God’s Memory

8.27.2010

Jeremiah 52:31 31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.

If I did the math right, in the 37th year of exile Jehoiachin would’ve turned 55. After being raised in a royal family and ascending the throne during the first eighteen years of his life, Jehoiachin then spent the next thirty-seven in a Babylonian prison and was released in the year that he turned fifty-five. This guy is a bit of an enigma to me and I have to depend on commentaries to figure out who he is, but God knew him all along and God remembered him when he turned 55 years old; and Jehoiachin served in the court of pagan king until he died.

If God did that for Jehoiachin, what will he do for us? Jehoiachin did evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 24.9) What about you and I? God remembers us, looks after us, and doesn’t operate on the same time-table we do. (God doesn’t operate on a time-table at all – He only and ever operates out of love!) Whatever our circumstances and experiences, whether we count them as good or bad, God is in the midst of them and uses all of them to reveal Himself to us and He never forgets us – ever.

I am always touched by the account of Jehoiachin’s release from prison. I am always reminded when I read it of the goodness and kindness of God which leads me to repentance and strengthens my relationship with Him. I too am 55 years old this year and I too am full of expectation in God remembrance of me and that He has plenty for me to do until the day I die… then it’s off to heaven for the next round!

Father in Heaven,

You never stop working in me. You never rest in Your pursuit of my excellence which You orchestrate and create. You always remember and know just what I need to take me to the next step in my journey home. May I serve You with a glad and joyful heart today and may my life be a reflection of Your goodness and mercy to me in this, my fifty-fifth year – in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Daily Goodness

8.26.2010

3 John 11 11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. ESV

I can identify with brother John – he seemed to be a black and white sort of guy – whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. There didn’t seem to be much middle ground with John; kinda makes me wonder what his childhood looked like, what he thought of Zebedee, his dad. Makes me wonder what went through his head in those days with Jesus; he and his brother James weren’t called the Sons of Thunder for nothing.

I’m not sure John was as charismatic as Peter; I don’t think he was as thunderous as James, but it’s a sure thing that John confronted evil wherever he was and as long as he lived. I think he held a special place in Jesus’ heart.

I’m a black and white sort of person and tend to see things as either or. But life has a way of tempering that and like John I desire to see the differences in life clearly that I may live effectively for God. People who know me might call me a son of thunder as well – perhaps a few more years of tempering will help.

Whoever does good – that means as a reflex of life. If my reflex is to always react negatively or falsely then I will only remain thunderous and a passing nuisance. Thunder follows lightning and lightning is brilliant but for a moment. I desire for my life to shine but for more that just for moments; daily goodness and continued goodness accomplishes that… I think that’s where John ended up.

Father in Heaven,

I want to be like John in that I’d like to be used by You for as long as I live. I know and hear the echoes of thunder in my life and I see the brilliant but passing flashes of lightning as well. Lord let me not be momentary, but enduring. May my experiences temper me to be solid, faithful and lasting until You call me home – help me to be effective in Your Kingdom just like John – who wanted to be just like Jesus, and woke up one day to discover he was just himself in You. Amen.

Meeting with God

8.25.2010

2 John 9 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ESV

It is not hard for me to see the parallels between modern America and ancient Israel at the time of the fall of Jerusalem. In both nations, God was/is abandoned. The government abandoned God; the culture abandoned God. And in modern America we, just like ancient Israel, are trying desperately to find salvation in our government policies, our economy; in leisure and ease, and in just about everything but God. And it ain’t workin’…

When Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, God told His people that if they wanted to save their lives, they were to surrender to the Babylonians. That’s like telling rednecks in Texas to surrender to the Iranians. That’s like telling Tea Party conservatives to become liberals. Always, we have to make the decision to go to where God is regardless of what it seems we have to go through to get to Him. God was with the Babylonians – not in spirit nor in principle, but in divine discipline. And wherever there’s divine discipline, there’s foremost divine love and life. But God, they’re the horrid Babylonians! Yes, I know; jump in, the water’s fine!

God is seeking me to meet Him in all of my circumstances regardless of where they are or how I feel about them. If I’m willing to abide where He is, I will live with Him and His Son – that’s the bottom line. I think that is kind of what John was saying to the elect lady and her children. According to Jeremiah, the people who met God by surrendering to the Babylonians lived – the one’s who fled died.

Father God,

You show up in the strangest places. You show up where I don’t want to go and among people I do not like – and from there You bid me to come and join You. Help me God not to be intolerant but to go wherever You are and find You maybe even among those with whom I am loathe to associate. I will not limit Your boundaries and I will surrender to Who and Where You are – in Jesus’ Name, amen.

The Hard Way

8.24.2010

1 John 5:17 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. ESV

I’m not going to pretend that I understand completely what John is saying here – I don’t. But I think there is something to be learned – at least there is for me. In my mind sin is the act of demanding my own way and all the subsequent actions and attitudes that come from such a demand. It’s as old as Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve; they wanted their own way and got what they thought they wanted. I’m not sure of their repentance but I think they did, and I think we’ll see them in heaven – I think. I believe they saw the fruit of their actions and realized that having their own way was not what they really wanted.

All wrongdoing is sin; treading on people’s lives, living selfishly, demanding my preferences – these are a part of wrongdoing – but it isn’t the way to death. The way to death is settled unbelief. The only sin for which we cannot be forgiven is unbelief and there are those out there who live in, what I would call, settled (or resolute) unbelief. That is the way that leads to death; because it is the only way it can lead; it’s willful.

The good thing about sin (if there’s any redeeming value whatsoever) is that it sometimes tends to make us sorry for wanting our own way. Sometimes the thing (or things) we want so badly ends up being the thing (or things) we want to flee from. Sometimes the sorrow for our sin leads to us repentance having learned a painful lesson. Painful lessons leave their marks deep in our souls.

However – I don’t need to learn the hard way if I choose in Jesus to walk in the narrow way. All wrongdoing is sin but I don’t have to walk that way – I can walk in righteousness and self-control giving it all to the Lord and letting Him guide and control my life; He’s given me the freedom to choose not to sin; the choice is mine. I can sin out of ignorance and learn the lesson the hard way or I can listen to and learn from Him – the choice is mine.

Father in Heaven,

You always make a way out except for the one who refuses to take it. You put up with such stuff from me and yet in Your love You keep leading me to life and love me just as I am. Help me to be teachable and pliable in Your hands; help me to learn the lessons just by believing You and not having to learn the hard way. Thank You for Your love and for Your Spirit residing in me. Amen.

New True

8.23.2010

Jeremiah 31:33 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ESV

In 1 John 4, the apostle John assures us that God is love. He didn’t mean that God is an emotion or feeling, but that God Himself is the truest expression of love that we’ll ever know because God is Himself the truest expression of love.

Love is not law. Love can express itself through a law – thou shalt not kill; that’s an expression of love that says, control yourself and look out for the needs of others; but laws are not love; love is love. True love is not romance, although we love to see love that way. Romance tends to be selfish; how can I get what I want from this person? True love goes out of its way to show the deepest care and concern for the welfare of others and will do everything in its power to put the needs of others above its own. You cannot legislate that – it has to be an act of the will but it has to be motivated by something other than just the mind, will, and emotions; it has to be motivated by divine power and presence – and only God can do that.

When Jeremiah speaks of the new covenant, he’s speaking of God putting Himself into us by His Spirit in order that we may truly love. Without Him we are devoid of love and thereby unable to truly relate to others by which they are selflessly honored, royally respected, compassionately cherished, passionately protected, and heroically helped. We can only do that if God empowers us to do that by His love.

Father in Heaven,

Thank You for the New Covenant by which You make our hearts Your home and by which You guide our lives in true love. True love needs no law – only Your power and presence. May I walk in the freedom of the New Covenant this day loving You and loving others by the Spirit of Christ in me – in His Name, amen.

Condition

8.22.2010

1 John 3:22 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ESV

I know that some readers of these thoughts are too young to remember The Fiddler on the Roof. I didn’t realize the movie musical was produced in 1971. I think the Broadway production was around 1964. There – a bit of Hollywood history for you – don’t you feel better now?

A song in the move (Tradition) speaks of the tradition of the Jews in the late czarist days of Russia. The song depicts the traditions of these people and what they thought they were supposed to do, according to their traditions, to score points with God. I think the song was incorrectly written – I know it is for the believer; for the Christian it is not tradition but condition; it’s not just a matter of keeping the traditions of our faith but of meeting the conditions of God. And John spells that out for us by saying, “…and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.” We receive God’s unconditional love in order to conditionally receive from Him by doing what He says.

My life in Christ is a mix of being and doing; John makes this point very clear; because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. I must keep His commandments because He’s created me in Him to do so, and I must do what pleases Him by living out what I believe. The end result is I receive from Him what I need to continue to both be and do. However, receiving from Him is conditional and I must always remember that – my obedience to His command is what paves the way for me to receive His good gifts. This is authentic Christianity.

Father in Heaven,

Your conditions are our traditions – or at least they should be. The traditions I must keep are those of the saints who’ve gone before me who sought You earnestly, listened to You carefully, and obeyed You entirely. May these be true of my life in You – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Proof Text

8.21.2010

1 John 2:6 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. ESV

If ever there was a proof text, this is it – “…whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” It’s not a proof-text to fortify my own theological perspective; it’s a text that proves that who I say I am matches what I do. And it’s not just a proof text for me to prove myself to others; it’s for me because as I study the life of Jesus I should find myself imitating and emulating how He lived and what He stood for. If I’m not then I’m probably not abiding in Him as I ought – which means I’m probably not really abiding in Him at all. I’m not convinced there are gradations of abiding – either I am or I’m not.

Abiding in Jesus means accepting His lordship over me and accepting His presence in me; I’m to be focused solely and wholly upon Him at all times. That is abiding or living in Him. I abide in Baker City and accept the culture there. Baker City is my physical place of residence. My mail comes to Baker City; my friends all recognize and accept that Baker City is where I live. But they also need to see that as I walk and live in Baker City that I also walk and live in Jesus Christ spiritually and the overflow of His life in me dictates how I behave and speak. Whoever says he abides in Him ought to, by familiarity and intimacy with Him, walk in the same way in which He walked – fully submitted to God. There just ain’t that many folks around like that…

I need to realize the importance of such a truth. I need to walk as Jesus walked and talk as He talked because I’ll never be who I’m supposed to be if I don’t.

Father in Heaven,

There are texts in Scripture that prove who I am in You – this one is one. Help me to realize who I am in You and where I live – in You! Father may I be the man You’ve called me to be, and may others see the fruit of my residency – dwelling always in the realm and personality of Christ – in His Name, amen.