that until the next phase kicks in…

And then silence for four hundred years.

And this: “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” It’s like God was saying to them: I haven’t changed and I don’t want you to either – I will love you as I always have and I will keep you as I always have. The world has changed and will continue to do so, but I the Lord, do not change, therefore children, you’re not going to be consumed by the changes in the world…if you stick with Me!

This was a word given to an ancient people who’d maybe lost sight of who they were, why they were, and where they were. Not everyone who went into captivity came home. But the ones who did needed to hear God say: I the Lord do not change… He doesn’t, He hasn’t and He won’t. Ever. And His kids will always be His kids and His promises to them will stand the test of time and the irritation of world-change.

It is also a word for us today.

Our world is rapidly changing and the haters of God are growing more and more bold in their denial of His majesty and presence. His kids (us) are not to get caught up in the changes in the world but to cling to the unchangeableness of His being, for He has said: I the Lord do not change. We worship an Unchanging God who continues to love us amidst the changes in the world and in our lives – Amen! Lord, I’m with You!

The Big “D”

10.15.13

Malachi 2.16 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” (ESV)

It’s hard to talk about the subject of divorce in our day; so many people have gone through divorce; so many families have been affected by it. Divorce is a hard thing. Divorce is the breaking of a promise and the separating of a commitment.

I know dozens of people who’ve started over again. Some made it a go on the second try, and some continued on to yet another divorce (or even another). Nowadays, many couples simply live together. I don’t think they fear divorce; I think they just don’t understand promise, commitment, and covenant. For the less mature they seem to think a better option may come along at any moment.

In Malachi’s day, God judged the returned exiles in Judah because it seems they hadn’t learned a thing – they were doing the same things after the exile that got them exiled in the first place. Divorce was one of those things. Seventy years and they hadn’t changed…

How does divorce happen? Is it sudden, or does it take place over time. Well, some are very sudden – some happen right after the honeymoon (or before!). I think most take time and I think most happen because of an unguarded spirit and an increased faithlessness on the part of one or both parties. Regardless of who is to blame, divorce hurts; and often, once through the gate a path gets worn.

In the bigger picture divorce is what happened in the Bible between God and Israel. God hates faithlessness. (I know there are those out there who hate to hear that God hates anything, but it’s true: God hates faithlessness.) Faithlessness is an evil choice, and God hates it when that choice is chosen. Faithfulness on the other hand, means being open and honest; literally: being naked with no shame. Faithfulness means: nothing to gain, nothing to lose; happy and fulfilled in the one we choose. And faithfulness has benefits. Faithlessness has consequences. Faithfulness is other focused; faithlessness bows at the feet of self. Both require work. Both require time. Both have a payoff. One results in fulfillment. One results in emptiness.

My takeaway this morning is twofold: 1. Divorce is violence. Better said, divorce is terrorism between one party and another. Culturally, in those days, the man called the shots and could divorce his wife for any reason he came up with. That put her in a difficult spot: now what was she supposed to do? The Lord, through Malachi, said it was violence against her: it put her in a terrible spot. 2. My spirit needs guarded and my mind needs to be reminded to be faithful.

Father, find in me courage to guard my spirit, and to not be faithless – in You, or my wife, or my employer, or my relationships – church included. This world is wanting for the faithful and may I walk in that number – Amen.

Devoted To Prayer

10.12.13

Acts 1.14 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (ESV)

After Jesus’ ascension His men (which included His chosen apostles, His family, and others who were closely associated with Him) devoted themselves to prayer. I think they understood that things were about to change, and whatever they thought about the Holy Spirit really didn’t matter; they knew that Jesus had told them something BIG was going to happen. And so they prayed.

In my church we are about to embark on an emphasis of Living Love. As God’s children and disciples of Jesus Christ, we are going to go out into our community and do something for our neighbors in humble and loving service. Or at least we’re going to try. Church isn’t about staying within the four walls of a building but getting ‘out there’ representing God in the world serving others and caring about their needs. It will be time consuming. It will have its own difficulties and will, at moments, be inconvenient. We’ll just have to learn to serve God through difficulty and inconvenience. And it will take the Holy Spirit to help us. And we must pray. In order to serve together, we must learn to pray together.

Prayer is hard work. Prayer takes time. Prayer takes diligence. Prayer takes devotion. Despite these things, prayer changes things. It isn’t about accomplishing things as much as it is about changing lives. It seems when we pray, God, apparently, gets the giggles and does the most outlandish things in response. (I’m not trying to belittle God but I am testifying to the truth that prayer prepares, prayer equips, prayer delights, and prayer accomplishes the changing of hearts.) Does my community need changed hearts? You bet! Does yours?

Do we need to be taught to pray? Yes, we do. Do we need to be encouraged to pray? Yes, we do. Do we need, like the saints of old, to devote ourselves to prayer in anticipation of big things? Absolutely. Will big things happen? One way or the other. Either big things will happen around us, or big things will happen within us. Prayer changes hearts.

Interestingly, the verse above indicates Jesus’ brothers were present at the prayer meetings in anticipation of the big thing to come. If you look at John 7.1-9 you’ll see Jesus’ brothers didn’t have much confidence in their Brother’s calling and ministry. They seemed to ridicule Jesus accusing Him of wanting to be “known openly” (or, be a public figure – their way of saying, a celebrity.) Something happened in between John 7 and Acts 1: Jesus’ brothers changed. I think the life of God changed them. I think their hearts were changed. I think ours can be as well and I think those around us that we care about can have their hearts changed also. Big things happen when people pray.

Father, You know my track record in prayer is pathetic and all I pray today is for a changed heart. May I embrace what You are doing in my church and community and may I, like the saints of old, devote myself to prayer – Amen. 

The Point

10.11.13

Luke 24.44 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

There are at least two significant statements (among the many) in Luke 24: the one above and the one where Jesus said, “For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24.39b) The truth is: what was written about the Lord in all of the Old Testament records came true; and everything that was prophesied about Him in those records came to pass. And the Resurrected Christ wasn’t a phantom – He was the Real Deal; flesh and bones to boot!

I see the significance because if I have doubts I can rest assured that everything written about Jesus is a done deal. He lived a life that fulfilled every prophesy that was ever spoken about Him. That’s big. But what is bigger is: He truly is the Son of God for you and me and when He rose from the grave, He wasn’t some whisp of a thing – He was the bodily-risen Christ, scars and all. That ought to give us all something to think about.

I think Jesus said what He said to His men to help them get a grasp of the magnitude of His life, His being, His sacrifice, His death, and His resurrection. I think they all probably started a Bible reading plan after that and I think they all decided at that moment that they were going to live out the rest of the story. (Maybe they decided that the next day…)

We use a word to describe something big: astronomical. The odds of everything actually happening to Jesus the way it was actually written are astronomical. But that is the magnitude of the God/Man we serve. He didn’t come back as a two-dimensional visage, He came back as the real deal and when He rose from earth, not even gravity could hold Him back.

Point, Paul, Point! The point is I’ve nowhere else to go than to Scripture for the point about Jesus and the plan God had for sending Him to buy back my freedom. God has always intended to be my Friend but He had to take care of some messy business in the meantime: my sin. And He offers to me to take care of that business if I simply live out the rest of my life in belief in at least two things: the veracity of the Old Testament records about Jesus, and the actuality of His bodily resurrection – not a ghost, but fish eating flesh and bone.

To mankind this offer is simply ridiculous. God to most, only means something if they get their pound of flesh in the process of believing in one… (a god that is). But to those (them and us) who needed to believe and needed to understand why things had to happen the way they did (and in the way they did) Jesus simply said, “Guys, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’” Trust Me, you can believe.

Jesus, I believe. It’s all I have because of what You’ve said. I believe. Amen.

A Jerusalem

10.09.13

Nehemiah 2.12 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. (ESV)

I read once that the difference between fundamentalist Evangelicals and the mainline Protestant churches in America is the difference between the Old and the New Testaments. It was said in the article that fundamentalist Evangelicals tend to apply their faith through the filter of the Old Testament by emulating the actions and prayers of the saints of old. And these folk tend to be more legalistic in their approach to Christianity than non-fundamentalists.

The same article said that those who make up the mainline churches tend to live in the New Testament, specifically the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and their approach is to emulate the actions and sayings of Jesus. These folk tend to be more socially compassionate in their approach to the Christian faith. I can see some validity to what I read.

This morning as I read about Nehemiah and his discussions with God in prayer, I saw (perhaps) beyond the arguments of who we are by what we say we believe, and how we practice our faith. (I know it’s an Old Testament quote, so if the shoe fits…)

Nehemiah said: “And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.” Nehemiah did what God put into his heart: he went to the city of his ancestry and began the process of rebuilding it. In Nehemiah’s mind, Jerusalem was the City of God; the place where God chose to have His dealings with mankind through the nation of Israel. Nehemiah, despite the exile and all that had happened to him and his countrymen, never gave up on what he believed God was doing in the world through the Jewish people. And that is what motivated this cupbearer to the Persian king (Cf. Nehemiah 1.11).

And so I asked myself: Paul, what has God put into your heart to do for the Kingdom? Which begs another question: Paul, what do you see as a burning need in the world today, in your nation, in your state, in your county, in your city, in your family, in your church, in your relationships, or on the job? Anything? Anything at all?

And then I asked me: Do you pray about these things? And: has God put into your heart anything to do about these things? And: do you act?

The differences between us as believers and denominations grow very small when we compare them to what God has put into our hearts to do about our own Jerusalems (the things we find ourselves passionate about – or even angry about – our burning needs).

Do we have a Jerusalem? Is it possible that we are so passionate about something we’d actually get off our lazy western butts and do something about it? For my brothers and sisters in Christian practice other than mine and for me as well: Lord, help us see what we need to see and to do as we need to do. Put it into our hearts to do as You bid us and to do it with the passion of Nehemiah – not plastering it all over, but with godly zeal to do what we know is right… Amen.

Strength

10.08.13

Luke 21.36 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (ESV)

Jesus foretells many things in Luke 21. He foretells the destruction of the Temple. He foretells the rise of wars and conflicts. He foretells the destruction of Jerusalem; He foretells His second coming. And, He warned His listeners to stay awake, and pray. He told them to pray for strength to escape all the tumult and to be able to stand before the Son of Man.

I listen to prayers; I hear how we pray. I hear us pray for things we already have. I hear us pray for things that God won’t do. I’m not saying I’m an expert but I do hear some wild stuff out there – weird stuff. People seem to start to pray and then turn off their minds. I think most adult prayers sound like the requests made by a five-year old: childish, petty, and impossible. It’s not that we ask; it’s what we ask for. What do we really want?

Jesus wasn’t offering a casual suggestion; He was explaining to them that times were going to be very difficult. Difficult times lead to difficult prayers and more often than not, a wandering from God. So, Jesus told them to pray for strength. If there is one thing we need, it’s strength to stand firm in our faith in the coming days of difficulty…

There’s an enormous distinction between strength and power in Scripture. Strength seems to be portrayed as defensive, whereas power seems to be offensive. However, we are never instructed to ask for power, but we are instructed to pray for strength. Jesus’ words to them (and to us) in Luke 21 are significant because He knows the weakness of the human heart; theirs and ours.

The strength I need today is the strength to oppose lying words. Worry, anxiety, fretting all spring from lying words. FEAR: false evidence appearing real. Worry is my self-imposed listening to lying words about the power and presence of God. Worry denies God. Worry is fretting about things that are yet to come. I’m not to live worrying and fretting. I’m to live in the reality of the presence of God no matter what is going on around me.

And therefore my prayers must be declarations of the presence of God and His power towards me, always thanking Him what He has already done; what He is doing presently; and what He will continue to do. I need strength to believe it and to pray accordingly. And that strength looks like an unflagging determination to hold onto God’s words and God’s truth despite my circumstances. And my reward? My reward is my escape from the clutches of unbelief.

Father, today I pray as instructed: for strength to believe in the midst of the stuff of this life. It is the strength necessary to defeat doubt and lying words. It is the strength necessary to walk with my head held high trusting in You when all else seems to be falling apart. Father, I pray for strength today – not to fight my own battles, but to trust in Your unseen providence in the midst of them… Amen.

Possibility 2

10-07-13

Ezra 8.22-23 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. ESV

Ezra was a smart guy – he knew he’d painted himself into a corner and now when it looked like he had to choose between embarrassment and God, he chose God. Ezra was so smart, he fasted and prayed and implored God for safety on his journey from Persia to Jerusalem. Smart.

The humanness of Scripture, if nothing else, shows the transparency of faith; and the situations that the saints of old found themselves in when their boasts held their feet to the fires of faith reveal a choosing. It is one thing to say you believe; it is another to believe. Ezra believed.

It’s probable that Ezra had been offered a military escort from the king. It’s probable, but it’s reality, by his own confession, that he politely refused and proclaimed: That’s okay, your highness, God will take care of us. It’s possible that second thoughts came into play at some point because the narrative plainly states: For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way… Ezra seemed to look up and saw that the only way out was either walk through the paint, or trust God for a solution. Prayer and fasting make a good solution when our boasting makes us feel silly and stupid.

Another thing that happens is God removes our safety nets of resources, helpers, and the like and we find ourselves facing two possibilities: failure on our own or success by faith. Failure seems easy and very present. Faith requires much more from us because others are watching what we’ll do when it looks like we’re going to fail miserably.

God wasn’t surprised by Ezra’s predicament nor is He surprised by ours. God is loving and faithful and provides a way for His children to get out of a jam by causing them to walk in trust.

In today’s “Coffee with Jesus” Ann asks Jesus: Is worry a sin, Jesus? Jesus replies: Don’t you trust me, Ann? She comes back with: I know I’m supposed to, Jesus…but… To which Jesus replies: It’s not a sin, Ann. It’s just a shame. Ezra, I think, was feeling the pain of shame. So he did what he knew he should do, he prayed for God to cover his back… and God did.

One possibility is to live such a carefully guarded life that one never finds himself painted into a corner. The other would be to risk looking ridiculous (feeling ashamed) but praying to God for a way out that glorifies Him. I think God likes possibility 2: trust Him even if it means looking stupid.

Lord, I believe You reward those who appear foolishly faithful and always provide them a way out. Help me to live a life of faithful risk that includes trusting You even when I appear to others to be foolhardy. Regardless of faith or failure You are pleased with the ones who trust You no matter what… Amen.

Already Here

10.06.13

Luke 19.11 11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. (ESV)

When one reads the Book of Esther, one gets a real flavor for modern day Jewishness: the Jews down through the centuries – whether or not they’ve walked with God – have had many enemies and much reason for defending themselves for the simple fact that they are Jews. Many have undertaken to destroy the Jews only to find themselves destroyed or severely punished for their actions against the people of God.

So, if we fast forward from Esther to Jesus, the people of Israel (Judea) are now under Roman occupation, the Maccabean revolt has long occurred, and the strong hand of foreign powers rules them. They have their puppet kings but they are wholly owned by Rome and they long for the freedom of the old days of Jewish glory: David and the kings, and the prophets like Elijah.

So, onto this scene comes Jesus the Messiah who tells them: the Kingdom of God is at hand. Well, what’s a populace to think but that the glory days are coming back, Rome will be humiliated and we’ll be back to Jewish power and presence in the world. Right? Well, as Lee Corso says, not so fast my friend.

The funny thing about Jesus: He kept talking about the Kingdom of God as if it was there already, and He kept pointing towards their hearts;  which they eagerly accepted but miserably misunderstood. Jesus was talking not about a restored kingdom of the Jews, but a new Kingdom of the disciples of God – one where the citizens really would do what the Father told them to do. He proceeded to tell [them] a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they (eagerly anticipated) that the kingdom of God was to appear (right now). Why does He keep pointing towards our hearts???

The Kingdom of God is not an overthrow of government, but an overthrow of purpose – a turning from living for self to living for others at God’s command and direct involvement. It wasn’t/isn’t the establishment of government but the building of relationships with God and men. Jesus kept trying to tell them this because they kept thinking that the Kingdom of God was going to be like all the other powerful kingdoms that already existed; and they’d be on top.

The Kingdom of God is a matter of the heart and a matter of obedience. Performance isn’t the issue, love is. Then, as now, love was distorted into something it was never meant to be. But love for God first, and love for men next, is how the Kingdom works and we all need to be reminded of that often because we keep insisting the Kingdom of God is something other than what God created it, and Christ explained it, to be: loving relationship between men and God.

Father, remind me however often I need it that Your Kingdom is a Kingdom of the heart where men and women are transformed from dark into light, and death into life. May I do as You say and may I quit wishing for the overthrow of men but long for and seek the transformation of hearts by the power and presence of the Kingdom of God. It’s already here…Amen.

Difference

10.05.13

Esther 5.9 9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. (ESV)

One of the sub-plots of the Book of Esther is the difference between Mordecai the Jew, and Haman the Agagite. Of Mordecai we know this: he was a Benjamite and the cousin of Hadassah, who was also called Esther. We know he was exiled to Babylon when the Israeli king, Jeconiah, was brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. We also know Mordecai, apparently, adopted Esther as his own daughter and held a place of tremendous influence in her life: what Mordecai advised, Esther did.

The other character in the sub-plot, Haman was probably a member of the court of the Persian king, Ahasuerus. The problem with Haman (as far as the story goes) was he was a descendant of Agag, an ancient Amalekite king whose heart was determined to destroy the people of Israel. (See 1 Samuel 15). Like ancestor, like descendant: Haman the Agagite was determined to destroy the people of God: the Jews.

Where the story gets interesting to me is that Mordecai knows two things: who he is, and who Haman is. It’s interesting to deal with a person who knows who they are. There is strength about them, peace about them, and life about them; they don’t play games and live with intention and purpose. They’re not necessarily leaders but they do exude strength of character and life. Mordecai dealt with life from a position of assurance and strength, whereas Haman dealt from weakness. Haman had the position and the title but he was afraid, emotional, and small. Like ancestor, like descendant.

The rubs come in life where those who don’t know who they are bump into those who do. And those who know who they are know it because of God; He is the Source of all Knowledge and Strength. If I don’t know who I am all I need do is know God and from there all the pieces will begin to fit together properly. Mordecai, the Jew, knew God and knew he was one of God’s own. Other Jews then may not have come to grips with that knowledge but Mordecai did. And Mordecai represents to us: those who know who they are. And those who know who they are, are those who have faith in God: the Source of all Wisdom and Strength.

Much of my life has been spent as a person of weakness and smallness – I couldn’t come to grips with who I am in Him. This I know: I am a child of the living God. Perfect? No. Brilliant? No. A sinner saved by grace? No! A child of the King? Yes! What the Bible says about me is what I’m to believe… no matter what happens. The “Haman’s” in life will try to convince me my Bible is wrong. My faith in God will show me otherwise. Who I listen to: God or "Haman" will ultimately make all the difference.

Lord, You used Mordecai in a crucial time in the history of Your people because he believed in You and knew where he stood; he knew who he was and Whose he was. I ask You for the same knowledge and faith that filled Mordecai’s heart – he stood firm in You. May I do the same. I must do the same in these turbulent days. And so Lord, I stand with You. In Jesus, amen.

The Test Today

10.02.13

Zechariah 13.9 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.

Out of the pan into the fire. I don’t pretend to understand all of Zehariah’s prophecy. I’m not sure who he is talking to or about. Is this prophecy about Israel after the Exile or is it future from that? Parts of it seem to be very futuristic while other parts are not. One thing is for sure, I understand it is about God’s dealing with His people through His Messiah. And the bodies of many of them will be scattered about Palestine. (According to Zechariah 13.8 about two thirds of the people will perish and only one third will survive what killed the other two thirds.)

And the remaining third will go through some really tough times.

I firmly believe the Bible is comprised of God’s word written to two different people groups: the Jews with whom He got is all started, and the Gentiles whom He reached out to when the Jews spurned His offer.

In the midst of all this the Church was born and those who make up the Church are called the Bride of Christ. They too are the people of God but with a different distinction. And purpose. The Church is comprised of both Jewish believers and Gentiles. And God deals with the Church differently than He does with His people the Jews. It’s His prerogative to do so.

In Zechariah the prophecy pertains to the Jews. Israel in this particular time will lose about two thirds of their population to war (or invasion) while a third will remain. And the third which remains will be subjected to some very tough times in order to make their faith strong. You don’t really know what you believe until your belief is tested. Or challenged. This will be the way it goes at some point for God’s people the Jews.

For the rest of us, God’s people the Church, there are times of testing as well; we’re not exempt. God designed us all to come to know Him and those who believe God will test through tough times; not so He knows who we are, but so that we know who we are. Times of testing will come. Times of: out-of-the-pan-into-the-fire will come for all of us; our faith is that precious.

As I read this I think about me (of course, shouldn’t I?) and I think about the times of testing I’ve gone through and I then think about today: a time of testing. Today, the time of testing will reveal to me where my heart is today; when there is (relatively) little pressure. I don’t know where the day will lead but I must know where my heart is today. I must know if it’s true.

Recently I read this: God will judge us not according to how much we endured, but how much we could love. How much I love today will be a pretty good indicator of how much I trust today, and that will be determined by the test – today (whatever it happens to be).

And my prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!