The Right Mind in a Bad Place

“But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10 AV)

I don’t think this idea is a welcomed idea prior to a trial occurring.  Rather, this is perfect for those who are in the middle of it.  I am sure that if Job knew of his pending trial, he wouldn’t have made the statement above.  Rather, he would have done everything possible to avoid it.  No one wants to go through deep water.  No one seeks deep trials as a thing to do.  Who in their right mind would want to suffer?  Not me.  Not Job.  While in the midst of a trial, our hearts can change.  A heart of hope and gratitude can be a result.  Job has his ups and downs.  He has his pleasant moments and his terrible moments.  There are times he speaks of God’s goodness, grace, and mercy.  There are other times he refers to the LORD as an adversary or judge.  The ups and downs of deep waters force to the top our emotional person.  We feel and express our feelings.  The statement above is one of Job’s most optimistic.  He knows it.  But he doesn’t always feel it.

Peter tells us that Job was patient.  The above statement by Job proves the point.  He was a patient man to endure the onslaught of criticism leveled by his friends.  He was patient while at the same time agonizing over questions that had no answer.  It is the ‘gold’ part that we seem to struggle with.  Is the trial worth it?  Will the changes be worth the turmoil?  Will the work that God does through all the loss be worth more than the loss I feel?  As I get older, there are lessons learned that are profound and hard.  Lessons we knew were coming.  Lessons that one cannot prepare for.  There is a time of transition.  We begin to realize there is more time behind us that before us.  We begin to realize that opportunities are becoming less and less.  We look back on our lives and wish we had taken more opportunities or invested our talents much better than we did.  We look ahead and realize that time is short.  We go through a systematic exercise of ends.  There is coming a time when the things we took for granted become less, or cease altogether.  This is a hard thing to adjust to.  The biggest trial of our lives is always tomorrow.  Gold has to be the standard.

Job’s hope was that change would more than compensate for the trial he was facing.  He lost much.  He lost children who could never be replaced.  Things can be replaced.  But relationships cannot.  Those sons and daughters were gone.  There was nothing that could bring them back.  Of all the things Job lost, it was the relationships that would leave a lasting scar.  Sure, God replaced the ten children Job lost with ten more.  But they were ten new and different people.  Job would never know his eldest to take on the family business.  The daughters he lost would never walk an aisle arm in arm with their dad on their wedding day.  There would always be a reminder of that which he lost evidenced by a grave marker and a name.  God compensated for it.  But He could not undo it.  Gold is the hope.  Change is the goal.  Knowing that through all of our deep water, we will be changed into the likeness of Christ is the only result that makes up for the cost paid.  This takes maturity.  This takes a love for God that few know of.  This takes heavenly priority.  This state of mind understands that we were created for God’s glory and change is part of it.  This state of mind sees the hand of God as an extension of His benevolence and grace.  This state of mind treasures the gold far more than what was lost.

The Mathematician is also the Physician

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by [their] names. Great [is] our Lord, and of great power: his understanding [is] infinite.” (Ps 147:3-5 AV)

Of special note is comparing the healing of a broken heart with the knowing of all the stars in the universe.  There isn’t enough computing power in the world to number and name every celestial body in the universe.  The Bible tells us that the heavenly hosts are as innumerable as the grains of sand in the sea.  All the AI power in the world could not catalogue that vast number of individual grains of sand.  The point our writer is trying to make is that the healing of the human heart is immensely simpler than the numbering and naming of the stars.  If God can do the latter, then He certainly can do the former.

The cancer that my wife has is prone to develop heart issues later in the digression of the disease.  If the tumors are functioning, which means they are producing hormones, then a condition called Carcinoid syndrome is the result.  This is caused by too much serotonin in the bloodstream.  In particular, the excess hormone can result in hardened valves.  We had a friend who needed a heart valve replaced because of this syndrome.  The operation is complex.  The heart must be stopped, and the patient placed on bypass.  There are two types of valves available.  There is a mechanical heart valve and a biological heart valve.  The operation typically takes five hours or so.  The most common type of operation requires open heart surgery.  This means the breastplate is open so the surgeon can have direct access to the heart.  Recovery is long and hard.  Although this procedure is routine, few have the expertise required to successfully replace heart valves.  Those patients living in more rural or remote areas must travel to a specialist.  The expertise needed takes years of education and practice.  A successful heart surgeon is in a lucrative career because few can manage the complexities of this type of surgery.

Is complex as the human heart is, biologically speaking, the human soul is vastly more complex.  Healing takes the hand of an expert.  The only one is existence is the Creator of the human soul – Jehovah God.  If we face overwhelming circumstances, or are suffering from deep loss, as God can name and number all the celestial bodies, He can heal your broken heart.  There must be a yielding to the Creator’s hand.  Much like signing a consent form for major surgery, we must yield to the care of the Master Surgeon.  He cannot heal a heart that wishes no medicine.  He cannot bind up the broken heart if it is running from His care.  There is a book that came out many years ago.  The title is, Only God Can Heal the Wounded Heart.  It is a good book.  Some I cannot endorse.  Must most of it is good.  The point of the book is that God can heal any situation of the soul.  There is no need to depend on others.  Although God uses others, He is the author of healing.  If He can number and name all the stars of the universe, surely He can heal your broken spirit.

Hold The Line with a Line

“Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Pr 30:5 AV)

The word ‘shield’ is of particular interest this morning.  We often see the word of God as an active agent.  We are asked a question, and we answer with the scriptures.  A doubt comes in, and we study to find an answer.  We study and write to teach or preach.  Scripture verses in greeting cards are often our choice.  We use the word of God actively.  A shield is often passive.  A shield can be held and adjusted as the threat presents itself.  Often, however, a shield is held in place, and the soldier takes cover.  The idea of some ancient cultures was to use a shield as bulwarks of sorts.  Some ancient armies would carry their shields and the upon an enemy advancement, would ram their shields into the ground, hiding behind them like a mobile wall.  They were active as long as the enemy was stagnant.  If the enemy attacked, they were passive.  This is why it is so important to fill the head and heart with the word of God.  There are times of activity.  There are also times of stillness.  It is the latter that we must consider.

Of all the years that the LORD has graciously allowed me to preach, you would think I have the vast majority of the word of God memorized.  I am a horrible memorizer.  That is, as we are accustomed to think of that gift of memorization.  Unless I know why something is the way it is, I cannot memorize it.  I associate the information with cause and purpose.  Not simple order.  You might think this is funny, but I find it hard to recall alphabetical order unless I rehearse the alphabet afresh.  Does W come before or after Y?  Does ‘M’ come before ‘N’?  Sometimes, I have to start the alphabet song to figure it out.  When it comes to the word of God, the source is supernatural and has a way of hiding in your mind and heart without knowing it.  The more stress one is under, the saint would be surprised at just how much bible he or she knows.  Verses the saint has forgotten come back to the front of the mind.  This can only occur if we are constantly reading and studying the word of God.  The ore we put into the mind and heart, the more can be recalled when needed.

I have been reminded of this recently.  Getting into a debate is not my forte.  I cannot remember all the details which I had learn decades ago.  So, when someone very intelligent challenges me, I merely plead old age and go on with life.  When the soul lays in the balance, this is quite another thing altogether.  Peter tells us to be ready to give an answer to those who notice our faith and wonder at our hope.  Shame on us if we do not know the word of God well enough to explain salvation.  What we are ruminating on this morning is something different.  The word of God is a shield. It is a shield to all those who put their trust in it.  This means the word of God must be assumed as the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and practice.  This means we defer to the Bible first.  Not when all other sources have been exhausted.  The shield was carried into battle primarily directed at the enemy.  The shield was the first thing an enemy projectile met.  It wasn’t the foot soldier.  It wasn’t their offensive weapon.  It was their shield.  The same is true with the word of God.  We may not know the exact passage that we need before we need it.  We may not think we have enough Bible memorized.  It amazes me how much the Holy Spirit will bring to my remembrance verses or bits of verses just when I need them.  This is supernatural.  This is divine leading.  This is the Comforter's way of telling us that we are loved and that God cares.  He will take care of us.  His shield is invincible.  Being acclimated toward the shield being our greatest weapon against the adversary is that which needs work.

Try Prayer

“O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man [pleadeth] for his neighbour!” (Job 16:21 AV)

What a great desire from one who was suffering much.  His plea to his friends was that they might refrain from pontificating and start praying.  Since no one was privy to the conversation God and Satan had, no one knows for sure why Job was asked to suffer as he did.  Not even Job heard the conversation.  Even if they were to guess correctly and label Job’s trial as a trial of faith, they couldn’t know that for sure until God revealed it to them.  Therefore, all the conversations these men were having with Job were hurtful and lacked compassion.  It was for naught.  It did more harm than good.  To express the depth of Job’s wish, he compares all the passionate arguments these men were offering and wondered if they, with the same degree of passion, pray to God for him.  If they would simply refocus their zeal on that which could bring change rather than on that which only caused harm, perhaps Job’s situation might have turned all the sooner.

We simply do not pray enough for one another.  We have all sorts of passions.  Passions that may be bad for us, or at best, neutral.  But where is our passion for prayer?  Many years ago, I sat in a meeting of a Booster’s Club for high school sports.  My son was signed up to play some baseball.  As the dutiful parent, I was asked to attend and get involved.  The meeting went two hours long.  For a Booster’s Club!  About eight of us sat around and spoke of a few things.  But the one item that took over an hour to review was the purchase of a hot cheese machine for the concession stand.  The discussion was rather heated.  Over a $600 cheese warmer.  I sat there dumb-founded.  How can people argue this passionately about something they could easily buy out of their own pocket?  It was rather embarrassing.

Over the years, I have spent many hours over varied situations pleading for an individual to change course.  I have pled with drug addicts, unfaithful spouses, depressed saints, and fearful sheep.  There have been equally as many theological answers to what troubles them.  Whether it is a funeral or a hospital waiting room, there comes a time when counsel simply isn’t sufficient.  At that point, prayer is the only tool left.  It is too bad that most do not go there first.  One wonders how different we could process adversity if our instinct was to go to God first.  This is what Job sought.  No more opinions.  No more words.  Just prayer and prayer alone.

Empowerment Comes From God

“«[A Psalm] of David.» Blessed [be] the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight:” (Ps 144:1 AV)

The two words, ‘teacheth’ and ‘fight’ could be understood as mere instruction.  But that is not what the Hebrew words mean.  The first means to goad.  The second means engagement.  In other words, skills for battle are useless unless a battle is undertaken.  David shares with us that God not only gave him skills and strategy, but also motivation and strength.  This statement is both surprising and obvious.  When we think of David the warrior, we think of someone who was naturally acclimated toward battle.  He killed the lion and bear with his own hands.  He killed Goliath with a slingshot.  He killed tens of thousands of Philistines.  And the list goes on and on.  One would think that David’s ability and zeal for warfare was who he was.  One would think he would not need much motivation or added ability.  Yet, the statement is necessary because God made him that way, but also empowered him to be that way.  In other words, David may have had some of what he needed because God created him to be a warrior.  Yet, his warrior personality was not sufficient.  God had to empower him and motivate him to be what God created him to be.

Sometimes, the responsibilities of are calling are overwhelming to the point we lose all strength to face them.  We may have some knowledge, yet there still remains a few missing pieces.  Our training can solve some of the challenges, but not all.  Even if our knowledge could carry us through, the sheer volume of what we face becomes discouraging.  Our strength is sapped by the knowledge of what lies ahead.  That does not change a thing.  The mountain is not moving.  It is still there.  It must be climbed.  It must be conquered.  I remember a time when the Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, Mississippi River, and the Ohio River were all at flood stage.  We lived a mile south of the Tennessee.  As the waters rose, there were several counties that were under a flood watch.  The emergency management services asked churches if they would be willing to fill sandbags.  You would think there would be more people than work.  I went to a friend’s church to help out, and it was just me and my son.  The dump truck had dumped sand.  All we had to do was to fill and tie bags.  How are two people supposed to stop the floodwaters of four major rivers?  Especially when one of those two was approaching the later years of middle age.  Outside of the LORD, I don’t know how we did it.  Just the two of us filled all the bags and used up all the sand in our two-hour block of time, for which we signed up.  What seemed impossible was done by the strength of God’s power.

It doesn’t matter who are or what we are facing.  Our challenges are always more than we can manage.  We could be David looking at an enemy that outnumbers him, or Peter who is asked to walk on water.  We could be a Moses who is asked to lead a great nation without all the answers or sufficient strength to do so.  The Bible is filled with people who accepted what God asked them to do regardless of their ability to do it because they trusted in the LORD to both guide and enable.  David was a great man not merely because he did great things.  David was a great man because he believed in and relied upon a great God.  This verse is encouraging.  It should be.  When we are faced with something we do not think we can overcome, then we must remember that we cannot without God’s strength.  Then we must pray for it and rest upon it!

Why Does He Bother

“What [is] man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And [that] thou shouldest visit him every morning, [and] try him every moment?” (Job 7:17-18 AV)

We often use these words as humble words of gratitude toward a God who bestows blessings.  However, the context of them is just the opposite.  Job had lost much.  We know very little of the details of his entire life.  What we do know of his life was manifested in what he lost.  He was a successful businessman who owned vast holdings.  He has three thousand employees.  He had ten children who lived nearby.  And he was in relatively good health.  He lost all of this because Satan charged Job with being shallow.  He assumed that if God allowed tragedy upon Job that Job would deny God.  His accusation was meant to condemn all of mankind.  If men obeyed and trusted God because of the wonderful benefits that result from it, then their relationship to their Creator is shallow at best.  If Satan were right, then God had no expectation of any depth of relationship with His precious creation – man.  Upon this context, we find the words of Job.  He wonders what it is about mankind that intrigues the Creator so much.  Why is it that God cares to visit mankind and lay upon him tragic events that lead to personal maturity?  What is it about mankind that causes the God of the universe to be so intimately involved with them?  What potential worth does mankind have that God wished to invest His hand upon them?

Some of us go through this.  Often, regularly.  We wonder what our Savior and God sees in us that He would even bother with us.  We take stock in what we are and conclude that what we are is polar opposite of what God wants us to be and scratch our heads wondering why the Creator ever bothered.  Knowing how much trouble we must be for a Creator who has far more important things to do; like operating the infinitely complex universe; to be concerned for us boggles the mind.  Why bother?  Why does He care?  To take that to the extreme, why does God care about the smallest of details?  What cosmic reason does He have to concern Himself with some minor flaw like fear and anxiety that inhabits the human heart?  Why bother?  The complex nature of His creation makes our existence almost infinitely negligible.  Like one grain on all the beaches of our world, if it were to disappear, not one person but God would notice.  That is how insignificant we are compared with all that God has created.  Why bother?

To answer the question is to see the motive.  Because He does care!  Why bother?  Because He cares!  A wondrous truth regarding God is that His attributes are infinite.  That means His capacity to care and be involved in the lives of every individual with equal concern is infinite.  He cannot run out of mental ability needed to know the details of every human soul.  He has infinite love.  Therefore, His capacity to sacrifice and provide is without limit.  He involves Himself with the individual life of every soul because He can and He wants to.  The fact that He does is the stamp of value He places on us.  He cares and He bothers because we are.  Nothing more, nothing less.  He bothers because He made us and we exist.  There is no other worth we bring to Him that motivates the Creator to love His creation.  He bothers because we are an extension of His creative nature.  His imagination and desire are why we exist.  We exist so that He can care.

God Knows and Will Know

“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.” (Ps 142:3 AV)

I’m intrigued by the little word, ‘then’.  In a cursory reading, the word might imply that God did not know the path of the writer until the writer was overwhelmed.  For a God who knows all things actual and possible, this seems like a theological contradiction.  But there is more than one way to understand the word ‘knewest’ and there is more than one way to understand the omniscience of God.

There is a great debate is the now much the Son of God ‘knew’ and didn’t know.  When the gospels speak of Jesus becoming aware of something, there is an idea out there that Jesus restrained His omniscience in the same way He restrained His omnipresence.  There is a problem with that position.  His willing restraint of His omnipresence was required in time and space to fulfill the requirement of death for every soul.  He did not need to restrain His omniscience to do the same.  Yet, there is support for the above position.  Scriptures referring to the Christ child growing in wisdom are a good argument.  However, there is a better understanding of the omniscience of God.  That is, the difference between knowing something as a fact or future fact, and knowing it as an experience.  In other words, God knew from eternity past that I would be created and born.  But He didn’t know as an event in time my birth until it happened.  He knows all things factually.  He will know all things experientially.

This understanding is crucial.  If all that God knows are facts, then He is disconnected from my experiences.  If He only knows things as they happen, then He does not know the future nor can He plan for it.  Rather, He knows all things as facts that have happened, are happening, or will happen.  As they happen, He experiences them and is vested in the entire experience of the event.  When the psalmist tells us that God knows the path that I take, it is far more than information alone.  He knows the path that I take as an event in time and an experience to be witnessed.  So, when our writer tells us that God knew his path when he was overwhelmed, it is more than merely knowing he would be overwhelmed from eternity past.  It is much deeper than that.  When God came to know the overwhelming condition of the spirit of the writer, God experienced his child’s troubled heart in real time and empathized with it.  In short, God may know everything about us from a factual standpoint.  But He will also know everything about us from an experience standpoint.  What we feel, He will feel.  When we are troubled, He is troubled.  When we are overwhelmed, He knows our distress.  This is the God whom we love and hope in.  Praise be to God!

Sweet Sleep

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Ps 4:8 AV)

I noticed that the statement of David above is both a statement of fact and a vow to himself.  The Holy Spirit also reminded me of another significant truth.  Represented by the word ‘only’, the truth of the matter is, God is the only stable and unchanging force in my life.  People come and go.  Health fails.  Circumstances change.  God always remains the same.  We are anxious and sleep evades us because our dependence relies on unstable things.  Our security rests on shifting sands.  We can continue to fight like a shadow boxer; trying to hit a knockout punch on a target that comes and goes.  Or, we can rest in God who never leaves nor forsakes.  If one wants a biblical example, just look no further than the human author of the words above.  For more than a decade, David ran from one place to another.  He was evading the envy of his father-in-law.  David tried to find stability among his own tribe and people.  That didn’t work out so well.  The only friend he could find was the king of the Philistines.  Yet his lords threw David under the bus.  It got so bad that just before he took the throne, the men who had served him turned their backs on him.  It didn’t stop there.  During his forty years on the throne, there were ups and downs.  It took seven years before the entire nation would accept him.  Those serving under him would often go rogue.  David’s world was a bit chaotic.  This is why he makes the promise above.  He promises himself, based on the truth that God is the only stable influence in his life, that he will lay down in peace of soul and sleep.

Life is changing and unpredictable.  It is like riding a rollercoaster for the first time while blindfolded.  Just when you get used to a new normal, things change.  Some of us enjoy the challenge.  Most of us do not.  Especially when we get older, we want our lives to be more stable and predictable.  We can wish for that all we want.  But it will never be that way.  God does not promise a predictable life of unchanging serenity.  We would never mature.  Without changing circumstances, we would remain the same.  Change forces us to grow.  It forces us to trust the LORD more than we have in the past.  Change forces us to adapt from the person that we are to the person God wants us to be.  David could not remain the person he was and successfully lead God’s people.  He has to accept change as from the hand of God, and because it was, life would change, too.

Sleep comes to those who have learned to lean on the only influence that does not change.  GOD!  God has been and always will be.  He loves us with an everlasting love.  He knows who and what we are.  He knows what we can face.  He knows what we need.  He knows what He must cause or allow.  The key to peace and sleep is how deeply we believe the second part of the verse.  David can say that he will lay down and sleep all he wants.  He can promise it as such to his soul and mind.  But unless he deeply believes that God and God alone makes him dwell in safety, sleep and peace will not come.  If we want those sleepless nights to cease, then we have to surrender to the sovereign hand of God.

Perfect Timing

“And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.” (Es 6:5 AV)

Timing is everything.  Context tells us just how close Haman came to dying that day and that in His sovereignty, Haman was extended an opportunity of grace to which he was completely unaware.  Prior to this event, two significant events occurred.  First, Haman moved his king against the Jews because Mordechai would not worship Haman.  Haman was given funds and an opportunity to exterminate the Jews.  The second event happened the night prior to this meeting.  Haman’s family convinced him to build gallows upon which Mordechai was to be hanged.  At the same time, God causes Ahasuerus to stay awake all night and have the chronical of the kings read before him by which he discovered Mordechai’s faithfulness in exposing a conspiracy against the king.  Now we pick is up at the above event.  Haman had come to the court to petition the king for Mordechai’s life, and the king was about to honor Mordechai for his heroism.  If Haman petitions the king before the king assigns honor to Mordechai, Haman could have lost his life.  The timing of this was God’s extension of grace to his enemy.  But His enemy never saw it.  Rather, the grace of God is despised, and the enemy of God doubles down in his hatred toward Him.

What I can’t seem to get past is the incredible timing of events and the benefit one man had but never realized.  At the exact time that Haman was conniving the death of his nemesis, the LORD struck Ahasuerus with insomnia.  Of all the things the king could have done, he chose to read the record of the kings.  Then, to have Haman in the court at the exact time that the king was looking for an administrator to honor Mordechai.  And to have Haman lose and the opportunity to petition the king before the king called him is not coincidental.  This was all by the hand of God.  God is never mentioned by name in the book of Esther.  Not once.  But the timing of all the events was so specific and perfect that God cannot be ignored.  Haman will eventually lose his life on the very gallows he built for Mordechai.  Ether, the queen, would see to that.  Before that happened, he has a chance to repent and change the course of his envy.  But he missed it.

Today’s devotion is necessarily about missed opportunities or unseen grace.  Rather, how impressive God’s timing truly is.  The planning and orchestration of God’s plan with men is just, if not more, impressive than the creation of it all.  In six days, God created the spiritual and material universe.  He created spiritual beings and material worlds.  He set it all in place, and by Him it all continues to function.  To me, what is more impressive is the perfect order of events.  In particular, the perfect order of events while using the free will choices of the very beings He created.  He does not force His will on anyone.  We are free to make right or wrong choices.  It is all in His control.  It all works out exactly as He wishes.  This is the wonder of who and what God is.  What does that mean for us?  It means we must learn to trust the plan and timing of God.  He has it all in perfect balance.  Hi way is not obscured to the point of fatal ignorance.  Yes, it takes faith to see it.  But it can and is seen.  We have to learn to trust it.  God’s ways and timing are perfect!  Glory!

HELP

“For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isa 41:13 AV)

Sometimes we don’t know exactly what to pray for.  So, we pray for help.  This is a great answer to a very genuine need.  I was reminded of this verse upon last night’s prayer time.  Asking for help comes with an understanding, though.  At least it did for me.  We pray for things is all sorts of ways.  Sometimes we pray for an expected end. We want the LORD to do certain things or solve certain problems in certain ways.  At other times, we pray and seek the LORD’s wisdom in how or what to pray for.  There are times when every avenue of prayer is exhausted, but we know we still need to pray.  We extrapolate the consequences of answered prayer and realize that maybe we simply do not know how to pray or for what outcome we seek.  It is at those times when asking for help in whatever form God may offer it is the proper prayer to pray.  That was the case for me last night.

Help can be a fluid thing.  Help offered is contingent on the circumstances one faces.  Those circumstances change.  I cannot begin to tell you how much this verse means to me.  And it was very timely.  We are facing major changes of life.  A lot of unknowns.  Lisa has cancer and complications from her initial surgery.  We are at the point where benefits are a bit too far away, but the ability to provide our own is becoming a challenge.  This is extra concerning because of healthcare costs.  We are not alone.  Millions of people face the same thing.  Life does not get easier as one ages.  It gets far more complicated.  We are approaching the age when options become limited and needs tend to grow.  There are choices that must be made, and the horizon seems impossible.  The race you are running gets ever narrower and there seem to be far less off-ramps.  It is so complicated that answers seem fleeting.  The petitioner doesn’t know exactly how to fix it, so he or she doesn’t know what to ask for.  That, or the challenges seem so daunting that even if the answers come, it is beyond the ability of the seeker to apply them.  This is why a simple four-letter prayer is so effective. H-E-L-P

Sometimes assurance of help promised is more precious than the help that actually comes.  I don’t know exactly what the LORD will do.  According the promise above, there is a commitment on God’s part to care for those whom He loves.  He will help.  Not just because He can.  It is deeper than that.  He promises to help because He desires to and He takes pity on those who trust in Him.  The promise alone is sufficient for the moment.  Since help above is framed as a future act of God, the consolation isn’t in the assistance, but in the promise of it.  All I needed to hear from my parents was the word of promised help.  As I struggled with my homework, all I needed to hear was my father calling from afar the words, “just a minute and I will help you.”  It didn’t immediately solve the math problem I faced.  Rather, it gave me peace and patience.  Often, the promise of help quiets the heart enough to realize the help was always present.  Like the promise of my father’s help and a solution was on the way, cleared the mind of confusion so the answer could be seen all along!  God will help.  He loves to help.  That is His nature.  So, we must rest in the promise of that help because it is on the way.

Praise At All Times

“And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, [and] of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old [there were] chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.” (Ne 12:45-46 AV)

The captivity caused Israel to forget the songs of praise.  In fact, Psalms tells us that while in captivity, their captors required them to sing songs of praise and mirth.  “For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion.” (Ps 137:3 AV) It was cruel enough that they were forced to reside far away from their home in the service of a pagan king.  Now, they required them to live as though nothing untoward had happened.  Seventy years later, they were back in Canaan.  They rebuilt the wall and repaired the temple.  Still under pagan rule, it was important that they reestablish the songs of praise.  For the next five hundred years, they would be under different Gentile nations or kingdoms.  Because they were center to all the conflicts between these Gentile kingdoms, Israel would know no peace.  Yet, the songs of praise must go on!

One of the fondest memories of ministry happened a few years back.  It was a Sunday morning, and there was a phone call during our morning service.  Usually, we ignore it unless it rings and rings and rings.  I left the pulpit area and answered to phone.  It was a member of our church who was calling for her son.  He was my songleader.  She said something had happened to her husband and her son needed to call back right away.  In the middle of our song service, my friend and fellow laborer called his mom to find out that Dad had collapsed and was taken to the hospital.  My songleader immediately left for the hospital.  We concluded our service as normally as we could, and I immediately left for the hospital.  When I found the family with their patriarch in bed, it was told me that he had a condition that could not be treated and that his departure was at hand.  This family was a musical family and a very spiritual one.  They surrounded the bed as their loved one passed, praying and singing familiar songs of old.  Each sang their part, but the newly departed.  His voice was a record-setting tenor voice.  They sang three-part harmony with the tenor part silent.  It was the most precious moment I believe I have ever witnessed.  Rather than mourn with wailing and weeping, they reacted in praise and joy. A life lived that touched all was worthy of songs of praise for a God who gave it.

It is easy to say, but hard to do.  When we are at our lowest, praise does not come easy from our lips.  When life is a challenge, to say the least, thanksgiving isn’t the first thought that comes to mind.  We do not visit this truth lightly.  Thanksgiving and praise are not natural when we are facing the battle of a lifetime.  Praise and thanksgiving are not the first thoughts when our life seems on a spiral that is out of control.  Or, as in Israel’s case, that do not come easy when there is a constant drip of discouragement around every corner.  Praise and thanksgiving may not change our circumstances, but they will change our perspective.  Besides, God is not worthy of both only when things are going well.  It takes humility, vision, and character for the saint to be thankful and praise the LORD in times of difficulty.  But praise and thankfulness are the key to surviving the hard times and flourishing in the good times.

Deep Worship By Hard Lessons

“And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground.” (Ne 8:6 AV)

What an incredible sight this must have been.  A remnant has returned to restore the Temple and city wall.  On the day these projects were completed, the entire congregation assembled, and the word of God was read.  This lasted an entire day.  Sacrifices were once again offered for the sins of the people.  Feast days were observed anew.  The people were so moved by God’s mercy that they worshipped in the sincerest of all manners.  They bowed their faces to the ground.  They would not so much as look unto heaven whence came their help.  They confessed their sins twice.  Just in case they missed something, they did so a second time.  The beauty of this holiness came at the expense of some hard lessons.  If we are saved and wish to be perfectly Christlike with a sincere and transparent relationship with the LORD, then there are some hard lessons to learn along the way.

This revival came at the expense of failures and consequences.  Israel learned the hard way that faith is difficult, but expected.  They learned the hard way that obedience is required.  Israel went through some deep waters.  They suffered much because of their choices of disobedience and fear.  When they were successful, this also came at a cost.  Trusting God is difficult.  Obedience often comes with persecution.  Whether they were faithful or not, the journey of the saints was a hard road.  Yet, when they were released from their captors and returned to their own land, Israel realized just how merciful and gracious God was.  And, He still is.  They returned to their homes.  They returned to their country.  They returned with relative liberty to worship God as instructed once again.  A heart of gratitude and humility is what made the head bow.

I don’t know about you, but I go to bed each night asking the LORD to help me worship Him as He deserves.  He is my Creator.  I am His lowly creator.  He deserves more than the best that I have.  He deserves more than I can give.  This doesn’t mean the soul should give up trying.  The more this soul strives to love God as He is worthy to be loved, the more it becomes apparent that there is much work to be done.  This work is hard work.  This work means uncomfortable situations.  This work comes as we learn to fear the LORD as we should, yet not to where His love becomes ineffective.  This work requires much confession.  It requires much prayer.  Most of all, this work requires the unabated work of the Holy Spirit.  If we are to love God as He deserves to be loved, then the Holy Spirit cannot be frustrated.  He must be listened to and followed.  Our God is far better to us than we deserve.  The intimacy with God we crave comes at the end of some hard times.  But it is better to go through those times and love God with all our hearts, than to rest at ease in our sin and fears never having known or loved God as was possible!

Someone Has To Stop

“A brother offended [is harder to be won] than a strong city: and [their] contentions [are] like the bars of a castle.” (Pr 18:19 AV)

Solomon’s proverb here is a simple statement of fact.  There is no indication of who or what the offense was.  The offence could have been a legitimate one.  The opposite is just as likely.  The point our wise sage is trying to make is the inevitable complete severance of a relationship due to an ongoing dispute.  If you’ll notice the plural ‘their’ and the suggestion that the contentions are present tense and ongoing, one can see the obvious truth.  The principle is that for a brother to be won, someone must first stop the contention.  Someone has to lay down arms first.  The longer it goes, the harder those bars become.  The longer the offense goes, the more difficult it will be to breach the bars of defense that have been set against any further offense.  For a dispute to end, there must be trust.  Trust requires a bit of vulnerability.  This is impossible if the contentions continue and the bars become more numerous and thicker.

Bars are placed because an injury has occurred.  Somewhere along the way, something was said or done to cause one or both to erect safeguards against any further injury.  We saw this in our ministry to the military.  We served the Navy near Great Lakes RTC.  Our ministry enjoyed a good deal of naval personnel all of whom ran the gamut of rank.  From a lowly seaman who had recently graduated from boot camp all the way up to a Senior commander, we served many different service personnel.  Most of our guests were enlisted.  It was not out of the ordinary for our church would host families who knew each other.  Their sailor was stationed to the same ship as others.  So, when the sailor rotated to sea duty and then to a new shore duty station, it was not uncommon for them to do so with the same families in the same situation.  One would think that common rotation would bode well for long-term relationships.  But that was not the case.  At about the sixth month mark before their next rotation, separation anxiety would settle in.  The families that had rotated together began to be at odds.  The deeper the relationships, the greater the volatility to their contentions.  It was their way of dealing with goodbyes.  As some point, they had to see the greater good of protecting our nation than the establishment of deep relationships.  Until the bigger picture came into view, they were constantly at odds.

There is little we can do if we caused someone else to put up bars.  We cannot force them down.  The more we try to force them down, the more will take their place.  The only thing an offending party can do is to stop offending.  It takes time to remove those bars.  It takes vulnerability to remove those bars.  They cannot be forced down.  It requires the contention to cease.  It takes overtures that build trust.  It takes kindness rather than abrasiveness.  It takes friendship rather than adversity.  Solomon places no blame on only one party.  He encourages both to make efforts to restore.  The first step is to stop.  Then one goes on from there.

Prepared Before Compliance

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do [it], and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ezr 7:10 AV)

This isn’t the first person mentioned who had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD.  Several of Judah’s kings did the exact same thing.  Ezra was a priest.  He was charged with repairing the temple and starting afresh the Jewish sacrificial system.  He was focused on the furniture of the temple and the feasts that were to follow.  Therefore, because of his calling, he would naturally prepare his heart to seek the law of the LORD because his calling depended on it.  Preparing one’s heart to seek the law of the LORD is not the same as responding to it with compliance once the law is revealed.  We tend to do more of the latter than the former.  If we are honest, we wait for instructions to be brought to us before we are motivated to obey.  Seldom to we study the word of God that we might specifically find laws or principles to which to conform.  Seeking the law is not the same as mere compliance.  The latter is important.  It must be done.  But the former is a higher standard to which we are called.

Ezra had the calling and responsibility of the priesthood.  His objective demanded that he prepare his heart to search out and discover the law of God.  He could not accomplish what God sent him to do without a prepared heart toward the law of God.  Paul the Apostle states, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” (Eph 4:1 AV) We have a calling as well.  Our calling is to be a sanctified child of God.  We are to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.  We fail miserably.  We still have that old man to contend with.  He is constantly tempting us to sin.  We may not have the exact same calling as Ezra.  Ours is a lifelong one.  Once the temple was rebuilt and the law established anew, Ezra became a manager.  Our calling is a construction project of change that will not cease until our glorification.  There are always areas of correction.  There are always laws and principles that need discovering.  There are always standards that need our compliance.  Preparing our hearts means that instead of being reactive to the word of God, we become more proactive.

We often preach daily devotions and journaling.  I think both are important.  Daily devotions are going to the LORD for that which that which the saint will need for the day.  Or longer.  It can be encouragement.  Often it is instruction and correction.  Our search should not end with a few minutes a day.  When we go to church or sit in a bible study, we should come with a prepared heart, looking for principles or statutes from God which we can apply to our lives.  This idea of a heart that is prepared to seek the LORD is the mind of the saint that is bent toward seeking opportunities to change and comply.  Having a heart that is prepared is starting at the point of need.  The prepared heart knows that it is not in perfect compliance with the law of the LORD even if it doesn’t yet know the specifics of failure.  The prepared heart is looking with a critical mind for all flaws and the law of God that addresses them.  Looking for, rather than responding to, is a mark of maturity.

God's Bad Memory

“I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isa 43:25 AV)

It is common for the saints to dredge up sins of the past when adversity seems to overwhelm.  Our minds and spirits are tormented by choices we wish never occurred.  We confess and forsake all over again is if the first time did not count.  We recant any and all failures regardless of past forgiveness.  We are tormented by the thought that the LORD hangs our sins over our heads as a way to manipulate or remind us of just how wicked we are.  This is a lie from Satan!  If God has forgiven, He has forgotten.  This doesn’t mean consequences are not forthcoming.  There are consequences for our choices that God built into His creation.  There are natural things that will occur unless the LORD supernaturally intervenes.  Just because God must send circumstances does not mean He is still ruminating over our sin.  It is our desire to punish ourselves or a Satanic influence that keeps us in a constant state of defeat.  God doesn’t remember it.  Why should we?

I cannot begin to tell you of all the patients I have visited who lived with regret.  There was the lady who was dying of emphysema who was estranged from her daughter.  They had a falling out, and at the time of her passing, there was no reconciliation.  There was the man who was told his heart was failing, and he had only a few months.  He cheated on his wife decades ago and was still tormented by it.  There was the man who was awaiting a quadruple amputation because he never took care of himself.  There were several service members who lived with survival’s guilt.  One in particular was a captain of bomber during WWII, and the two times he was out for medical reasons, his plane went down.  He was the sole survivor of two different crews.  There was the man whom I worked with who was an veteran.  He was forward-stationed, performing advanced scouting for his unit.  He had to take the life of a non-combatant so that he and his unit were not discovered.  We all live with regrets.  It is part of our nature.  We cannot seem to let go of those things we have done or failed to do.  Passing away in peace is a struggle.  But it all hinges on our faith of God’s permanent forgiveness.

We must separate consequences for choices from the remembrance of sin.  God did not intend our consequences to torment us by guilt over what we have done or failed to do.  When the memory of wickedness comes upon us, we need to resist the Devil so he will flee from us.  If the LORD refuses to remember the deeds that precipitated our circumstances, then we should learn to forget it, too.  We can remember what we have done.  The ‘why’ for our circumstances makes that necessary.  But what we are not required to do is ruminate on the nature of our choices, the guilt and regret that comes from it, nor the fear that somehow God will never let us off the hook.  If God does not remember our sin, then once forgiven and forsaken, neither should we.

Is Your Name Written Down?

“These sought their register [among] those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.” (Ezr 2:62 AV)

A great picture of the Lamb’s Book of Life!  Upon returning to Jerusalem, one of the first things Ezra did was to repair the genealogical record.  This was particularly important concerning the Levites.  The other eleven tribes would need to know to whom they belonged that land and inheritance might be rightfully assigned.  With the Levites, their genealogy pertained to their station in the nation of Israel.  Only those who were a decedent of Levi could claim the right of temple service.  Only those from the lineage of Aaron could claim the right of the priesthood.  When Israel and Judah unfortunately lost their liberty, diligence failed in the keeping of genealogical records.  Israel was in Assyria and Babylon for almost three-hundred years.  Judah and Benjamin were in captivity for seventy years.  For Israel, that was almost eight generations.  For Judah and Benjamin, it was two generations.  The Levites would be affected the most.  There was no temple in Babylon.  There was no ministry to speak of.  For the foreseeable future, there was no need to keep records.  But there was!  When they returned, their word did not automatically afford them the privilege of the priesthood.  When they returned, an oral tradition would not suffice.  When they returned, familiarity with the things of God did not mean they were Levitical.  They needed a written record of their lineage, or there was no place for them in the service of God.

The Lamb’s book of life is much the same way.  It is the written record of our trust in the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all sins.  Our names were written in the book of life upon conception in our mother’s belly.  It was transferred to the Lamb's Book of Life upon our second birth.  I imagine the excuses to circumvent the written record will be much the same.  “My parents told me I got saved” might be one refrain. “I grew up in church and I know a lot of Bible truth” might still be another.  “Brother So-and-so baptized me” was one I often heard.  “I’m a good person” is very common.  “I’ve always believed in Jesus since the day of my birth” is another that we hear.  None of these defenses will gain access to heaven.  Only a written record of the day we repented of our sins and trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior will matter.  “I sure hope so” or “no one can know for sure” are also statements made by those who expect heaven, but have no real assurance.

The story is told of a young man who tried to gain access to a gala in celebration of a great event.  He did his homework.  He read the requirements to gain access.  A tuxedo was ordered, fitted, and paid for.  He rented a limousine.  He secured a date for the evening who was well known.  Somehow, this man got a copy of the invitation.  The night came.  He picked up his date and arrived at the gate.  With invitation in hand, he met security at the front door.  Handing him his engraved invitation, the official looked at the guest list.  Asking for ID to double-check his list, the security officer announced that his name was not on the list.  Insisting that he was invited, hence the engraved invitation, the officer consulted with the host, and the host verified that the list was completely accurate.  There were no late additions to the list.  This young man was denied admittance because he was not on the guest list.  This is how the Lamb’s Book of Life works.  If we are not written in the book, there is no place in heaven for us.  The best thing to do is assure one’s name is written there by repenting of sin and trusting the finished work of Jesus Christ.

A Prayer God Does Not Ignore

“«A Song of degrees» Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” (Ps 130:1-2 AV)

A very appropriate opening to a song of degrees.  A song of degrees was a psalm sung as the penitent climbed or ascended the temple mount.  It is more than likely the child of God would sing this while ascending the mountain.  What follows these two verses is a confession of sin and desire for mercy.  This would be the normal course of action.  Upon reaching the tabernacle or temple, the Hebrew worshipper would offer a sacrifice for his sin.  He cries out for God’s mercy in reflection of his failure to live perfectly in the law.  We do not need to limit this cry to forgiveness only.  Any time we approach the throne of God, these words are appropriate.  It is the desperation in the voice that moves the heart of God.  Desperation founded in truth and sincerity is a prayer that God cannot, nor will not, ignore.

I have spent much time in the hospital.  As a chaplain, I have visited many.  To a different degree, they are all suffering.  But one can tell the moans or cries of someone who is hurting to the core compared with someone who is dealing with less pain or discomfort than they realize.  Don’t get me wrong.  Pain is not comfortable.  It is annoying at best.  It is debilitating at the highest level.  I have prayed with those who were in for a minor infection.  I have also ministered to those who were in such discomfort that they could not speak.  They looked at me with deep pain in their bodies without the strength to cry out for relief.  Those were always the hardest patients to see.  Maxed out on pain medication, there was nothing more that could be done.  Unless the body expired or healed itself, there simply was no relief.  This is the depth of which our psalmist speaks.  It is anguish so deep that divine relief is the only treatment.  Divine relief and only divine relief.

Those who have experienced this depth of anguish know exactly of what I speak.  It is an anguish so deep that all but God becomes non-existent.  Perhaps we are laying in bed and mourning the unfortunate events of life.  Maybe we are lonely.  Maybe we are suffering from untold depth of pain.  Perhaps there is no sunshine.  Every day seems like a dark day.  There is no incentive to get out of bed.  We are in the anguish of our souls to the degree that we cannot function.  Take a lesson for the writer above.  One task.  That is all that needs to be done.  Ascend the mountain of God and pour out your soul to Him.  Just one task.  Don’t worry about everything else until you have done that one thing.  The writer got relief because he was humble, desperate, and sincere.  He wanted to be right with God, and nothing else matters.  Maybe it is not sin that has you so low.  But whatever it is, rest assured, God does not ignore the cries of the desperate.  When the writer reached the top and offered his sacrifice, God answered.  He cried in the depth o his soul, obeyed the LORD, and trusted Him for the mercy he sought.

Yielding To God's Care

“With him [is] an arm of flesh; but with us [is] the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2Ch 32:8 AV)

The ‘him’ is the general of the Assyrian army who came against Judah and Jerusalem.  The one speaking is Hezekiah, king of Judah.  Assyria had successfully invaded and conquered Israel to the north of Judah.  The assertion is that since Israel, who was known to the Gentile world as followers of Jehovah, failed to defend their nation, that Jehovah would not rescue Judah.  I can appreciate the fear gripping Judah.  Israel, which was far larger than Judah, could not defend against the Assyrians.  Now little Judah and Benjamin face the same foe.  If their much bigger brother could not resist, what are they to do?  Hezekiah shows great faith here.  He is able to do so because he does not limit himself to what is seen.  Rather, he places far more weight on what cannot be seen.  Hezekiah wisely makes a distinction between limited temporal might that does not exist very long with the eternal power of God.  In particular, the LORD is there to fight our battles.  That is what we wish to grasp this morning.

The faith that Hezekiah shows here is incredible.  He sees a human force that dwarfs him.  He is the one responsible for encouraging the people.  He is the one responsible for ordering a battle plan.  If the nation is lost, there will be much suffering.  When you look at what he said, you have to be impressed.  However, what else can he say?  He knows that Judah does not posses the ability to deliver itself.  He knows his nation exists at the mercy of stronger forces.  He knows that if he resists, they will burn his nation to the ground.  But they were going to do that, anyway.  The only choice he had was to trust the LORD.  What he said was a wonderful statement of faith in the person of God.  On the other hand, it was the only thing that could be said.  If the battle was to be won, it would be the LORD who would do it.  There was no other option.  In this lies the foundation of faith.  Faith may be the natural conclusion to our frailty.  We cannot do what we need to do.  We cannot deliver ourselves.  Therefore, faith is the only answer.  It is yielding to the no-brainer of faith in God that is the hardest part of this process.

The battles we face are, at times, insurmountable.  They are way beyond our natural ability to manage or overcome.  It is the yielding that we have the most trouble with.  It reminds me of times when I had to let go and stop trying to solve or overcome situations in my strength or wisdom.  One winter evening, my father and I were traveling during a storm.  He had a job interview, and my mother wanted one of us boys to go with him in case something happened.  And something did.  As we were traveling on snow-covered roads, my father lost control of the truck.  We were going a bit slower than normal, but not slow enough.  We left the road and started sliding sideways.  We were headed right for an enormous oak tree and I was closest to it.  If we hit that tree, there were severe injuries or death in my future.  What could I do?  What could my dad do?  The situation was almost completely out of our control.  All we could do was hang on and trust the LORD.  At the last second, by the hand of God, the truck lurched forward, and we missed the tree by inches.  These things have happened more than once.  Three times I have had a loaded gun pointed at me.  I’ve been in a car accident that could have been fatal, but no one was hurt.

Yielding is the beginning of trusting.  Yielding to the only choice available makes complete sense.  Yet we fight it.  Hezekiah really didn’t have any other option.  He trusted the LORD because the LORD was his only choice.  But he trusted nonetheless.

Joy From Common Definition

“So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel [there was] not the like in Jerusalem.” (2Ch 30:26 AV)

A little background first.  Since the time of David and Solomon, Judah has had ups and downs concerning the kings who led them.  Some did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.  Some did not.  Those who did never completely undid the sins of their predecessors.  There may have been compliance for most things, but not all things.  As a result, the ministry of the Temple went neglected.  The Passover, Israel’s most sacred of all feast days, went unobserved.  When Hezekiah took the throne, he managed the most thorough revival to ever hit Judah.  He cleaned everything out, repaired the temple, sanctified the priests, and reestablished the Passover.  The above verse was the reaction of the people of Israel upon their first Passover celebration in many decades.  All the people rejoiced.  It was a unified and nation celebration marked by great joy and appreciation.  The question might arise as to the possibility for our nation.  Is it possible?  The key factor that Israel possessed was a unified cultural definition.  They may not have agreed on every point, but they agreed that Israel was a nation called out by God to live according to His laws and that any culture that would harm their national definition would not be accepted.  Cultural unity made this national celebration possible.

What we are seeing is a struggle for definition.  We are approaching our 250th anniversary.  Our nation, much to the chagrin of the secularists, did begin as a concept honoring Judeo-Christian ideals.  We did not begin as a theocrasy, as Israel did.  Rather, the common principles of the right to life, liberty, and property (it was changed to ‘happiness’) found in Jewish and Christian doctrines were the foundation of our national definition.  Our founding fathers understood that to ensure all three, moral laws had to be the structure upon which our nation was to be built.  In no fashion did they ever have in mind the modern-day idea of freedom.  Today’s definition of freedom is hedonism.  This will not work.  One person's pursuit of unfettered or unprincipled freedom is an infringement on another’s right to liberty.  Our nation is tearing itself apart because we cannot agree upon a common culture.  There is the Judeo-Christian culture that is still prevalent.  But equally strong is the anti-Judeo-Christian culture that opposes everything.  What they do not realize is that once they perceive the Judeo-Christian culture is no longer relevant, or that it is destroyed, they will turn on each other.  The unity they now share in trying to defeat God will become dis-unified in the end.

I appreciate all that our nation is doing to try to get back to our nation’s founding, but it cannot be legislated from the halls of an assembly or from the edicts of people in robes.  Laws and court decisions are a good place to start.  But they are not the answer.  Israel rejoiced because they had a law which was the definition of who they were and needed to be.  Their definition was unified because of a strong faith in their divinely appointed purpose.  The United States has much in common with God’s people.  We had a common calling that reached around the globe.  That common calling was based on Biblical principles and was generally beneficial to all of mankind.  Those who wished to exist in opposition to it did not feel particularly advantaged.  But all who chose to live in accord with God’s perfect law had a generally improved nation.  Israel rejoiced because they had a common culture.  As we celebrate 250 years as a nation, let us seek to solve this disunity.  Let us agree we are a divinely established nation for the benefit of individual liberty and the right of conscience.  Until we agree on a common culture, rejoice as one nation will be a challenge at best.

Strength Through Obedience

“So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.” (2Ch 27:6 AV)

There is a direct correlation between obedience and strength.  There is a direct relationship between faith and strength.  Perhaps not physical, but there is strength.  Jotham, king of Judah, was not perfect.  He did the right thing, but not with a right heart.  He prepared his ways before the LORD but never prepared his heart to seek the LORD.  He knew his Bible and followed it to the letter.  Yet, Jotham never had a vibrant relationship with the LORD.  This is important to understand.  We must see the relationship of obedience and faith to strength.  Not that we can be as strong as we need to be if we obey and trust the LORD.  One can only imagine if Jotham added to his character the desire to walk with God in intimacy and with a humble heart.  Regardless, what we do see is that strength comes by obedience and faith.  Partially, yes.  It can be suggested that without faith and obedience, the saint is not mighty.  He is weak.  He lives in fear and in the consequences of disobedience.

Disobedience and fear take a great toll.  We can all testify to the truth of that statement.  There are things in our past that still come back to bite us now and again.  There are fears of consequences yet to mature.  They probably never will.  But the fear is still there.  There are consequences for choices made in the past that still cost today.  Some excess baggage we carry with us.  Others are more durable in nature.  Perhaps a financial impact still haunts us.  Or maybe we have physical scars from poor choices in the past.  Whatever the consequences are, we deal with them for the rest of our lives.  There is the fear of the unknown.  We are not afraid of eternity.  We know all pain will cease there.  It is the journey along the way that concerns us.  We live in an uncertain world.  At any moment, the bottom could drop out.  Survival becomes the only motive each day.  We live in fear, anxiety, regret, etc. because we did not prepare ourselves to follow the LORD.  We are weak because the LORD is not our Rock.  We are frail because God is not our strength.  This is our human experience.

The only way to regain strength is to recommit to obedience and trust.  In these two comes the might of the LORD!  Jotham was mighty because he decided the law of God was worthy to be followed and the call of God on him and Judah was worthy to be pursued.  He may not have been intimately involved with the person of God, but the ways of God got him through much.  Again, this is not to give a shortcut to the might of God.  Being intimate with God can only increase the might one can have through obedience and faith.  But we have to start somewhere.  Obedience and intimacy are to be pursued equally.  We cannot have one without the other.  Our modern idea of worship is intimacy without obedience.  Legalism is the opposite.  Obedience without intimacy.  This is why our churches are not effective.  There must be both.  The same is true with the individual.  We will face troubles and trials too hard for any human to endure.  Just like it would have been foolish for Jotham to wage war against the Ammonites while living in disobedience with the LORD, it is equally foolish for us to do the same.  Do we want strength and might to face our troubles?  Then it starts with obedience and faith.

Motivation

“And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened [it] not…And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.” (2Ch 24:5, 8 AV)

This young man was remarkable.  His mother killed all his siblings, and he alone was left.  At seven years old, he ascended to the throne.  He executed his own mother.  He cleansed Judah of all idol worship.  Now, he has set in motion the repairing of the temple after his mother had destroyed it.  He read the law and discovered an offering once called for by Moses for the construction of the tabernacle.  This young man calls for the same to repair the temple.  He instructs the Levites to oversee and collect this mandatory offering, and they dragged their feet.  They hastened not.  Why, we don’t know.  But the job was not done.  So, the king rebukes them and comes up with the solution to collect the offerings.  He bores a hole in a box laid outside the temple and the money comes it.  Sometimes, a leader has to light a fire under the feet of those who are supposed to be doing the work.  This is annoying, but necessary.

We need motivation.  That is our nature.  All one has to do is pay a bit of attention to all the ads for weight-loss products.  There are drugs.  There are gym memberships.  There are weight-loss groups.  And there are services available.  Then there are the motivators for better fitness.  Smartwatches measure your heart rate, oxygen levels, and steps.  They act as a fitness tracker to motivate the user to better habits.  Of course, who can forget the original fitness tracker, the Fitbit?  We have alarms and reminders for all sorts of things.  When I was on more medication than I am now, I had a pill reminder.  When I had my shoulder surgery, the PT gave me homework.  She gave me a schedule of exercises with reps and a checklist.  Just this morning, I thought the machines were taking over.  The coffee pot was chiming, and the microwave beeped at the same time.  If the door of the refrigerator were open, it would have sounded off, too.  My car has all sorts of assistants just waiting to tell me what to do.  I have collision warnings, turn signal warnings, proximity sensors, and a backup camera.  It is now yelling at me to have the oil changed in exactly three days, or it will get very angry!  We need motivation!

The fault of failing to quickly take an offering by the command of the king was something to confess and get right.  I wonder if they felt bad that the king had to do something they were tasked to do.  I wonder if a seven-year-old boy doing the work of grown men was lost on them.  It should have been an embarrassment.  There is no shame in admitting that we need motivation.  Our human nature is lazy and forgetful.  There is no shame is asking the LORD to give us something that will keep us focused and going.  In fact, it is very prudent.  We may think that relying on outward motivators is admitting we are weak.  But we are.  Our minds, bodies, and souls can only accomplish so much on their own.  They must be motivated to go beyond what is naturally possible.  The Levites needed a lad to light a fire under their feet.  Maybe we need a reminder.  Maybe we need a good friend to read us the riot act.  Maybe we need the Holy Spirit to convict and give guidance.  We need something or someone because we are frail, weak, and forgetful.

Being Clueless Could Be A Good Thing

“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes [are] upon thee.” (2Ch 20:12 AV)

Jehoshaphat is an eternal optimist.  He thinks only positive thoughts.  He tried to assist Ahab on several occasions even though the LORD was against it.  This above passage regards the second time Jehoshaphat attempted to assist Ahab and Jezebel.  Through His prophet, God rebuked Jehoshaphat.  The king was not to assist the God-haters anymore.  To ensure that didn’t happen, God sent Gentile enemies against Judah to keep this good-hearted king occupied with his own problems.  The extent of the challenge was so overwhelming that the Bible tells us the king didn’t know what to do.  He speaks this prayer in the presence of his nation.  He lays at the feet of the LORD the situation and asks for guidance from Him.  This is where Jehoshaphat should have been regarding helping Ahab.  It took an overwhelming situation to drive the king to his knees. Being helpless and clueless can be a good thing.  God becomes very real in times like these.

Having been raised in Scouting, there are certain skills one learns.  Some of those skills concern wilderness survival.  In fact, there is a merit badge one could earn with that name: Wilderness Survival.  Earning this badge required that we learn of different edible and naturally occurring vegetation.  We learned how to make a dandelion salad and sumac tea.  The badge required that we learn how to make shelters and build fires in both good and inclement weather.  We had to learn how to triage and treat emergency medical situations.  Reading a compass was an absolute must.  But one area that was most important was being lost without the immediate means to find one’s way.  The first thing the instructors teach the students is to stop.  Rather than rush off in a panic where injury or further confusion can ensue, the stranded soul is to stop.  He or she is to sit and relax.  Assessment is to be made.  Can I realistically get out before nightfall?  If not, at what time am I going to stop trying and prepare for a night in the woods?  What naturally occurring resources are there to help me find my way out?  Where is the sun?  How is it moving?  Do I need to erect a stationary sundial to discern time of day and direction of movement?  Not knowing what to do causes us to stop and evaluate.  It causes us to inventory only that which can help.  It does not prioritize cause, but rather, focuses on solutions.

Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do.  This was new for him.  When he sided with Ahab, he had a plan.  When he assisted those whom he was supposed to avoid, there were not too many questions.  Now, the LORD sent him circumstances where he would not survive if he ignored the LORD.  Not knowing what to do is scary.  No doubt!  Not knowing which direction to go home is not comfortable.  I’ve been there once or twice.  Having to ponder the possibilities is frightful.  Will I make it through ok?  Will I make it out alive?  What pain or danger lies ahead?  Will I make it worse or better?  The questions posed while ignorant of solutions can border on the paranoid.  But not knowing what to do is exactly where we need to be sometimes.  When we do not know what to do, we are forced into doing something.  That ‘something’ which we should do first is confess our sin of self-reliance to a God who can do all things.  It was rude not to consult Him in the first place.  Next, we are to relax and involve God in our situation.  It is astounding the change of demeanor that follows this prayer.  Before the victory is even given, Judah is going onto the battlefield with an air of celebration.  They are singing and praising God before God delivers.  The funny thing about being lost.  Once the hiker realizes the plan is working and will eventually deliver him, his spirit revives as he works it out.  Jehoshaphat didn’t have the complete answer.  But he did have the God who had the complete answer.

Character Beats Might

“And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that [were] round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.” (2Ch 17:10 AV)

One would think that Jehoshaphat was a man of war.  If all they had to go on was the above verse, they would assume Jehoshaphat was a mighty man who commanded a great and fierce army.  Even if he did, that was not the cause of fear.  There is no record of Jehoshaphat waging any war.  To this point, there is no indication he had gained a great victory of any temporal nature.  Rather, what Jehoshaphat did was to revive Judah and Benjamin back to their one true God.  His father had begun the process.  Jehoshaphat finished it.  A man of character will be feared more than an man of mere might.  A man of mere might with no character can be defeated.  His wickedness will do half the work.  But a man of consistent and resolute character is not easily broken.  This is what the nations around Judah understood.  They knew that Jehovah fought for the people of God.  Especially when they walked with Him.  There was no messing with a king who walked with his God.

There are no guarantees that a world at odds with God would respect and fear a saint who is completely right with God.  In fact, Peter tells us that if we live godly, then persecution is to be expected.  Persecution is the payment for holy living.  Few are willing to pay that price.  The observation above must be understood in the context of national governments and not individual applications.  In other words, we cannot expect the world to leave us alone if we live holy and separated.  Jehoshaphat was a king of a godly nation.  They feared him because he has an army to back him up.  He has God who would defend them to all extents.  So, we cannot expect the same results.  However, there is one area in which this perfectly applies.  “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Jas 4:7 AV) The devil has only as much power over us as we allow him to have.  No more.  No less.  Peter does not say that God will cause him to flee.  The power resides with us.  Resist is an instruction to us.  Not to the LORD.

As of late, I have been reminded how true this can be.  The devil is out to discourage and to destroy.  He, or his minions, are extremely active in the lives of the saints.  They want us defeated.  They want us to give up.  They want us to tarnish the good name of our great God in the presence of those who do not know Jehovah as yet.  They want God’s influence neutralized so that none can testify to His greatness.  Whether they are successful or not depends on the saints.  If the saints will walk with God in character and faith, the forces of hell have no option but the flee.  There is no foothold the forces of evil have in the heart that loves God.  None.  It is time we resist!  It is time we show the evil forces of Lucifer that we may not be perfect as yet, but we are forgiven.  We may have made our mistakes and fallen from time to time, but none of that can separate us from the love of God.  We are victors through the blood of Christ, and because we are, we can live for His glory.  We won’t make every righteous decision we should make.  Until we die, sin will always be a battle.  But because we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and are sealed unto the day of redemption, Satan has no claim!  None!  No power!  He is to fear the testimony of God that resides within us.  Resist!

A special kind of rejection

“And, behold, God himself [is] with us for [our] captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.” (2Ch 13:12 AV)

These words are spoken by Abijah, king of Judah upon the siege laid against Jerusalem by the ten northern tribes of Israel.  Abijah, although severely outnumbered, reminds Israel that God is with those who are with Him.  Jeroboam, the king of Israel, led his nation down the path of idolatry.  They turned their backs on God.  The priests of Jehovah fled the north and came to Judah.  Jeroboam rejected the temple Solomon built for all Hebrew people and built two temples to golden calves.  The last severe reaction of rebellion against Jehovah God was to invade Jerusalem and destroy the temple.  As long as the temple stood, it would be a draw from those in the north who wished to follow Jehovah.  As stated before, Israel severely outnumbered Judah.  They had completely surrounded the city, and there was no expectation of a positive outcome for Judah.  Unless God fought for them, that is.  And that He did.  The Bible isn’t specific because the initial attack is not declared.  What we do know is that after the first attack, Judah could kill 500,000 northern Israelis and Abijah could capture several border cities.  What strikes me is how far from God the people of God can become.

It is one thing to leave off one’s relationship with the LORD.  It is quite another to fight against those who have a relationship with the LORD.  I haven’t seen this much over the years.  But it does happen.  Nothing can explain this.  Someone who has grown up with the LORD as central to his or her identity has seen much.  He or she has seen God do some spectacular things.  Unfortunately, the people of God become a disappointment.  They fall from the pedestal upon which the rebel has placed them.  They make mistakes, sometimes serious ones, that are unforgivable.  Those who taught them absolutes are suddenly abandoning them for pragmatic reasons.  There is truth without adequate defense.  Pastors, teachers, and parents do not know their Bibles well enough to give a reason for what they say is true.  Disillusionment sets in.  Then comes scoffing.  What might be a minor flaw becomes a major one.  Questions without complete answers give cause to throw out all revealed truth.  Abandonment is understandable.  Destruction is something on a whole different level.

In the book of Revelation, Satan is given two names.  Both of which means destroyer.  It is the endgame of his existence.  He cannot win.  He does not have the illusion of beating God.  That was defeated when the LORD kicked him out of heaven.  He knows he cannot cause the saint to lose his or her salvation.  He knows the bible well enough to know that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.  He cannot destroy the church.  So, what is his endgame?  What is his objective?  It is to do as much destruction against that which God loves as he can.  This includes mankind, the church, and the individual saints.  Jeroboam had no chance.  Judah loved Jehovah, and God would defend them.  His rebellion, jealousy, and anger against the LORD drove him to his satanic destructive impulse.  There is no other explanation.  To desire the collapse and destruction of all that God loves is not a neutral or natural impulse.  It is satanic at its core.

Coming Out to Stay In

“And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.” (2Ch 11:16 AV)

After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam assumed the throne.  Because of his idolatry, the LORD informed Solomon that the twelve tribes of Israel would be divided into two nations.  Ten tribes coalesced around a man named Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon.  As more of a statement of being different, and the fear the ten northern tribes would reunite because of shared worship in Jerusalem, Jeroboam went all in with idol worship and the worship of devils.  As Israel (the ten northern tribes) committed to devil worship, the priests of Jehovah found no use.  Their ministry was lost among wicked worship, so they left and came to Jerusalem.  It was a pragmatic decision.  If Israel were going to abandon Jehovah, they were not going to support His priests.  They had to leave in order to live.  What might be interesting here is that the bible stipulates who it was that left.  “Such as set their hearts to seek the LORD” suggests some did not.  There may have been priests who had such a situation that returning the Jerusalem was not necessary or desirable.  Perhaps their situation was settled and ministry did not matter.  How sad.  What we do know is that those who desired to follow the LORD and serve Him went to where the LORD would be worshiped!

Someone might think this as a reverse missions devotion.  Are not the people of God supposed to go out into a lost world as share the gospel to the lost?  Yes.  But this is different.  Israel had the word of God.  They had a relationship with Jehovah.  God would send many prophets into Israel.  Isaiah, Jonah, Elijah, and Elisha to name a few.  When the priests left, this did not create a silent vacuum from God’s truth.  God still sent messengers.  Rather, when the priests left, they left because there was no ministry for them.  The people of God did not want the hear the word of God taught.  It was too bad for them that they didn’t want to hear it at all.  The prophets of God made sure that they did.  The priests of God had to leave.  They lost their purpose.  They lost any hope of a purpose.  They could always return.  If Israel would have gotten right and desired the LORD Jehovah, the priests could have returned.  What is worth noting is that those from Israel who desired to remain faithful to Jehovah either made the trip to Jerusalem or relocated there.  The congregation to whom the northern priests were sent came to them.  In relocating, they condensed their ministry and continued.

We don’t want to consider logistics as much as we want to note the character of these priests.  They had a heart for God.  They wanted to live for God and serve God.  They wanted to be among people who desired the same.  I imagine it took a lot for them to uproot and relocate.  They left their homes.  They left their friends.  I also imagine the hardest thing to do was to leave people with whom they had ministry, knowing they would never respond to God.  In a way, this was a mercy.  It is difficult to see a group of people turn their backs on God and want nothing to do with Him or His word.  Especially after they had invested their whole lives with them.  It took character to walk away from a failing ministry because God was more important than anything else in life.  They had the courage to come apart.  They had the faith to trust the LORD in spite of what it might cost them.  They loved God, and of that there was no doubt.