Self Hardening?

During my time with the Lord, I start in the Word with the days reading from M’Cheyne’s Calendar for Daily Bible Reading.  In the past several months I have added the proverb of the day.  There are days that it doesn’t end there.  It seems like the Lord leads me on a journey through a topic or an idea.

One time, a few months ago, that started with Psalm 38:15a (here @ BibleGateway), “For, I hope in You, O Lord…”  The thought I wrote in my journal was, “I should not hope in anything else but You.  No salary, no person, no project, only you.”  Then there are a series of passages that follow:

• Psalm 39:4 15, 7 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 78:39 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 144:4 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Job 14:2 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Psalm 62:9 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Ecclesiastes 6:12 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Proverbs 1:28 – 33 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Hebrews 12:7 – 11 (here @ BibleGateway)

At the time I was in contact with an acquaintance that was also dealing with cancer.  They had just told me that their cancer was in remission.  I wrote: “I will never, as things stand now, hear those words this side of heaven.  Lord, I have no idea how much longer you have ordained for me to be here.  On the one hand, Philippians 1:21 (here @ BibleGateway), on the other hand, ten grandchildren with whom I wish to fully engage, Lord, please make me content with you and with what you have given me.”

Focusing on the last two passages it occurred to me that all the previous passages were context for those last two.  There are those in the body that refuse to engage, to listen to His Word, refuse to abide in His Word.  It is if they neglect or ignore the exhortation to abide, they neglect His counsel, do not want His reproof, hate knowledge, do not fear God.  It is as if they are choosing the passing pleasures of sin over following God.  That brought another passage to mind, James 4:17 (here @ BibleGateway).

To not accept His counsel, to spurn His reproof, would seem to have the effect that they eat the fruit of their own way.  Is this, could this be, the same as hardening one’s own heart?

Loose End – Part 3

Yesterday we continued to think through the issue that Wilberforce and Osborne both wrote about 206 years apart.  An issue that persisted throughout those 206 years and seems to persist today.  That is the seeming apathy to the Lord’s exhortation to abide in His Word.

Yesterday I shared the idea that reading books about the Bible, listening to messages about the Bible, watching programs, going to classes about the Bible, is not the same as being in the Bible.  I have done and still do all those things.  I have a ThM, which was 128 hours of class and untold hours outside of class, and that does not count the courses I took in Greek and Hebrew before I got to seminary.  I’m sitting in an office that has every available wall lined with full bookcases and there are 20 or so boxes of books in storage.  All of those things, books, programs, classes are helpful, but they cannot and are not supposed to be the major input of our Biblical lives.

All of those, as good as they are, are filtered through the study and experience of others.  As good as those others are, their work is not inspired.  We need to be in the Word of God ourselves, before we pick up a book – say we are studying Ephesians.  We need to do an overview, analyze each section, and then summarize what we studied.  Then and only then we are ready to look at some secondary source.  If we engage in the secondary source first, what we see will be channeled toward what the teacher, author, or speaker saw.

There is another challenge though.  For the most part, churches regardless of their tradition, have not done a good job of equipping those in the community with the skills needed to study the Word for themselves.  Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway), outlines succinctly what the ministry of a local church is to be.  The leaders are tasked to equip those in the church to do the work of the ministry.  Did you catch that?  The leaders are not supposed to do the work they are to equip the saints to do so.

That may be the source of the problem.  Seminaries, at least the ones I am aware of, do not focus on training pastors to equip.  They are focused on exegesis, hermeneutics, exposition, and homiletics.  That is, in a normal person’s words, technical study, interpretation, explanation, and proclamation.  Thus, most pastors do not equip, they proclaim.  Again, that is good.  I have listened to thousands of messages and have benefited from them.  But the primary input, the most help I have gotten, has been from personal study, personal engagement, wrestling with the text of the Bible.

I learned how to do that, not from classes – while there were some classes that helped in the sense that they suggested methods or tools of which I was not familiar.  Rather, it was from individuals who showed me how to do the work and gave me feedback on what I saw and how I explained it.  It is that interaction, that back and forth, what Paul refers to in Ephesians 4:16 (here @ Bible Gateway), as “being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body…”  Classes do not equip.  Practicing what a class teaches, under observation by someone who knows and is mastering or has mastered the content and gives feedback and constructive criticism – that is what equips.

It seems to me that is what we need in our churches.  I have heard there are some that are doing this.  I am working at doing so in my church.

Loose End – Part 2

Yesterday we started to probe the issue that both Wilberforce and Osbourne spoke to around 206 years apart.  Today we will consider some of the implications of what we examined yesterday.

The conclusion yesterday was that if one does not engage in the activity that Christ exhorts, the implications are dire.  That conclusion is driven, in part, by John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway).  As we saw, if one is to be a disciple of Christ, one must abide in His Word.  The import of that is if one is not abiding in the Word, then one is not a disciple.  

In an earlier post we examined 1 Peter 2:1 – 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The passage is a complex conditional statement.  Essentially it says that if one has tasted the kindness of the Lord, that is has fully experienced His kindness, then that one will long for, hunger for, not be satisfied without the Word of God.  Would it not be the case then that if a person does not have a hunger for the Word of God, if they are not pursuing learning it, studying it, reading it, would it not be reasonable to conclude that they have not tasted the kindness of the Lord?

In Luke 6:46 (here @ Bible Gateway), Jesus asks a rather penetrating question.  “If you call me Lord, why do you not do what I say?”  Isn’t the implication there that if one is not doing what Christ says, He is not their Lord?  

I have been engaged with more than one church’s small group project.  One of the consistent challenges is getting the groups to engage personally, individually in the Word of God.  Many are quick to read “Christian” books, or watch “Christian” videos, or focus on fellowship, but to read secondary sources is not the same as reading the Bible.  

I have been asked to review two study Bibles.  I have done one, and the other is in the que.  Both are chock full of notes and reference material.  When I was new to the faith, the Scofield Reference Bible was the main Bible that people carried.  It too was chock full of notes and reference material.  Full disclosure I have at least four Study Bibles.  I don’t use any of them.  Why?  The notes and reference materials are the work of man.  They are not inspired.  The text of the Bible is inspired.  Hebrews 4:12 (here @ Bible Gateway) does not say, “For books about the Bible and the notes in your study Bible are living and active and sharper than any two edged sword…” you can fill in the rest.

It is confusing to me why the Lord allows this.  He states that His word will not return void, Isaiah 55:11 (here @ Bible Gateway).  It seems like, many, if not most, of those claiming to be in the Body, have chosen to abandon His Word.  Chosen not to abide instead to depend on proxies to apprehend the Word of God.  This seems to have resulted in an ineffective and anemic Body.  I don’t know why this persists.  But the quotes from Wilberforce and Osborne indicate that it has for the last couple of hundred years.

The Holy Spirit inspired His Word, all of it.  It reflects God’s nature and character, 2 Peter 1:1 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Peter in 2 Peter 1:16 – 21 (here @ Bible Gateway) compares having the Word of God to his experience seeing Jesus transformed on the Mount of Transfiguration.  But, we have trouble getting believers to engage personally in it?  Why?

I have some thoughts on that I will share in the next post.

Loose End

In June of last year, I shared two quotes, one by William Wilberforce, the other by Grant Osbourne.  As noted in the post, the quotes were 206ish years apart and yet essentially dealt with the same issue.  In that post I said I would share my thoughts on those two quotes.  In reviewing my journal and the blog just now, I realize I never did.  So here goes…

If I were to synthesize the two quotes the common issue seems to be that there is a tendency in the community of faith to not take the need to work at understanding or studying the Bible as necessary for every believer.  There seems to be a prevailing sentiment that after I come to Christ, I’m done with work in terms of knowing Him.  Sure, I will listen to the occasional message and may read the occasional Christian book, but actually dive into the Word of God for myself?  I wouldn’t know where to start.  Anyway, that is the job of the pastor and teachers.  They need to study and tell me what to think.

In the previous paragraph I referred to the community of faith.  Why?  This issue prevails from Genesis to Revelation.  The people of Israel abandoned the Word of God.  There were times of renewal.  Each time the Word was found and read to the people and the people tore their clothes and repented.  But abandoned the Word again in short order.

In Jeremiah 23 (here @ Bible Gateway) the Lord reveals His attitude toward this type of behavior.  The prophets were not sharing the Word of God with the nation.  Rather, they were sharing their own dreams and ideas.  God did not like that.  It is worth your time to read the chapter.

In the New Testament over and over the importance of the Word of God is emphasized.  Perhaps the section of Scripture that is most telling is John 15:1 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway).  In that passage John repeats the Greek word μένω (meno) 11 times in those 16 verses.  The word is variously translated abide, remain, continue, dwell.  We are exhorted by the Lord to abide in Him and have His Words abide in us.  In John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway) the exhortation is to abide in His Word to be His disciple.  Both statements in John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway) and John 15:7 (here @ Bible Gateway) are conditional.  The construction of the sentences indicate that it is not certain that those who heard or read will actually fulfill the condition of having the Words abide in them or abide in His Word.  The implications of not doing what Christ exhorted are dire.

This is getting longer than I intended when I started.  So I will finish it in the next post or so.  Stay tuned.

Under Obligation

From time to time I read part of a devotional, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions (VOV), during my personal devotions.  They are short; two pages.  But I tend to break them up into sentences and reflect on the message.  It seems that some of the Puritans thought when Paul commanded that we imitate him, that meant they were to write sentences like he did.  Some of their sentences are looooong.  I break those up.

Yesterday this was the sentence that I wrote out in my journal:

Send me forth to have compassion on the ignorant and miserable.

I was struck by the depth and simplicity of the thought.  Most of the time these excerpts bring to mind verses that support what I read.  This was no exception.  Five passages came to mind.  The first was Romans 1:14 (here @ Bible Gateway).  It is not my favorite verse.  I am ok with all of it but the last three words.  However, I know that I can’t pick and choose what I obey.  I have trouble with foolish people.  I have found that there are a lot of them.  Yet 1:14 (here @ Bible Gateway) tells me that as a believer I am under obligation to share the gospel with them.  The sentence in VOV, echoes Paul.

Then two passages in Ezekiel, 3:18 – 19 (here @ Bible Gateway) and 33:8 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway).  When you read those you will see that our obligation extends to the wicked as well.  That the passages are virtually identical, indicates emphasis.  We are exhorted emphatically that we are obligated to share the good news with the wicked.

Then Jude 22 – 23 (here @ Bible Gateway) came to mind.  Jude speaks of the urgency of the matter.  We need to view the Greeks, barbarians, wise, foolish, and wicked as inside a burning building and we are the only one that can get them out.  Fun picture.

Lastly, Matthew 28:18 – 20 (here @ Bible Gateway) came to mind.  You have probably hear messages on this passage.  We are told – well the only imperative in the passage is make disciples.  The other verb forms, go, baptize, and teach are all participles.  Participles get their force from the main verb, make disciples, so they take on the imperative mood of make disciples.  The point of this, is that we are expected to make disciples.  The first step in making a disciple is to lead them to Jesus.

It is easy to justify why we are not sharing the gospel.  I have essentially been under house arrest since last March because of my compromised immune system due to the cancer and subsequent chemo.  But, even before that, much of what I have been called to do focuses me on equipping believers in their study of the Word of God.  So in a sense I am insulated from non-believers.  But I don’t find in Scripture any out.  I am still under obligation to our list of Greeks, et al.  I have to use every interaction with another person as an opportunity to share Christ.  To go forth, intentionally, with compassion.  I am not very good about that.

What’s Your Job Description?

When you are asked what you do, how do you respond?  I am a consultant…  I am a salesman...  I am in IT…  I am a doctor...  I am a lawyer…

The apostles were a special group.  They were described by Peter in Acts 1:21 – 22 (here @ Bible Gateway), as men who accompanied them all the time they were with Jesus.  Peter may not have been entirely correct with that as Paul did not fit that definition, Jesus came to him directly after the resurrection and ascension.  Regardless they were special and few.

How did they view themselves?  Was the title apostle quick on their lips?  Based on the picture we have of Peter in the Scripture, he would be one that we might think would use that title first.  Check 2 Peter 1:1 (here @ Bible Gateway).  That is not the term, or job description, with which he leads, rather he calls himself a bond-servant.

Paul uses the same designation in Romans 1:1 (here @ Bible Gateway); Philippians 1:1 (here @ Bible Gateway); and Titus 1:1 (here @ Bible Gateway).  James echoes Peter and Paul in James 1:1 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Look at Deuteronomy 15:16 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway).  There we have the law of the bond-servant.  It is voluntary, it is a lifelong commitment, it is based on the love of the servant for the master, and the reality that the master is very good to the servant.

These men, two of which are designated apostles lead with bond-servant to describe their “job descriptions”.

We are told to imitate them.  So that should raise several questions for us:

• Why do I do what I do in my church?
• Why do I share Christ with people?
• Why do I study His Word?
• Why do I join in fellowship with other men?

There are probably more but those are enough to get going.

Death Unnatural

My father in law is dying.  His will be the fifth death in our family in the last couple of years.  He is 93, His wife was 91 when she passed.  My dad was 94.  One of the deaths was a miscarriage; one was a new mother of 32 years. 

People will say about my wife’s parents and my dad that they led a full life and that their deaths in their 90’s were normal.  They do not say the same thing about my daughter in law or the miscarried child.

The facts are though that death is not normal.  It was never meant to be our experience.

In Genesis 2:16 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway) the Lord commanded that Adam not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The Lord promised that in the event that Adam did this, he would surely die.  In Genesis 3:19 (here @ Bible Gateway), after Adam had disobeyed the direct command of the Lord, He fulfilled His promised result, “…you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Death is the result of the fall of the race; sin.  It may not be a particular sin in the case of a person.  But, the fact that we are human, descendants of Adam, whose nature changed when he disobeyed, we will experience death.

That is one of the reasons that we grieve so deeply.  At a core level, we know that it is wrong.  I watched life leave my father.  It was obvious that he was no longer there.  We talk of dying with dignity.  There is no dignity in death.  It is a result of our condition as sinners before a holy God.

The great news is that we have been offered a remedy.  Christ died for us to pay for our sin.  That allows us the opportunity to be restored to the life we were meant to live.  To have eternal life with Him.  We will still, should He delay His return, go through this physical death to be sure.  However, if we trust Him, if we choose to follow Him, we will receive the gift of eternal life in His presence.

What we experience here was not the intention.  What we can experience through Him is the gift.

Dealing with the Curve Balls of Life

Do you ever reflect on difficult times in your life?  Situations where you were betrayed by one you considered a close friend?  Times when you may have experienced a strained relationship to the point it has been permanently broken?  Or perhaps the loss of a job unexpectedly?

How do we handle those types of things in a manner that glorifies our Lord?

Joseph may give us a clue.  Read through Genesis 45:5 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Note especially how Joseph describes his being in Egypt.  He attributes the fact that he is in Egypt not to his brothers selling him into slavery, but to God moving him to Egypt for the purpose of the preservation of his family.

He looked for and saw the hand of God in the suffering he endured for a purpose which at first he did not understand.  However, it was the integrity of his trust in God that led him to understand the purpose of what was happening to him.

I do not suggest here that we will always understand what God has or is taking us through.  I am still processing the last two years.  So far I have no clue.  However, events that happened 30 years ago are becoming clearer and clearer.  Devastating, life-altering events then, are proving to be the foundation of much in which the Lord is assigning us now.

The key lesson for me in considering Joseph’s story and attitude is that in whatever I am experiencing, I must continue to trust my loving, gracious, sovereign Lord.  I must trust that He is acting in line with His purposes and character.  I may eventually understand; I may not.  Regardless, I am to trust.

Deep Waters

Reviewing my journal just now.  I was reading an entry three days after we buried my dad.  My son’s wife was in the middle of a battle with lymphoma she would ultimately lose almost 10 months to the day.  At the time I wrote the entry she was 25 weeks pregnant.  Another one of our children had recently experienced a miscarriage. 

I was praying through all that was going on.  One of the notes was “God is sovereign over…conception, growth, death, life, birth, and vitality.”

There were times in that 18 month period that all I could come up with in prayer was “I love You; I trust You…”  That was usually through some deep emotion and accompanied by tears.

As I review the requests I made of the Lord, all were answered.  The family with the miscarriage now has another healthy child.  My son’s critically ill wife gave birth to a healthy baby about six weeks later.  The Lord took the baby’s mom home 8 months after she gave birth.

I do not pretend to understand why He answers prayer in the way that He does.  I do know…

I love Him; I trust Him.

Our Choices

Genesis 28:6 (here @ Bible Gateway) is interesting to me.  This is a subset of one of Abraham’s follies.  Kim shared another a couple of days ago.

Here it is the second instance of Abraham asking Sarah to misrepresent her relationship to Abraham.  As a result Abimelech took Sarah.

God stops Abimelech in a dream from having any relationship with Sarah.

Then in Genesis 28:6 (here @ Bible Gateway), God speaks to Abimelech.  Two observations
God’s sovereignty extends to the choices men make on baser issues, like sex.  The Lord can prevent or, as an implied corollary, cause a man to choose a course of action.
Abimelech did not sin against Abraham by taking Sarah, he sinned against God.

We may choose, but our choice is under God’s sovereignty.  If we choose to sin, our sin is against Him.

Ponder that.

Abram’s Folly

Shortly after last night’s post was published, my wife suggested that I needed to point out that Abram was also engaged in folly…she was right.

It could be argued that Abram’s folly was worse because he did it twice.  Look at:

• Genesis 12:9 – 20 (here @ Bible Gateway)
• Genesis 20:1 – 18 (here @ Bible Gateway)

In both cases Abram in the first case and Abraham in the second, rather than trusting the Lord for protection, schemed to preserve his life at the expense of his wife.  He was willing to put her into a situation where she could have been violated in order to preserve his life.

The first time he did this was just after God had called him and Abram had responded.  The second time was after the Lord had promised Abraham that Sarah would have a son.  It was after Abram had believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, Genesis 15:6 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Think of that for a bit.  Abram, Abraham, had followed God, believed in His promises, and yet in the matter of Sarai, Sarah, did not trust God to protect them.

It leads me to think that no matter the closeness of our relationship to God, the fidelity of our obedience to Him, that there will always be those areas of our lives we hold back from Him.  That may be why we read David’s oft repeated cry for the Lord to revive, teach, lead, and instruct him in Psalm 119 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Regardless of how close we are to Him, we are completely dependent on Him to trust and follow.  Not to recognize this and proactively pray against this type of behavior, leaves us open to duplicating Abraham’s folly.

Sarai’s Folly

It is often hard to trust God.  Especially, if we are associated with one whom God is leading and we are charged with following.  Abram’s wife, Sarai, faced this reality.  Read Genesis 16:2 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Sarai knew what God had promised Abraham.  She came up with a scheme to help the promise along.

Here are some observations about this situation:

• The promise was to Abram
• Sarai was a part of that promise
• Sarai was not the primary recipient of the promise
• Sarai could not see how the promise could be fulfilled
• Sarai came up with her own solution
• Sarai thought her solution was in line with the promise
• Sarai convinced Abram to follow her plan
• She did not trust God, she trusted her scheme

Sarai’s actions parallel Eve’s actions in the garden (the enemy’s hand is all over this)

• Question the Word (Promise) of God
• What He said will not happen
• Take matters into her own hand
• Create a mess

If we are honest with ourselves, that pattern has repeated itself multiple times in our lives.

Sarai’s folly becomes ours.

Preface to Distraction – Summary

For the past five days we have been looking at 2 Chronicles 15:2 – 7 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The series was called “Preface to Distraction” because I had earlier written about Asa focusing on the end of his life.  To summarize his life, in 2 Chronicles 15 (here @ Bible Gateway) Asa does really well.  In 2 Chronicle 16, not so much (here @ Bible Gateway).

What is the difference?

In 15 (here @ Bible Gateway) Asa listens to the prophet Azariah, he sought the Lord.  In 16 (here @ Bible Gateway) he chose not to seek the Lord, but rather sought an alliance with Damascus; and he chose not to listen to the prophet Hanani, rather when Hanani confronted Asa, Asa threw him in the clink.

There are a number of lessons here.  Asa listened to Azaiah at the beginning of his reign.  He was relatively new to the job.  He was not too proud to take the advice.  When the problem reoccurred in the 36th year of his reign, he had much more experience.  Rather than seeking the Lord, he figured he could solve this one on his own.

It looks like he became comfortable, over confident, and complacent in his extensive experience.  Thus, he did not need to seek the Lord or listen to the counsel of a man of God.

Scares me.

It is a common tale.  One starts well and finishes poorly.  Why?  Confidence in one’s own wisdom and distancing oneself from godly counsel.  That seems to be a recipe for disaster, or in Asa’s case really bad feet.

What can we learn from Asa?  How can we avoid the downward trajectory of his life?  The first part, seeking the Lord, is really easier for us than it was for Asa.  We have the full text of the Bible, probably on our phones, he had scrolls but those scrolls seemed to get misplaced often.  He was supposed to make his own hand written copy of the first five books, Deuteronomy 17:18 – 20, but there is no indication that he did this.  We have an embarrassing amount of Bibles and Biblical resources there are over 3,000 in my Bible program.  For us it is as simple as a disciplined quiet time.  If you do not know how to do that, let me know, I’ll help.

There are few if, in fact any, prophets wandering around today.  I can say that I have never met or heard one.  So how do we avoid Asa’s second problem, not paying attention to men sent into his life by God?  That again may be simpler than it would seem.  If we look at the New Testament, one of the recurring themes is men encouraging other men.  So it would seem that we all need others around us who are committed to having those men in our lives.  Men who are struggling to walk with God in this life as we are.  Men who are in the Word of God.  Men who will encourage us from their life and their time in the Word.

It would seem to me that not to follow those two suggestions, to do what Asa did at the first of his reign, would insure that we will end up like him at the end of his reign.

I am not interested in that program.

Preface to Distraction – Part 4

We started this journey by stating that Asa did well for a time.  It was a result of his response to Azariah’s exhortation. 

Stop and think about that for a minute.  Azariah was not a public official.  He was confronting the king on the basis of the Holy Spirit’s prompting and Asa responded.  That underscores the importance of one individual acting on the leading of God.  It made a huge difference in the life of Asa, as long as he listened and responded accordingly.

But there is more.

Focus on 2 Chronicles 15:7 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Think through the context.  The nation is in distress.  There is no one to teach them the Law.  Yet God allows them to find Him.  Then Azariah encourages Asa that he is to be strong, that there is a reward for his work.  That immediately reminded me of 1 Corinthians 16:13 (here @ Bible Gateway) and 2 Timothy 2:25 – 25 (here @ Bible Gateway). 

These passages seem to reveal two sides to the same coin.  We are to depend on God for all that we do.  Thus, the premium put on seeking him before work in 2 Chronicles 15:7 (here @ Bible Gateway), but we are to work, engage, expend effort, knowing that through that dependence on Him, He will accomplish His work through ours.  That is really clear in 2 Timothy 2:24 – 25 (here @ Bible Gateway), we confront those who are in opposition, but it is God who changes their mind.

Think through these last few posts.  I will share some summary thoughts tomorrow.

Preface to Distraction – Part 3

The last couple of days we have looked at Azariah’s council to Asa.  The next part of that council is 2 Chronicles 15:5 – 6 (here @ Bible Gateway).  I am calling this series of posts “Preface to Distraction,” these verses are part of Azariah preparing Asa for what he was going to encounter.

We would do well to listen to Azariah as well.  The core of his message is that things have been in the toilet before.  People have abandoned the Lord in the past.  The reality is that they will do so again.  The first part of the exhortation is that even for those people if they seek the Lord he will let them find them.

In our lives, when we are going through difficulty, we can become laser focused on our situation.  We forget, or better, do not consider that others have been through similar or worse and will do so again.  Azariah’s exhortation to Asa would be a good place to turn at times like that.  We should acknowledge that others have had it as bad or worse.  We should take comfort in the reality that if we seek Him, He will let us find Him.

That is really good news.

Preface to Distraction – Part 2

Focus on 2 Chronicles 15:3 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway) for a minute.
Note how the nation is described:

• Without the true God
• Without a teaching priest
• Without Law

This created a situation much like we see today.  Spend any amount of time on a news channel or broadcast and note the number of stories that document despair.  That is the prevailing condition in most of our world.

Notice however the continuation of the theme of seek me and you will find me.  Without a teacher, without a law to draw them to God, Israel sought Him.  In desperation, looking for a solution the Lord allowed them to find Him.

That should give one hope.  The grace and mercy of the Lord is not hindered by the absence of a priest or teacher.  I know a pastor in a predominately Muslim country who, in desperation sought the Lord.  He allowed my friend to find Him.  He is still drawing near and learning more of the Lord on a daily basis.

If we are desperate, if we are seeking, He will help us to find Him.

That is really good news.

Ashamed of Christ?

Pretty sure that I have mentioned before that repetition in the Word is one of the means of emphasis.  In Hebrew parallels are used for emphasis; sometimes to emphasize a comparison or a contrast.  The human authors of the New Testament had Jewish backgrounds.  Many times, the elements of both repletion and parallelism appeared in their work.

Look at Luke 9:26, notice what is repeated.  In the NASB, ashamed and glory.  Note what is the object of shame for each use.  In the first clause, the object of shame is Christ and His words.  In the second clause, the object of shame is the one who held Christ and His words in shame.

That raises some questions.  What does it mean to hold Christ in shame; to hold His words in shame.  It would seem that if I were to ignore, discount, trivialize, or disobey Christ’s words, that would be tantamount to being ashamed of His word.  If I am ashamed of His word, doesn’t it follow that I am ashamed of Him?

Have you ever withdrawn from someone because of something he or she said?  Have you ever ignored someone because you did not view them as important or what they said as weighty?  Isn’t that what Christ is describing here?

Now consider Matthew 6:33.  Christ commands that we seek His kingdom first.  If we do not do so, is that being ashamed of His word?

If that is the case is not the effect what Christ describes here?

On a Mission from God?

If you have seen the Blues Brothers, you know that Jake and Elwood tell people they are on a mission from God (the movie is crude, the music is great); if one were an objective observer, one would probably come to the conclusion that they were perhaps mistaken.

1 Chronicles 17:6, David and Nathan made a similar error as Jake and Elwood.  David feels like he should build a house for the Lord.  Nathan thinks that is a great idea.  One the way home from David’s, Nathan hears from God, “Not so fast!” (it’s in the original).

1 Samuel 13:14 refers to David as a man after God’s heart.  Here, he was wanting to do something for the Lord which the Lord did not want him to do.  Nathan, is the one that confronts David about Bathsheba; he gets it wrong as well.

That made me wonder.  How many times have I engaged in something I thought that the Lord wanted me to do and yet He was not that interested in my doing that for Him?  I suspect that I have.

Two things emerge from thinking through this.  First, the need to seek Him and His heart fervently before I act for Him.  Second, I may, and probably will, like David, get it wrong at times.  The amazing and wonderful thing?  God’s lavish grace covers my errors, just as it did David’s.

A Different Perspective

If you think you understand something in the Bible I would recommend studying that text with someone from another country.

I meet weekly with a pastor in a country that is predominately Muslim.  He is the pastor of several underground churches.  We have been meeting together for about four years.  We meet on line using the third video conferencing vehicle in four years.  The government there has blocked the three others we have used.

I have been there five times.  Three of those trips were to help him equip the people in the churches in the word and for leadership.  We finished our study of Acts a few weeks ago and we started a study on 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus last week.  Last week we did an overview of the three books as a whole and this week we were in Titus 1.

His observations in Acts were much different than the observations of the men with whom I was studying the book here.  Why?  He is living through many of the same issues.  He is facing some of the same issues in his churches that I am working on in a church I have been asked to help.  Namely, developing and equipping leaders.

I thought I had a pretty good handle on the qualifications for the role of elder in Titus 1.  Then he started asking about some of the specifics of the requirements that Paul outlined as they applied to a Muslim convert.  I found myself hesitating with my answers.  I know the people about whom he was asking.  I know the struggles they have being converts in a Muslim family.  My response after we talked for a while was that I needed to spend more time in that passage and the others that deal with elders and I needed to pray about his questions.

So do the issues in the culture mean that we set aside certain of the requirements as they pertain to the family?  Or do we follow what Paul outlined trusting in what the Word says is right and that the sovereignty of God is over that ministry condition?

I am struggling with this.

Arrogant Response

Acts 12:18 – 23 documents Herod’s response to God’s miraculous release of Peter from Herod’s maximum security lock up.  He pitched a fit.  He executed the 16 guard.  When the world and its systems do not get their way, they lash out violently.

Herod was arrogant.  He thought that God was not a real issue.  He saw himself as a god.  In his case, God took him out in mid-sentence.  Herod suffered the same fate as those whom he used to stand against God, the guards he executed.  Those who place themselves over God are destroyed unless God draws them.  All who reject the relationship God offers, are placing themselves over God in that they are saying that He is irrelevant and not needed in their life.  They are autonomous, the poem Invictus, which I really like, is a prime example of that attitude.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Henley, William Ernest (1888). A book of verses. London: D. Nutt. pp. 56–57. OCLC 13897970

As good as this is, it describes a life committed to self and self-determination as opposed to trust and dependence on God.  It is our nature to live this way.  It appeals to us.  2 Chronicles 36:16 reminds us that while God is one of patience, grace, and mercy; there is a limit to the latitude He gives us.  We do well to respond to Him before the last clause of that passage… “until there is no remedy.”