Sweet!

So, for those of you who haven't already seen the Instagram picture or the Facebook post, Cole wrote a super sweet letter to Santa that was in the Salem Times (I just found out about it today, but the paper came out yesterday). Anyway, here's what it said:
"Dear Santa, Have you had a good day? I did! I already have everything I could wish for. Wish #1, wish #2: nothing. Cole"
OK, so the spelling might not have been that great in his version, but still - I was quite proud of him! And not for being in the paper, but for genuinely being appreciative for all of the wonderful things he already has. This, of course, is certainly not to take away from any other kids who have written letters asking for things - regardless of your opinions on it, it's pretty much the norm around this time of year. And hey, if they don't ask, how are we to know what they want (which is the conundrum I have now!)?
Anyway, his letter got me to thinking. I haven't really asked for anything this year either (although I guess I did come up with a few things), but more because I can't really think of anything I need that I couldn't just go get if I wanted it. Cole, on the other hand, has told me numerous times (gotta get those gift ideas!) and now written it in a letter to Santa (cheesy grin here), that he already has everything he could want. You see the heart difference there? It's truly amazing - and convicting. I'm frantically wracking my brain trying to think of something I don't have that I can tell people to get (in my defense, they're asking and won't accept no for an answer, but still), and my 6 YEAR OLD CHILD is saying he doesn't want anything because he's already been blessed enough to have everything his little heart could desire.
God, change my heart to be like Cole's!
Again, this is not to try to talk Cole up or brag about my kid (because we all know he is a little sinner for sure), but because it genuinely made me stop and reflect on the nature of my own heart and desires, and to recognize that I genuinely do have everything I could want, and even if I didn't, Christmas isn't about that anyway. I should have everything I could wish for because Christ was born to give me eternal life; even if I received nothing else, ever, this would and should be enough for me.
So, thank you Cole, for teaching Mommy a lesson, and thank You, Father, for giving me this sweet blessing in my little boy and for giving me the only present that matters - You.

'Tis the Season

Lights. Presents. Trees. Sales. So much is going on at this time of year. 'Tis the season, alright - the season for stress. I had a good reminder of this yesterday. I got overwhelmed thinking about everything I still needed to do - making presents, wrapping presents, buying presents, events to go to, etc., etc., etc. See where I'm going with this? I got so caught up in all of the things that go along with the season, that I had forgotten what the whole holiday is really about. Luckily, I have a wonderful mother-in-law who (very politely) basically told me to get it together and get my perspective right. Thank God for her! After much prayer, I realized that I had lost focus on Christ, the whole reason I celebrate Christmas in the first place. So, I've made a conscious choice, with God's help, to look at this differently.

I am so blessed to have so many people in my life to give gifts to. Friends, family, students (who still sort of fall in the friends category, too - love you girls!), teachers, mentors... Sure, the list does go on and on, and that can get stressful sometimes, but what a joy that God has blessed me with so many wonderful people surrounding me. I might not have to worry so much about making or shopping for gifts without them, but I would be much poorer if they weren't in my life.

I am blessed that God has given me the ability to be able to make gifts for those that I am doing that for. Any small talents any of us have come straight from God, not ourselves, so I have to thank Him for that.

I am blessed to have a job where I can financially afford to be able to purchase gifts for my family and friends. There are so many people out there that aren't able to do that, so what right do I have to complain that I don't have enough money to buy an over-abundance of gifts for the over-abundance of family and friends I have?

I am blessed that I have people in my life who want to invite to me to their gatherings, where they celebrate Christ's birth and His love for us, and enjoy being in fellowship with one another. Who cares if the calendar is packed? It just means I'm loved!

But most of all, I'm blessed that there is a Christmas season to celebrate. And I'm blessed that Christ loved me first, so that I could love Him in return and have a greater purpose in this season - to glorify Him rather than myself. I'm blessed that I am His, and nothing can change that.

So, when you're stressed out in this season, remember Who it's about and remember that you just need Jesus. Everything else is just fluff. If all the lights, trees, presents, gatherings, etc., were taken away, it wouldn't be any less Christmas, because that's not what it's about - it's about Christ. And though our nation seems to be trying sometimes, you can't take Christ out of Christmas. Hey, and guess what? Even if you're one of those people that thrives during this season, and you're not the slightest bit stressed out, you need Jesus, too.

If you have nothing under the tree and a meager dinner on the table, you need Jesus. If you have presents overflowing out the front door of your house and a pony in your backyard, you need Jesus.

If you don't have a family or friends to celebrate Christmas with, you need Jesus. If there are so many, you're having to send some to stay at a hotel because your house is already full, you need Jesus.

If you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or nothing at all because none of it matters to you, you need Jesus. If you celebrate Christmas and don't believe in all of this "season's greetings" and "holiday tree" nonsense, you need Jesus.

If you're still lost in your sin, you need Jesus. If you're already a believer and recognize the beauty of this season comes not from the decorations, but from the Decorator, you still need Jesus.

Do you see where I'm going with this? No matter what, in every situation, we all need Jesus - and that's it. Nothing added to Him. Okay? Not good works, not your belief in some nebulous afterlife or reincarnation, not your belief that everyone goes to heaven no matter what, not your belief that you can save yourself or that you have your own deity inside of you, not your determined belief that there is nothing after death, not following every rule laid before you, not tolerance, not Allah, not Buddha, not a pantheon of false gods, none of that is what you need. All any of us needs is Jesus. And I don't care if that offends some people. Too bad - the truth is offensive sometimes, but it is no less the truth.

And we don't just need Jesus now, during a holiday that bears His name. We need Him each and every day. Why? Because we are lost without Him. We are hopeless without Him. We are dying without Him. We are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. And when I say desperate, that's not just a word that's used lightly, to add emphasis. No, I mean desperate like you just got dropped in the middle of the Sahara with no water, no food, both legs broken, AND you just got bitten by a venomous snake - that kind of desperate. Earth-shattering, painful, I'm-going-to-die-without-help desperate. Because without Someone to save us, we will die. As a matter of fact, we're already walking dead men (and not the kind from the TV show, either). What do you do? When you're that desperate, you obviously can't save yourself. I guarantee you've tried. Whether or not you believe in anything after death, you live by some sort of moral code, even if it's just your own. Why? What drives us to do this? Because we know there's something greater and bigger out there and we're compelled to reach for it, but we're always going to fall short of the mark. Our sin keeps us from perfection. And perfection is what is required by God. One seemingly insignificant infraction of the Law, and we're condemned - and I'm here to tell you, we're breaking the rules from birth! But how can something so tiny, one little broken rule, justify death? Because God is holy, perfectly holy. He is our Creator, and truth be told, He can demand anything He wants of us, and be perfectly justified in doing so. See, that's the thing about sin - it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to us, until we realize that it's not like we just did something wrong against another person who's just like us. It becomes a big deal when we fully grasp Who God is - perfectly holy, perfectly just, and perfectly SOVEREIGN. Sovereign. That means He has the right to rule, and He owns everything because He created it. He made it! It's His! So when we sin against Him, we're sinning against a being that we can't even fully comprehend the depths of. We're sinning against the very person who made us. You know how awful you feel after you've done something bad to your parents (and we've all done it, so don't act like you haven't)? Okay, it's that times infinity. So yes, one tiny infraction is enough to condemn you to eternal death and hell. And it's just and right - there's nothing you can do to rail against it, because it's right.

So what do you do? You can't save yourself, because you're already condemned, and it's not like there's any heavenly Get Out of Jail Free cards coming your way. You need Someone to save you. But that Someone can't just be anybody - He can't be like you, because then He'd be condemned, too. No, you need Somebody perfect, Somebody who hasn't sinned, Somebody more like God the Father than like you. And that's where Jesus comes in. On a night long ago, God the Father sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be born in a manger, into hardship, into poverty, and He did it for <i>you</i>. That's the miracle of Christmas. That's the reason for the season. But why? How does His birth affect you?

Jesus willingly laid aside His glory, His place in Heaven at the right hand of His Father, to be born into nothing to save you. Because get this: since He's God (this is the mystery of the Trinity), He couldn't (and didn't) sin. He was able to live the perfect life, fully God still, but also fully man, that you and I cannot live. He maintained a record that was pure and spotless, unblemished by any taint of sin. Can you imagine? In the 33 years that He lived, not once did He sin - not against anyone else, and ultimately, since all sin is against God, not against God. And then, He willingly allowed Himself to be beaten, mocked, spat upon, flogged, have a crown of thorns pushed into His brow, nailed to a cross by His hands and feet, lifted high for all to see, suffer an agonizing, terrifying, brutal death, have His Father turn away from the sin that He bore upon the cross (not His own sin, but the sins of those who would believe on Him for salvation), and a spear thrust into His side - all to save you and me, if we will believe in Him. To save those of us who yet hated Him, even we who were not yet born, hated Him because we were already tainted by sin. Jesus died to save sinners.

He exchanged the ceaseless praise of the angels for the mocking cries of a bloodthirsty crowd. He exchanged unblemished, powerful hands for ones that would work hard as a carpenter before having nails driven through them. He exchanged a crown of gold for a crown of thorns. He exchanged a throne of glory for a cross of wood. He exchanged the ceaseless praise of the angels for the mocking cries of a bloodthirsty crowd. He exchanged the light and glory of Heaven for the darkness and sin of this world. And all for the love of those who yet hated Him. He exchanged everything He was worthy of, all the glory that was His due by right, to save me - a dirty, filthy sinner - so that, when I believe on His work on the cross as being sufficient for salvation, and I repent (turn away from my sin and turn to God), one day, when God looks on me, He will see not my works, but Christ's. Not my wickedness, but Christ's righteousness. He will see me, not deserving of death and eternal separation in Hell away from His presence, but as a precious daughter, a fellow heir with Christ.

And so this is the biggest blessing of the season, and where I needed to get my perspective back to. Because Christmas, and really every day, is not about the things that fill it, but about Who is filling it. It's about Who I'm living for. About the reason that I have life - my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Preservation of a People

Numbers 27 has a lot less in-your-face action than we've seen in previous chapters, but there is a lot that's going on. Okay, well maybe not a lot, but a pretty big miracle if you really stop and think about what you're reading.

God commands another census to be taken of the people of Israel. Now, one commentary I read said that at this point, we're about 38 years into the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness. So, they've got about two to go, but they're much closer on the timeline to entering into the Promised Land. God commands that a census be taken of all the men of all the tribes who are able to go to war, from the age of 20 on up. Keeping in mind that both of the censuses were taken of "fighting men" only, look at these totals. The first census totaled 603,550 men of fighting age. The second totaled 601,730. Those numbers aren't too far apart, are they? Also keep in mind, these are only men from 20 on up, and only those physically able to go to war. That excludes, then, anyone under 20, any women, any crippled men, or any too old to fight.

Now, think about this. God had decreed that none of the old generation would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. So, only Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, were included in both of the censuses. Yet, God preserved the population of Israel. Can you imagine? The desert is a harsh place to make a home. Numerous plagues and disasters had swept through the nation. That's aside from the normal illnesses, death by critter, etc. Yet they were about to enter the Promised Land with almost the same size host as when they left Egypt. That's miracle!

Lord, I thank You for those times when You work behind the scenes in ways that we can't readily see. You are so good, maybe especially in those times, because we're less grateful and much less patient when we can't see Your hand moving in our lives. But You are always there! And You are always orchestrating the events of our lives for Your glory and our good. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Many Aspire, Few Attain

I had the pleasure of being able to read an article sent by my good friend Allison Duncan tonight. So good, in fact, that I'm going to share it with you rather than writing anything myself tonight. Enjoy, and thank you, Allison!

http://ksustumo.org/resources/growingbeliever/Many_Aspire_Few_Attain.pdf

A Righteous Jealousy

That title sounds a little crazy, right? But tonight's whole chapter seems a little crazy on the surface. Numbers 25 has all the makings of a soap opera, but with a very final end (instead of the endless recycling of stories for the characters so often seen in the soaps).

It starts out telling us that the Israelites were turning to false gods (ironically enough, it's Baal again!). Not only that, but they were being enticed by the Moabite and Midianite women to do so. One of the biggest aspects of the worship to Baal, a fertility god, was prostitution. So even after all they've been through, and in quite the contrast to the blessings just pronounced on them through Balaam, they're yet again turning from God to commit sin. We've all got a good idea how this is going to end, right?

Of course, God is angry with His people. And not just a little mad, but fiercely angry. So much so that he demands the death of those who have begun to worship Baal. And not just any death, either. For whatever reason, the ESV translates God's command in verse 4 into "hang", but with a little footnote that says impale. This referred to the practice of shaming someone who had committed some sort of atrocity by killing them and then impaling them on a stick and leaving them there to rot in the heat, rather than according them the decency of a burial. For those of you out there who think God is only love, and wouldn't condemn His people to hell, here's your answer to that! God will not tolerate false worship. He is a jealous God. Keep in mind, here, that God's jealousy is not our own, but a term to help us understand. This is the closest emotion to what would be invoked in us under similar circumstances.

Okay, so this command has just come down. As we'll find out in a minute, there was apparently already some sort of plague wiping out these followers of Baal from within Israel. (Considering their form of worship, I doubt the plague was a pleasant one.) All of a sudden, one of the chief's sons deliberately and publicly flouts God's command not to mingle with these women anymore, bringing one home and beginning to "worship" with her (if you know what I mean). This so inflames Phinehas, the chief priest at the time, that he grabs up a javelin, rushes to their tent, and impales them both with the javelin, killing them.

Now, even though God greatly values human life, rather than punish Phinehas, God rewards him. Here's why: Phinehas did this out of a righteous anger (not a self-satisfying anger) because this chief's son was deliberately disobeying God. In addition, God had just commanded that those who were doing these things be impaled, which is exactly what Phinehas did. So hear me, this is not an example of how to behave when someone you know dishonors God. Society (and God Himself) would frown upon this type of behavior. However, this was a special case with a special, specific punishment directly ordained by God for a specific behavior during a specific time period. Because the heart of Phinehas was for guarding the people of God, for honoring God and for offering His commands when he did this, God rewarded him.

In addition, this act stopped the plague. I don't know if that's because there was no more prostitution or if the plague was a very special God-sent plague, but whatever the reason, it stopped. Apparently, though, God wasn't ready to, because He commands Moses to war against the Midianites, because they had deliberately seduced God's people away from the one true God.

More tomorrow! Or, in the spirit of the soap opera, should I say, To Be Continued.... (dramatic music)

Father God, what a God You are! Just when I think I might have the slightest grip on what to expect next, You surprise me. Your Word is full of good and true things, and it's amazing to see how You will go to great lengths to preserve the purity of Your people. Even when it might seem harsh to the world who does not know You, how loving it is to us! Thank You for Your mighty hand, guiding, protecting, and preserving Your people. Amen.

Redemption through Christ

So, we've officially started our study of Colossians in Sunday school. Today we focused on 1:1-14. I'm going to share what my own studies taught me in this. It's all very cool and exciting. So, first, a little background.

Who wrote this? The short answer is Paul. For those of you who might be reading this and not know, here's a little background on Paul. He was once known as Saul, but took the name Paul after his conversion. Apparently, Paul means "little"; he wanted to be known as little in the service of Christ. He was Jewish, and was actually a Pharisee and persecuted the early church prior to his conversion. He was trained under Gamaliel, who was a renowned teacher of Jewish law. This means that Paul would have been very familiar with all the outward observances of the law, which is important as he's writing Colossians. Hopefully, I can make that connection for you once we get there. Paul was converted to Christianity after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus; his salvation was clearly all a work of God, which you can definitely see that he's very aware of in his writings.

What is this? Colossians is an epistle, or letter. It's known as one of Paul's prison epistles, because it was most likely written during his imprisonment in Rome.

Why is Paul writing this? Paul had learned of heresies, or false teachings, creeping into the church at Colossae. Colossae was a city in Asia Minor, and was an important trading city, as well as a meeting place for ideas and religions from all around. Many people there worshipped the Greek "gods", in addition to some mystery cults. There was also an apparently sizable Jewish influence as well. All of this led to syncretism, or the combining of ideas from other philosophies or religions with Christian truths. This meant that there was some "Christian mysticism", as well as Jewish legalism to be fought against. Some scholars believe that some of this led to eventual Gnosticism, the idea that one needed to have a special knowledge of God to be saved. Gnostics denied the deity of Christ and to some extent, the seriousness of sin. Obviously, none of these really jive with Christianity and the true gospel, and so were a danger to this church. Interesting to note is that Paul had probably never visited the church at Colossae. It was most likely started by Epaphras, a convert of Paul's, and the man who brought this issue in the church to Paul. So, Paul is writing the church at Colossae to remind them of the gospel truth, to encourage them to stand firm in the gospel, and to combat false teachings within the body.

Digging in: I kind of took this verse by verse with the girls today, so that's what I'll do here. Bear with me, because all of this is coming from scribbled notes I wrote!

Verses 1-2: Greeting

Paul begins in verse 1 by telling who is writing the letter, himself and Timothy. Paul calls himself an apostle here, and that was one of the questions we had. What is an apostle? The definition I found is "one sent with a special message or commission". The apostles were originally the twelve that Jesus chose. However, Paul counts himself an apostle because Christ gave him a special commission to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We are not apostles, because while we have all been given the Great Commission in Matthew 28, we have not been granted a special message to bring to anyone. We are, however, disciples, ones who follow the teachings of Christ. Paul also says that He is one by the will of God, which we've seen both in his conversion and his commission by Christ. Timothy was a convert of Paul's, and therefore a brother in Christ. An interesting fact that I found was that Timothy may have acted as somewhat of a secretary for Paul, writing his letters as Paul dictated them. It's also important that Timothy is involved in this letter because of his background. He was part Greek, part Jew, so he had his feet in both worlds. He was raised to have a firm foundation in Jewish belief and tradition, but did not follow all of the same laws. In fact, He was not circumcised until Paul did so (my best understanding of this is that, while Paul did not agree with the circumcision party, as we saw in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council, this was done so as to avoid Timothy's testimony from being outright rejected and to avoid giving needless offense or hindrance to the gospel message). In addition, He was considered one of Paul's most constant companions.

He tells us in verse 2 who he is writing to, the church at Colossae, which we've already discussed.

Verses 3-8: Thanksgiving

Next, Paul spends some time in thanksgiving for these brothers and sisters in this church, while already beginning to combat some of the false doctrine creeping into it.

In verse 3, he begins by affirming the deity of Christ, which was one of the things that some of the false teachers were denying.

In verses 4-5, he mentions three of the foundational principles of Christianity: faith, hope, and love. He speaks of their faith in Christ, the outward manifestation of that faith in the love they show for the body, and the reason for their faith and love, the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ. He takes them back to the roots of what they believe and why. He reminds them of who they are! He also reminds them that the gospel, and it alone, is "the word of truth". No other teaching is acceptable or able to gain them access to the Father or give them hope in Christ.

In verse 6, he reminds them of the evidence of the truth of the gospel, that it grows and spreads and bears fruit. He says that this is what it is doing in the world and right there in them, since the moment they were saved by it and in it.

In verse 7, He calls upon a face they know, Epaphras. He reminds them that Epaphras believes the gospel, and calls him a fellow slave (bondservant) to Christ. He reminds them that Epaphras is faithful to Christ, the gospel, and the body.

Finally, in verse 8, he commends them for their "love in the Spirit". What is this? A Spirit-given love that works itself out in action, as an outward manifestation of the inward truth of the gospel salvation they have experienced.

Whoo, and that's just part of the greeting!

Verses 9-14: Prayer

In verse 9, Paul reminds the Colossian church that knowledge alone is not enough to bring them to salvation. It must be a knowledge and understanding that comes from God to discern His will and then to rightly act on it. They were not to rely on wisdom given by these false teachers, but on spiritual wisdom that comes only from God.

In verse 10, we see why this is so: so that we can "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord". To walk here means how we conduct or behave ourselves. Paul tells us how we are to do this, in a manner fully pleasing to the Lord. But wait, we're sinners. We can't do that! Which is why he's reminded us of who Christ is and what He's accomplished for us, and tells us here in verse 10 that we can't do it on our own, but only through the process of sanctification (becoming more Christ-like). Knowing that we are fully forgiven, we can grow in Him and in His knowledge, completing good works as an act of service and worship to Him as a result of the salvation we have obtained in Him. See how it all points back to Christ?

Verse 11 is where, as mentioned above, Paul reminds us that we need God's power and might to accomplish any of this, because we are unable to do it on our own.

In verse 12, Paul reminds the Colossians that God has "qualified" whom He would to inherit the promise of salvation, Jew and Gentile alike. Nothing else is required, no special knowledge, no dietary restrictions, etc.

Finally, in verses 13-14, Paul basically gives them a short summary of the gospel as an encouragement and something to stand steadfastly in. He says that God had "delivered (rescued) us from the domain of darkness (Satan/sin/evil) and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (the kingdom of God/heaven/salvation in Christ), in whom (Christ's lordship) we have redemption (deliverance/liberation/freedom from), the forgiveness of sins (necessary for a relationship with Christ and for salvation).

What a message! What a joy!

Lord, You are so amazing. You are so faithful; faithful to preserve Your people in the midst of strife, faithful to provide us with shepherds and those who would guard the flock and combat lies, faithful to provide us with Your Word and open our eyes and give us understanding of Your truth. You are a God without description, for our stammering tongues cannot hope to give voice to the truth of who You are, to tell even a fraction of Your glories. But, Lord, I long for the day when I will see You face to face and my mortal tongue is unloosed to more fully and perfectly sing Your praise, when my ears are unstopped and my feeble mind unfettered to more fully hear and understand Your Word, when the scales fall from my eyes to behold the fullness of Your beauty and Your perfect plan for Your bride. Hallelujah and amen!

Oracles upon Oracles

Really quickly, before we get into Numbers 24, I want to rejoice with you and thank God for faithful preachers. Since I quit teaching 2nd and 3rd graders on Wednesday nights, I get to be in service, which is really awesome. My first chance for this was last night. Apparently, we're studying through Exodus right now. Last night's sermon was on Exodus 22:1-15. Basically, it's a bunch of laws dealing with retribution. But here's the cool thing: Nick reminded us that all of Scripture points to Christ, and then made an awesome connection that I never would have made. We were in debt to God because of our sin. We owe him perfect obedience, but stole it from Him to glorify ourselves, hence the debt. But Christ paid it! And He paid it twofold, by living the perfect life of obedience we can't, and then dying on the cross in our place for the punishment of our sins. How awesome is that?

Okay, so for Numbers 24. This is the "finishing out" of Balaam's oracles, or blessings. What's cool about this to me is that there is a bit of prophecy in the second oracle (actually, the final one but the second in tonight's chapter) and you can see it in two ways.

One, these events point to the things that will happen during King David's reign. That would be accurate. I think there's a deeper meaning, too, though. I think this also points to Christ. Look at it! "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel..." To me, that speaks of Christ. Even applying the rest of it to David, you can still look at it in light of Jesus, too. It talks about the destruction of the enemies of Israel and his dominion. If you take that and apply it to Christ, He has defeated the greatest enemy of His people on the cross. He's overcome our sin. And He's certainly ruler over all! Also the "crush the forehead of Moab" part sounds vaguely reminiscent of Genesis 3:15 to me. (That's right, I'm not quoting it for you - go look it up and see if you agree!)

Anyway, I thought that was pretty cool, especially in light of Nick's reminder last night that all Scripture points to Christ.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son to be our Defender, our Redeemer, our Victorious One. And thank You for accepting His life and death in place of my own for my sins. Lord, You died the death I deserve, and You did it while my heart was still far from You. Lord, I love to look back at my life and see how You have orchestrated everything on my path for my good and Your glory. You've poured blessing upon blessing on me that I simply don't deserve. You are amazing! Dwell with and in me, Lord, that I might be a light in the darkness and share Your gospel. In Your name I pray, amen.

Blessings from a Curse

Isn't it cool how God's Word just all flows together? Earlier this morning, I wrote about my study of 1 John 2 last night, and how he was warning the church against those who would profess to know God, but said something else entirely through their actions. And here we see the perfect example in Numbers 23, tonight's study.

I wanted to figure out a little more about Balaam. Luckily, a few years ago, my grandmother gave me a really cool and extremely helpful book, Unger's Bible Dictionary, and Nic was kind enough to let me borrow his study Bible (until my own arrives on Thursday - yay!), plus I do have an old KJV study Bible. All that to say, I had several resources to help me understand this a little better. Ironically enough, the KJV study Bible had a little "segment", for lack of a better word, on Balaam. It said that he was willing to acknowledge God as being powerful and the source of his "gifts" (divination and the ability to bless and curse),but didn't believe that He was the only God. It went on to say that he was a contrast between an outward facade of spirituality and a corrupt inward life. Furthermore, he only wanted to remain obedient so long as it gained him profit. The Bible Dictionary called him a "heathen diviner". It also claims that his intentions when he gives each of these blessings was initially to curse Israel in order to obtain profit, but he was constrained by God to speak only what he was told by God to speak.

The second thing I needed to understand was what an oracle is. I mean, I've heard it used before and had a general idea, but wanted to be sure since it's in Scripture, at least as a heading. Apparently, it is "the divine communications given to the Hebrews" in various ways; in tonight's case, through (or maybe in spite of) Balaam.

Okay, so now we're at the first oracle or blessing. The first thing I took note of here were the phrases "the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth" and "thus shall you speak". Taking the first phase, my thought was what does that look like? I mean, you would typically picture a conversation with God, right? And God tells the person what to say. But that's not the image I got. Maybe it's just the words used, but it's almost like God physically did something to put His Word into Balaam. I pictured God somehow leaning over Balaam and breathing it into him or something. Think about it before you start making fun of me; it doesn't just say that the Lord met with Balaam, or told him what to say and then to go and repeat it. No, it says He put the Word in Balaam's mouth. That implies a certain physicality, right? That's not a passive verb to me (English teachers, don't kill me if I'm wrong); in my mind, that implies an action of some sort. And then the second phrase is very visceral, too. But, rather than a request or even a command, it's like a statement of a very certain fact. God doesn't tell Balaam he's going to go repeat the words to the best of his recollection. He doesn't give Balaam the opportunity to twist His Word at all. He says, "Thus shall you speak." Very little room for error there, huh?

So then Balaam says, I came here to curse this people, but I'm constrained to say only what God would have me say, and that's not His desire for this people. Instead, he ends up verifying how they are set apart and reiterating His promise of Abraham's descendants. Isn't that crazy? And the whole time, God's using this unwilling servant. Can't you picture Balaam just grinding this out through gritted teeth, like, God, can't you just let me make a little money? And we know that his main objective is not obedience to our glorification of God. After all, He was told at the first request, no. Then, he was told, no, but since you're going to be so stiff-necked and more stubborn and less wise than your donkey, go, but say only what I command you to say. Now, he's screaming yes, but being told no yet again. That should be the end of it, right? You would think, but...you guessed it, no. Because now, he gets asked to try again, and he gives a second oracle/blessing.

This is just not turning out so well for Balak, is it?

In this second oracle, Balaam says one of my favorite truths about God. Go (re)read verse 19. Balaam is being forced to tell Balak, "Listen, God doesn't lie or change His mind. He's already spoken, and that's that." How cool is this promise? Especially when you look at other promises in Scripture and know this one stands alongside it, so all the others must be true as well! Not only that, but he then basically tells Balak that it's futile and foolish to try to harm Israel, because as God's chosen people, He is their defense and protection and no one can stand against Him. Wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall for that? Balaam is basically confirming Balak's fears, when instead he was called and paid to remove them! But Balak still doesn't get it, because he wants Balaam to go one more place with him to try God again (always a wonderful idea, right? Insert annoying buzzer sound.)

But, as much of a temptation as it is to keep going, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens. Stay tuned...

Lord, thank You for Your Word! It is water to the thirsty soul and the bread of life to the hungry. It is miraculous, living, breathing, sharper than any two-edged sword. It is our best defense against the devil's snares. And it is given to us freely, and You give us Your Spirit to help us discern it rightly, You give us spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see Your truths in it. Lord, You are a God of wonders! Thank You for the gift of Your Word. Cause us to treasure it more and anew each day as we store it in our hearts. Amen.

We Have an Advocate

Sorry that I'm just getting to this today, but as I said last night on Facebook, we had women's Bible study, which ran a little over, and then I had to shower, etc., when I get home...at which point I crashed. But studying through 1 John is awesome! Last night's discussion/study was on 1 John 2. Here's what I got from both my own study and the wisdom of the other ladies that participate with me.

First, if you look back at 1 John 1:9-10, you see John telling us that we are still sinners, and that if we deny this, then we're denying the need for Christ, and therefore, can't be His. But then you come right over to chapter 2, verses 1 and 2 and see the solution for this: confess your sins so that Christ can be your Advocate with the Father (since you are His, then, if you confess your sins, repent and believe). How cool is that? We discussed what an advocate is in the group. Of course, we know that this is often someone who speaks on your behalf, who fights for you and defends you. Christ is definitely doing all of those things for those who are His. I also mentioned another side to that: having been the "court advocate" for a domestic violence program in Bedford (which is a wonderful program, by the way, and always in desperate need of any financial support that you can provide - you can look them up on Facebook or follow the link for more information: http://www.co.bedford.va.us/res/social/domestic/index.asp), I also learned that an advocate can be a constant source of support, someone who will encourage and guide you when you can't see the way sometimes. Isn't that another beautiful picture of what Christ does for us?

Second, John is writing in this chapter specifically to encourage the church in their position in Christ and to warn them against false teachers. At that time, there was a group who denied the deity of Christ, who denied that sin really mattered, etc., and some of these teachers were in the church, naming themselves Christians! I can't imagine what it must have been like to suddenly have your close friend in the church spouting off random craziness that contradicted everything that Christ and the other apostles had taught, can you? And that was what was almost so insidious about it: that these were people who were known to believers, who called themselves followers of Christ, so I feel like that would have made it that much harder to discern the truth, especially if it was coming from someone that was well-liked or well-respected in the body. But John does say that you can rightly discern the truth from the lies, comparing it with the contrast between light and darkness. He tells us that a true believer will be known by their faithful walk, by their love for Christ rather than the world, by their knowledge of who God is, and by their growth in Christ.

What this taught me was a need for a greater love and unity within the body, so that at the first signs of a false teaching or these little "white lies" coming into the body, we can strangle it out. That's not to say we shun the person speaking them, so don't get me wrong. But it is to say that we can "speak the truth in love" to them, that we can gently and lovingly correct them before they slip away or draw others with them. It encourages a greater love of the Word, so that we can rightly discern the truth and we won't question in our minds what is truth and what is a lie. It requires a greater abiding in Him, so that we know Him and won't be deceived or enticed by lesser things or idols that can so easily take root in our lives. It requires a guardedness and a watchfulness of what we say so as not to give a wrong impression or allow our words to be twisted. It certainly inspires a greater love and a greater recognition of my desperate need for Christ in all things!

Lord, I love you. I can't imagine where my life would be without You and Your grace and mercy to me. I look back in my life, and I can clearly see where Your hand has led me and how You have worked things for my good, even when I couldn't see it at the time. And even now, in the things I still can't find the good in, I know that You have a purpose for those things, as well. I thank You for daily inspiring a greater trust in You and a greater dependence on You in my heart. To know that I still have so much to learn about You is very humbling, but also so wonderful. What kind of God would You be if I had nothing more to learn about You?! I thank You for being my Advocate with the Father. You are a good and gracious God, and I am well pleased in my soul to be called Yours. Amen.

The Donkey Speaks

Wow, I had no idea where to even start with Numbers 22! I definitely had to get out the study Bible to understand even a portion! The "problem" lies in that this tale seems almost contradictory, yet we know that the Word doesn't contradict itself. So what's happening here? Well, as is so often the case, a lot of this is the heart behind the words, or the underlying message of the words.I'm going to try to break this down, and I may quote from the study Bible if necessary.

Verses 1-6: This is sort of setting up the background. Israel had just defeated two other nearby nations through the power of God. The king of Moab, this unbelieving land, is worried that the same will happen to him, so he calls for a man who practices divination from the land of his kindred. My assumption is that this would mean that the people in this land probably also do not follow God, including Balaam.

Verses 7-14: So we see here that Balaam appears to be obedient to God. After all, he is certainly speaking with him. And when God said he couldn't go, he told the messengers that he couldn't. But, think about it for a minute. If he was truly God's, why would he curse the people of God? Why divide himself from them by cursing them? In addition, his refusal, the study Bible suggests, may have been worded in such a way as to suggest that the cause of his refusal was less about obedience and more about cash. We see this in the fact that Balak sends more emissaries, indicating that there was not a firm refusal.

Verses 15-21: Ok, so Balak didn't take no for an answer. But here's the thing - neither did Balaam. God had already told him that he could not curse the people of Israel for any reason. Yet, rather than turning these messengers away with a firm refusal based on his knowledge of what God's will was, Balaam opened his ears, invited these men to stay the night, and said he would see what more God had to say to him. Clearly, he did not know the same God James does as he writes in James 1:17, "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change". So from this, we know that Balaam is motivated by something other than a love for and obedience to God, probably money and a desire to make much of himself. We see God telling him, go, but do only what I say. Which leads to the seeming contradiction...

Verses 22-30: The first thing we read here is that God's anger was kindled against Balaam, because he went. But wait, didn't God just tell him to? I didn't understand this myself, but the study Bible had a great answer for this, one that is in keeping with the rest of the text. It says, probably because God knew that Balaam's heart was set on the money. This means that he intended to have it, God's will or no. We know that God is a God who sees the heart, not just the actions, and we've already seen Balaam's heart, so this makes perfect sense and erases the seeming contradiction here.

What I found amusing in this scripture is that Balaam is not at all fazed by the fact that his previously mute donkey starts talking to him. He just holds a conversation with it. I'm pretty sure I would pee my pants and commit myself to the loony bin, but Balaam is just so nonchalant about it all. You can also tell more about his heart here. Rather than thinking, gee, this faithful animal had never led me astray and might know something I don't, even on a more instinctual level, and maybe I should listen, he becomes angry and starts to beat her. But he has a different reaction to the next surprise of the day...

Verses 31-41: When Balaam finally had his eyes opened to see the angel, he is utterly undone. He just falls and hides his face. However, he is still sort of scheming even in this. The angel tells Balaam that what he's doing is perverse (reckless) before the Lord, but in Balaam's response, he says he'll turn back if what he's doing is "evil in your sight". That's already been addressed, and he knows it is! Yet, clearly God has a use for this man, even in his sin, because He allows him to meet with Balak. We'll see what happens in Numbers 23!

What a cool story! And how gracious God is even when we're in our sin, almost openly defiant about it as Balaam was, and yet can still receive grace when we're saved by God (salvation being the grace - if you're already saved, you won't be defiantly sinful against the One who saved you!).

Lord, thank You that salvation is all of you and none of me, so that I may not boast of my works in earning it. You are an amazing and just God, faithful to bless and preserve Your people through everything. I love knowing that You have already drawn up the boundaries of my life and that You are keeping me where You would have me. Lord, I pray that I will not be like Balaam, claiming obedience with my lips, but showing defiance with my actions. I pray that You will guard me from sin and the temptations of sin. I pray that You will continue to grow me into a faithful, godly woman, not for my glory, but for Yours. Amen.

Tomorrow

Dear friends, it has been an exhausting and amazing week! We've had VBS at my church, and I have been with the most awesome group of middle school girls. What a blessing! However, as a result, I wasn't home until about 9:30 every night and then was showering and going to bed, so that's why there haven't been any posts. I will pick up again tomorrow!

 

Internet

So, of course,rour Internet went down today and won't be fixed until Monday. That means I can't really post until Monday night, since it's really hard to do this on a phone. But have a great Father's Day!

 

The Miracle

Numbers 21 contains the awesome story of the bronze serpent. I've had this particular bit of Scripture explained before, and I was so excited to read through it tonight so I could share it with you, because I would never have made the connection without it being explained. First, read verses 4-9.

Are you back? Now, make the following connections: complaining = sin. Fiery serpents = punishment for sin. Bronze serpent = salvation = Jesus.

How cool is this? It's like a foreshadowing of what Christ would do for us. We were in our sin, grumbling, complaining, ignoring God. Sin requires a punishment. Fortunately for us, just as the bronze serpent was lifted up for the people of Israel to gaze upon and be saved if they repented and believed in its healing power, so Christ was lifted up upon the cross, dying for those who would look on Him, repent of their sins, and believe in Him as the only way of salvation. How amazing!

Jesus, thank You for Your sacrificial love. Thank You for dying for me while I was yet in my sin. Thank You for opening my eyes to it, causing me to repent and for replacing my stony heart with one of flesh, made to love You. You are an awesome and mighty God, and my heart is filled with joy to know You and to dwell in Your presence. I love You unreservedly and unashamedly, Lord. Amen.

My Apologies

Friends, those of you that read this, I ask for your forgiveness tonight. I have been too long in writing. The truth is, while I was studying for my Sunday School and Wednesday nights and church, I wasn't studying daily like I should have been. I just let other things claim my time, and while some, not all, were necessary things, I became a Martha instead of a Mary, running around busily instead of sitting at His feet. So...tomorrow will be the first blog and I'll get back into Numbers. There may be some posts coming on 1, 2, or 3 John or Colossians, too. We're studying John's epistles in a new women's Bible study I've joined that will meet every other Monday night (our first night was this past Monday), and we're going to start Colossians in Sunday School.

Look for my post tomorrow, and yell at me if you catch me slacking again!

Punishing Provider

How awesome is Numbers 20? It seems like the perfect place to see both God's justice and His grace. Look at it with me.

We see this in the truth of the waters of Meribah. Yet again, the people are grumbling and complaining, this time because they don't have water and have apparently forgotten that God is the Provider. So, God tells Moses to take his staff and tell the rock to bring forth water. Instead, Moses hits the rock with his staff. Now, see God's punishment of sin. Because Moses didn't do what God commanded him to do, but did his own thing instead, God decreed that he and Aaron would not be the ones to lead Israel to the promised land. Yet, here's His grace. He didn't tell Israel that He wouldn't allow them to enter the promised land, He didn't remove His presence from them, and He didn't refuse to bring forth the water they needed. He could have done any of those things and been perfectly just in it, but instead He extended His grace.

How awesome is this? And what confidence this can give to those of us who are believers! For us, God has punished our sins on the cross through Jesus and extends us His mercy and grace through Christ. What a wonder! And how undeserving are we!

Lord, thank You that for me, through Your Son, Your grace and justice go hand in hand. It is a marvelous freedom I have in you, and not through anything I've accomplished, but through Your inexplicable love for me. I am amazed daily at the gift You've given me in Your Word to know You more and draw closer to You. I love You, Lord, and find myself speechless and breathless at the wonder of Your love for me. Thank You. Amen.

Unclean

Reading through Numbers 19 this morning, my first thought was how does any of this apply to me today? Then God opened my eyes and I saw the reason and the grace behind this chapter.

I don't know if this is the connection God intended for me to make with this, but here's what I saw. The gist of the chapter is laws for purification after someone or something has come into contact with someone or something that is dead. We don't follow these laws anymore, but it did hit me why this was so important to God. His holy presence dwelt among the Israelites. Okay, keep that in mind and then think about what death is. Death is a direct consequence of sin. Before sin came into the world, there was no death - it wasn't "natural", it was a punishment for sin. So, an Israelite who came into contact with death couldn't be in the holy presence of God within the camp. Make sense?

Which got me to thinking how lucky I am that I've been freed from the consequences of sin: hell and death. Sure, my mortal body will die, but I have eternal life, which without Christ conquering sin for meew, I wouldn't have. What amazing grace! This is so awesome!

And all from a chapter I thought would be hard to apply...

Lord, thank You that You are a holy God. I praise You for Your perfection in all ways. Lord, I am humbled to know that You died the death I deserved to save me from Your wrath against my sins. Lord, You bore my punishment, a punishment You would mete out in full justice. It's a truth too wonderful to be anything but fact, too mind-boggling to be anything but truth. You are amazing and so is Your grace. Thank You! Amen.

The Greater Gift

Here's what got me tonight in Numbers 18: verse 20. God tells Aaron he gets no portion or inheritance in the land, because God is his portion and inheritance. I thought, "So what is Aaron missing? Isn't he getting the better deal?"

The application here is clear. Sure, things of the world will tempt us and they seem great. And not everything of the world is evil. It's okay for us to have nice homes, nice cars, pretty things, as long as we are giving back to the One who blessed us with them, we're not allowing them to take center stage in our hearts, and we're satisfied with what we have. But these things are not our portion or inheritance - God is.

Do we think of Him that way? What a gift! What a portion! He is greater and far better than anything we can have here.

Lord, You are amazing. You fill me with joy and satisfy my soul. Thank You for being my portion and my inheritance. Forgive me for the times I've chased after things of dust on this earth instead of chasing after You. Open my eyes to see the beauty of the inheritance I already possess and remind me continually that my home is not here and my heart shouldn't be either. Amen.

God's Good Grace

This will probably be a short post tonight, since Numbers 17 is a short chapter. But, it does show us something about the awesome grace of God and our own natures in comparison.

So, the Israelites have been grumbling...again. God had just passed judgment on some of the ringleaders, but now He's going to give a visible demonstration of His choice to them. And He states the reason for doing this: to make an end of their grumbling against Him, lest they die. So He has Moses take a staff from the leader of each of Israel's tribes, with Aaron's being for the Levites. Whichever staff He makes bloom will be the one that He has chosen, and a sign for the people. Of course, we already know that Aaron was God's chosen, so his staff bloomed and the others did not.

Now, see the grace here? God didn't have to give them any quarter. For as long as they continued to rebel against Him and the leadership He had placed in authority over them, He could have continued punishing them, and it would have been perfectly just. Instead, He extends grace to them by causing a sign that was very specific and not to be ignored.

Would we do this? Oftentimes, we're quick to destroy or disown anyone who complains about us or questions us. We're not as likely to pray for them or to extend mercy or grace to them. Unfortunately, since we so rarely do it, that's exactly what we're called to do. Think about it: the greatest mercy and grace has been shown to us, the greatest of sinners. Shouldn't we do the same?

To me, this is a really cool picture of God's saving us. Here we were, wallowing in our sin, grumbling against the God who loved us. Instead of leaving us there, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ into the world. He did what we could never do, live a perfect life without sin. Precisely because of that and because God planned it before the foundation of the world, He was beaten, stripped, mocked, pierced with a crown of thorns, and crucified. He DIED on that cross. He shed His perfect blood to pay the penalty for MY sins. Not just the impersonal sins of the world, MY SINS. I put Him there, yet He died in my place, facing God's wrath against me, because He loved me even then. Then He was buried in a borrowed tomb for three days, before rising, conquering over the sin and death that had claimed me as its own, and after showing Himself to over 500 people, ascended to take His place at the right hand of God. And one day, He's coming back for me. How awesome is that? What grace is that?

Lord, thank You for Your sacrifice. I praise You, God, because You deserve far more praise than my stammering tongue could ever give You. You are a God my mind can barely fathom, and yet You love me. It's beyond comprehension, but I'm so desperately thankful that it's true. Lord, thank You for this perfect picture of Your grace in salvation in Numbers 17. Such a short chapter, but what a message, Lord. You love Your people even in sin and lead the way out because You've already defeated it. I am filled with worship for Your great name. What can I say, but thank you, thank you, Lord! Amen.

Green Eyes and Stiff Necks

Numbers 16 has a lot to teach us. I'm still amazed and in awe at how God has opened my heart to the Old Testament, especially these books that I thought would be so boring or that I'd already heard all the stories from. Thank You, Lord!

Okay, so the first forty verses are pretty much about the rebellion of Korah. What this really boils down to is an issue of jealousy. He and the men with him chose to believe that Moses and Aaron were unduly exalted above the rest of the congregation, specifically above themselves. They didn't like it. Why wouldn't God be able to speak through them just as easily and powerfully? Shouldn't they get a turn at being "king of the mountain"?

What they failed to understand is that God chose Moses. Moses didn't exalt himself and seek after this responsibility; in fact, if I remember correctly, he tried every excuse in the book to avoid it. Instead of being grateful for a shepherd, a protector, a mediator between them and God, they were jealous of the position Moses held. They didn't see it as the responsibility or burden it surely was, but as a place of honor that they deserved. How ludicrous! In the end, their jealousy and presumption against God's design destroyed them.

Do we ever feel this way? Oh, maybe not specifically against our pastors, but just jealous in general? Perhaps instead, we should be grateful we don't have that position we want, that house we've been eyeing, that just extra something that brings with it power, prestige, happiness...because we should find our deepest joy in Christ instead. We should be thankful for whatever position we find ourselves in, knowing that God had placed us there for a specific purpose, whether we see it at the moment or not. His plan calls for us to be in exactly the place we are at exactly the time we are there with exactly the people we are with. God hasn't left anything to chance, friend, trust me on that. He's sovereign over all and His plans for you are infinitely better than any we could contrive on our own.

The rest of the chapter is basically another rebellion, this time because the people blamed Moses for the deaths of the rebels from Korah's band. WHAT? Were they not watching? Did they not learn what God does when His plans are challenged? What a stubborn group of people! It seems like they just had to have something to complain about!

But don't we do the same sometimes? We may be gently and graciously disciplined by God for something, but the temptation is still too great for us to leave it alone, or worse, we blame God for the discipline as if we didn't deserve it and complain against Him! What a stubborn people we are!

Instead, we need to trust in Him. We need to trust that He is good and all His ways are pure and righteous, even though it may seem unfair to us at times. Remember, we don't have the view God does.

Lord, what a wonderful, mighty, just, righteous, patient, loving God You are! Forgive me for testing that instead of trusting in it. Forgive me for times I've questioned Your goodness, Your justice, or Your plans for me. Help me instead to honor You through obedience and trust. You are an amazing God and I pray that rather than bucking Your design for me, You will burn away the dross and refine what's left, molding me into exactly who You desire, where You desire and with those You desire. I love You, Lord. Thank You for being my Father. Amen.

Good Intentions

So, I've been extremely caught up in the day-to-day stuff over the past two days, and need to ask your forgiveness for not writing. Yesterday, I didn't even study at all! I guess the good thing that has come from missing is that where, before, it was par for the course, now it feels strange and wrong. So I'm grateful for that at least.

Tonight, though, I want to share just a life lesson rather than getting back into Numbers.

I got an email today from our Children's Director. Every year, at summertime, we as parents get a link to a digital copy of a booklet that gives you ideas on how to be intentional in teaching your children about Christ throughout the summer. It's got some really cool ideas in it, ones that just might have an impact: building a fort with your child and talking to them about how God is our fortress; going on a walk barefoot, then washing their feet and telling them about Christ being a servant; searching for dive sticks in the pool and relating it to how Jesus came to seek and save the lost. These ideas also have Scriptures that can go along with them, and questions to get the conversation started.

The idea is to be intentional, using every opportunity to teach your child the gospel. Looking through it today, it got me wondering, especially in light of the busyness of the past few days....how many opportunities am I missing? Am I parenting intentionally, or just hoping that Cole will pick it up from our study time or church or whatever?

So I decided to put it to the test tonight, and God gave me ample opportunity. Success: he wanted to help me while watering the plants. As I picked the dead flowers off, I spoke to Him of the need for us to prune our hearts of sin so that God can do the work of growing good fruit in its place. As I gave them water, I described how it's nourishing to the plant and vital to its growth, just like the Word is for our souls. He listened attentively, then chattered about something else, but at least the seed was planted!

But there was a failure as well, a missed opportunity. We went out and played a war game (I definitely have a boy!). I should have spoken of our spiritual war and the armor of God, but I got caught up in the game and didn't.

Now, I'm not saying that we have to beat our kids over the head with the Bible, or that every activity must have a lesson attached to it. Some of that comes from watching us as parents living a godly life, too. What I am saying is that I can be much more sensitive to those moments that God gives me, even creating some, in the hopes that seeing Christ in the every day will make Him more real to my child.

How are you parenting?

Lord, thank You for opening my eyes to the possibilities I've been missing when I haven't shared You with my son in an intentional way. Forgive me for that. Please, Lord, grant me many more opportunities and call to mind the parallels and the Scriptures to explain the gospel to Him. Save him early, Lord, so that he might have a lifetime of joy in knowing You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Oh, How I Love Jesus, Week Three

Before I copy tomorrow's lesson over, I wanted to give those of you who might be reading a quick update. Richard's (my stepdad's) mother passed away today around 12:10 or so. He seems to be at peace about it and is confident of her salvation, so we can praise God knowing that she is with Him and much, much happier now. Her joy is complete. That being said, please continue to keep the family in your prayers as they go through the next weeks, as we all know these times can be hard. Even keep them in your prayers at holidays, since we know we miss our family most at those times. Thank you again for your faithful prayers.

And now for the lesson..

Oh, How I Love Jesus
Week Three

To quickly review, over the past two weeks, we’ve been talking about what it means practically to have a relationship with Jesus. We’ve discovered who He is, what a relationship is, and what you do in a relationship. Then last week, we talked about two of His attributes, namely, His righteousness and His holiness. We discussed what those things are and how they affect our relationship with Him.

Today’s lesson is a tough one. We’re going to talk about two more of His attributes, love and justice. The reason this is so tough is because there’s so much to say about both and I want to tell you everything that I can, but we have a limited amount of time, so we’re going to just dive in.

The reason I wanted to talk about these two together is that, at first blush, these two look like entirely different things, and almost as if they’re in opposition to each other. We think if God is just, He must be busy running around punishing everyone, but if He’s loving, He has to forgive everyone. The reality of it is that these are two sides of the same coin. Let me show you how; we’ll start with His justice.

What is justice? What does it mean to be just? How does that affect my relationship with Jesus?

To be just is to be guided by truth, reason, or fairness. It is to be in keeping with the truth. We know that God is the Author of Truth, so we know that He must be just. Not only that, but Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.” Let’s also talk about that word justice. Justice brings to mind the idea of giving out a deserved punishment or reward. Keep that in mind while we talk about this, because it’s going to be important. In fact, God’s justice is so important to Him, that He actually demanded it of His people a little earlier in Deuteronomy as a condition of entering the promised land (16:20). (Justice, and only justice, you shall follow that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.)

So we know that God is just and we know that His justice is important to Him - but what does that have to do with us and our relationship with Him? Well, here’s the issue: we are not just. In fact, we’re the opposite of just - we’re sinners. And who have we sinned against? Others, sure, but ultimately against God. Psalm 51:4 - “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.” You see, we are separated from God by our sin, which means we can’t have a relationship with Him. That makes His justice seem like a scary thing, then, right? That means we deserve only punishment from Him. Okay, now stay with me here, because we’re going to go back and forth between two books in the New Testament to make a point here. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Uh-oh. We can all find ourselves on that list somewhere, so we’re in big trouble! But wait, surely we can do some good things to make up for it, right? I mean, we can volunteer at the local soup kitchen, we can go to Sunday School and church every Sunday, we can go to every youth group function and sing and listen to the sermon and we’ll be just fine, right? It all balances out in the end…or does it? Flip over to Galatians 3:10-11: “For all who rely on works of the law (trying to do the good things that God commands us to do) are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” Pause there for a second: did you catch that? You have to abide by all the Law. So if you mess up in one little thing, you’re out of luck; you’re done; you’ve got the curse. Pick it up with me in verse 11: “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Okay, so those good works we thought would balance out our sin? They’re nothing before Him. So we’re still in trouble here.

But keep reading in verse 13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’-so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” And then back in 1 Corinthians 6, look at verse 11: “And such were some of you (remember that list from before?). But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” So do you see what just happened? We are justified through Christ! What does that mean? It means that if we repent of our sins and believe in Christ’s atoning work on the cross, when God looks at us, He sees that His justice has already been achieved. He didn’t set it aside, He poured out our punishment for our sin on the body of Christ on the cross. So Christ did what we couldn’t do - He lived sinlessly, and was therefore able to pay the price for our sins, because He did keep every commandment of the law. And now, when God looks at me, He sees Christ’s blood over me, and I am safe from the curse.

Listen to this from Romans 3, verses 21-26: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Now do you see what I get excited about His justice? What should bring me to my knees in terror instead brings me to my knees in humility and thankfulness. God never set aside His justice for me; if He had, He would no longer be God. Instead, He chose me before the foundation of the world and sent His son to die for me so that He would remain just and I would be justified. Praise God! What love that shows! Which brings us to the next attribute…

What is love? What does it mean that He loves me? How does that affect my relationship with Jesus?

I love the definition of love I found: “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person” (dictionary.com). I love this so much because it’s the perfect description of Christ’s love for me personally.

Look at this. First Chronicles 16:34 says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” The love that He has for me is never-ending and all encompassing. It cannot be shaken. That is amazing. There is no other love out there like this, not even the love your parents have for you. Yes, they love you and would do anything for you and will hopefully never stop loving you; but it is not the same unconditional, undeserved love that Christ demonstrates for us.

Having said that, I think you know about Christ’s love. There’s no way to describe the depth and the quality of it, because it is so far beyond us. Instead, I want to show you how He demonstrates that to us and what we are called to do because of and with it. So look first at Titus 3:4-7. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Here’s what I want you to see from these verses. First, His love is unconditional. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it. It comes forth solely because He wants it to. That’s it! Second, He lavishes His love upon us. He richly blesses us and has given us the greatest blessing of all in our salvation through Jesus. Third, His love for us is so great, that He has made us as His own sons and daughters; we are not left orphans or set aside from His table to be tolerated, but we are made welcome and are heirs with Christ. How amazing!

So what does this love mean for us? It means that we have a responsibility to honor and share it. First, we are to love God. (Deuteronomy 6:5 - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”) Jesus expounds upon that by telling us that it is “the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:38). This means that our love for Him cannot be a hidden thing, it cannot be on the periphery of our lives; it must be central to it, the foundation for all that we do. Our love for Him must consume us!

Next, it is to create a deeper love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” This should also spur us on to love those who are lost even more as well, because it is through us and our love for each other and for Christ that they will see their need for Him.

Now turn to 1 John with me. We’re going to start in chapter 4 and work through a few verses, because we’re going to see how His love for us and our love for Him and how we show that all joins together. This is so awesome how it’s all laid out for us right here! Look at verse 7: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.” Okay, so we see here again that we are commanded to love one another, because God is love and our expression of that proves our love for Him. Pick up in verse 9: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Here we are reminded of the ultimate expression of love on both the part of God and Jesus - God sent His only Son to die so that sinners that would believe in Him might be saved, and we see Jesus willingly fulfilling His Father’s plan. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” So again, we see John reminding us that the work of Christ produces more love in us, and should cause us to spread and grow that love. Jump down to verse 16: “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.” Then verse 19: “We love because He first loved us.” So here we see how our relationship with God started in the first place - because He loved us. We didn’t love Him first, but because He loved us, if we repent and believe in the work of Christ on the cross, we will love Him. That love for Him will cause us to abide in Him and in return, He will abide in us. Isn’t this amazing? Christ died for us while we still hated Him, mired in our sin, and then turned that into love that just keeps growing. Wow!

Conclusion

I realize that there isn’t a lot of personal application in this lesson for you, other than that we try to follow His commandments to honor His justice, and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as the lost, that we might abide in Him and our relationship be deeper. However, these two attributes are just so amazing that I couldn’t talk about having a relationship with Him without making sure that you would understand why they are so amazing, and how they draw me to Him, how I’ve learned to appreciate them in more than just a superficial way. So my question to you this morning is this: Which side of His justice are you on? Are you deserving of punishment, or are you covered by Christ’s blood? Do you love Him? Or are you still mired in the muck of your sin? If you are His, abide in Him. Get to know Him more deeply through His word. Actively find ways to love your brothers and sisters in Christ and to honor Him by obedience to His commandments. Seek opportunities to tell others about Him. If you are not His, consider where you are today. Consider what you deserve from a just God: punishment for your sin. You can do nothing to earn heaven or salvation; it is a gift freely given out of love by Christ. However, you do have to take ahold of that gift. You must repent, or turn away from, your sin and turn to the only One who can save you. You must believe that Christ lived the sinless life that you can’t, and that as a result, He was the perfect and only sacrifice acceptable to God for sin. You must believe that He took the full measure of God’s wrath against your sin on the cross and that it was fully paid for. You must believe that He died, but rose after three days to conquer over your sin and over your death. Then you must take up your cross, daily dying to your flesh, and follow after the One who saved you, in full confidence that when God looks at you, He no longer sees a sinner, no longer sees your sin, but sees a son or daughter, sees the blood of His righteous Son covering over you, and knows that His justice against you has been satisfied.

Lord, I praise You for being a just God. And Lord, in spite of the fact that Your justice convicts me, I love it. Because of Your justice, You sent Your Son, and now I can know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. It just blows my mind, Lord, that You would love a sinner like me that much. Forgive me for the times that I have disregarded or ignored Your love and Your sacrifice, Lord. Thank You for loving me in spite of my sin. Thank You for saving me while I was still stuck in it and not even looking for a way out. Help me, Lord, to love You more each day and to abide in You. love You more than words can say, yet I know it's only a fraction of a fraction of the love You hold for me. Thank You! In Your name I pray, amen.

Tonight

Friends, there will be no real post tonight. My stepfather's mother is in the hospital and they're not expecting her to last long. Instead, please pray for her and the family. Richard believes that she's saved, so we are thankful for that. Thank you for your prayers.

Strangers Among Us

So, today's chapter was Numbers 15. There was so much great stuff here (and I never thought I would get excited about Numbers!), but one idea in particular stuck out to me. You can actually see it in the first 31 verses, if the title of this post didn't already give it away.

I think it's really interesting that God commands that even the strangers, the sojourners, must follow the same rules as the Israelites. He has the same expectations and the same consequences. While God makes a distinction between them as being outside of the people of God, for lack of a better phrase, He still sets forth the same laws for them so long as they are with the Israelites.

I think this is very important and has some big implications for us. Here are some scenarios where this could play out for us, and this isn't an exhaustive list, but just a few ideas.

When unsaved family members come to dinner, do we pray out loud like we do when they're not around, or do we pray quietly so we don't make them uncomfortable? Or do we not pray at all?

What about in public? How do we pray when we eat out?

When you're babysitting for someone who isn't saved, do you teach their child the same things you do your own (i.e., prayer before meals or bedtime, being obedient to glorify God, Bible story/studies, etc.)? Same goes for when your child's friend spends the night at your house.

Do you discipline or talk to your child the same way you would normally when they're around their friends? I don't mean in a way that would embarrass them, but explaining the consequences of sin? Calling them to repentance?

Do you confront sin in the life of an unbeliever in order to show them Christ, or do you ignore it and leave them in it because they're not saved?

Do you listen to popular music with your friends when you would normally listen to praise music?

The list could go on and on, but you get the idea. Do you bend your will and rules to conform to someone else's, someone who isn't saved? STOP RIGHT NOW. Why do we do this? Why aren't we staying on the narrow path, and requiring them to come along with us? Now I realize that all of the scenarios above aren't exactly always in our control. But, I can always bow my head and pray, and I can always have my family join me, regardless of where we are. If I'm driving, I get to choose what's on the radio. I can teach my child about the consequences of sin no matter where he is or who he's with.

Do you see the importance here? Not only is it about making a choice to stand for Christ and to be uncompromising on the gospel, but it's an opportunity to give the stranger to Christ a small taste of Who He is, and how important He is. If they see us waffling back and forth depending on the situation, what does that tell them about our faith? Our Christ? Our God?

So, I guess my point for today is: Don't compromise your values and your faith and the gospel to please the stranger. Where you go, God goes, so make sure He's known. Maybe, just maybe, He'll use that in the life of an unbeliever. Having said that, also remember that we are sojourners in this world, so do it with kindness and love.

Lord, thank You for Your goodness and grace. I pray tonight, Lord, that You will enable me to be bold for the gospel-with kindness and love. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but neither do I want to compromise on my faith or values or what you've commanded me to do. Forgive me for the times I've done just that. I love you, Lord, and I pray this in faith, knowing that You will answer. Amen.

One Bad Apple

Read through Numbers 14 today. Got it? Okay, let's get started.

Ever hear that phrase, "One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch"? That's what I see here today. Except Israel ended up with ten bad apples, and they had a BIG bunch. Can you see it? Of the twelve men that were sent to spy out the Promised Land, ten denied that it was any good and because of those ten, the lone two dissenting men were ignored. The rest of the Israelites went right back to grumbling, apparently having learned nothing from the manna incident (just saying). In fact, they grumbled so much that they started wishing to go back to Egypt again! Wow, what a stiff-necked group of people!

But do you see how it started? Just a few questioning the will of God, just a few complaining, and suddenly, the whole of the nation is doing it. They start thinking they'd rather go back to bondage than enter this land God had promised them!

Does any of this sound familiar in our own lives? If not, it probably should; either that, or we're deluding ourselves. We as Christians must be so mindful of this. We grumble and complain about things all the time! See if any if this sounds like something you're guilty of (I'm raising my hand on a few, too!):

"The preacher was stepping on some toes today, wasn't he? Yep, that was a mighty good sermon."

"Can you believe he/she said that to me? After all, he'd/she'd better take the plank out of his/her own eye before getting the speck out of mine!"

"Ugh, I can't believe I was asked to teach/cook/supervise the children/mow the church lawn AGAIN! Don't they have anyone else to ask?"

"Now, you know I love the pastor, but some things just shouldn't be said from the pulpit."


Yep, that's right fellow churchgoers. All of these comments just stir up strife and reveal a sinful heart. Guess what? That makes you the bad apple! Yikes! Think about it. Just one of these comments to anyone else gets them to thinking, and maybe agreeing a little with you. Then they share it with a spouse, who shares it with a friend, and the next thing you know, the whole church is rotten. Yes, I said it.

Then we want to start making committees and programs and the pastor can't preach what the Holy Spirit is telling him to because he might offend someone. And so we return to our Egypt - back to the bondage of sin we go, and happily to. Man, we'll lock that door and throw away the key our own selves!

Friends, be aware of your attitudes and your words. Let them be edifying and encouraging instead of damaging and destructive. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Don't be the bad apple that spoils the bunch.

Lord, thank You for being gracious and merciful even when we've sinned against You. Thank You for giving us the opportunity to repent instead of just leaving us to our just desserts. Forgive me for times when I have allowed resentment or subtle sins to creep into my heart and cause dissension in the body. Help me, I pray, to be especially mindful of my words and attitude, so that I might glorify You and build up Your church rather than working against You. Amen.

Faith to Move Forward

First of all, sorry I didn't post anything last night. I went to my mom's for my birthday dinner (which was excellent!). By the time that I got home and showered, I was ready for bed! Forgive me?

Today I studied through Numbers 13. This is where Moses sends men from each of the tribes of Israel to spy out the land that God was giving to them (Canaan). Of the twelve men that go out, only Caleb wanted to move forward. Usually, we focus on Caleb's faith in God; we like to zero in on how he trusted that God had said He would give the Israelites this land, and so Caleb wasn't intimidated by what he found there, because he knew that God would bring them through. Now, that is an awesome lesson of this event, but instead of looking at Caleb, I want to look at the other men, the ones who didn't want to move forward.

Have you ever wondered what was holding them back? They were operating on the same information that Caleb was, after all. They knew that God had promised them the land of Canaan. They knew that this was their opportunity to go in and take it. They had seen how God provided for them time after time. They walked with His clouds, His fire, His presence. How could they doubt?

I think that we all too often sneer at these men and ridicule them for their faithlessness, but aren't we the same? Don't we let opportunities pass by ourselves? Think about it. Have you ever had the chance to move, but the thought of leaving what you know behind scares you? Have you had the chance to witness to someone, but the fear of man held you back? Have you wanted to make a change in "the establishment" (for lack of a better term), but it seemed like everyone else was too well entrenched for you to make a difference? Have you ever known that you need to stand up to someone or stand up for Christ, but you know that your opponent is larger than you are, be it physically, in intelligence, or what-have-you?

If so, you're in the exact same boat as these men! They came back with all kinds of excuses - the people are too big, the cities are too fortified, et cetera, et cetera. Don't we do the same thing? We say we honor God and trust Him in one breath, and then in the next we cower back from opportunities that, for all we know, are God-given! What if God put you in an office with an unbelieving boss so that you could be light to him/her? What if God is calling you to move to the next state over because He has a purpose for you there? What if you're squirming in your seat at that PTA meeting because God wants you to speak up and change something at your child's school? What if your conscience is troubling you because you know you need to confront a fellow believer with their sin and pray over them and help guide them to repentance? What if, what if...

Do you want your life to be filled with "what ifs"? And for such silly reasons as man's opinion, fear of the unknown...pride? Listen, we've got the same information as Caleb and those other men did. We know that God is with us. Why should we fear to lay hold of the opportunities He puts in our path? I'm not saying just charge ahead willfully and go blundering along, hoping it all works out. Sure, we need to prayerfully approach each situation that arises, but then we need to move forward in faith.

What have you been holding back from? Who have you been holding back from? Spend some time in prayer about how to rightfully approach the situation, and then act.

Lord, I bring You praise. I am so thankful for the opportunities that You give me each day to profess my faith, to seek after You, to spread Your gospel in this darkened world. Forgive me for the times when I've stood still instead of moving forward in faith. Grant me another opportunity where I've failed and send more my way - not for my own selfish pride or to try to make up for what I've missed, but because I determine here and now to respond in faith when presented with these chances. Give me eyes to see the need, and ears to hear what You would have me say. Give me the strength and courage to act. In Your name I pray, amen.

All to Us

So let the glory of your name be the passion of the church.
Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns.
Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives.
We believe You're all to us!

How I pray that we can sing this in truth. This is the prayer of my heart. Those words are what I desire to see and to have others see in my church, in my work, in my home, in my life. When someone looks at me, I don't really even want them to see me. I just want them to see the One who lives in me.

Friends, I'm not going to do a journal tonight based on a passage of Scripture or even on the amazing sermon we heard today. Instead, I ask that you look back at the entry from last Saturday and from yesterday. Specifically, I want you to study the Scriptures concerning who Christ is. Go ahead, I'll wait.

.......

Are you back? Okay, great. Were you moved? Are you in awe? Are you filled with wonder? Do you feel your heart stirring in admiration, appreciation, thanksgiving, and praise? Good, because you should. This God, so far beyond us, loves us! How can we not sing to Him? How can we not worship Him? How can we not pray to Him? How can we not serve Him by serving those around us? How can we not listen attentively to His Word faithfully preached? How can we not study it daily on our own? HOW CAN WE NOT GIVE OUR ALL TO HIM WHEN HE HAS GIVEN ALL TO US?

Okay, so maybe there's a touch of today's sermon here. But I have been thinking, praying, and praising Him all day today, and I've just been struck anew with the wonder of our Savior. I hope you are, too.

Lord, you are amazing. How do I describe you? Words are not enough. Emotions are not enough. All I can do is bow before You and offer You my all. Feeble as my life is, Lord, it's already Yours, anyway. I pray that You would take it and use me in whatever way You see fit. Forgive me for holding anything back. I'm desperate for You and Your grace, Lord. Amen.