The Influence of Affluence

7/7/2009

Hebrews 4:11 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

New American Standard Bible

Hosea 10.1 begins by describing the affluence and prosperity of Ephraim (a tribe of Israel representing the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom). Hosea 10.2, states flatly they were faithless; their prosperity led them away from God. I cannot help but see the parallels in our day; affluence and prosperity have influenced how the modern church thinks about God and how she views her salvation.

So when the writer of Hebrews states, “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” he’s telling us to remember Israel’s sad history and not repeat it.

I am called to be diligent in my walk with the Lord. I am to be diligent in seeking Him alone and avoiding the pull of the world. Material ‘blessing’ can be a very dangerous thing to many – including me. The ‘rest’ spoken of here is relationship with God that results in salvation and eternal life and I must be diligent in seeking that. Like Asaph in Psalm 73, I must be intentionally careful to guard against envying those who have lots of stuff (and trying to be like them); and diligently keep my life-focus on worshiping God and seeking Him. Then I experience His rest…

Father in Heaven,

The prayer You gave Asaph is mine today:

“Whom have I in heaven but You? Besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.” May it be so, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

If We

7/6/2009

Hebrews 3:6 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. New American Standard Bible

We have become a self-sufficient society – we depend on ourselves. It is better to depend on yourself than to become a burden to someone else we think; and so we live our lives making decisions and trying to do the best we can with what we have. Sounds good if living life is all there is. But what happens when we discover heinous sin in our children? What happens when disease shows up uninvited and unannounced? What happens when the ruling authorities make up some regulation that is really going raise our taxes and reduce our freedom…then what? Where will our confidence be then and to what will we cling in the day of trouble?

Repeatedly the writer of Hebrews uses the words, “…if we…”. In the present verse he said, “…whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” “If we” – there is certainly some big personal responsibility in those two little words.

I can either depend on myself, my creativity, my reasoning, or my cleverness – or like Jesus, I can faithfully depend on God. In the uncertainty of life, I must be found on the faithful side of the equation. If I cling to God then His promise is He’ll help me and He’ll cause all things will work together for my good. But if I choose to ignore Him, then I’ll have to tough it out on my own – well, how’s that workin’ for ya, Paul?

Father in Heaven,

As Jesus was faithful over Your house, You are merciful over Your house. But You expect those who make up Your house to live lives of faithfulness and fruitfulness as they listen to and obey You; self-sufficiency is sin and arrogance. Father, may I surrender to You more and more and lean not on my own understanding. May I in all my ways, acknowledge You that You may direct my paths to the perfect accomplishment of Your will for my life – I pray in Christ’s Name: Faithful, amen.

Help

7/5/2009

Hebrews 2:16 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

New American Standard Bible

Angels are real; they exist and serve a purpose – they are God’s servants to help believers. But as wonderful and mysterious as angels are, they are not the focus of God’s heart, mankind is. And not all mankind is the focus of God’s love – those who believe are. And those who believe are descendents (or sons) of Abraham, the father of the faithful. And so God gives help to the descendent of Abraham in order for that one to succeed in living a life of faith. Because God can help His own – legally…

Yesterday, July Fourth, I celebrated (again) the truth of my identity as a son of God. Today, July fifth, I celebrate my identity as a descendent of Abraham, the father of the faithful. Through Abraham I have faith and because of faith I have help and because of help I’ll succeed in living the life God has called me to live.

Father in Heaven,

Your people in Hosea’s time could not succeed because they didn’t have faith; they didn’t have saving faith. But You have given me saving faith and that is what I need to succeed in living the life You’ve called me to live but You also give me help. I am a descendent of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ and You have come to my aid again and again because what I have Abraham had – a belief and trust in You that You are who You are and You’ll do what You say. Thank You God, I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

I Am Your Son

7/4/2009

2 Kings 16:7 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” New American Standard Bible

Sons have always been a big, big deal in the narrative of the Scripture. To have a son was a tremendous blessing and to be the firstborn son in a family was equally a blessing and a big deal. So to have the king of one country say “I am your son” to another king of another was no small statement. And what makes it really a big deal was for one of God’s kings to say that to a pagan king. Talk about dis!

In the book of Hebrews we are told Who God’s Son is: “…in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (Hebrews 1.2) And in the book of Hosea we are told who God’s sons are: “It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.” (Hosea 1.10) Sons are a big deal and God wants a great big family.

Paul then makes this massive statement in Galatians 3: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Vv. 26-29)

So to be a son is a big, big deal and to claim your son-ship to merely a man or a system is very stupid and short-sighted. I will claim today in front of God and everyone: I am God’s son! I believe what Paul wrote about son-ship and I am God’s son according to faith in Jesus Christ; for I have been baptized into Christ and am clothed with Him and I belong to Him – that makes me God’s son!

Father in Heaven,

You are Father because You have a Son and through Him many sons; and I am one of them through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I will walk as a son and live as a son in You this day and I proclaim my dependence upon You as a son in the Family of God. May Your blessing be upon all Your ‘sons’, male or female, Jew or Greek and may we accomplish the reality of life with You by living life in You – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Cling or Release

7/3/2009

Isaiah 7:11 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” New American Standard Bible

Ahaz the king of Judah was giving lip-service to God on where his real alliances were, so as God’s man ruling God’s country, God in Isaiah 7 called him on it: “Are you going to believe in Me or in your alliances? But just to show you how powerful I am in dealing with foreign powers, here, ask Me for anything and make it as tough as you can and I will prove to you who I am, and what I do!” That’s almost like getting three wishes! The tragedy was Ahaz refused to ask for a sign because he wanted to look religious but he didn’t want to give up on the alliances he’d forged because he trusted in them more that he did God.

Makes me wonder what I am clinging to rather than the Lord. Is it on my own creativity and skill? Hmmm. How about my friendships? (Maybe this networking thing is working…) Or is it my family or money (that’s safe because I don’t have any money!), or the government, or, or, or …? Whatever I am substituting for God is to my own hurt because whenever I reject Him (substitute someone or something else) I only gain myself and my track record to this point is terrible when it comes to depending on me…

Father in Heaven,

Your desire is to have all of my heart, all of the time; and Your promise is to see me through as I cling to You. So today I think about king Ahaz and what he was trying to protect and then I think about me and what I might be trying to protect. I pray that You help me to cling to You with all of my heart and to release my grip in whatever it is I am clinging to that I think will free me from what I feel is the current crisis. Help me to trust in the One born of a virgin whose Name is Immanuel – I pray and trust in His Name, amen.

Worth Fighting For

7/2/2009

Jude 3 3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

New American Standard Bible

In modern lingo we’d say, “…kick butt for the faith…” Because even though Jude asserts that the faith was once for all handed down to the saints, there are always those people and/or situations that assault the faith and attempt to discredit it or twist it into something else. These circumstances call for earnest contention or effort to both maintain the faith and to reject anyone or anything that would try to deny it.

Vision leaks but so does faith. And so because complacency creeps in and we wear down, I must contend and continue in what I know to be the truth no matter how irritated the world gets at me for doing so; the truth is the truth and I will contend for it, that somehow through my life and words someone else will see that the faith is worth fighting for…more than anything else on earth.

Father in Heaven,

You have once for all handed down faith and opened the eyes of some to see the truth. You will is that everyone come to know You somehow but the reality for You is not everyone will. But through Jude, You urge me to contend for the truth by showing the error of men and their hatred for You and Your ways. Help me this day to be a shining light in a dark place and to contend for the faith I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

World Without War

7/1/2009

Isaiah 2:4 4 And He will judge between the nations,

And will render decisions for many peoples;

And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they learn war.

New American Standard Bible

Isaiah speaks of a time when peace will truly be established and enduring upon the earth. I must admit, in these times in which we live, I have huge difficulty seeing our world without war. When I think about the titanic struggles of men with each other and nation against nation, and the enormity of sin in the world, I can’t imagine a time when people will turn their tanks into tractors and melt down their M-!6’s and AK-47’s into lopping shears. Nowadays I sometimes wonder who is really in charge of our planet and our times.

But God has made these present times in order for faith to grow and flourish. God has made these times to show us the futility of life on our own without Him. Just as the days of the Mosaic Law were days in which He showed His own people just how impossible it was to keep the Law and to earn one’s way into heaven; so these days are days of choosing: God or government – and which one will truly deliver and make good in the world? Isaiah pointed to a future time when God would rule in righteousness and no longer would we men settle our differences with armed conflict but according to the justice and wisdom of God – the way He originally intended for it to be…

In order for faith to grow and flourish there must be a people in whom there is faith and through whom others may see and believe. That is what I am called to and that is how I will live – according to faith in God Who will bring this world together someday without war. Until then my calling and purpose is to display the faith I have, in the One who loved me and gave Himself for me, to my fellow man.

Father in Heaven,

Make me wholly Thine; create in me Thy love divine.

Work in me that men may see Thy love, Thine heart and purity.

A work in me Thou hast begun that I and the others, in You may be one;

That our world might put away the spear and the sword, and forever trust in Thee, the Living Lord.

Thou art the Lord, age to age the same; and hearest prayers prayed in Jesus’ Name, Amen.