My Own Thing

2.28.2011

Numbers 25:6 6 Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. NIV

Can you imagine? I mean, really – right in front of God and everybody!? What was this dude thinking? If you read the whole account in Numbers 25 you see the in the next scene that the priest, Phinehas, chases the guy and the woman right into the guy’s tent and kills them both with a spear. Nuff said.

I think one of the problems with our view of the Old Testament – especially the period immediately following the Exodus and the subsequent wanderings in the wilderness – is that these people weren’t exactly all that keen on Moses or God or… manna for that matter. Just because the Lord delivered them from Egypt didn’t mean they necessarily liked it. I think they were then a lot like we are now – kind of independent-minded, sort of, I’ll-do-my-own-thing kind of people. The man who took the Midianite woman apparently had no qualms about it; sadly he was also a leader among the tribes as well.

There comes a point when we have to consider the consequences of  choosing, I’ll-do-my-own-thing. There comes a point when we have to look at the spiritual implications and ramifications of our choices and actions, and then accept the consequences of them. Somehow these days, we’ve arrived at the point of, how dare you tell me what to do! And look at the fruit borne of that…

Father in Heaven,
You have called me to live in community with my relatives in Christ. I don’t live in a bubble and You’ve ordained it that way for a reason. Help me to be conscious of all I do and say and to look not only to my own interests, but also to the interests of others. I pray in Christ, amen.

The Cost of Right

2.27.2011

Mark 6:16 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
Mark 6:25 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” NIV

Herod was in a fix – he’d killed John and now his worst superstitious fears came true: (he thought) somehow John was back from the dead and was looking for revenge (against him)! What’s a king to do?

John the Baptist was a remarkable man who called it the way he saw it and wasn’t about to back down from a petty and despotic tyrant whose libido got the best of him. John called Herod for unrighteously taking his brother’s wife in marriage – an act that specifically broke the Mosaic Law, and just wasn’t right. And John was the messenger. Sometimes being the messenger is not all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes it’s downright painful or worse. John got the, ‘or worse.’

In life I am called to make many decisions (and sometimes to be the messenger) but always I’m called to side with righteousness – and regardless of who I'm dealing with. John courageously called sin, sin and lost his life in the process; am I willing to follow his example no matter what it costs me? That’s something worth thinking about.

Father in Heaven,
Help me to honor Your Name in all I do, and to side with righteousness all the time, every time. Thank You for the example of John and of the Lord and for the many saints who’ve trod this earth before, who did what was right with all their might, walking by the day or tempted by the night – amen.

Dirty Days

2.26.2011

Numbers 19:21,22 21 This is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.” NIV

Okay, what do you do on a day when you’re unclean until and have to remain so until evening? If you touch the water of cleansing, to be cleansed, you’re unclean. And anyone who is unclean who touches anything or anyone makes that or them unclean. Yikes, what do you do on an dirty day?

I’m sure there was plenty to do anyway – building of fires (except on the Sabbath), getting water, both for the fam and the flock; leading the flock out to find pasture away from the other 50,000 flocks out looking for pasture. Making meals, training children, feeding children, separating children, shooing away children… I think you get the picture. But what did you do when you were unclean? Uh, sorry Ocran, I’m sorta dirty at the moment; and I can’t help you because, well,  then you’d be unclean; and then we’ll both be dirty and double the amount of work won’t get done…

I wonder what evening felt like when, at last, you’re back to the tent and Mara says, “Finally, you’re back! These kids! Here, help me! Do the dishes or something, and for goodness sake, next time, stay away from that cleansing water!”

O, the grace and mercy of God. O, the boundless grace and mercy of God! Thank God there’s a Place to come and lay my burdens down – Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest for My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Thank You God, for the blood that cleanses white as snow even when my sins are scarlet as crimson. Thank You, that the Law was fulfilled in Him and because of that, I am forever free!

Discovery

2.25.2011

Mark 4:22 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. NIV

Oscar Wilde, the famous playwright, when arrested for his indecency with other men, is quoted as having said, “I forgot what was done in secret would then be shouted from the rooftops!” (cf. Luke 12.3). It’s usually with that mentality that I approach Jesus’ sayings about whatever is hidden will be disclosed and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. I usually equate that to bad behavior being found out. But in the context of Mark 4 Jesus seems to be saying that what is hidden in the Word is meant to be disclosed so that men will know how to live.

The key is the lamp (Mark 4.21); the lamp is used to disclose what is in the dark and to aide in the discovery of what is hidden. The Bible is a wonderful collection of works but without the illumination of the Holy Spirit and the practice of meditation and contemplation before God, it remains only a wonderful collection of confusing works. It requires more than man’s intellect to piece it together.

What appears hidden to us in God’s word is meant to be brought out and applied to life so that we may live in harmony with God and with our fellow men. God gave is this wonderful gift because He intended for us to read it and understand it through the Gift of His Spirit so that our lives would be transformed forever. The key is the Lamp and the expected action is that we men (and women) would spend time reading and humbly asking God to open our eyes to what is hidden and concealed in His truth.

Father in Heaven,
You know everything and there is nothing in heaven or on earth that is hidden from You. But You ask us men to read and study Your word so that what is hidden in it may be brought forth so that we can live correctly and relate to You rightly. That’s what I ask for – in Jesus’ Name, amen.

The Perfect Marriage

2.24.2011

Mark 3:34-35 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” NIV

What is God’s will? What does it consist of? And how do we do God’s will? This always seems to be a question that people have – How do I do God’s will? Jesus said the ones who did God’s will were the ones who were rightly related to Him.

We all have stuff to do in life – jobs, or school, or managing our homes, or some sort of occupation – and we all have stuff to do. How then do we, in these things, do God’s will? How does God’s will fit into these things?

God’s will is first a matter of the heart. When God occupies the place of supreme importance to us then we are on the right track to do His will. God’s will is not a laundry-list of to-do’s or to-don’ts; it is simply a matter of cognitively giving over the direction of one’s heart and soul to Him and allowing Him to rule in our lives either through obedience to His word (the Bible) or through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is a matter of suborning our will (what we want to do) to His; Jesus said this is how our relationship with God is defined.

What do we want to do in life? I think that’s mostly defined by the ever-changing dictates of our families, our culture, and the fluidity of our own hearts. So how then do we marry the wants we have with the desires of God in our lives? That is the question. I think it boils down to how we relate to God. If God is the Giver of all things, then we are, in all we do, the receivers of His grace. If God is the Taker (as He is viewed by many) then we simply line up get stripped of more and more as God taxes our lives with more and more of His demands. It’s all in our perspective.

Father in Heaven,
When Your will is of supreme importance to me then all the rest of life lines up correctly. When my will is most important then I find myself defending what I think You’ll take from me. May my life this day, in my job, my family, and my free time line up with Your purpose, power, and presence. May all I do be done for Your glory – amen.

Knowing God - Part II

2.23.2011

Psalm 90:14 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. NIV

In my mind there is a beautiful place of both splendor and grandeur – a place of marvelous vistas and majestic waypoints; that place is the song of Moses in Psalm 90. There is enough soul-nutrition there to last a life-time. When I think of Moses leading the people of God out of Egypt and teaching them about the Lord, I think about the lessons he learned and what he felt in his heart; and then I read Psalm 90 and see it all in majesty and awesome splendor: the reality of one who knew God. I like hanging out in Psalm 90.

Satisfaction in this life is knowing God – not just knowing about Him – but knowing Him. Moses knew God and Moses knew that God cared about him and his people. God said, “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.” (Nu 12:6-8) And Moses wrote, “Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Moses knew that knowing God was the key to unlocking the mysteries of life and the entrance in joy. Joy is not a solution; joy is knowing God, and whatever He decides to do is okay, regardless of how it feels to us.

Let my first waking thoughts each day be that God loves me with unfailing love and that I may go through each of my days singing for joy in that knowledge. My joy is not based on whatever scheme I’ve concocted to get me out of the current mess, but knowing God and His unfailing love for His people.

Father in Heaven,
“Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands” – through Jesus Christ, amen.

Certain Words

2.22.2011

Psalm 27:44 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. NIV

There are certain words in my vocabulary that describe what I think about God and His relationship with me through Jesus Christ and by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit – words like reciprocate, focus, respond, give back – these words all express how I feel when I think about Jesus in me the Hope of glory.

The Lord said in John 17, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22-23 NIV) It all starts with sharing life together.

My life in Jesus Christ is not just my acceptance of Who He is, but also where He is: in me. Jesus Christ has come to give me life but more importantly, His life. And He has put His life into my life and says on a number of occasions that He will dwell within my being. And so it’s fitting then that I ask the Lord for the cognitive power and the spiritual assurance to remember that I am not walking around down here living life all on my own – the King of Glory has chosen to take up residence in my heart.

So the reason why I ask is because I forget. I forget He is living out His life through mine and that’s a big, big deal. I must remember, cooperate, and surrender to His presence; so I ask, and I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to fix my gaze upon Him and focus my entire being on His.

Lord God,
One thing I ask of You, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in Your house all the days of my life, to gaze upon Your beauty and to seek You in Your temple. It’s the least I can do because You’ve chosen to live in me and through me – in Your Name, amen.